Page 37 of Sail Away with Me

“Radio if you see something and I’ll divert as best possible.”

“What a shit show.”

“Yep,” Dune said.

Sail shook his head. “Wanna start some trouble.”

“As long as it’s good trouble, I’m in. Honestly, I think Dad will be in as well. This shit has got to stop. We’ve never had this many deaths.”

The brothers high-fived, and then set out to continue readying their boat for the day. When the first passenger stepped on board, Sail greeted them with a smile and welcomed them to Blue Lobster Adventures whale watch. He warned them they were going to get wet and if they wanted to stay dry, they needed to move inside.

As expected, everyone stayed outside and had their phone ready to capture the majestic beauty of a breaching whale.

galvin

. . .

Galvin clocked out, untied her apron, tossed it into the laundry bin, saw that it was full, and started a load of wash. She hollered to Andy, letting him know she started the washer, and reminded him she was leaving for the night.

Her mind was on the long, hot shower waiting for her upstairs as she walked toward the backdoor. She’d agreed to dessert with Sail, even though fear and question plagued her decision. Galvin liked Sail. More than she should. The smart thing was to remind him they would only ever be friends, and his romantic gestures—whether he meant them to be romantic or not—should stop.

Except, he made her insides feel mushy and lovestruck. Somehow, he’d softened the hard stance she’d taken when they first met and despite trying to keep a wall between them, the foundation began to crumble.

Galvin had never been so torn on what to do before. Mostly, she made a decision—especially one involving her life—and stuck to it. But Sail whittled away at her defenses and thoughts of giving him a chance were like a siren’s song—pulling her under his spell.

She pushed opened the door and stop dead. Sail sat at the picnic table with his head bent toward a stack of papers. He looked focused. Determined. And he muttered to himself.

“Hey,” she said, testing the waters so to speak, but also to alert him to her presence before the door behind her slammed shut.

Sail sat up straight and glanced at her. A slow smile spread across his lips, but didn’t meet his eyes. Galvin sensed something was off and then chided herself for knowing this. This wasn’t how someone kept their wall up.

“What’s wrong?” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, and her feet seemed to move on their own volition toward the table.

“Nothing and yet, everything,” Sail said.

Galvin’s heart sank even as she reminded herself, they were only friends.

“Oh?” her voice cracked.

Sail nodded. “It’s work stuff.” He looked down at the papers. “Well, mostly Seaport stuff.”

“Are a band of pirates heading this way?” The joke was meant to be funny but missed the mark. She found herself sitting down instead of heading to her apartment for the shower she desperately wanted.

Sail cracked a smile and nodded. “Pretty much seems like they’re pirates.” He turned the papers toward her. “Remember when I asked you what kind of law you wanted to practice?”

Galvin nodded and picked the stack of papers up. She began reading but was confused. “What’s all this?”

“A pile of articles I printed off the web after work. The fine people of Seaport—and I do believe of Rhode Island and some of Massachusetts—are certain the wind towers going in off the coast are killing the sea animals. This morning, four dolphins were found dead not far from my parent’s property.”

“That’s so sad.”

“It’s devastating,” Sail said. “The water is their home and all the drilling—whales and dolphins use sonar—the drilling has to be messing with their minds.”

Galvin handed the articles back to Sail. “I know one of the professors teaches a course on water rights. Maybe it’s something I can explore.”

“Maybe,” he said frowning down at the articles. “People with big money cause big problems, and no one ever has to pay for their consequences.”

Galvin reached across the table and set her hand on top of his. She gave it a squeeze and in doing so, he looked up at her. Without missing a beat, he maneuvered his hand to hold hers.

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