Page 9 of Taming Waves

“I leave for Charlotte in the morning so I won’t be here for your first day, but if you need me, just call,” he says as he holds the door for me.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be fine.”

He nods.

“See you in a few weeks,” he says, then adds, “If Audrey doesn’t kill you.”

Parker

“Do you mind if I cut out early today?” I ask as Sebastian pilots the boat back toward the dock.

We were out in the ocean longer than expected due to rough water caused by a storm brewing down south. The passengers didn’t get as much fishing time as expected, but they caught a few decent-sized redfish and speckled trout, so everyone seemed happy and satisfied.

“You got a hot date?” he asks.

“I wish, but no. I’m working my first shift at Whiskey Joe’s tonight. Audrey wants me there at four, and I’d like to run to the office and take a quick shower.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem. Anson and I can wash down the boat, and I’ll call Dad to help the clients clean their catch. I’ll have Mom cash you out and leave your tips in the desk drawer. Swing by and grab it whenever.”

“Thank you, man.”

“You looking forward to it?” he asks.

“Working a second job? Not really, but I like helping Brew out,” I say.

“And you’ll get to spend an awful lot of time with Audrey.”

I nod. “That’s true. Hopefully, we both survive.”

“What exactly happened between you two in high school?” he asks.

“A lot. Some of it was amazing, and some of it was heavy as shit,” I say.

He looks up from the wheel and turns to face me. “How did I not know about the two of you if things were that serious?”

I shrug. “The only person who really knew was Anson, and that was only because he was our cover,” I admit.

“Cover?”

“Yeah, Anson and I worked for Audrey’s father that summer, remember?”

He leans back against the captain’s chair and mentally thumbs through his memories.

“The tugboat?” he asks.

“The tugboat,” I confirm.

Audrey’s father, Rand Fulbright, owns Sandcastle Cove Water Rescue, which provides boat maintenance and recovery services on and around the island. When Anson and I were in high school, we worked a summer with him on the tugboat and assisted in recovering vessels that had broken down on the water, either in the ocean or intracoastal. We’d haul them back to shore for the owners, and Rand would usually do the necessary repairs or handle the scrapping of the vessels.

“Audrey would drop into the office from time to time, and we struck up a friendship. Then, her visits became more frequent, and she started coming by to help with cleaning and paperwork. One evening, Rand caught us in the file room in a precarious state of undress. He lost his shit. I lost my job. Not that I could blame him. If I walked in on my sixteen-year-old daughter being felt up by a horny teenage boy, I’d lose my shit too.”

“Yikes,” Sebastian mutters.

“Yeah, yikes. I’d tried to keep my hands off—I really did—but there was just something about her. She was all red hair and fiery attitude, and I was a goner. After I was fired, we started sneaking around to see each other. We’d steal moments at school and after football games. She even snuck out of her bedroom window a couple of times, and we’d spend the night on a blanket out in the cove. Anson would cover for me with Mom when I lied about staying at his house, and he planted seeds in Rand’s head that I’d moved on to be with a cheerleader.”

I chuckle at the memory.

“So, what happened?”

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