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Authors: Andrea Bramhall
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your own groceries.”
“It sounds too good to be true. Is she an old lady or something?”
“Compared to you, I guess you could say that.” Oz grabbed her coffee cup and took a sip to hide her smile. Mrs. Richmond was preparing for her seventieth birthday party. Everyone and their dog had received invites just last week to the party she was planning.
“Well, if she’ll have me for two hundred a month, I don’t really care if she smells like wee and lavender.”
“What?” Oz almost choked on her coffee, barely managing to get her hand to her mouth and stop it from spewing across the table.
“Maybe old people smell different here, but I always find they smell a bit like stale wee with a strong hint of lavender or rose water to cover it up.” Finn laughed along with Oz.
“Stop or I’m gonna smell like wee.”
“Can you take me to meet her later? See if she likes me? I’ll let you drive the Mustang again.”
“No problem. I’m sure if you let your landlady drive the Mustang she’ll definitely let you stay. Maybe even for free!”
“Wow, it really is more than a car.”
“Yup, I told you that. Now get back to those forms or we’ll never get out of here and on to the fun stuff.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
“It’s admiral, actually,” said a male voice.
They both looked up as a tall, uniformed sailor stopped next to the table. He twirled his cap in hand, a broad grin on his face as he watched Oz jump up from the table.
“Uncle Charlie. What are you doing here?” Oz wrapped her arms around the big man. He slung an arm around Oz’s shoulders easily as he towered over her by at least five inches. His broad chest and shoulders were obviously solid muscle and his blond buzz cut accentuated the open features of his face. There was no question about a family resemblance, and Oz suddenly wondered what Finn saw when she looked at her.
“Well, I got a call from your dad last night and I thought I’d pop down and see you.” He offered his hand to Finn. “I’m Admiral Charles Zuckerman. I have the honor of looking after the base over at Key West, and of being uncle to Ladyfish here.”
“Daniela Finsbury-Sterling. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”
They shook hands before he turned back to Oz. “You got a few minutes for your old uncle?”
“Sure. I’ll be right back, Finn.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got more paperwork to fill out. It was nice to meet you, Admiral.”
“And you.” He followed Oz as they headed into the dive shop and into a small office in the back.
“So that’s who all this is for, eh?”
“She’s a friend. She’s doing some training here, and she’ll be here a while. Her dad wants other things for her, and she doesn’t expect he’ll be very happy when she says no to him. She’s expecting trouble, and if I can, I want to help her. There’s nothing sinister going on.”
“I didn’t say there was darlin’. But I’ve dealt with William Sterling myself, and that man is colder than a witch’s tit and twice as nasty.”
“Wonderful imagery, thanks, Uncle Charlie.”
“You know exactly what I mean. What is she expected to do?”
“Marry her gay best friend Pete and make lots of babies.”
“Is he up for it?”
“Pardon the pun, hey? No, he isn’t”
“Is it just him she’s against marrying?”
“No. She doesn’t want the life he has planned out for her in any way that I can see. She’s happy enough to give it all up right now and walk away.”
“Is she strong enough to do that?”
“I don’t know. She says she is, but I don’t know her well enough to be sure yet.”
“She looks mighty young. I can see exactly why you feel protective of her.”
“Yeah, but she’s not as young as she looks.”
“I know. It’s all in here.” He handed her a large manila envelope. “There’s very little about her in here. It’s like she doesn’t exist in a lot of ways. Almost like he doesn’t know she exists. Maybe he’ll just let it
“It sounds too good to be true. Is she an old lady or something?”
“Compared to you, I guess you could say that.” Oz grabbed her coffee cup and took a sip to hide her smile. Mrs. Richmond was preparing for her seventieth birthday party. Everyone and their dog had received invites just last week to the party she was planning.
“Well, if she’ll have me for two hundred a month, I don’t really care if she smells like wee and lavender.”
“What?” Oz almost choked on her coffee, barely managing to get her hand to her mouth and stop it from spewing across the table.
“Maybe old people smell different here, but I always find they smell a bit like stale wee with a strong hint of lavender or rose water to cover it up.” Finn laughed along with Oz.
“Stop or I’m gonna smell like wee.”
“Can you take me to meet her later? See if she likes me? I’ll let you drive the Mustang again.”
“No problem. I’m sure if you let your landlady drive the Mustang she’ll definitely let you stay. Maybe even for free!”
“Wow, it really is more than a car.”
“Yup, I told you that. Now get back to those forms or we’ll never get out of here and on to the fun stuff.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
“It’s admiral, actually,” said a male voice.
They both looked up as a tall, uniformed sailor stopped next to the table. He twirled his cap in hand, a broad grin on his face as he watched Oz jump up from the table.
“Uncle Charlie. What are you doing here?” Oz wrapped her arms around the big man. He slung an arm around Oz’s shoulders easily as he towered over her by at least five inches. His broad chest and shoulders were obviously solid muscle and his blond buzz cut accentuated the open features of his face. There was no question about a family resemblance, and Oz suddenly wondered what Finn saw when she looked at her.
“Well, I got a call from your dad last night and I thought I’d pop down and see you.” He offered his hand to Finn. “I’m Admiral Charles Zuckerman. I have the honor of looking after the base over at Key West, and of being uncle to Ladyfish here.”
“Daniela Finsbury-Sterling. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”
They shook hands before he turned back to Oz. “You got a few minutes for your old uncle?”
“Sure. I’ll be right back, Finn.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got more paperwork to fill out. It was nice to meet you, Admiral.”
“And you.” He followed Oz as they headed into the dive shop and into a small office in the back.
“So that’s who all this is for, eh?”
“She’s a friend. She’s doing some training here, and she’ll be here a while. Her dad wants other things for her, and she doesn’t expect he’ll be very happy when she says no to him. She’s expecting trouble, and if I can, I want to help her. There’s nothing sinister going on.”
“I didn’t say there was darlin’. But I’ve dealt with William Sterling myself, and that man is colder than a witch’s tit and twice as nasty.”
“Wonderful imagery, thanks, Uncle Charlie.”
“You know exactly what I mean. What is she expected to do?”
“Marry her gay best friend Pete and make lots of babies.”
“Is he up for it?”
“Pardon the pun, hey? No, he isn’t”
“Is it just him she’s against marrying?”
“No. She doesn’t want the life he has planned out for her in any way that I can see. She’s happy enough to give it all up right now and walk away.”
“Is she strong enough to do that?”
“I don’t know. She says she is, but I don’t know her well enough to be sure yet.”
“She looks mighty young. I can see exactly why you feel protective of her.”
“Yeah, but she’s not as young as she looks.”
“I know. It’s all in here.” He handed her a large manila envelope. “There’s very little about her in here. It’s like she doesn’t exist in a lot of ways. Almost like he doesn’t know she exists. Maybe he’ll just let it
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