Page 56 of Priceless
When we reached the deck, I let go of his hand and hoped he hadn’t noticed how badly I was shaking. Then I tried to laugh it off. “I’ve never walked the plank before.”
He grinned. “Ye did fine.”
“Let’s hope that lasts. Pirates don’t come this way, do they?”
He moved to the back of the boat to store the cooler. Jess pointed to some leather seats on the far side, under a hard canopy, and I tried to act casual as I picked my way to them. With four of us moving in different directions, the boat swayed just enough to let me know I was no longer on solid ground. Not too bad.
I didn’t want to look at the water, so I watched the dock. Narrow rays of sunlight peeked through the clouds and lit up a row of warehouses bobbing a few hundred yards away. But it wasn’t them bobbing…
This won’t take all day. And I’ll be with Jacob—definitely where I want to be.
Definitely.
I was tempted to take out my phone and do all my complaining to Jocko, but if something happened and my phonewent in the water, I wouldn’t be going after it. Better to keep it stowed in my bag.
Jacob found me again and smiled, but there was a crease between his brows that hadn’t been there before. “All right?”
I smiled and nodded like the lovesick puppy I was. I wanted him to enjoy the day without worrying about me, which meant I’d have to do a better job of hiding my terror.
Jess finished consulting with a man standing at the wheel and came down a small set of steps to sit with us. She took one look at my face and laughed. “Ye can always tell a new sailor by how they breathe. Short and fast, like they’re runnin’.”
I forced a longer breath in, then out, then in again before I gave up.
Banner threw off the ropes keeping us put, and the engine came to life somewhere below my feet. This was it. We were going to risk our lives out on the water now. They’d all done it dozens of times before. No reason to think this wouldn’t be just another successful trip.
No reason at all.
We slowly moved away from the dock and putted along through the harbor. The taste of the air changed. Fresher now, with just a hint of fuel from boats that had passed this way before us.
“Hold here,” Jacob said, guiding my hand to a shiny bit of rail behind us. “Keep yer eyes on the horizon. It will help.”
“I’m fine,” I said.
He didn’t argue but he did scoot close behind me. The heat of him slowly seeped through my coat and helped me relax a little.
Something rose above the water not ten feet away, and I nearly screamed.
A head the size of a pumpkin bobbed along with us—brown slicked fur, whiskers splayed like white wires, eyes dark andcurious. It was just a seal. Not black and white and calledkiller, not grey and sneaky with a fin on its back.
Jess laughed. “Today’s harbormaster.”
The seal kept pace, kept watching me. I concentrated on my breathing, knowing Jacob could feel it if I tensed. But thanks to my imagination, I knew this sucker wasn’t alone. I knew there were more things down there, maybe sliding along beneath us even now!
The seal sneezed, dipped under, and was gone.
“You okay?” Jess asked, honestly concerned.
“Fine,” I said, and found a small smile. “Just…soaking it all in.”
Jacob’s hand brushed my knuckles where they rested on the rail. Not an accident; not a grab. Just a touch that saidYou’re not alone, then it was gone. A person could get addicted to that.
“Right,” Banner said as he joined us, then waved toward the man at the wheel. “I would have taken ye out myself, but we brought Mason along instead. And lucky I did…so I wouldn’t miss the sight of yer woman turnin’ green. Maybe a bit of food will help, aye?”
Jacob jumped up and retrieved our breakfast just as we left the harbor behind us. I was grateful for the distraction, and it gave me an excuse to keep my attention inside the boat as the engine shifted and we sped up.
“Time to fortify.” He handed a small paper-wrapped pie to Jess, then Banner, then pressed one into my hand. I opened it and was instantly hungry. Warm crust flaked against my fingers. Steam rose with the mouthwatering smell of what they called back-bacon, plus eggs and cheese and herbs I wasn’t familiar with.
While we munched away, the Moray Firth turned into a wide gray-blue corridor edged with low cliffs topped with bluish-gray sky. Wind found my face, cooled my panic, and kept my eyes dry.
