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him smiling. "You look nice," he said. "If I were
interviewing you'd be hired."
    Nellie smiled
back. "But do I look business-like?" she asked.
    Will gave her
hand a squeeze before releasing it, and replied, "You look like someone a
lecherous boss would chase around the office."
    Nellie laughed,
enjoying Will's oblique compliment. It was a light side of him she hadn't seen.
Looking askance at him, she said as they walked toward the parking lot,
"While I'm at my interview, could Mike stay with you? I won't be
long." When Will didn't respond, she looked at him. The humor of moments
before had vanished. "I'm sorry," she said, "I shouldn't have
asked you to do that. Mike will be fine with me."
    It was another
few moments before Will said, in a voice that had lost all its humor, "I
doubt you could give it your best with the boy tagging along, so yeah, he can
stay with me."
    "Are you
sure?" Nellie asked, uneasy with his hesitation, and his tone.
    "No
problem," Will assured her. At lease in that, Will sounded confident.
    "Thanks,"
she said. "That's a big worry off my mind."
    As they
approached Will's pickup, Mike promptly hopped out, forcing Nellie to sit in
the middle. Will slipped behind the wheel, and Nellie was at once aware of his
arm pressed against her shoulder, and his thigh moving against her leg as he
propped his foot on the accelerator. "Where to?" he asked.
    "The
museum, my first interview," Nellie replied. "My next interview's just down the block, so I'll walk there. Then
I'll take a cab to the last interview, which is close to the marina. I can walk
back to the boathouse from there." She was a little concerned about
leaving Mike with Will so she'd try to keep the interviews short, but even if
they ran over, she doubted Mike would challenge Will.
    Knowing she
couldn't put off telling Mike any longer, she said to him, "You'll be
staying with Mr. Edenshaw during my interviews, but it won't be for long."
    Mike shot
daggers at her. "Why can't I come with you?"
    "Because
you can't come into the interview with me, I won't give a good interview if I'm
worried about what you're doing. Besides, you'd have a better time with Mr.
Edenshaw."
    "I don't
want to go with him," Mike whined.
    "I'm
sorry, Mike, but you have no choice," Nellie said.
    Mike folded his
arms and set his mouth in a pout. And Nellie said nothing.
    Which bugged the
hell out of Will. She let the boy get away with far too much. He also had no
idea what to expect once he was alone with Mike. It was obvious what the kid
thought of him. But Mike was, after all, just a kid, and not a very big one at
that. Certainly he could handle one pint-sized adversary for an hour or two.
    He let Nellie
off at the museum and watched her walk toward the entrance. But as soon as the
museum door closed behind her, Mike opened the truck door to leave. "Where
do you think you're going?" Will asked.
    "I'm
splitting." Mike climbed out of the truck.
    Will threw open
his door and dashed around the truck, grabbing Mike by the arm as the boy
started down the street. "Whoa there," he said. "I told your
mother I'd look after you and that's what I intend to do."
    Mike tugged on
his arm. "You can't tell me what to do. You're not my father."
    "I am
telling you what to do," Will said in a firm voice. "Now get in the
truck so I don't have to pick you up and dump you inside."
    "You
wouldn't dare."
    "Try
me."
    "I'll
scream."
    "Go
ahead."
    Mike glared at
Will, his blue eyes deepening. "I hope the whales eat you."
    "Whales
don't eat people. Now, get in the truck." Will released Mike's arm,
testing him. Mike looked down the street, primed for his getaway. "I
wouldn't do it if I were you," Will said. "I can out-run you any day,
and when I catch you, you won't look very big tucked under my arm with your
butt in the air. Now get in the truck or I'll put you in there myself." He
started to move toward Mike, and Mike quickly turned and climbed back inside.
    At the marine
supply store Mike begrudgingly followed