Page 34 of Sail Away with Me

The femme fatale stepped forward and held her hand out. Sail recoiled and her eyes widened. “Who are you?” Sail asked again.

“Oh, sorry. I’m Caroline,” she told him. “Didn’t Dune?—”

“What’d I do or didn’t do?” Dune’s voice carried from the hallway. He stepped behind Caroline and glared at Sail. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I thought she was here to rob and kill us.”

“Her?” Dune’s thumb motioned toward Caroline. He began laughing. She elbowed him.

“I could,” she said, which only made Dune laugh harder.

When he recovered, he looked at Sail. “This is my fiancée, Caroline.” Dune then turned to Caroline. “Sweetheart, I love you dearly, but you couldn’t hurt a fly.” He nodded toward Sail. “This is my brother, Sail.”

Now Sail stepped forward and held out his hand. “I’m sorry for thinking you were here to kill us.”

“It’s okay. I should’ve announced myself as soon as I stepped inside.”

“Where’s Mom?” Dune asked.

Sail shrugged and sat back down, with this pitiful bowl of cereal. “Not sure. I’ve been sitting here for about thirty minutes. I thought Caroline was Crew, looking for a ride to school.”

“Hmfp,” Dune grunted and went to the sink, filling the kettle with water before setting it on the stove. He then went to thecoffee pot and poured a cup of coffee. He waited for Caroline to sit down before he sat next to her.

“I wonder if she went in with Dad.”

“Dunno,” Sail said. “I suppose we’ll know shortly when the kid comes down for school.”

“Are you coming to work today?” Dune asked.

Sail nodded as he got up and took his bowl to the sink. He poured the soggy mixture down the drain and ran the water until all remnants washed away.

“What’s eating you?” Dune asked.

“Nothing.”

“Girl trouble,” his brother muttered.

“Dune,” Caroline scolded him.

“Nah, it’s okay, Caroline,” Sail said as he sat back down. “He’s not wrong. I just don’t want to talk about it.”

“How come? Maybe I can help.”

Sail sighed. He figured it couldn’t hurt to get some advice. “I like this girl . . . woman. But she’s friend zoned me and I’m not sure how to move over to the more than friendly zone.”

“Has anyone ever told you Carter boys, no?” she asked.

Dune and Sail eyed each other, both grimacing. “Uh . . . yeah?” Sail said, unsure of himself. “Don’t get me wrong, if I stay in the friend zone, I’ll be happy. It’s just?—”

“What?” Caroline asked.

Sail shrugged and shook his head. “I don’t know. Sometimes when we’re together I get the feeling she likes me too but is afraid. I don’t want her to be afraid. Like, I know she has plans and I’m not trying to mess those up, ya know.”

“Did you ever find out what she’s doing here?” Dune asked as he got up to tend to the whistling kettle.

“Our dads went to college together and when she decided to move out here to go to law school, Dad offered her a job.” Sailsighed. “Galvin’s trying to work and save all the money she can so she’s not struggling in school.”

“Where’s she going?” Caroline asked. She smiled at Dune as she accepted a cup of tea from him.

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