Page 5 of Riding the Tide

He ignored that for a moment, a very brief moment, they’d made eye contact. He could’ve sworn it… He shook his head at the crazy turn his thoughts took. Instead he looked at the drink he held in his hand.

Hmm. Maybe it was a little stronger than he was normally used to? He shrugged. That made just as much sense as him thinking the dolphin threw down a dare. The dolphins swam away from the boat but didn’t go far. Instead they frolicked in the water.

Odd. It was almost as if they were pacing the boat. They would swim away, play around, then dart back to where he stood. Was this normal dolphin behavior? He didn’t know. He didn’t really know that much about them except for they were smart.

They swam back at him, whistling. He swore they were trying to get his attention. They would shake their head, almost as if they were gesturing for him to come on in. Yeah, definitely strange.

But he’d seen things far stranger. He’d traveled, and some of the places he ended up were most definitely off the beaten path. Many things he’d seen couldn’t be explained. Many scared the crap out of him, too. He came back to the States knowing there were beings who were more than human.

He kept those beliefs to himself; otherwise people looked at him as if he was nuts. Of course, being eccentric kind of went with having money—it was almost a requirement. His gaze traveled over the water looking for the dolphins.

He was so glad he came outside. It would’ve been a shame to miss this and… he frowned at the water, then squinted, trying to see better. Beyond the dolphins there was… whatwasthat? His hand tightened on the glass he held. Shit, did someone spike his drink?

But no, that couldn’t be. He didn’t feel odd or sick. He felt totally fine—normal, which wasn’t saying much, but still. So why was he certain there was somebody out there, bobbing in the water?

He hurried up to the very top level of the boat. Up here he could see better. He stared at the spot where he swore he saw… yup. His rational mind told him he was an idiot, but it was kind of hard to ignore what he saw with his eyes. Therewassomebody out there. In fact, he was so sure of it, he’d bet half his rather fat stock portfolio.

Yes, he was that sure.

What was somebody doing this far out? Could it be a surfer sitting on his board? No, they didn’t seem to be sitting that high out of the water, but it was kind of hard to tell. But a surfer didn’t make sense either. There were no waves right now. So were they in trouble?

He strained his eyes trying to get a better look at whoever was floating around out there. He didn’t think they were in trouble—there was no thrashing or flailing. Most people didn’t drown quietly, right? Plus, whoever it was wasn’t yelling for help. No, they just bobbed in the damn water, not doing anything.

Suddenly the hair on his neck stood up.

He shivered in the tropical night breeze as the eerie feeling of being watched nailed him straight between the shoulder blades. Why hadn’t he noticed how desolated and dark it was here?Go in. Get inside. Now! In! In! In!The primitive side of his brain urged him to get his ass back inside—to get away from the railing. There were people inside. He’d be safe.

And he was hard as a brick, too.

His heart stuttered then commenced pounding. Now, why did he think that? He tried to swallow, but suddenly his mouth was drier than the desert—which was hysterical, considering he was surrounded by nothing but water.

“What the fuck?” Blair whispered.

Then just like that, the figure was gone. Vanished.

Blair actually gasped out loud. A sudden cold sensation overcame him, and he shivered in the warm air. He clutched the railing, his knuckles turning white. Okay, okay, shit. Maybe he was wrong and the personhadbeen in trouble.

Dear God, had he watched someone drown? But no, everything inside him said that wasn’t correct. He didn’t know what the hell he saw, but it wasn’t a drowning. He stood staring out at the water from the railing, searching the waves desperately.

“There’s nothing out there. Maybe it was a trick of the moonlight.” Blair nodded, as if that settled the whole matter. “Moonlight. Nothing but the moonlight. Certainly no person.”

The band picked then to start playing. Blair flinched then glanced back over his shoulder. The boat lurched, he stumbled, and then dropped his drink into the water.

“Oh, come on.” Didn’t that just figure? He wished he never stepped foot on this boat. Now that his breathing calmed somewhat, he began to question his foolish reaction.

Of coursethere was nothing out there. He’d freaked himself out for nothing. Jeez. Maybe the first thing he needed to do when he got home was visit the eye doctor, because obviously he was seeing things.

As he turned away from the railing, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. His heart rate spiked as he spun back. One of the dolphins whistled. Out there in the distance something answered, a sharp trilling sound. Only the answering trill didn’t sound like the dolphin.

And then even the dolphins disappeared.

As he glared out over the moonlit ocean, he swore he saw a huge tail slap the surface of the water… right where he thought he saw somebody.Exactlywhere he thought he saw that person. Unnerved, he turned away from the railing. Enough was enough. Time to take his ass back inside… just as soon as he got around the couple standing near him. What now?

“Where the hell did you disappear to, Gerry?”

Blair faltered. A guy and his date were squared off. Oh man, he so did not need to witness something like this. Maybe he could slip past them.

“I went to the bathroom. That’s all I did!”

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