Page 14 of Too Far To Sea
“Next nosey question. You are part of the big bridal party. Why aren’t you with them?”
“Tonight? They are in the casino. I’d rather go put my foot up and read. My sister urged me to go. She’s a good kid.”
“But?”
“My mother is the Motherzilla-of-the-bride.” The nickname wasn’t a bad replacement for Momster.
“Motherzilla? Is that like Godzilla?”
“Something like that. In case you haven’t guessed, I am not the favorite child.”
“Why is that?”
“I was four when Dad came home from deployment. I mentioned I loved him more than my other ‘daddy’… the divorce was completed before he served ten years, which makes a big difference in the alimony. When I was ten, I fought for a change of custody so I could go live with him. I spent as little time as possible after that with my mother and Mitchell. Cheyanne and I have only gotten to know each other these last four years.”
McKay’s respect for her grew. It couldn’t have been easy standing up to family at such a young age. “That is an interesting dynamic.”
“My Dad is great. He retired from the military and took a job as a policeman in the town where my Mother lives just to be near me. He never missed a single school event, or anything.”
“And your Mother did?”
She shrugged a shoulder and looked out to sea again.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to—” McKay stepped back both emotionally and physically. He should go. He was on duty and any justification that this conversation was a soft interrogation was flimsy at least.
Miss Knight shrugged. “Most lives are complicated, aren’t they? Sorry, I shouldn’t have told you all of that.”
“Sometimes talking to a stranger is better than therapy.”
For a moment, they sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts as they watched the sun disappear below the horizon.
McKay found himself wanting to tell her about his mother’s illness, about why he was really leaving the ship. Something about Dana Knight made him want to open up, and that was exactly why he needed to maintain his distance.
“Officer Worth,” she began hesitantly. “I just wanted to say thank you. For your kindness today. You could have tossed me overboard.”
McKay chuckled. “We usually ask people to walk the plank, but when I saw those crutches, well I didn’t have the heart to.”
As darkness settled around them, the ship’s lights twinkled like stars against the inky sky.
“It’s so peaceful out here.” She rubbed her arms, calming a shiver. “Hard to believe we’re on a giant ship with thousands of people when it feels this serene.”
McKay nodded, also taking in the magnificent scene. “It’s one of my favorite parts of working on a cruise. No matter how hectic the day is, I know I can come out here and just watch the sunset and relax.”
The way the fading light illuminated Miss Knight’s face, even exhausted from a long day and hobbling around on crutches, radiated something special. A beauty he couldn’t let get under his skin. “Back home, I’m lucky to get a chance to catch a sunset over the cornfields. This definitely beats Indiana.”
Miss Knight laughed, her nose wrinkling up in amusement. “Chicago sunsets have their appeal too, when you can actually see the sky through all the buildings. But this is pretty hard to beat.”
They stood for a minute longer, the silence comfortable between them.
“I should go. My ice should be in my room by now and I need to get my foot back up.”
“May I walk you back? I wouldn’t want you to fall again.”
She stood balanced on the crutches he handed her. “Oddly enough, the only times I’ve fallen or run into someone, you’ve been around.”
“Is that a no?”
She laughed, a clear, crisp sound. “I can’t really stop you, can I? But seeing that the boat is rocking more than when I came up. I can’t say I wouldn’t mind a spotter. If I injure myself again, my mother will start breathing fire.”
