Ray Todd

Niece going down

CHAPTER ONE

It was a warm spring day as David Hampton and his secretary, Terri Stewart, walked down the dock to where his cruiser was tied up. David was a tall, well-built man in his early forties with rugged tanned features and thick black hair, lightly flecked with gray. His real-estate business in this seaside resort town had flourished with the influx of retired people, and over the years the man had amassed a modest fortune.

A widower for seven years, David Hampton was raising his daughter by himself. Debbie was a beautiful woman with big brown eyes and long dark hair, was the apple of her father's eye. He had bought the rather expensive cruiser because his daughter loved the ocean, and naturally, the boat had been christened Miss Debbie.

Helping Terri Stewart aboard, David realized that this was the first time he'd been out socially with his secretary since she started working for him three years ago. Not that he hadn't wanted to date the lovely redhead, but he'd always refrained from eking her out because she seemed so happily married. Today had been one of those extemporaneous things.

Shortly before noon, David had closed a very lucrative deal that he'd been working on for weeks, and wanting to relax, he decided to take an afternoon cruise. With little Debbie in school, and not wanting to go alone, David had suggested that Terri lock up the office for the afternoon and go boating with him.

"I'd love it," the girl said quickly replied. "It sounds like fun."

They had driven directly down to the marina without stopping to change their clothes. Neither of them were wearing sneakers. David had on a pair of slacks and a sport shirt, while Terri wore a skirt and blouse.

As David warmed up the engines, his secretary went down to examine the cabin.

"Gee, this is neat," she beamed, coming back up to where he was sitting behind the wheel. "You even have a john."

"It's a head," he grinned.

"So I'm not a sailor," Terri laughed as she watched David throw off the lines.