Read Online Chesapeake Tide by Jeanette Baker - Free Book Online Page B

people who called it home. Who would be calling at dinner hour, especially now that Nola Ruth was bedridden? He was intrigued enough to think about calling at the Delacourtes’ himself. But sanity returned before he could act on his thoughts. He’d never been a favorite of Nola Ruth’s and he wanted to see what was left of the Hennessey Blue Crab and Fishing Fleet before the sun went down.
    Russ parked on a side street, turned off the engine and opened the car door. The blast of humidity permeated his skin. The Chesapeake in July. Crossing the railroad tracks, he climbed over the dunes and down to the dock where the headquarters of the Hennessey Blue Crab and Fishing Fleet had stood for more than a century. The condition of the building reflected hard times. The same splintered planks and railing, the cheap aluminum door and shingled roof that he remembered from childhood greeted him. Cracked white paint peeled in an uneven pattern and the single window was still whitewashed shut from the penance duty of countless Hennessey heirs.
    He stopped at the door, inhaled deeply and pushed it open without knocking. A gray-haired woman sat behind a meticulously kept desk. She did not immediately look up. Russ quelled his impatience. He wasn’t going anywhere. When she finally deigned to notice him, her eyes widened and a smile of unmitigated joy lit her face.
    â€œRuss Hennessey?” Her voice rose and cracked. She pushed back her chair and walked around the desk to throw her arms around his neck. “Land sakes, child. As I live and breathe. Is it really you?”
    Russ grinned and kissed the woman’s cheek. “In the flesh. How are you, Effie?”
    â€œTickled pink. It’s about time you came back. This ol’ place hasn’t been the same without you.”
    â€œI’m not sure I can make it work, Effie. This was never my thing.”
    Her smile faded. “That’s not the way I remember it. You’re a born waterman, Russ. The best I’ve seen. Haven’t you sowed enough wild oats for ten lifetimes? I would have thought all these years away—”
    â€œC’mon, Effie,” he chided her. “You know I always meant to leave. This was Mitch’s baby.”
    â€œC’mon yourself, Russ Hennessey. I know nothing of the sort. This is your home. This is where you belong. People are depending on you. Their livelihoods are at stake. Billy Dupree’s been taking a skeleton crew out on two boats, but it isn’t enough. These men need you.”
    The sun-dark line of his jaw hardened. A dozen emotions flickered behind his eyes before they emptied and became unreadable again. “Nice of you not to put any pressure on me, Effie,” he drawled.
    She laughed. “I know you better than you know yourself, sugar. You’re gonna stay and give it all you’ve got. The boy I remember won’t let us down.”
    â€œI’d like to get a handle on all the new rules and regulations before I decide anything permanently.”
    Effie’s eyes twinkled mysteriously. “There might be a bonus in it for you.”
    He went along with it. “Go on.”
    â€œLibba Delacourte’s come home to be with her mama while she’s recovering.”
    Russ shook his head. “You never give up, do you, Effie?”
    â€œDon’t talk that way to me, Russell Hennessey. I wasn’t born yesterday. I remember the way it was with the two of you.”
    â€œYou got it right, Effie. The qualifying word is was. Libba Jane and I are ancient history. For Christ’s sake, we both married other people.”
    â€œShe’s divorced, just like you.”
    â€œThat doesn’t mean anything. Everybody’s divorced.”
    â€œI’m not.”
    â€œLord, Effie—” He stopped. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.” He looked at his watch. “Isn’t it past closing time?”
    â€œI thought you might want to