Chapter 3

Nikki had calmed down and was sitting in a chair beside her mother with her towel wrapped around her. She was watching Tom string a floating white rope across the shallow end of the pool at the three foot depth. It would serve to mark Nikki's safe area and prevent the floater from moving into the deeper area. She had recovered from her fright and was waiting to get back into the pool.

"Good for her," Tom thought to himself.

Tom bent down to whisper in Jenny's ear.

"Jenny, why don't you use the bedroom and change into your swim suit? If you and I get in the pool, there won't be any problem for Nikki to follow us."

Jenny looked up at Tom and nodded.

"OK ... I won't be a moment," she responded.

She was still a bit shaken by the incident, but impressed with Tom's quick action and natural instinct to calm Nikki and take away the fear. He kept showing her what a remarkable man he was. She walked into the second bedroom and retrieved her bikini top from the bag and quickly removed her tank top and put the swim top on. She pulled her towel and her wrap out of the bag and walked back out to the deck.

Tom had slipped off his shorts, having worn his swim suit beneath. He looked up as Jenny came through the French doors and smiled at the beautiful woman who had just become his lover.

"Shall we just go jump in?" he asked.

"Why not ... last one in?" With that Jenny sprinted the short distance to the pool and jumped feet first into the pool.

Tom was only a second behind her and Nikki laughed when she saw the big cannonball waterspout he made with his tucked jump. Nikki stood up and left her towel on the table beside her and walked to the steps at the shallow end. Tom waded down to the rope, dove under it and came up directly in front of Nikki. Jenny was treading water, carefully watching what was going on in the other end.

Tom sat on the pool bottom and squinted up at Nikki.

"Coming in Nikki?" he asked. "Don't be worried, I'll be right here," he promised.

"OK, here I come," Nikki answered cautiously. She walked down the steps into the pool and took Tom's offered hand. He guided her into the water again and she pulled the floater over her head and gently launched herself out into the small, safe area. Within a couple of minutes she was playing on her own, and was back to her normal, carefree self.

"Nikki, the rope will stop your floater from going into the deep end and if you need to, you can grab onto it. It's very strong. OK?"

"OK, thanks."

Nikki happily paddled around in circles, singing a song she knew from school.

Jenny just shook her head and watched as Tom once again handled a tricky situation with Nikki calmly, almost expertly.

"OK, confess Tom," she said quietly when he had returned to her side. "You have a wife and five kids and you work as a child psychologist."

"Nope. Just little old me," he smiled.

"Maybe good instincts," he acknowledged. He reached out and pulled Jenny toward him. The water was just under Jenny's chin and he had a distinct height advantage when we began to caress her body beneath the surface of the water.

"Tom!" she hissed. "Stop it. Nikki will see us".

"Nope. Have a look. You can't see Nikki below the water from this angle. She can't see us," he stated.

He immediately took advantage of her nearness and wrapped his arm around her midsection and began to tickle her.

Jenny laughed and cried out, "Stop!" but to no avail.

Nikki looked up, at first smiling, and then laughing.

"What's happening, Mom?" she called.

"He's tickling me again," she laughed.

With that, Tom renewed his attack amid squeals and laughter from both the girls. Tom took advantage of the happy mood to hold Jenny and caress her body and kiss her. From the corner of his vision, he could see Nikki watching them with a big smile on her face.

Jenny was having fun and had lost much of her reluctance for personal contact with Tom in Nikki's presence. She too was aware of Nikki watching them, and her approval took a big weight from her. She was aware of Tom's hands roaming over her body beneath the surface. She began to respond to him and was glad there was enough distance to Nikki that she wouldn't hear her moans.

"Tom, stop ... please," she pleaded. "Save it for later," she whispered.

"Hmmm ... that sounds promising," he grinned.

They swam and played and frolicked in the pool for over an hour before Tom and Jenny got out. Nikki continued to paddle around in the shallow end, quite happy to amuse herself.

Jenny and Tom sat together at poolside, sipping a fresh ice tea and holding hands. Jenny tried to relax. She couldn't account for why she was so unsettled with this new relationship. She didn't want to be insecure or overly possessive, but something told her this man was special and she desperately wanted to be with him.

"It's ridiculous," she thought. "I've only known him for a day and already I'm obsessing about him. How in the world could this happen?" she wondered to herself.

She was conscious of the knot in her stomach and tried to relax. She wished she could grab him and drag him to the bedroom and make love with him. She wanted his confirmation again.

Tom gazed longingly at Jenny and thought how lucky he was. Out of the blue, this wonderful, alive woman was part of his life. In less than a day they had twice made love! She had captivated him and he wanted her to be with him every day if she would!

He saw the shadow of concern cross her face and wondered what was bothering her. He needed to remember to keep an eye on Nikki, but he really wanted to get into a deeper conversation with Jenny. They had spent so much of yesterday telling each other about themselves, but not what was in their heart. Now they had made love and it had changed the relationship forevermore.

Last night was a reckless, over-the-top experience he couldn't account for. It took all his self control to not overpower her. He was conscious of his physical strength and her feminine persona. But she drove him to the edge of control last night, and he could see how he might lose it.

This afternoon was completely different. A quiet, gentle experience that brought him great comfort and pleasure. It was as if she was a different person.

Nikki was finally summoned from the pool by her mother. "You'll be as wrinkled as a prune if you stay in any longer. Go get dried off and changed," she ordered.

"Bring your swim suit out so it can dry in the sun when you're done," Jenny reminded her.

Tom rose and walked to the barbeque, pulling the cover off and lifting the lid.

"Just like Mom and Dad used to sound," he joked, looking pointedly at Jenny.

She blushed as he knew she would.

"Yep, Mom gives the orders and Dad runs the barbeque. It's the natural order of things."

"Oh, so you're an old fashioned kind of guy, huh," she harrumphed. "I suppose you think women should be kept in the kitchen or the bedroom until summoned, do you?"

The game was on.

"Heck no! They can do some gardening too! And somebody has to clean the rest of the house. Might as well be the women 'cause the men have to work all day," he said haughtily.

"Them's fightin' words, buster," she growled.

"Oh yeah? What kind of fight would you like?" he said ominously as he began to walk toward her lounge chair. When he reached her side he had a maniacal look on his face.

"How about a ... tickle fight!" he yelled, quickly grabbing her rib cage and causing her to squeal loudly.

"No, No ... not fair! You're too big for me!"

She was laughing and squirming as he continued to apply his fingers to her ribs. Then he grabbed a foot and began to tickle the bottom of it. Again, Jenny squealed in laughing protest. At that moment, Nikki came bouncing out the door and stopped dead as she watched the mock battle in front of her.

"Let's tickle mom! Let me tickle too!" she shouted as she ran over to her mother's side.

"Not fair!" Jenny protested. "Two against one! Nikki, help me!"

Nikki rushed at Tom and tried to tickle his ribs, but her little fingers and lack of strength didn't make any impression on him. Tom sensed her intent and tried to pull away, feigning fear of Nikki's efforts. The laughter and yelling and play went on for a minute or so until Tom yelled, "Time out!" and picked up Nikki slinging her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing.

"Truce?" he looked questioningly at Nikki's face peering around his shoulder, upside down.

"OK, I'm getting dizzy," Nikki confessed.

Tom gently flipped her over and held her in his arms while he dropped on the lounge chair beside Jenny.

"That was fun," Nikki enthused. There were smiles all around. Tom poked Nikki in the ribs and she squealed as she jumped from his lap.

Tom put his head back on the lounge chair and surveyed the scene. If this was what domestic married life was like, then it was just fine with him. Nikki was a delight and he was only beginning to discover the wonder of Jenny. He was thinking of ways they could be alone together for longer than just an hour or two.

He sensed this was a turning point in his life and he was excited by the prospect. Jenny seemed to be everything he was looking for in a life partner. She was a mysterious mix of quiet, old fashioned values, and passionate excitement that he would never have expected. She was a contradiction, but a lovely one.

Jenny felt light-headed. The obvious connection between Nikki and Tom was a godsend to her. His attitude toward her daughter was genuine and protective. Tom was everything she hoped he would be. Was this too good to be true? Was this the cause of the discomfort he felt? She couldn't find any flaws, but they hardly knew each other.

"Go slow, girl, go slow," she warned herself silently.

-0-

As the summer wound toward its end, Tom and Jenny had been dating for almost two months and Jenny felt confident now that Tom was the man she had been seeking all her adult life. He was exactly what he seemed to be. Kind, gentle, bright, confident, wonderful with Nikki, and even more wonderful in bed.

She felt that he was falling in love with her just as she had fallen in love with him. It all seemed so simple. All she had to do was wait until he asked her "the question." She wondered how patient she would have to be.

Their love-life had been hit and miss. It was nearing the end of August and Nikki was still out of school. Both could sleep-over at Tom's house without it being a problem. They had become more open about their relationship in front of Nikki, often hugging and kissing and holding hands.

Nikki had noticed, accepted, and said little about it. She was happy to be at Tom's with his swimming pool, and it was fun to sleep in the basement bedroom. She had her own bathroom and she could pretend it was her own house. It gave Tom and Jenny the privacy they wanted in the bedroom.

But Jenny was working weekdays and she had to get Nikki to Audra's before going to the store. For Tom, summer was the busiest time of the year, and with the extended daylight, he was up early and often late getting home for supper. He and Jenny were still learning to adapt to their new schedules.

Tom's mother had been nagging him to bring Jenny and Nikki to dinner at their house and Tom had promised he would, but it just had not happened yet.

Near the end of August, Steve and Ingrid Inhalt had invited the three of them out on their sail boat, 'Matron of the Sea'. It was a thirty seven foot ketch rigged cruiser of Swedish design. It had plenty of room for them all and they had decided to make it an overnight sail up the Sunshine Coast to Bargain Bay.

Nikki was excited by the trip. She would be sleeping in a bunk near the galley amidships, while Tom and Jenny shared the forward stateroom. Nikki had gotten used to the idea that Tom and her mother would sleep in the same room. Their hosts would have the master stateroom.

Tom had made sure his brother Vinnie was aware that he was taking this weekend off and that he would be in charge of the Saturday crew. Tom would have his cell phone with him in case of any questions or emergencies, but he would leave Vinnie a comprehensive list that should cover everything. Tom's new lead hand, Robbie, would make sure things got done since Robbie would have a copy of the task list.

The summer had been long, sunny and hot, typical of the last four years. The rains usually quit sometime between the beginning to middle of July and this year was no exception. In fact the weather had been mostly fair on almost every weekend since May, giving Steve and Ingrid many hours of fine sailing.

Steve had purchased a half share in the boat from George McConnell five years ago. George had been using it less and less as his wife had become a partial invalid and he had aged. He was happy to join Steve and Ingrid on the occasional weekend, but seldom took the boat out alone any more.

Ingrid loved 'The Matron' from her very first trip and treasured her time aboard. She had become a skilled sailor herself, with all the necessary navigation and seamanship skills. The recent addition of a Global Positioning System had completed a minor upgrade in the electronics. The boat had been maintained in every respect, and was immaculate inside and out.

Their sail on Saturday had been uneventful and pleasant. The winds were fairly light, but south-westerly, and their progress was smooth and relaxed. They had set all the available sail, including the mizzen. Steve had prepared a lovely light lunch with some cold Czech Pilsner for Tom and himself, and Ingrid's favorite Italian Pinot Grigio for her and Jenny.

'The Matron' was no sloop or race boat. It was a slow moving cruiser, but with all the amenities that any cruiser could want. A full galley, a head with shower, two staterooms, a large, covered wheelhouse and a lovely curved stern seating area for six people.