Page 4 of Waylaid in Whittier

“I think you hurt her feelings,” Cat said.

“I thought I was very polite and calmly explained my position to her.”

“It was going okay until you told her pre-planning would have been the considerate thing to do,” Millie said.

“Great.” Sharky set his phone on the desk. “I feel bad now. I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings.”

Annette patted his shoulder. “She strikes me as the kind of person who is willing to forgive and forget. Give her a little time to calm down and then call her back. I’m sure by the time we reach Whittier, you two will have worked things out.”

Sharky brightened. “You’re right. I’ll get ahold of her later and apologize. Hopefully, she’ll realize what I said was true.”

Millie offered him an encouraging smile and wished him luck. “I’m with Annette. I think she’ll come around.”

“Thanks for the pep talk and advice. I’m confident we’ll iron this out.”

Millie followed Annette and Cat into the hallway. She waited until they were a safe distance away to talk. “Well? What do you think about having Elvira back on board Siren of the Seas?”

“If it’s anything like the last time she was on the ship, Sharky’s gonna have his hands full,” Annette said. “To be honest, I’m surprised the woman is brave enough to hang out with rough and tumble mining guys. If you ask me, putting yourself in that type of situation is asking for trouble.”

Millie couldn’t agree more. Little did she know Annette’s statement was a foreboding of what would lie ahead for Elvira Cobb.

Chapter 2

“Millie, do you copy?”

Millie unclipped her radio from her belt. “Go ahead, Andy.”

“Where are you?”

“Scout and I are getting ready to make our rounds.”

“Perfect. Meet me up in the spa. Bring your raincoat.”

“My raincoat?”

“Remember the special project I told you I was working on?”

“How could I forget?” For weeks now, her former boss, now in charge of fun and funds aboard the cruise ship, had been working on a super-secret special project. It was so super-secret that even his wife Cat, who was also Millie’s close friend, had no idea what it was.

“It’s ready, and you’re going to be the first person to test it out.”

“Should I be scared?” she joked.

“Scared? Of course not. It’ll be fun.”

Millie promised she was on her way, grabbed her raincoat and wheeled Scout’s stroller out of their apartment.

Nic, the ship’s captain and Millie’s husband, caught her eye and made his way across the bridge. “You and Scout are heading out?”

“To make our rounds.” She told him her first stop was to meet Andy up in the spa. “He’s showing me the project he’s been working on.”

“It’s creative. I only hope the time and work he’s put into it are worth the effort.” Nic glanced at the clock. “I’ll catch up with you in a minute.”

“You’re checking it out too?”

“I am.”

“See you in a few.” Millie gave him a quick peck on the cheek and stepped off the bridge. Taking the side stairs, she and her miniature Yorkie reached the spa deck in no time.

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