Page 69 of The Best Wild Idea
“You’ll be fine,” Silas assures me. “I’ve got you.”
“What type of boat did Monica rent for us?” I ask, looking around the huge array of sailboats and yachts lined up. There’s every type of vessel you can imagine.
“Monica didn’t rent us a boat,” he says, walking with a purpose, like he knows exactly where to go.
“Should we go find a counter to rent one then?” I ask, looking around for someone who might work here.
Silas walks right toward two men wearing matching white-and-blue striped polos with white hats, stepping off the most beautiful boat in the harbor. It reminds me of his plane, all polished wood with sleek, masculine lines.
“Good morning, sir,” one says.
“She’s ready for you,” the other adds, stepping onto the dock.
She?
“Thanks, guys,” Silas says, swapping places with them.
“Safe travels, Miss Hart, Mr. Davenport,” they say in unison as they walk past us toward the parking lot.
“Thank you?” I mumble like it’s a question.
“This is it!” Silas says, turning to hold a hand out to me. I let him help me step on.
“This?” I ask, looking down the long exterior of the ship. “Are they coming back to help? Where are they going?” The two men continue to walk down the dock away from us. This boat has to be at least thirty feet long. Maybe forty.
“I always sail her alone,” Si tells me while starting to inspect whatever roping system those two men just finished tying up.
“Right,” I say, sinking down into a cushy captain’s chair, right next to a giant pronged steering wheel, feeling intimidated. “What were they doing out here on the boat then?”
“Getting her ready. It’s been a few months since I was here, so I had them freshen things up a bit. Make sure she was in top shape to sail today.”
“You’ve already been here?”
He nods.
“Alone?” I press, trying to imagine Silas coming all the way to Spain by himself to sail a boat out of this very harbor.
He nods again, this time with a grin, before going back to testing various ropes around the boat’s perimeter.
“So, you flew those two guys out just to prep the boat?” I guess. “Just like the mechanic you flew out to Switzerland for the plane check?” Instead of annoyed, I feel touched by his attention to safety and detail regarding everything we’ve done so far. Admittedly, it’s a different feeling than I first felt when he’d let me in on his safety scope.
He pulls a coil of rope off the deck and starts untying us from the dock.
“I don’t take any unnecessary chances. Not anymore,” he says, looking focused as he kneels down to untie another long rope. The cuff of his white sleeves tighten around his biceps as he expertly works the thick coils between his hands.
I blink, unsure of what to expect with just Silas and me out on open water. But we’re already drifting backward, out into the sea, as he mans the small outboard motor at the back of the ship to get us out of dock. And just like that, for better or for worse, we’re sailing.
Chapter 32
As we slowly make our way out to open water, Silas tosses a thin lifejacket to me. I tuck it behind my feet, down under my seat, but he glares at me long enough that I finally pull it over my shoulders and clip the front.
“I’m not going to need this, am I?” I ask.
“I don’t know how good of a swimmer you are,” he says, winking.
I scold my stomach for twisting at that. Of course he’s kidding.
He has to be kidding.
