“Yeah, I know.”
“You need to make sure that next time you go out with that hot woman from New Orleans, you get her into bed.”
He glanced at Vince, then back down at his work. “I didn’t say that was the problem.”
“Son, all problems in life originate with women.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, and how would you know? I rarely see you with a woman.”
“Oh, I have women, but I make sure to keep them at a distance. You let them too close, they fuck you up.”
He glanced up, intrigued. Vince had never been forthcoming with much of his background. Kai knew he’d been in the merchant marines, he was originally from Seattle, and he liked chili. Any more requests for information had been shut down immediately.
“Really? There’s a story there. Who was the woman who taught you that lesson?”
A blush stole over the older man’s face and Kai laughed. In all his time with Vince, he never thought to see something so, well, sweet on the hardened sailor.
“We’re going to have to get you drunk and get it out of you.” Kai shook his head. “And stop being a mother hen. I’m fine.”
“If you are going to be in front of the passengers, you better tame that tongue of yours. Lots of kiddos on board today.”
It always amused him that Vince gave him orders and always expected them to be followed. For the most part, they were. “Hey, who owns the boat?”
“You do, but it doesn’t mean you know what the hell you’re doing.”
With that, Vince turned and walked back down the ladder, leaving Kai smiling after him. He was a pain in the ass, but Vince had taught him everything he knew about working on a boat. And he knew just what to say to get his mind off his troubles and back to business.
Jocelyn was a problem he would have to figure out later. He wanted her, but neither of them were ready. It was best to tuck his thoughts away until he could actually do something about it.
Jocelyn frowned at her brother as he matched it with one of his own.
“What do you mean you’re going to Kai’s for dinner?” he asked.
She shrugged. “He invited me to dinner with his family.”
“And you just said yes?” he asked, his voice rising.
This was overboard, even for Chris. He had been bad since the incident with Greg, but this was downright freaky. She noticed one of the busboys slowly wander past. Mindful that some of the employees of his restaurant might overhear, she closed the door.
“Yes. I don’t know a lot of people. And Cynthia gets up so early and with being pregnant, she needs her rest. I will be on the same schedule soon, but heck, I didn’t want to eat dinner by myself.”
Some of the fight seemed to go out of him. “I’m sorry I haven’t been attentive enough.”
She heard the guilt in his voice. Years ago, she would have used it to get what she wanted. She was a Dupree and they were a single-minded group. But she realized she felt better not dealing with him every day. Jocelyn loved being close to him, but she had her limits.
“No, it isn’t that.” She settled in the chair in front of his desk. “Don’t worry. I don’t need a sitter, Chris. I’m doing okay.”
He studied her for a long moment. “Are you taking your meds?”
She shook her head and his frown came back. “I went off them before I came, with the help of Doctor Sawyer. She agreed I didn’t need them. I have them if I should have to go back on, but right now, I am pretty happy with the way I’m progressing.”
“I would feel better if you were taking it easier.”
She snorted. “You would feel better if you could lock me in a room and have me stay there until you felt better about what happened.”
“That isn’t it at all.”
She could tell from his expression he wasn’t going to be able to deal with it. Not today, and probably not tomorrow. Chris hadn’t been there, but he had known there was something wrong. He had called her a lot during all the problems and had even come to town. But being Queen Jocelyn, she had wanted to handle it herself. And paid the price.
“I understand you want to protect me, but I’m not fragile. I had a bad run of luck.”
“You were almost raped. And by someone you trusted.”
He didn’t say it, but she could sense that he was blaming her. While she knew her brother loved her, and he understood it wasn’t her fault, there was probably a tiny part of him mad at her for scaring the hell out of him. That she understood. It was his way of dealing with the fear, the worry. But she was sick of having that guilt heaped on her. They both needed to move on.
“I’m going to have dinner with Kai, his brother, his father and grandfather. And unless the family is into sharing, I doubt very much anything else is going to happen.”