Текст книги "Charmed by His Love"
Автор книги: Джанет Чапмен
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“Chapman is unmatched and unforgettable.”*
Praise for novels of Janet Chapman
“A romantic, funny, quietly intense story of wounded
survivors reluctantly finding love.”
—Publishers Weekly
“If anyone can make me fal in love with a ninth-century
warrior who also spent several centuries as a dragon, it’s
Janet Chapman. I always love her secondary characters …
I love the humor that she injects [in Dragon Warrior].”
– Fallen Angels Review(Five Angel Review)
“The idea of a time-traveling warrior, who was once a
dragon, courting a modern woman is steamy fun … As
funny and steamy as can be expected from Chapman …
Wel executed!”
– Fresh Fiction
“Janet Chapman’s Dragon Warrioris head and shoulders
above any shape-shifting or paranormal romance … A
spectacular and bril iant novel for those who love the
juxtaposition of the paranormal and the real world … A
PERFECT 10 is a fitting rating for … a novel which is both
tender and joyful, but also has beasts looking for peace and
a new way of life after centuries of struggle.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Delightful romantic series with a paranormal twist …
Chapman brings plenty of warmth and fun to the story by
enlivening it with a rich cast of characters. You can’t go
wrong with a Chapman story!”
—*RT Book Reviews(4 stars)
“From exceptional y moving scenes to delightful y amusing
moments, the originality of Dragon Warriorkeeps your total
attention … Creatively innovative with inventive plots and
particularly appealing characters.”
—Single Titles
“Readers wil be enchanted with Chapman’s love of Maine
in her latest romance, a story fil ed with wit and tenderness.”
– Booklist
Jove titles by Janet Chapman
HIGHLANDER FOR THE HOLIDAYS
SPELLBOUND FALLS
CHARMED BY HIS LOVE
Charmed by
His Love
Janet Chapman
JOVE BOOKS, NEW YORK
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL,
England
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have control over and does not have any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
CHARMED BY HIS LOVE
A Jove Book / published by arrangement with the author
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Jove mass-market edition / June 2012
Copyright © 2012 by Janet Chapman.
Excerpt from Courting Carolinacopyright © 2012 by Janet Chapman.
Cover art by Jim Griffin.
Cover handlettering by Ron Zinn.
Cover design by George Long.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or
electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or
encourage piracy of
copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ISBN: 978-1-101-58545-0
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If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is
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ALWAYS LEARNING
PEARSON
Any similarities between Duncan MacKeage and my own
driven, never-say-die, magical hero are, of course, purely
coincidental. You’re still standing guard at the gate of my
dreams, husband, and you still rock my world!
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Epilogue
Courting Carolina
Chapter One
Peg Thompson slid open the side door of her minivan and
gave the four children inside her wel -perfected, I-mean-
business scowl. “Okay, you clean and handsome little
human beings, your chal enge for the day is to stayclean
and handsome until afterthe wedding. And when we come
back here for the reception, you wil change into your play
clothes beforeyou go near any food. Got that?” Peg
paused for effect, stifling a smile when every last one of
them vigorously nodded. “So that means until we leave for
church you wil stay away from mud puddles, melting piles
of snow, and the lake.” She lost her scowl when her gaze
landed on her youngest son. “And nobody goes near the
scientific equipment on the beach, or any of the scientists.
Charlotte, you’re in charge of Jacob, and Isabel, you’re in
charge of Peter.” She held up her hand when both girls
started to protest. “This is Miss Olivia’s special day, and as
her bridesmaid I have to help her get ready. So could you
al please just cooperate with me this morning?”
“But Mommm,” Charlotte protested anyway. “I need to
help Sophie. Today’s special for her, too. She’s going to be
the maid of honor and she’s getting a new dad.”
“And Henry needs me,” Isabel chimed in, not about to
be out-whined. “I have to make sure he looks al handsome
because he’s getting a new momtoday.”
Peg was fairly certain the last thing Henry wanted was
Isabel’s help, considering the girl had blatantly been
stalking the poor boy for the last two weeks. “Henry’s
grammy and auntie Caro are making sure he’s al
handsome. And besides, as the best man he’l be busy
helping his dad get ready. Now, are there any questions or
comments or concerns before I turn you loose on
Inglenook?”
Jacob, bless his little heart, actual y raised his hand. “Do I
come get you if I see that scary man?” he asked, giving a
shudder as he shrank back into his booster seat.
“Not today, big man,” Peg said with an encouraging
smile. “This morning we need to stay focused on Mac and
Olivia’s wedding. But first thing Monday morning, you and I
are going to find the man who scolded you, and after you
bravely tel him you’re sorry for climbing on his submarine
and that you won’t ever do it again, you wil see that you
don’t have to be afraid of him.”
And then I’m going to send you away,Peg silently
added, and give the bastard hell for scaring two years off
your tender little heart.
“So okay,” she said as she stepped aside and waved
them out of their seats. “Be good this morning, and by noon
you can al turn back into the noisy, disheveled little
heathens that I know and love.”
“I’m not changing out of my party clothes until after the
reception,” six-year-old Isabel said as she jumped out of
the van and smoothed down the front of her dress. She
squinted up at Peg. “And don’t forget to take a picture of
me dancing with Henry so I can bring it to school. Rhonda
Beekman is tel ing everyone that I made up my new
boyfriend.”
“Trust me,” Peg drawled, “if you get Henry to dance with
you, I wil definitely take your picture.”
“Mom,” eight-year-old Charlotte said as she helped Peter
get his booster seat belt untangled. “Does Sophie have to
change her last name to Oceanus, too?”
“Nope. She’l remain Sophie Baldwin until shegets
married, unless she decides to keep her maiden name.”
“I’m going to change my name to Oceanus when I marry
Henry,” Isabel said as she fussed with the bow on her
dress. She held out her hand. “Come on, Peter. Let’s go sit
in the gazebo and see if we can spot any whales.”
Not about to be caught dead holding his sister’s hand,
Peter jumped from the van and bolted toward the pine-
studded peninsula that jutted out between Whisper Lake
and the new Bottomless Sea. “You can watch for whales,”
he cal ed over his shoulder. “But I’m watching for sharks!”
Peg pul ed Jacob out of his seat to look him in the eye.
“Be brave, my big man,” she whispered. “I won’t let anyone
hurt you. But you have to help me by not going near the
science equipment, okay? You can see everything the
scientists are doing from the gazebo. And if you behave for
Charlotte, I’l buy you a book about ocean creatures.”
“Of my very own?” Jacob asked. “I won’t have to share it
with Pete?”
Peg gave him a quick hug and swung him out of the van.
“It’l be al yours. Together we’l write your name on the
inside, and if Peter wants to look at it he’l have to ask your
permission. Now go on,” she said, giving him a nudge to
fol ow his siblings. “And you al stay clean!” she cal ed after
them.
“Mom, where’s Miss Olivia going with that toilet plunger?”
Charlotte asked. “Shouldn’t she be getting ready for her
wedding?”
Peg looked at where her eldest daughter was pointing.
“Oh, good Lord,” she muttered, gesturing for Charlotte to go
after her brothers and sister. “Keep an eye on everyone for
me, okay, while I go see what Olivia’s up to.”
Peg headed off knowing exactlywhat her friend was up
to. Why else would Olivia be micromanaging her little
kingdom of aging cabins today of al days, if not to keep her
mind off the fact that she was about to marry one of the
richest, handsomest, scariest men on the planet?
“And just what do you think you’re doing?” Peg asked,
cutting her off.
Olivia blinked in surprise, then held up the plunger. “The
toilet in cabin three is overflowing and I have to go fix it.”
Peg snatched the plunger out of her hand. “Why isn’t one
of your employeessaving our mad scientists?”
Olivia brushed at nothing on the front of her old
sweatshirt, and Peg couldn’t help but notice her friend’s
hands were trembling slightly. “Um, our cook has everyone
helping him get ready for the reception.” Olivia grabbed her
arm. “My God, Peg, I swear a smal army of guests crawled
out of the woodwork. How in hel can everyone drop
whatever they’re doing to come to a wedding on only a
week’s notice?” She leaned closer. “I think several of the
people Mac’s father invited are royalty,” she whispered.
“And I heard one of them address Titus as ‘Your Royal
Highness.’” Her hand on Peg’s arm tightened. “Wil you
please tel me what in hel I’m doing?”
Peg wrapped an arm around Olivia and started toward
the smal cottage nestled in the woods a short distance
from the main lodge. “What you’re doing is marrying Mac,
who I happen to know loves you to pieces.” She gave her
friend a squeeze. “This wil al be over tonight, Olivia. Your
smal army of guests wil crawl back into the woodwork, and
tomorrow morning you’re going to wake up the happiest
woman on the planet. Al you need to remember is that
you’re not marrying Mac’s father or his royal friends; you’re
marrying the man of your dreams.”
Olivia stopped walking. “But you know everyone in town
is going to think I’m only marrying Mac because he’s rich,
especial y when word gets out that he purchased most of
the timberland surrounding Bottomless. And when they find
out we’re building a huge resort that wil turn Spel bound
Fal s into a world-class tourist destination, al hel ’s going to
break loose.”
“Which is exactly what this forgotten town needs,” Peg
said, starting them walking again. “Not only is Mac a genius
but his timing’s not bad, either, since that freaky earthquake
turned Bottomless into an inland sea. Hel , I actual y own
oceanfront property now because those shifting mountains
cut an honest to God fiordright past my house and flooded
my gravel pit.”
“Ohmigod,” Olivia gasped, stopping to grab Peg’s arm
again. “Why didn’t you tel me? Was your house
damaged?”
“I did tel you. But you’ve been a tad preoccupied lately,
what with helping your ex-in-laws pack, dealing with a
bunch of mad scientists trying to figure out exactly what
went on here last week, and planning a wedding that’s
taking place in three hours.” Peg started her moving again.
“So you go take a hot bubble bath while I go fix that toilet,
and I’l be back in time to help you dress and put up your
hair.”
“But—”
“No buts! You’re getting married today if I have to drag
you down the aisle myself. And then you’re going to smile
and nod your way through the reception, and tonight you’re
going to begin living happily ever after in the arms of your
sexy husband.” Peg started walking backward, only to stop
and point the plunger at Olivia. “And you stay away from the
groom! He can’t see the bride until you’re walking down the
aisle looking al radiant and beautiful, so he’l realize he’s
the luckiest man on the planet.”
Olivia took a deep breath, threw back her shoulders, and
broke into a radiant smile. “Thank you for reminding me that
he’s the lucky one.” She canted her head. “Can you tel
me how we’ve lived in the same town for nearly twelve
years and only became best friends two weeks ago?”
“That’s easy; you were too busy managing Inglenook for
your ex-in-laws, and I was too busy making babies.”
Olivia’s eyes turned pained. “You wil find love again,
Peg.” She smiled sheepishly, shrugging her shoulders.
“Heck, if it can happen to me, it can happen to you, too.
You’ve been a widow over three years, so please don’t
make the same mistake I did by giving up on love. You just
have to start believing in magic again.”
Peg laughed and started walking backward. “I’m afraid
it’l take more than magic to find a man who’d be interested
in a woman with four young children.” She shook her head.
“And then I’m not sure I’d be interested in anyone crazy
enough to date me.” She stopped walking and pointed the
plunger again. “Now quit stal ing and go turn yourself into a
beautiful and deliriously happy bride.”
That said, Peg pivoted and started jogging away before
Olivia decided that she should be deliriously happy in love,
too—which was the last thing Peg needed. She was ful y
resigned to the fact that she would remain a widow until the
day she died, considering she’d learned the hard way that
her family’s curse was more than just some funky old
legend. It was bad enough living with the guilt that she was
in some arcane way responsible for Bil y’s death; she
wasn’t about to kil off a second husband like her mother
and aunt had.
And just what was she supposed to tel Charlotte and
Isabel when they each came to her and announced they’d
found the man of their dreams? Well sure, sweetie, go
ahead and marry the poor schmuck, if you don’t mind that
he won’t live long enough to see his children graduate
from elementary school.Because any man who married
any of the women in her family never made it past his
thirtieth birthday. And even when Peg’s mom and aunt had
waited until they were into their forties to remarry, they’d
both lost their second husbands in freak accidents.
Peg often wondered what wicked sin the first black
widow had committed to have placed such a horrible curse
on five generations of female descendents—even as she
continued to wonder what it would take to break it.
Heck, she’d actual y thought shehad broken the curse
the day she’d slid Bil y’s thirtieth birthday cake in the oven
just hours before the surprise party she’d planned for him.
Only the kitchen had fil ed with smoke as she’d stood
staring at Bil y’s boss and another coworker, utterly
insensate from their news that her husband was dead.
“Mom, wait up!”
Peg turned to see Charlotte and Peter running toward
her. She immediately looked at the gazebo, and sighed in
relief when she saw Isabel and Jacob sitting quietly
watching the beach.
“Can Peter and I go to the barn?” Charlotte asked.
“Sophie said most of the horses are leaving tomorrow
because Inglenook’s not going to have any campers this
summer, and Isabel promised to watch Jacob, and I won’t
let Peter go in the stal s. We just want to give them each a
pat good-bye.”
Peg looked toward the barn. “I don’t think Sam’s around.”
She looked back at her daughter and eldest twin son.
“You remember that Olivia told us Sam is her father, so he’s
probably busy getting ready to walk her down the aisle.”
“And Mr. Ezra is her grandfather,” Peter added with a
semitoothless grin. He suddenly frowned. “Only how come
Miss Olivia didn’t know he was her grandfather? She saw
him at his store in town al the time.”
Peg ruffled his hair. “It’s a confusing story. And the
important thing is that Olivia and Sam and Ezra are final y
together now.”
“So can we go see the horses?” Peter asked. “I promise
not to let them drool on my shirt, and we’l go right back to
the gazebo after.”
“Only if you also promise not to go in their stal s.” Peg
started walking toward cabin three again. “And thank you
for asking.”
“Mom!” Jacob shouted from the gazebo where he was
standing on a bench. “Isabel thinks she just saw a whale
blow! Only I missed it ’cause I was watching the beach. It
looks like they’re gonna take out the submarine. Can we sit
on that rock over there to see better?” he asked, pointing
toward the boulder on the shoreline. He lowered his voice
as she approached. “I promise I won’t talk to any of the
scientists.”
Peg eyed the large, flat rock jutting out into the new
Bottomless Sea. She wasn’t worried the kid would drown
since the water wasn’t deep and Jacob swam better than
most fish, and she real y didn’t want to squelch his
enthusiasm, considering his traumatic run-in with one of the
scientists yesterday. Besides, what could be more
entertaining for three hours than to watch a tiny two-man
sub being launched?
“Okay, but you don’t go any closer than the boulder, got
that?”
“I got it!” Jacob shouted, jumping off the bench and
running down the gazebo steps. “Come on, Isabel. I’l help
you climb up the rock.”
“Mommm,”her daughter whined, giving Peg a rather
impressive scowl. “I can’t climb a rock in my party dress.”
“Then sit on the log next to it,” Peg suggested, once
again heading off on her mission. God, she hoped the
bastard who’d scared Jacob was staying in cabin three,
because if he was, she intended to use his headfor a
plunger.
Since when was some stupid submarine more precious
than the tender heart of a young child? For crying out loud,
Jacob was four! Wel , he’d be five in a couple of months,
but her younger son was way behind his boisterous twin
brother in many aspects. Peter was her daredevil, where
Jacob was a sensitive soul.
But thanks to the family curse, her sons didn’t have a
whole bunch of males to emulate, now did they? Wel ,
except for her father-in-law and Bil y’s older brother. Only
Peg figured she had more testosterone than the two of
them put together.
Honest to God, Clive Thompson sent his wife to
investigate anything that went bump in the night, and his
idea of sports was putting on an engineer’s hat and playing
with toy trains. As for her husband’s hulk of a brother,
Galen … wel , everyone knew Arlene wore the pants in that
family. And damn if the one time Peg had cal ed Galen to
come check out a strange vehicle in her gravel pit if Arlene
hadn’t shown up instead.
At least her sister-in-law had brought along a shotgun.
Peg knocked on cabin three’s door, then walked inside
when nobody answered, only to nearly trip over a pile of
diving … stuff. “Be careful of that gear,” a voice said from
somewhere inside another pile of stuff on the couch. “It’s
expensive.”
Peg picked her way through the clutter, but stopped at
the couch to peer over the guy’s shoulder. “Hey, is that a
map of Bottomless?”
He kept hitting keys on his laptop, although he did give a
nod.
Peg leaned closer, squinting at the screen. “Are al those
numbers depths? Is Bottomless real y eighteen hundred
feet deep now, there in the middle?” Peg was so
fascinated, she couldn’t stop asking questions. “But
everyone knows the deepest basin has always been four
hundred feet, so does that mean the earthquake real y did
split open the bottom of the lake like they said on the news?
And is there real y an underground saltwater river running
up here al the way from the Gulf of Maine?”
Again nothing, except for a grunt when she impatiently
nudged his shoulder.
Peg sighed and headed toward the bathroom, only to
stop and stare in dismay at the mess. Jeesh, these guys
hadn’t even had the combined brainpower to turn off the
valve at the base of the toilet. Heck, Peter and Jacob knew
enough to shut off the water, and they weren’t even in
school yet. She bent down to reach the valve, glad that she
had enough brains to bring her bridesmaid dress instead of
wearing it this morning.
“We’re going to need more towels,” she heard from
behind her.
Wow, a whole sentence. Peg looked over her shoulder to
find that the guy might be talking to her, but it was her three-
pregnancy-wide backside he was looking at.
She immediately turned to face him. “You guys aren’t
getting any more towels until you round up the ones you’ve
been lugging onto your boats. And here,” she said, thrusting
the plunger toward him. “I’l just leave this with you, since
you must know more than I do about the physics of suction.”
The guy—who appeared to be barely twenty—eyed the
plunger as if he didn’t have a clue what it was.
“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me.” Peg pul ed him over to
the toilet. “Okay, watch and learn, because there’s going to
be a pop quiz later.” She shot him a bril iant smile. “And if
you pass, I wil giveyou this fascinating tool, and then you can show al your cabinmates how it works.”
“I haven’t got time to mess around with some toilet,” he
said, turning to leave. “We’re about to launch the
submersible and I’m piloting it today.”
Her heart skipping a beat that she may have just found
Jacob’s scary man, Peg grabbed the back of his shirt and
pul ed him back around. “Then they won’t launch until you
get there, wil they?” She slapped the plunger against his
chest. “Consider this training for when you’re eighteen
hundred feet underwater and your Porta-Potty clogs.” She
pul ed him over to the toilet. “See, I’m real y doing you a
favor.”
The guy actual y shoved the handleof the plunger into the
bowl of clear water—which made Peg suspect it was
probably a washcloth plugging the toilet. “You’re a rather
bossy broad,” he muttered, sloshing water al over the
place.
Peg closed her eyes to count to ten, but only made it to
five. “You try being a single parent without being bossy.”
She grabbed the plunger, turned it around, and slapped it
back in his hand. “That’s the business end.”
He blinked at her. “But it’s too big to fit down the hole,” he
said, utterly sincere as he held it up for her to see.
Real y? Honest to God really? Peg took hold of his hand
and guided the plunger down into the bowl. “Speaking of
children,” she said, keeping her tone neutral, “I bet when
you were a kid you were fascinated by little submarines,
weren’t you? And some nice scientist must have showed
you al around one, and you got so excited that you decided
you were going to drive them when you grew up.” She
stopped plunging to give him another bril iant smile. “And
because of that nice man, now you do.”
The guy straightened, getting a faraway look in his eyes.
“I was eight when my dad took me down to the pier where
they were loading a four-man submersible onto a ship. One
of the crew snuck us onboard and even let me climb inside
it. That is, until Claude caught us.” He shrugged. “But we left
with a snorkel and mask, and the crewman told me to come
back when I got out of col ege.” He smiled, nodding toward
the window. “I’ve been interning with Claude for over a year
now.”
“So if you were to see a little kid admiring your little
submarine out there,” she said conversational y, “would you
show him around and feed his enthusiasm, or would you
scare the bejeezus out of him by threatening to use him for
shark bait?”
The guy’s smile disappeared, replaced by confusion.
“Oh, you must have met Claude,” he said with a shrug. “He
hasn’t got much use for kids. And the submersible has
some pretty expensive equipment and delicate instruments.
Why? You mentioned being a single mom; you want me to
give your kid a tour?” His gaze lowered and then lingered a
tad too long on her chest before he shot her an utterly male
grin. “If you let me take you to dinner tonight, I could give
youan in-depth tour of the equipment.”
Wow; she hadn’t seen that one coming.
“I … um … I don’t date.” Peg swiped the plunger from
him and drove it into the toilet bowl. “Mostly because I can’t
find anyone to babysit my fourkids.”
He took a step back, although Peg didn’t know if it was
because she was splashing water al over the place or
because shehad just scared the bejeezus out of him.
“Four?” he choked out, taking another step back.
“Yup. Al under the age of nine. There, that took care of
that little problem,” she said over the sucking sound of
the toilet unclogging. She set the plunger beside the tank
and washed her hands in the sink, but not seeing any
towels, she wiped them on her pants as she turned to face
him. “Now, if you can find out where al the towels are
hiding, I’l give you an in-depth tour of our laundry facility,”
she said on her way past him. She stopped in the doorway.
“What’s Claude look like, anyway?”
“Hey, you aren’t going to tattle on me, are you? I mean,
jeeze, I was only asking you out to dinner.”
“And I thank you for that.” She shrugged. “I just want to
keep al you guys straight, since you’re going to be here al
summer exploring Spel bound Fal s’s freaky new tourist
attraction. Is Claude the boss of your little operation?”
He nodded, looking relieved—which told Peg that
Claudewas her target.
“He’s fortyish,” Mr. Romeo said, “a good three inches
tal er than me, athletic build, short dark hair.” He shook his
head. “You might want to leave your bossy-mama attitude
at home when you’re around him, though. Not only is
Claude not into kids, but on a good day he barely tolerates
women. And on a bad day I’ve actual y seen him throw them
overboard.”
“Thanks for the heads-up,” Peg said, picking her way
through the cluttered cabin.
“Wait. About Bottomless,” he said, making her stop at
the door. “Have you lived around here long?”
“Al my life.”
“So you were here when the earthquake hit last week?”
“Yup.”
“It must have been pretty scary when those mountains
split apart,” he said, pointing toward the window. He shook
his head as he looked around the cabin. “The fiord the
earthquake created is twelve miles long and over two
thousand feet deep, but after talking to the geologists
staying in cabin seven, none of us can figure out why
nothing was damaged. Hel , we arrived within two days of
the event and we didn’t even see a broken window. Al the
buildings in Spel bound Fal s and here at Inglenook seem
to be perfectly intact.”
Peg snorted. “The ground did a lot of shaking, and when
Bottomless split open and the ice covering it caved in, it
made one heck of a deafening boom. It’s a miracle none of
the structures were damaged. As for that new fiord, it cut
right along my eastern property line and flooded a large
part of my old gravel pit. So tel me, have you guys been
able to come up with an explanation for what happened?
Because honestly, people in town are real y rattled and are
cal ing it magic.” She snorted. “And some are afraid to
even go in a boat now, claiming Bottomless is cursed or
something.”
“Sorry, we’re as baffled as anyone.” He picked up his
laptop and fol owed her out of the cabin. “The geologists
can’t figure it out, either, swearing there wasn’t one warning
sign of an impending earthquake. But what has us
oceanographers real y baffled is that the subterranean river
actual y became a navigable passageway from the Gulf of
Maine to the St. Lawrence Seaway. The underground river
surfaced in seven lakes; six here in Maine and one in
Canada.” He stopped at the bottom of the stairs to face
her. “Each of them appearing almost deliberately spaced
so that ocean mammals can come up for air.”
“Does that mean there real y could be whales in
Bottomless?”
He nodded, gesturing toward the lake. “One of our crew
swears he spotted the biggest sperm whale he’s ever seen
the very first day we were here, and yesterday a pod of
harbor porpoises thought our submersible was a fun little
toy to play with. A wide variety of saltwater creatures are
already cal ing Bottomless home, including crustaceans
that got sucked in with the river’s initial surge.” He grinned.
“Tel your kids to keep an eye on that new fiord running past
your house and they’l probably spot anything from whales
to harbor seals to sharks, and your flooded pit wil probably
become a sheltered cove for al sorts of tiny sea creatures.”
“Sharks! Does that mean we can’t swim in Bottomless
anymore?”
He shrugged away her concern. “They shouldn’t bother
you any more than they would ocean swimmers. But I’d
keep your kids in the protected coves.”
Peg turned away to hide her shudder. “Thanks for the
heads-up,” she said with a wave over her shoulder.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
She turned and walked back to him with a sheepish
smile. “Sorry about that. It’s Peg.” She held out her hand.
“But I also answer to Peggy or Margaret or Mommm.”
“Steve,” he said, shaking her hand. He looked toward the
