Free Renegade by Caroline Lee

she met his eyes once more. “Well, McKee,” she began. He didn’t like the way she could make him feel like a child, as if she had any sort of authority over him. He didn’t think she did it on purpose; she just was used to being in charge of her own life.
    So he returned the attitude, squeezing his biceps in an effort to remind himself that he was in control of his future. Call no man master . “Yes, Eugenia?”
    “You’ve been kissing my daughter?”
    “Once. I did it to hide why I was here. It’s not like it’s a habit.”
    “Hmmm.” That was all she said: Hmmm . He resisted the urge to squirm in his seat under her sharp gaze. Then, to his surprise, she smiled brightly.
    “Well, that certainly was inspired. If I’d known, I would have happily continued the charade. Unfortunately, I told him I knew nothing about Rebecca Beckett’s other suitors, which will sound odd when he finds out that you’re here now.”
    Mac’s eyes narrowed. “There’s no need for him to find out that we’re here now.”
    And damned if her smile didn’t seem smug when she told him, “I’m sure he already knows. We’re not isolated here, McKee. Someone’s already mentioned to someone that there’s a strange dinghy docked at Beckett for more than a tide, and that the Polaris is moored off of Peter’s Point.”
    Oh Goddammit. She was right. Up until now, they’d kept their visits to Edisto short, no more than one tide cycle and always at night. Mac resisted the urge to sigh in frustration, and just squeezed his biceps harder. It didn’t help.
    “You knew.” And dammit, but he should have known, too, that this would happen when she invited them to spend the night. Why hadn’t he thought of it?
    “Of course I knew, boy.” Mac didn’t quite growl at her flippancy, but it was close. “Why do you think I suggested you stay?” He had no idea. Why put them all—their enterprise—in danger? “I needed Creel to think that you were a suitor. He’s been back often in the last few months, but not just to court Rebecca Beckett. He’s been talking to our people and the people over on The Neck, asking about strange men and illicit activities.”
    Mac cursed under his breath, and she nodded. “Exactly. Your lie and my daughter’s silence didn’t have quite the effect you wanted.” Becks hadn’t told Creel the truth about him? Mac was surprised and vaguely gratified. “Creel suspects that there’s more going on here at Beckett, especially since you haven’t been back. None of our people have said anything—to my knowledge—but it’s only a matter of time before someone does. You being here now lends credence to the claim that you’re courting Rebecca Beckett.”
    “How long have you been planning this ambush, Eugenia?”
    She tsk ed and leaned forward to lift her teacup and saucer once more. “Not so much an ambush, boy, as saving both of our necks.”
    “How long?”
    “Since Creel asked me about you. Or rather, about Rebecca Beckett’s other suitors, and I knew it had to be you. After all, she was crabbing down in her usual spot the last time y’all came ashore there. She didn’t mention meeting anyone, but it was a good bet.”
    Mac scowled. It sounded like she’d set him up in more ways than one if she’d known Becks would be there that night.
    Eugenia continued, nonchalantly. “It was a charade, wasn’t it?” His train of thought was derailed. “I don’t suppose you really were courting my daughter, were you?”
    He sat up then, placing a hand on each knee, and leaned towards her slightly. He might have been properly dressed for tea in a plantation home—he always kept a suit on the Polaris , just in case—but he knew that he in no way fit in here. He’d become too rough, too dismissive of the frippery and elegance the rest of the South valued. “And would you have considered me, if I was?”
    She smiled then, and Mac was suddenly struck with the desire to see Becks smile like that. Openly.