Free Deceived by Patricia H. Rushford

her father still being alive. Wishful thinking, she decided as she bit into her toasted bagel and cream cheese. It made much more sense that the break-in at home and the one last night were not related. Daniel, after all, was the head of ship security. He saw crimes like that all the time. Besides, if Dad were alive, it would mean J.B. and Gram had lied to her. Jennie couldn’t believe that—especially not of Gram. The most likely reason for the missing photo was that she had lost it, or left it at home.
    â€œI’m still in shock,” Lisa was saying when Jennie tuned back into the breakfast discussion. Lisa had been telling Dominic and Matt about the attempted burglary. “What puzzles me,” J.B. added, “is that they went through all the trouble of breaking in but didn’t take the jewelry. I would think they’d act as quickly as possible.
    If I were a thief, I certainly wouldn’t stop and examine the jewels for authenticity—I’d do that later.”
    â€œYou’re talking about those thieves as though they were intelligent,” Gram said. “I don’t think they were very smart. Picking a couple of teenage girls as their targets proves that.”
    Dominic cleared his throat. “Is it not possible the thieves were doing, how do you say, a running trial? Perhaps they only used Jennie and Lisa as sitting ducks.”
    Running trial? Sitting ducks? Jennie grinned as his meaning sank through the language barrier. “Oh, you mean pigeons. They were doing a trial run and we were their pigeons.”
    â€œSí. Is that not possible?”
    â€œIt’s very possible.” J.B. set his coffee cup on the table and pushed his chair back. “I do think, however, that we should discard this unpleasant conversation. A private island in the Caribbean sunshine awaits us, and I, for one, intend to take full advantage of it.”
    â€œWell said, darling.” Gram sent J.B. an adoring look that left no doubt about her feelings for him. In a way, that pleased Jennie. Gram deserved to have a man like J.B
. So does Mom.
The thought came from out of nowhere and Jennie tried to banish it. Mom’s situation was entirely different. Dad was still…
No, he isn’t, McGrady. He’s dead. And it’s time to give Mom your blessings and let it go. He’s not coming home.
    Jennie didn’t like the turn her thoughts had taken. She pushed them from her mind and focused instead on the party of six seated in the ship’s elegant dining room.
    As if she’d read Jennie’s thoughts, Gram squeezed her hand. “We brought you girls along so you could enjoy yourselves. With all that’s been going on, it won’t be easy, but I suggest we try to forget about what happened last night and concentrate on having a good time today.”
    â€œGreat idea, Mrs. Bradley,” Matt said after he finished his orange juice. “From what Dominic has told me about the island, I can almost guarantee we’ll have a great time. At least we will if you’ll let us accompany your granddaughters.”
    Gram laughed and glanced from Lisa to Jennie. “That’s up to my girls. Are you two willing to let these gentlemen escort you?”
    Lisa nodded enthusiastically. Jennie was tempted to say no, just to be contrary. She still didn’t feel much like socializing, but being with Matt and Dominic did sound like fun.
    â€œSure,” she finally said, hoping the delay in her response hadn’t hurt Dominic’s feelings. She glanced at him, but he was talking to Gram and hadn’t seemed to notice.
    â€œYou’ve been here before, Dominic?” Gram asked. “Sí. Many times, Señora Bradley.” Dominic, who’d been sitting across from Jennie, stood, rounded the table, and pulled out Jennie’s chair. “It is a stop I make when I sail from my grandfather’s home near Cozumel to Miami. Sometimes I anchor on the