Part 4
"Guys! Look! Look what we caught!" With a splash, Nikki pulled herself up the ladder and back onto the boat, soaking everything in her way.
Becca smiled in silence, not at all certain that her voice would be steady if she tried to speak.
"Looks great, kiddo. Now what are you gonna eat?" Nick teased, dropping the lobsters into a bucket of water.
"Haha, very funny." Nikki grinned, and caught the look on her mom's face. "Mom? You ok?"
"Sure, baby, just kinda 'out there' for a minute."
Kevin didn't miss the look on his wife's face, or the way Nick was trying hard to keep things light. "Bec?"
"I'll go put the water on, back in a minute." Becca kissed him lightly on the cheek and fled below, grateful for the excuse to escape.
"What's up with you guys, anyway?" Nikki looked at Nick, and back at her father. "Mom looks like you just ran over her puppy or something."
"No, squidbait, we were talking about you." Nick laughed at the look on her face. "She was telling me how nice and quiet it's going to be this summer and about all the stuff she and your dad are gonna do while you're gone…" he winked suggestively at her and laughed heartily when she blushed.
"NOOOOO!!!!!!" she screamed with her fingers in her ears. "I do NOT need to know about my mom and dad doing …. THAT!"
"Nick!" Kevin scolded. "For God's sake!"
"Too much information, huh Kev?" He laughed again and shrugged. "Just trying to lighten the mood."
"You guys are disgusting," Nikki said, wringing out her wet hair and pulling it into a scrunchy.
"Good," Kevin agreed. "Keep right on thinking 'that' is disgusting. I won’t have to kill any of your dates any time soon."
"Call me when dinner's ready? I'm going up top to stretch out in the sun."
"Yes, princess," Nick retorted. "Shall I have someone feed it to you, too?"
"That would be ever so perfect," she shot back with a haughty lift to her nose before breaking into giggles.
"Damn, Kev, what have you two done to her?" Nick laughed, shaking his head.
"Just loved her unconditionally, Nick." Kevin was watching him, his face set in a serious expression.
"Yeah, I guess so," Nick said, trying to read between the lines but finding nothing. "So, what are you up to next week?"
"Same old," Kevin said. "We're meeting with a couple of promising new artists, so some of it should be interesting. You?"
"Nothing really. Taking the boat down to the Keys later in the week. Aaron and his family are going to be down, and I haven't seen him for a while now."
"That'll be nice." Kevin winced. He'd never been good at small talk, and this was a prime example of why.
"I thought maybe I'd take Nikki along." Nick dropped the bombshell as if it was a regular occurrence.
"I don't think that's such a good idea, Nick."
"Why not? She hasn't seen Aaron and the kids in ages and I know they'd love to see her."
"School, Nick. It's too close to the end of the year for her to be missing class."
"Aw, come on, Kev, she has a really good attendance record, doesn't she?"
"Yes, and I'd like to keep it that way. End of discussion."
"Yes sir, Mr. Dad," Nick snorted. "Bec, where's that hot water?"
Dinner went off without a hitch, although Becca was more silent and introspective than usual. Nick made a conscious attempt to bridge the gap in the conversation and it was close to midnight when four weary travelers stowed the last of the gear and headed up to bed.
Nikki was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow, her long legs dangling off the side of the bed, her hair spread in twenty different directions. Her skin was pink from the sun and it gave her a healthy glow.
Becca stopped to peek in the door, smiling at her daughter. "I swear, Sarah Nicole, you can get yourself twisted into the most bizarre positions," she mumbled, tucking her under the light comforter on the bed in Nick's guest room. "Almost as bizarre as –" your father, she was about to say. Hot tears sprang to her eyes as she remembered Nick's words.
"This is far from over" he'd said and she knew he meant it. Once Nick got it into his head to do something, there was no stopping him. Damn him, she thought angrily, dashing away the tears the fell from her eyes. Stooping to place a light kiss on Nikki's forehead, she tiptoed down the hall to her own room, not seeing Nick as he hastily stepped back into the shadows.
The door to Becca and Kevin's room closed, and Nick stepped silently into Nikki's room. The moonlight shone through the French Doors, and cast a soft glow about the sleeping teenager's face. She stretched in her sleep and mumbled something, and Nick smiled, remembering how her mother had looked that night so many those years ago. His eyes misted as he thought back on Nikki's childhood and in that instant knew he'd never do anything to hurt her, but he had to know. He had to know for certain if she was Kevin's daughter or … his.