Page 23 of Sail Away with Me

Galvin swallowed hard. “I need this job,” she said in a hushed tone.

“And you think I’m somehow jeopardizing it by getting my own drink?”

She nodded and her eyes shifted away. Sail considered pulling her chin toward him but resisted. As much as he loved flirting with her, he wasn’t about to make her uncomfortable.

“Look, no one is going to get into trouble if I get my own drink. My parents aren’t those kinds of people. But if it makes you more comfortable with me being here, I won’t do it again.” Sail tilted his head, hoping to catch her gaze.

He did.

She smiled shyly and gave him the tiniest of head nods.

“Now that we have that settled, why are you working this early ass shift?”

“Penny had an appointment this morning and asked if I could open for her.”

“You must be tired.”

Galvin shrugged. “I’ll take all the extra shifts I can get right now.”

Sail wanted to continue their chat while he ate but the chime over the door sounded, and the morning rush began. He finished his breakfast, left enough money to cover the bill and a generous tip, and headed to work. As he passed by Galvin on her way out,he said, “I’ll see you later,” and subtly touched her hip with his fingers.

Spencer “Speed”Albright, nicknamed for his on the water antics when it came to this jet-ski, and Arthur Wilson, who went by Wilson and preferred the one named moniker above all else, were already on the tour boat when Sail arrived at work. Both men were long time employees of Blue Lobster Adventures, and best friends to Sail’s older brother, Dune.

Ana, who worked the ticket booth, followed him down the dock, rattling off how many tours they had booked for the day. Sail grumbled as he looked at the sky and shook his head. The last thing he wanted was to be caught in a rainstorm and he felt deep in his bones it was bound to happen.

“Are we really doing this?” he asked as he boarded.

“Boss says so,” Speed said while Wilson mumbled the same sentiments Sail felt.

“I’ll watch the radar,” Ana added. “If the storm moves in faster than predicted, I’ll radio and let you know to head back.”

“Dune will be pissed,” Speed said. “He hates losing money.”

Sail pointed to the sky. “People hate being on the water when it’s storming. There’s nothing worse than people panicking while we’re in the middle of the ocean.”

“I do love me a good hurricane,” Wilson said. Sail was about to call him out on the bullshit statement but remembered that a hurricane in Seaport was nothing like one in Miami. Down south, they were devastating. Ruining homes, businesses, and livelihoods. Sail loved being in Miami because it was always warm, and he could sail whenever he wanted. But when it wasstorm season, he had to pay attention to everything. One wind shift, and he could easily be washed out to see.

They got to work, making sure the bar was stocked, all the life jackets were accounted for, and the bathroom cleaned. The wind picked up first, giving Sail anxiety. He continuously checked the weather app for updates, but everything remained green.

When he reluctantly told Ana to go ahead and open, the first drop of rain fell, and then the next. Sail sighed and they all took cover under the enclosed awning. Thankfully, the boat was moored and not moving much, especially since Ana got seasick.

“Is there an umbrella in here?” Sail asked as he began rummaging through the small closet.

“No, I don’t think so,” Speed said.

“Although, with Caroline working here, there might be.”

Caroline Taylor was Dune’s pregnant fiancée. They had yet to meet, as she was in New York working with an interior designer on the house Dune intended to build for them. According to their mother, Sail was going to love Caroline. Honestly, he wanted to bow down to the woman who tamed his big brother and figured he’d like her no matter what. Especially since she was going to make him an uncle.

An uncle with strict rules according to Dune. With number one being: no drinking around my kid.

Joke’s on everyone because Sail hadn’t had a drink since Dean Holmes booted his ass from school.

Sail pulled his phone out, launched the weather app, and watched the storm move over the map. The worst hadn’t even hit yet. “I think we book it out of here,” he said to the three of them. “Lock her up and head for some shelter.”

“You’re the boss,” Wilson said, even though Sail wasn’t. He’d take as much flak from Dune as any of them, but there was no point in waiting the storm out on the boat when they could be elsewhere.

Sail slipped out of his hoodie and handed it to Ana to use as an umbrella. The four of them stepped out and while Ana ran toward the ticket booth, Sail, Wilson, and Speed made sure everything was tied down and zipped up. Then they ran, ignoring the no running on the dock sign.

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