Free Forbidden by Julia Keaton Page A

figure out Damon and
Smithson, an old craggy sailor with more smiles in him than teeth,
were cheating, to care.
    When she heard the rolling cadence of,
“LAND HO!” from above her head she glanced up at the rigging with
everyone else. Unlike everyone else though she didn’t suddenly
scramble to her feet to go get the ship ready to pull into port.
She looked around, surprised as sailors hurried this way and that,
pulling ropes she had no name for and setting up general chaos.
Strong hands gripped up under her arms and she looked up into
Damon’s face as he pulled her to her feet. Grabbing her hand he
gave her a little tug.
    “Come on then. You and Ava best get
your things together. There’s no point in staying here when we’ll
just get in the way.”
    She nodded, and pulling away from him,
she headed for the steps leading down to her and Ava’s room,
dodging overexcited men and ignoring the bellowing of the captain
as he gave orders.
    Damon had gone to grab Ava who was
sitting at the prow of the boat and lazing about as a harried
little cabin boy kept up a constant stream of air and shade over
her lounging form. Whatever was in the powder Elaine had given him
had worked well. Almost too well.
    In the weeks they’d been at sea the
little hellcat had caused enough problems on the ship to renew the
Sailors belief in that ridiculous superstition about women aboard a
boat being bad luck. She worked the Captain’s cabin boy harder than
the Captain himself and when Damon stood over her the boy sent him
such pleading eyes he felt bad for him.
    “Ava.”
    His voice made her twitch, but with a
rude sniff she turned her head away from him and into the cushion
of her seat. A chair that Damon could have sworn came from the
captain’s quarters.
    Not wanting to question how or when
she’d commandeered it, he sighed. “Get on up Sugar, it’s time to
go. We’ll make land soon.”
    “I heard him.”
    His patience twanged a warning. “Then
go and get ready to go.”
    “I don’t need to.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because Jocelyn will do it for
me.”
    That sapped what little willpower he
had, and glancing around, he spotted the glass of water sitting
beside her chair, in easy reach of the cabin boy so that he could
hand it to her as soon as she needed a drink.
    Gesturing for it, he waited until the
boy settled the ice cold glass in his hand. Then he turned and
dumped the contents, ice and all, over Ava’s pretty little
head.
    She came up hissing, all nails and
teeth like a wildcat, and when she pushed the sodden curls from her
face and glared at him he gave her wide eyes that spoke of
innocence while the grin that stretched across his face whispered
another story entirely.
    “Well I suppose you’ll be wanting to at
least change your clothes and fix your hair.” He said kindly,
“Since you don’t have to worry about packing your things and
all.”
    Something unintelligible and full of
rage exploded out of her mouth but she was too ladylike to attack
him outright, not with so many grinning sailors openly staring. So,
straightening her gown with all the grace afforded her station, she
lifted her chin, a stubborn movement that reminded him of her
sister, turned on her heel and stalked away.
    When she disappeared down into the
galley the soldiers whistled and clapped and Damon took a bow in
awareness of a job well done.

    * * * *

    They pulled into port that morning. It
had stormed in Barbados sometime over the last few days if the
churning seaside and soaked streets were any indication. Damon,
Ava, and Jocelyn left the Gentle Marie as sailors went about
unloading cargo, with the assurance that their luggage would be
kept safe and untouched while they searched for passage on another
ship that would take the girl’s on the last leg of their journey.
At least with him.
    That he would miss them when they were
gone, even insufferable little Ava, he didn’t think about. He did
keep them close though, even when they instinctively