Free Her Christmas Prince (Love in the Keys) by Caroline A. Godin Page B

board shorts, his tan had deepened since
he'd been in the keys, and the sun had brought out the highlights in
his hair. And Callie didn't look too bad, herself. She favoured a
brightly coloured swim dress style that not only looked tropical, but
emphasized her womanly curves without being too revealing. They were
both very aware of each other physically in a way they hadn't been
before today.

    After
they swam they shared a gigantic order of fries and shrimp from the snack shack on
the beach. Henry had never tried the local Key West Pink shrimp and
liked it. They were smaller than Gulf shrimp, but sweeter. After
lunch, they settled in to enjoy the sunshine, Henry reading the
newspaper and Callie a recipe magazine. An hour passed in
companionable silence, with the occasional exchange to point out an
interesting article or to ask a question.

    Just
after 3 p.m., Henry suggested they pack in, and Callie agreed. She'd
enjoyed her afternoon but was feeling salty and was itching for a
shower. She dropped Henry back at the marina with a promise to
return within the hour for a grilled snapper dinner.

    Callie
went home and washed the salt and sand away. She changed into capris
and a light blouse. She took some cookies of the freezer and placed
them in a tin to take over to Henry's. She guessed he hadn't
thought about dessert. And she always kept a secret stash of Christmas cookies on hand for just such an emergency.

    Callie
gathered up the cookies, her bag, and a book she and Henry had
discussed that she thought he'd enjoy, and headed for the marina.
When she arrived, Henry had the grill going on the top deck and was
waiting on Callie to arrive. He watched her walking down the dock
toward the boat.

    “ Henry,
quick, come down!” There was an urgency to her voice. Her
ran down and jumped off the boat, anxious to see what was wrong.
Instead, he found her grinning and awwing.

    “ What
is it? Are you all right?” Henry seemed concerned.

    “ Yes,
I'm fine, sorry to alarm you. But look, there's a manatee in the
marina! Have you seen one yet?”

    “ No,
Tom filled me in about them, but no.”

    “ Well,
come see. They're amazing creatures.” Henry joined her and
watched as the gentle creature floated close to his boat. It was
amazing, and he'd never seen anything quite like it.

    “ Pretty
cool, right? I did a project on manatees in senior year. I can
tell you all about them.” Callie grinned.

    “ So,
tell me.”

    “ Well,
they're mammals. Scientists think they can be relational in the same
way dolphins can. They make these neat sounds. And they're mostly
herbivores, and a manatee can eat ten percent of its body weight a
day in plants.” She grinned like she's just won first place
at the science fair. Henry bet Callie had been a good student in
school.

    “ Impressive.
They are spectacular. Are they always this slow moving?” He
watched as the manatee hovered just below the surface, bobbing with
the tide and looking at them through the clear water.

    “ Yes,
that's why they're called sea cows, I think. They're sort of slow
and lumbering but so charming. They're my favourite animal. My
cousin Rayna works with the vet in town, and sometimes I help them
when they do marine mammal rescues. I don't really know what I'm
doing, but often they just need extra hands to help lift and carry
and fetch things.” This didn't surprise Henry to hear. Callie had a heart for people and animals alike.

    They
watched the manatee for a few minutes more, until he lumbered out of
the slip and out into open water. Henry reached over and gave Callie a quick
kiss on the lips. She was surprised. But not disappointed.

    “ Thanks
for sharing that with me. It was special. More so because you were
here. Are you ready for dinner?” She nodded yes and Henry
took her hand and they walked back to the boat and climbed up to the
top deck.

    Henry
had everything ready to go and in a few short minutes, a delicious
dinner of snapper, asparagus and