Midnight Ride, Part 2

Libby & Barth

He’d had about three hours sleep when he woke with Libby spooned against him in the narrow berth. He looked at her a moment and got up, tucking the blanket around her and found a pair of shorts. He went up to see the sunrise. Not knowing who she’d called or what all she’d told them, he pulled up the anchor.

Soon he was quietly under sail and he took the boat around to the other side of the island. No sense in sitting out there in view of the harbor waiting for whatever. He secured everything topside and went back down into the cabin. He made coffee and started frying bacon. He kept pushing everything to the back of his mind, but he kept an eye on her not knowing exactly what frame of mind she was going to wake up in. he didn’t want those caring thoughts he’d had the night before out where he had to think about them not yet…maybe never but they were there waiting.

Libby had almost passed out more than actually slept, emotionally exhausted from everything that had happened. It was the smell of bacon that woke her. Confused, she opened her eyes. She never made breakfast and, when she was growing up, her mother had never cooked breakfast either.

Then, her eyes fell on Barth and everything came flooding back to her. Tears came to her eyes again, but she brushed them away determinedly. Tears weren't going to help anything now. Hopefully, she'd be going home soon.

Starting to throw off the covers, she suddenly realized she was completely naked. Just then, she saw Barth's eyes on her. The little cabin didn't offer much room for privacy. "Is there a bathroom in here?" she asked quietly.

“Just behind that curtain,” he said turning back to the burner and flipping the bacon. “There’s coffee when you’re ready.” He took out a loaf of bread to make bacon sandwiches. He’d seen her wiping tears. He almost felt bad about what he’d done the night before, making her come aboard his boat and what happened later but then he reminded himself, she deserved it. Somebody had hired her to look for him. He still didn’t know why.

While his back was turned, Libby went behind the curtain with her clothes. She didn't stay long, not wanting to give herself much time to dwell on what had happened. As soon as she was dressed and had run her fingers through her hair, straightening it a little, she came back out.

Fixing her eyes on Barth, she asked, "So- When are we starting back?"

Barth took a sip of his coffee, washing down a bite of sandwich, taking his time before answering her. “When you tell me who’s looking for me and why. I respect your confidential relationship with your client, but I want to know if it’s something I need to be worrying about because right now…I am.” He looked her in the eye, “want something to eat?”

"Well, I'm sorry you're worried, but I still can't tell you who hired me." She looked at him steadily. "And yes, I would like something to eat, if you still want to give it to me."

“Well of course I want to give it to you,” He handed her the plate with bread and bacon on it. “Okay if you can’t tell me who, tell me why?”

He took a drink from his coffee cup. “I’ll tell you one thing though, whoever hired you to find me ought to have his head examined. You don’t send little girls like you out to find the likes of me. You’re just lucky…I can be a nice bloke sometimes.” He grinned.

Libby took a bite of the sandwich he'd given her. "I don't know why," she told him honestly. "The client didn't tell me why."

His criticism of Richie brought up her anger. "And he doesn't need his head examined! He's a very smart man! I told him I could handle the job."

Barth chuckled, “Oh you’re handling it just fine…landed right in the lion’s den. You’re awfully young to be out tracking people down…you trying to give me a little competition?”

This time, it was his criticism of HER that stung. "You didn't seem to think I was so young last night!" she retorted.

"And besides-" Her curiosity about him was back. "If your operation is legitimate, what would you have to be so worried about?"

“Well there’s young and there’s…young. I stay within the law, otherwise I’d be in trouble with it and I don’t need that.” He put the dirty dishes in the sink, “Come up topside, it’s starting out to be a nice day…good day for sailing.” He hadn’t mentioned taking her back. He was kind of enjoying her company and in no hurry.

Sailing? She thought, as she followed him up. He talked about sailing as though it were a nice, relaxing day and she was here of her own free will! And she noticed that he hadn't answered her question about why he should be worried.

"I'm sure it's a great day for sailing," she told him, once they were on deck. "I wouldn't know. This is the first time I've ever been on a boat in my life. But this isn't just some vacation, you know! When are we going back?"

Once he got the boat underway he came back to her, “First time on a boat eh? Take the wheel in your hands,” he had her in front of him again and placed his hands on hers, “Just relax and see how it feels. See you can tell when you need to move the wheel,” he totally ignored her questions about when they were going back. “Maybe you need a vacation, Libby.”

She'd watched him as he raised the sail, felt the movement of the boat on the water. Last night, she'd been too upset to notice anything like that. This morning, though, felt a little different. She was no longer so afraid that he might be going to kill her.

When Barth moved up behind her, he took both her hands in his and put them on the wheel, leaving his own covering them. His closeness to her made her nervous again, but the feeling of the wheel fascinated her. Under her hands, the boat felt like a living thing, as though it had a mind of it's own.

"Maybe I do need a vacation," she told him. "But I'd hardly call this one! You don't get kidnapped and taken on a vacation!"

“You said you wanted to go sailing with me. You just didn’t say when, so I made up your mind for you. Unexpected vacations can be the best kind.” He removed his hands from hers and settled them on her waist, letting her have the wheel.

Trying to take her mind off things--including the feel of those hands on her--and still curious about him, Libby asked, "So why does some middle class guy from a middle class neighborhood grow up to be a bounty hunter? It's not exactly your typical job that every little boy wants to have when he grows up."

She was keeping her eyes straight ahead and her concentration on the wheel beneath her fingers.

“I guess it isn’t…wasn’t what I started out to do, but things happen that turn you around sometimes. I had a mate in school, he got into some trouble with a couple of blokes. He ended up dead and the cops arrested the guy and his solicitor got him out of jail and he took off. Disappeared…they never did catch him. He should never have been let out of jail. That stayed with me a long time. How you could just disappear. My life took a different direction after that.” Unconsciously he ran his hands up and down her sides. “I disappeared myself for awhile…of course nobody was looking for me, but I acted like they were, just to see how it could be done.”

She turned her head to look up at him. "Your family wasn't looking for you?"

He looked down at her, “I was fifteen at the time and no my family wasn’t looking for me. I had an older brother…I’m not sure they ever knew I existed.”

She'd wanted to find out about him and now Libby was lost in the story. Pushing her long, blonde hair away from her face, she asked softly, "You HAD an older brother?" She'd noticed his use of the past tense.

“Yeah, he was the mate that was killed.” He reached around her and moved the wheel, looking up at the sails for a moment. How did this Sheila get him talking about things he didn’t want to talk about? He brought his arm around her waist and held her against him for a moment, and then let her go and stepped back. What the hell was he doing anyway?

In spite of all he'd done, Libby couldn't help feeling sympathy for him. She couldn't imagine losing her older brother, especially after losing her father. "I'm sorry." She almost whispered the words.

"I lost my father five years ago. He had a heart attack." She dropped her eyes, watching her hands holding the wheel. "He almost raised my brother and me all by himself. My mother-"

Pausing a moment, she wondered what she was doing. She'd never talked about her family to anyone but Richie. But something made her go on. "My mother's an alcoholic and a drug addict. She has been since I was a baby. And my older sister pretty much took after her."

He looked at her a moment, “I don’t believe in families anymore…I tried to have one of my own…now I don’t. I think it’s better this way, don’t you?”

Libby thought of the baby she'd lost and of Richie, of his being with someone else now. "Yes," she said, meeting his eyes. "I think maybe some of us were just meant to be alone."

For the last few minutes, she'd almost forgotten their circumstances. Almost. Now, she asked him, "So, are you still waiting for me to tell you who hired me before taking me home?"

“I’ve spilled to you, told you things I don’t tell anyone. You wanted to know about me. Now you do, more than I intended for you to know. All you’ve told me is you don’t know why you were hired to find me? You can’t tell me who hired you…doesn’t sound like a fair exchange to me. Is somebody in Coffs looking for me? Maybe somebody’s rellie I tucked away?”

She did know some things about him now. Some very personal things, if he'd told the truth, and she thought he had. She didn't think he'd been making up the emotion in his eyes and on his face when he'd talked about his older brother.

But when she thought about last night, Libby's temper flared again. "Fair exchange? Just what do you think a fair exchange is, mister? You brought me here against my will, forced me to sleep in the same bed with you last night! You think there's something fair about that?"

“I might have encouraged you to get on the boat, but what happened in that bed last night was not forced…you know that as well as I do, so don’t start throwing things at me Libby.”

Her anger was fired up now. Last night was a betrayal of everything she felt for Richie. Even if she had done it for him. Libby was feeling guilty and confused and still a little frightened. And she lashed out.

" 'Encouraged'? Well, that's a delicate way to put it! You held a knife to my side! I was afraid NOT to sleep in the same bed! And you can keep me out here forever, but I still won't tell you who hired me!"

Barth grinned, “Honey that was no knife I held you with.” There was something in her voice that made him wonder even more about her client. “Whoever he is, I still say he’s dumb for sending you out after me. What is he, hard up for cash?”

"Hardly! And he is NOT dumb! You know nothing about him, so don't go criticizing him!" She was defensive of Richie, the same way she'd been when people had gone around blaming him for the divorce from Toni. And she couldn't keep that defensiveness out of her voice.

“What kind of a man would send a little girl like you after a guy like me? I can’t figure it out. If money’s not the problem, the only other thing I can think of is he’s stupid. You think I’d send you after me…no way, honey…no way.”

"He's not stupid! And he didn't send me after you. He told me not to approach you, just to find out something about you!" Her eyes were blazing at him.

"And as far as money goes, he happens to be a very successful--man! If he did need money, I'd be more than happy to give it to him! And I'm sick of hearing you judge a man you don't even know! Who just happens to be the man I love!" Libby stopped, angry with herself and aware that she'd just come very close to using Richie's name and telling Barth he was a solicitor. She had to get herself under control.

“This is the bloke you mentioned last night…well, well, well. He’s even more a fool than I thought. No I don’t know him…not sure I’d want to know a man who’d use you like this. You deserve better, Libby…a lot better.” He took the wheel himself she was too busy defending the arse that sent her after him to pay attention to what she was doing.

"There is no one better! Although I suppose you think you are! And he didn't use me. I just got my license as a private investigator. It's a job." Her voice was calmer now and she was maintaining her determination not to reveal who'd hired her.

"And I guess we won't be out here much longer anyway," she told him. "Someone's looking for me. The person I called last night." Surely, she thought, Frank had gotten her message by now and there was no question that he'd find her. Frank wouldn't give up until he did.

“I don’t think I’m any better than the next man. There’s just things I’d do and not do. So you’re a private investigator eh? Let me tell you something Libby, cause I don’t think you’ve been doing this work very long or you’d know when you go to find out something about somebody, you stake out the place first. You don’t walk in and ask for him by name, because you don’t ever know what you’re walking into.” He’d sailed beyond the islands in the bay and was now up the coast from Coffs. He stayed far enough out she couldn’t jump in and swim to shore.

“I am going to take you back eventually, but you and I have got to come to an understanding about a few things. I’m not looking to dock and have the police standing there waiting to take me to jail. Number one is that you came aboard of your own free will and number two is that what happened in the berth down below was between us. I didn’t force you to do anything…that’s the deal.”

"It won't be the police waiting for you," Libby told him thoughtfully. "Frank'll handle this himself. You might wish for the police."

"And what kind of deal is that anyway? You DID force me aboard!" She left out the reference to what had happened in the berth.

She’d dropped a name. Had she meant to? Was this the guy she was in love with who sent her out after him?. “You said you wanted to go sailing with me honey, you just didn’t say when. Don’t get all high and mighty with me. You’re the one who’s been coming on to me. What was I to think, but that you were interested? Blokes are like that you know. We don’t play the same games as conniving females do. You wink at me I wink back…bingo.”

"And you just conveniently ignore it when the female tells you she's changed her mind?" Libby asked pointedly.

“You had this burning desire to know something about me…well now you do. I hope you’re getting paid well for your services little private investigator.” The warm feelings he’d had before were wearing thin now. He felt like he’d been used. He’d told her things he’d never told anyone, his own fault but still…and she’d go back and tell somebody else…things he shouldn’t have told her. He started looking for a rock formation he knew of…ah there it was in the distance along the shoreline.

"Yeah, I know something about you now," Libby she echoed softly, thinking of what he'd said about his parents and his brother.

She saw his look along the shore. "What are you looking for?"

“What I told you about my personal life... I guess it’s too much to expect you to keep that to yourself.” He looked her in the eye. “I know something about you too…I know what you feel like beneath me…I won’t forget that.” He pulled her to him and kissed her, stepped back and looked at her for a moment and began bringing his sails in.

Startled, Libby responded to that kiss, feeling the same way she'd felt last night. Not knowing why, she told him, "I don't see how knowing about your family could help the client."

He came back over to her and turned on the auxiliary engine. Once again he put his arms around her to hold onto the wheel. He was slowly working his way toward the right side of the rock, where he could pull up without bashing his boat to bits. “I don’t know what’s going to go down after this little nocturnal ride. I don’t know what kind of shit you’ve started. Don’t be surprised if you see me again.” He kissed her ear and moved away, taking a hooked pole and pulling the boat to the rock. Once he got it steady, he turned to her, “This is where you get off.”

"Here?" She looked around, surprised. She'd been ready to ask if she could use his phone. Ready to call Frank and tell him that she was all right. That things had worked out okay and that she'd just been in Sydney overnight. Had already worked it out in her mind. But Barth had no way of knowing that. And Libby didn't know why she'd been ready to do that for a man who'd kidnapped her.

“I can’t take you back to the dock. It’s probably staked out, waiting for me to show up. I know how these things work, Libby. You’ll be okay. Just beyond those scrubby trees is a dirt road. Follow it to the left. It will take you to Sawtell. It’s not far, a couple of miles at most. I’m sorry I don’t’ know what else to do with you.” He pulled her in and kissed her again. “You might get lucky, McGee’s got a house at the end of the road to the right. No way to know if anyone’s around there now though.”

He was still holding her and Libby looked up at him. "I'll be all right. A couple of miles is nothing."

She was saying things that made no sense. She should be mad at him. She should be yelling at him. She should...

He held her tightly and kissed her deeply and slowly broke the embrace, “Okay I’ll hold it steady, be careful.” He had the pole hooked onto the rock and held her hand while she climbed onto it. Once she was safely on the rock, he smiled at her, “You’ll see me again…” He removed the hook and let the boat float away from the rock. He had to pay attention now to keep it from bashing in with the waves. One last glance at her standing on the rock shading her eyes with her hand. He waved and turned the boat out to sea.

What the fuck had happened to him, letting some Sheila get to him like that? He called himself every name he could think of while he set his sails.

As she watched him go, Libby's hand raised in response to his wave, as though it had a mind of it's own. She could certainly think of no reason why she should wave goodbye to him. She stood there on the rock, her hand shading her eyes until his boat had faded from sight.

She felt more confused than she ever had in her life. As she started left down the road toward Sawtell, she started to think about the story she had to tell to Richie and Frank. And exactly which parts to put in and which parts to leave out.