Shadows On The Lake. Leona Karr
decided, his pride smarting just a little. He wasn’t used to having women turn him down.
“Enjoy your visit,” he said in a polite tone. As he waved goodbye from his boat, he didn’t think he’d give her a chance to reject him again.
Courtney stood for a moment on the deck and watched the wake of the boat disappear in the distance. They were from two different worlds, and she ought to have the sense to realize it. Sighing, she turned into the houseboat.
“I’m back.”
A haunting emptiness echoed her words.
She stiffened as an undefined apprehension assaulted her from the dark gloom of the houseboat. Something was wrong. She could feel it.
Her heart was suddenly pounding as she bounded to the sleeping compartment to check on her baby.
She froze in the doorway when she saw Jamie’s bassinet was empty, and the diaper bag she kept at the front of the lower bunk gone.
She spun on her heels. The only place left was her aunt’s compartment. Maybe her aunt had taken him into her sleeping room. Anxiously, she opened the door and looked in.
Empty.
No sign of Jamie or Aunt Devanna anywhere in the floating house.
Chapter Three
Fighting back rising panic, Courtney dashed around the narrow deck to the stern end of the houseboat. Sometimes her aunt spent time sitting there, but her chair was empty and no baby things in sight. The houseboat creaked with emptiness as Courtney checked again, inside and out. Then she took the narrow steps two at a time up to the parking area.
Her aunt’s gray van was gone.
Courtney couldn’t believe it. Devanna had taken Jamie somewhere! For a moment, anger overrode Courtney’s anxiety. She was furious! Her aunt had no business taking the baby anywhere without her permission.
Courtney started for her car and then stopped. Get hold of yourself! Common sense mocked her impulse to go chasing after the van. What good would it do, driving around blindly, trying to find them? She hadn’t the foggiest idea where her aunt might have gone. I shouldn’t have left my baby, Courtney mentally lashed herself.
Pacing up and down, she fought to calm a hurricane of fear. It was time for Jamie to have another feeding. Had Devanna taken a bottle with her? How long had they been gone? A few minutes? Or had Devanna driven away with Jamie as soon as Courtney and Neil had been out of sight?
Her eyes kept searching the lake road in both directions, and all types of scenarios filled her mind. There’d been an accident! The van had developed engine trouble! Jamie had gotten sick and Devanna had rushed him to the hospital! There was no telephone in the houseboat. Should she go somewhere to call someone? But who? Every time a car came into view, Courtney’s hopes rose, and then quickly fell. She even walked a short distance up and down the road as if that might hurry their return.
When the gray van finally came into view, Courtney thought she might be hallucinating until it slowed and pulled into the parking area.
Letting out a cry of relief, she rushed over to it. Her aunt gave her an innocent smile as she jerked open the front door and settled her frantic gaze on Jamie.
Thank God! The baby was securely fastened in his carrier and sound asleep. His little face was peaceful and content, and Courtney was weak with a combination of relief, frustration and anger.
“He was fussy, so I took him for a little ride. You weren’t worried, were you?” Devanna asked. The funny little quirk to her lips might have been a suppressed smile.
“What do you think?” Courtney snapped. “You scared me half to death, taking him off like that.”
Devanna looked surprised. “You should have known I’d never let anything happen to Jamie. You don’t have to worry when he’s with me.”
As Courtney took the baby out of the car, he opened his eyes and gave her one of his toothless smiles. She blinked back tears of thankfulness. He was all right. She’d been worried for nothing.
“He’s precious, isn’t he?” Devanna cooed. “And such a good baby. He settled right down once we were in the car. I brought his diaper bag along just in case.”
Her aunt seemed so sincere that Courtney felt guilty about lashing out at her. She should have known that her aunt was responsible when it came to taking care of Jamie. Her love for the baby was undeniable.
“And how was your lunch with that handsome fellow?” Devanna asked when they were back inside the houseboat.
“Very nice,” Courtney said honestly.
“I guess he’ll be coming around again?”
“I don’t think so.”
“That’s too bad,” Devanna answered, thoughtfully. “I thought you’d enjoy getting out, now and again.”
Courtney looked at her in surprise. Usually Devanna ignored her unless the situation had something to do with the baby. This was the first time her aunt had expressed any interest in her well-being. Maybe things were going to smooth out between them after all.
Unfortunately, the next few days Devanna seemed more preoccupied than ever, and in a world of her own. She left the houseboat frequently, and Courtney continued to hear radiolike talking and laughing in the middle of the night.
Devanna’s only consistency was her attention to Jamie. She was ready and willing to take over his care as much as Courtney would allow. The baby provided the only real sharing between the two women. Most of the time, Devanna seemed lost in her own world, and Courtney’s hope that a friendly companionship would develop between them quickly died.
A greater sense of loneliness than before settled on Courtney, especially when she thought about Neil. She relived over and over the time they’d spent together. Clearly, he was content with his single life, and a lonely widow wasn’t in his future. She’d never been one to lie to herself, and trying to make a Cinderella story out of their relationship would be pure stupidity. Neil might be interested in a light summer flirtation, but she didn’t want to go there. She’d never been able to center her life for momentary pleasures, and now, more than ever, she had to think about the future because of her precious Jamie. Yes, she’d done the right thing turning down his tentative suggestion of another date.
During one of Devanna’s absences from the houseboat, Courtney was lounging on the couch, reading one the books her aunt had brought—and never looked at—when there was a knock at the door. Her heartbeat instantly quickened.
Neil! Maybe he’d come back to see her.
Nervously she smoothed her hair, straightening the collar of her summer blouse, and took a deep breath as she opened the door.
It wasn’t Neil.
A gray-haired gentleman stood there, peering at her through gold-rimmed glasses. Slight of build, his hair was thinning at the temples, and a summer jacket hung a little loose on his shoulders.
“I’m sorry to bother you,” he apologized quickly. “I’m looking for an old friend of mine, Devanna Davenport.”
“That’s my aunt,” Courtney assured him quickly.
His face brightened. “Oh, good. I was afraid I might have the wrong houseboat. I’m Harold Jensen.”
“I’m sorry, she’s not in right now, Mr. Jensen. But I’m expecting her back any time. Would you like to come in and wait for her?”
“Yes, thank you. I’m looking forward to seeing Devanna again. It’s a pleasure to meet her niece.”
The use of her aunt’s first name and his warm tone suggested a personal acquaintance. Courtney was curious how “personal” it might have been. Her aunt had still been a young woman when her older husband died. Maybe there had been some men in her life during those