Chapter 15
Two hours later there was a knock on the suite door, and with a nervous glance to Carolyn, the Captain straightened his suit blazer, and opened the door. Martha, younger than he had ever seen her, stood before him, holding the hand of a young girl.
"Please, come in," he invited and opened the door wide.
She peered at him suspiciously. "And you would be?"
"Forgive me, I'm…"
"Martha, there you are! And Candy!" Carolyn breezed past Daniel and swooped her daughter up from the floor and hugged her tightly to her. "I missed you."
"Mommy! I missed you," the small girl wiggled in her arms and laughed.
Martha stood in the doorway, hands folded in front of her and she cleared her throat.
"Oh, Martha, I'm so sorry, please come in."
"Very well," she stepped gingerly into the room, and as she looked around and saw the size of the suite and the extravagance of it was, her eyes widened. She turned and appraised Daniel who shifted from foot to foot.
"And who did you say you are?"
"I didn't, my name is…" he extended his hand and Carolyn cut in again.
"Martha, this is Captain…. Roger Smith."
"That's rather generic, isn't it?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"So, I've been told,' he shrugged.
"And what are you doing here with Carolyn?"
"Martha!" Carolyn scolded her older friend. "Shush! That is none of your business."
"If it's your business, it's my business," she said.
"Carolyn and I are friends."
"You are spending all day here as friends?"
"Yes, is there anything wrong with that?"
Now Martha stiffened her posture and crossed her arms in front of her, and it was so very Martha, that the Captain laughed.
"Something funny, young man?"
"My dear lady, no one has addressed me in such a manner in a very long time."
"Then maybe it was time that they did. What are you to Carolyn?"
"Martha, stop talking to…. Roger like that!"
"Captain? What are you Captain of?"
"I was Captain of my own ship, dear lady, and have sailed successfully for many years."
"You hardly look old enough."
"Thank you," he offered her a charming smile.
"You still haven't answered my question." She gave him a disapproving look and he laughed again.
"Martha, stop! Please." Carolyn sidled up to the Captain, and without being aware of it, leaned into him, gently rocking Candy against her.
It was when the Captain peered down into the girl's face and when they both turned to look at Martha, that's when she saw it. It was Candy's eyes, she had never seen anyone with such clear blue eyes until she looked at the Captain. And when both pairs of blue eyes focused on her, she knew the identity of Candy's father. Now was not the time nor place to discuss this with Carolyn but discuss it she would. The Captain exuded confidence and capability, maybe Carolyn had finally found someone worthy of her.
"Carolyn, are you sure you're all right?"
"I'm fine, Martha. Thanks for bringing Candy over." She positively beamed at the older woman.
At long last, Martha smiled at them, just a little. "All right, I'll be going then."
Carolyn stepped forward and gave Martha a hug. "Thanks, Martha. I'll tell you later," she whispered in her ear.
"All right, dear. Take care of the little one," she kissed Candy's cheek.
As she stepped away she was surprised when the Captain stepped forward and drew her into his strong embrace, and a fierce hug. "Take care of her," he whispered into her ear. When she stepped cautiously out of his arms, she gave him a dour look, but nodded.
"Goodbye, dear Martha."
"Uh, huh. Call me if you need me," she said to Carolyn, and then left, shutting the door behind her.
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"Carolyn, please, introduce me properly," Daniel said turning to look at the little girl in Carolyn's arms.
"All right, Daniel, this is Candy. Candy this is…. your father," Carolyn said, and she saw the brightness of the Captain's eyes as the small girl reached out her small hand to touch the bearded cheek. The quiet man tenderly kissed her small hand and held it against his face.
"May I?" He opened his arms, and since she wasn't fussing, Carolyn cautiously placed the toddler there.
Candy was fascinated by the Captain's face and she reached into his hair, made small fists, and yanked as hard as she could. The Captain chuckled and gave Carolyn a knowing look.
"It seems that some traits are passed to the children. I pity the man that she ends up with he will undoubtedly be bald in short order.'
Carolyn chuckled at that and blushed just a little. "Well, you do have a way of getting me all worked up, and you aren't any worse for wear."
"Hmmm," he mused and with Candy held safe in his strong arms, he began to walk around the suite, intent on giving the small girl the tour. Grinning at the lovely picture they made, Carolyn trailed along behind.
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Later that morning Carolyn and Daniel were at a nearby park which had a playground for the children. Carolyn briefly wondered if she would run into anyone she knew, but for the chance to spend a day together as a normal family, she would risk it. It was one of the memories she would have to hold onto after Daniel was gone. She watched with quiet pride as he put the small girl on his broad shoulders and she walked next to him, hand on his arm.
"This is nice," she said.
"It is indeed. I thought that we could escort Miss Candy to the child's playground with the various apparatus and the sand."
Carolyn laughed at his phrasing, "I'm sure she would love that."
"I have observed that slides seem to be a hit with young children as well."
"I suppose they are." She frowned at him. "Are you sure you haven't done this parent thing before?"
"Only with Candy and Jonathan, and not like this, not so hands on…"
"Really? You're so good at this, why ever not?"
"Because I was unable to, physically. And emotionally I was a bit rough around the edges…"
"Oh." He was so vibrant and full of life that she could hardly fathom what he would be like in the future as a spirit.
"If you will excuse us," he said as he removed his arm from Carolyn's, and with an amused look brought the girl down from his shoulders and set her on the ground, where her small hand grabbed and held one of his fingers as he led her to the sandy playground equipped with child sized slides.
Carolyn sat on a nearby bench, content with the normalcy of the day, content to watch Daniel as he played with their daughter. He "oohed" and "ahhed" at the appropriate times and Candy giggled. She threw sand at him and he wrestled her to the ground, kissing her neck and face causing her to laugh and shriek. As she squirmed, she grabbed his hair and pulled, hard. Carolyn heard his deep laugh as he lifted his head to look at Carolyn with an "I told you so" look. She only laughed.
They played together for some time, moving over to the slide once the tickling activity was finished. It was so comforting to watch him with their daughter and to know that no matter what he was in the future, he would continue to love her. Life as she knew it would turn upside down, but she was ready for the challenge. Even with a second child that she now wanted very badly.
"Carolyn, I didn't expect to find you here," a familiar voice said, and she looked up to see Bobby Muir standing before her.
"Bobby? Since when do you spend time in a park?"
"I'm downtown on business and had time for a break so I decided to go for a walk. I didn't expect to see you." Then he grinned at her and pulled her off the bench and into his arms. He gave her a solid hug and was about to lay a kiss on her when she turned her cheek to him.
"Oh?" she said, not releasing her as he still held her by the elbows.
"Carolyn, I've missed you. Why haven't you returned my calls?"
"I've been busy. And I've already told you I don't want to marry you." She tactfully withdrew herself from Bobby's arms and took a step away.
He gave her a patient look. "You'll come around, you just need more time. My parents want it, your parents want it, and I want it. It's really just a question of when."
"That's rather presumptuous, don't you think?"
He shrugged. "I'm Candy's father and you were raised to do things properly. Eventually you'll give in."
"No, I won't." She gave him an exasperated look. "Why don't you listen to me? Why doesn't anyone believe me when I tell all of you that I don't want to marry you?"
"I love it when you get mad. You're really sexy, you know?" Without warning he pulled her back to him and placed a sloppy, invasive kiss on her lips.
"Bobby!" She squirmed away from him, green eyes shooting fire.
"Is there a problem?" inquired the lovely baritone voice with the British accent. She restrained herself from falling into his arms.
"No, no problem," she said and offered him a tight smile. "I was just telling Bobby, again, that I don't want to marry him."
"Oh?" The Captain said, and she was amazed at how much contempt he could fit into that one little word.
Bobby Muir looked from one to the other, at how close they stood together, the soft look on their faces when they spoke to one another, and at the happiness on Candy's face at being held by the stranger.
"You look familiar." He snapped his fingers as he remembered their previous encounter at Carolyn's lake house years before. "Roger, isn't it?" Bobby offered his hand, but the Captain ignored it.
"Yes…Roger."
Bobby drew himself up and glared at Carolyn. "Really? This is who you're spending your time with?"
"Yes, I hadn't seen Carolyn for a while and she suggested that we come to the park."
"And who I spend my time with is none of your business."
Bobby studied them again, specifically the man opposite him and the toddler in his arms, and that's when it hit him. Looking at the girl's features, strawberry blond hair, and clear blue eyes, he knew it beyond a shadow of a doubt.
"It's you. Carolyn was telling the truth after all," he snarled.
"I beg your pardon," the Captain drew himself up, sensing an upcoming battle.
"You're Candy's father."
Daniel bit his lip, refraining from saying a great many things to this poor excuse of a man. The words to be spoken belonged to this Carolyn.
"Bobby, why would you think that?"
"Because I'm not blind. Look at the two of them and it's obvious."
She sighed, knowing that Bobby was right. "What are you going to do?"
"What you should have done a long time ago," Bobby said and before she could react, he threw a hard punch at the Captain which caught him square in the eye as he shielded Candy with his body.
He handed Candy back to her mother and stood in front of the other man.
"To attack a man holding a child is the act of a coward. Now that I am unencumbered I will ask if you want to try it again?" His words were precise and his bearing confident. "I can't tell you how much pleasure it will give me to fight you man to man."
Bobby wavered as the blue eyes across from him glittered in anticipation. Now that the initial heat of anger had passed, he studied his opponent, solid muscular build, about the same height, more weight, and a quiet confident manner. He looked as if he had been in some brawls and could handle himself in a fight. Bobby had done some college boxing.
"What's the matter? Afraid to fight a real man?"
"Please don't," Carolyn laid a brief hand on his arm and after a long look he stepped back. She put Candy back in his arms, and with a nod of acknowledgement, he took her back to the playground.
"Carolyn! I don't understand. Him? You had a child with him? He didn't even stick around for you."
"He didn't know," she said quietly.
"You didn't tell him?"
She shook her head.
"My God, I don't know you at all," he said, slipping away from her.
"Maybe you don't."
"I have to think about this, about us." He looked over at his rival and frowned. "How could you?"
"You refused to believe me when I told you we were done."
He shook his head in shock. "How could you?" he asked as he turned and left.
The other two were back in the sandbox and it looked like her daughter was getting tired. She had crawled onto Daniel's lap and now rested against her chest. He rocked her quietly, speaking in her ear in soothing tones.
Carolyn came up behind him and ran her hands through his hair, pulling on it for just a moment until he chuckled. Then he stood up, offered her his arm and they left the park.