Page 21 of Butterflies and Hazel Eyes
“I bet things change on this lake almost every ti—”
The engine made a hiss and apop,and the boat jerked suddenly. When smoke billowed out from under the black motor cover, Gulliver flew into action, turned the key off, and grabbed a fire extinguisher. Before he could say anything, flames shot from the motor, and the smell of burning plastic filled our nostrils. He unloaded the fire extinguisher onto the motor, the stream of powder putting the flames out immediately, but he gave it a couple of extra shots while I steadied him with my hands on his waist.
“What happened?” I asked, my voice trembling and my heart pounding. “Why on earth did it just erupt into flames.”
Gulliver set the fire extinguisher down and wiped his hand across his forehead. “Major motor failure, apparently. We’re not going anywhere without a tow.” He grabbed a towel from the chair and wiped off the top of the motor, then used the towel to work the motor cover off to the side. It didn’t come off as much as it just melted off and onto the deck. “Hard to tell what’s wrong with it now that it was on fire. Looks like all the electronics are fried for sure. Also, where is the oil cap?” he asked, pointing at the hole on the motor.
“I have no idea, but we have to make a decision here, Gulliver,” I said, my head tipping toward the setting sun. The moon was rising already, and now we were stuck in the middle of the lake. “What are we going to do? It’s not safe to be out here in the dark.”
Gulliver spun around carefully and took my shoulders in his hands. “We’re going to throw the trolling motor in the water and get ourselves to shore. We’re not so far out from Hermit Island that we can’t beach the boat there and wait for help. The area around this island is filled with brownstone from the quarry that used to be here, so we have to be careful. We can’t risk putting a hole in the hull of the boat.”
I lowered myself to the seat and grabbed hold of Mojo so he didn’t make any sudden moves. “What do we do when we get to shore?”
After Gulliver hooked up the trolling motor and dropped it into the water to counteract the wind, he answered. “The first thing we do is see if we can get a signal out here and call Laverne.”
“What if we can’t get a signal?” I asked, working my phone from my pocket with one hand while my other held on to Mojo.
“We’ll make a pan-pan call, but I’d rather get help from Laverne if we can,” he said.
“What’s a pan-pan call?” I asked with curiosity. “I’ve never been boating before.”
“It’s like a mayday call but less urgent,” he explained while he patiently steered us toward shore. “It would alert anyone in the area that we’re in trouble and need help. I don’t want to do that unless we have to, and not until daylight. This area is too rocky to approach in the dark for a boat any bigger than the one we are in.”
I checked my phone and frowned. “Nothing. No bars.” I sighed, figuring it would be way too easy to have cell coverage in the middle of Lake Superior.
“We’ll try again once we’re safely on shore,” he said tightly, his body rigid as he concentrated on the job at hand.
We’d be okay. It was summer, and with a good fire, Mojo by our sides, and a cooler full of food and water, we were doing nothing more than camping out under the stars. The getting-stranded part didn’t bother me as much as the getting-stranded-with-him part did. I’ve never enjoyed spending time with someone the way I enjoyed it with Gulliver. Spending an entire night with him in such an intimate setting might cause feelings to lodge even deeper in places they shouldn’t. He was ensconced in Plentiful with a business, friends, and a reason to stay.
I only had one certainty in life right now, and that was my dream job waiting for me a few states away. I wasn’t ensconced in Plentiful and only had one reason to stay. Gulliver. He was uncharted waters. He was everything I’d avoided the last six years. Stability. Companionship. Roots.
No. This was never going to work.
“Grab the paddle. Another few hundred feet and I’ll have to pull this motor up too. There are too many rocks. We’ll use the paddle to get us up onto the sand. Beaching the boat onshore will give us shelter if it rains.”
“Why can’t we just leave it anchored in the water?” I asked, working at getting the paddle out of the holder on the side of the boat.
“If a strong gale comes up, the boat will bang against the rocks on the bottom until there’s a hole,” he explained patiently.
I sighed and held the paddle up. “I get it, but I’m not sure I can do anything with this. It’s bigger than I am.”
Gulliver snorted with laughter and locked the now dripping trolling motor up on the side of the boat. “I’m going to do it, and you’re going to steady me,” he explained. Once he was in position next to the driver’s seat, I grasped his waist, and he paddled the huge boat closer to shore. He had a trajectory in mind, and I didn’t say a word to keep from breaking his concentration. The water was clear as we neared the shore, and you could see several large rocks we would have to avoid or they would take out the entire bottom of the boat. He used the paddle to brace against the flat rocks on the bottom to avoid the sharp, jagged ones surrounding us. He managed to slip the boat between the dangerous rocks and shove the front half up on the shore.
“We’re going to throw the anchor line into the brush,” he said, pointing straight ahead into the fading light. “Just an extra precaution in case the wind does pick up tonight.”
“Let’s check and make sure the motor isn’t smoldering before we leave the boat,” I suggested, pointing to the back.
Gulliver grabbed a flashlight, and we both walked to the back where he shone the light over the engine. “It’s still odd that the oil cap is missing. I don’t think Laverne would send us out here if the motor wasn’t running properly. Besides, it ran fine all the way to the island.” He dropped the flashlight to his side and turned to me. “There’s nothing we can do to fix it now, I guess. We need to get set up for the night and try to reach someone to tow us out in the morning. Chances are, if we can’t reach Laverne and she notices we aren’t back, she’ll send out a search party.”
I nodded once and leaned over the edge of the boat to inspect the terrain. “This isn’t good, Gulliver. Now I see why Laverne told me to avoid the smaller islands. She said it would be too difficult for you to navigate them without a dock. I’m not sure how I’m going to get onto the sand either,” I fretted.
“I’m not incapable, Charity!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “It might appear I am, but I can manage to get us in and out of a damn boat without dying. Laverne worries too much, and so do you,” he said, slamming the bench down on the back of the boat. He’d yanked out a couple of bundles from inside it and rolled them toward the front of the boat. In his anger, he flipped on all the lights, then tossed everything onto the sand. After everything was safely on land but us, he stood up and brushed off his hands.
“Can Mojo swim?” Gulliver asked, his tone short and clipped. “I’m assuming you can’t lift him.”
I laughed sarcastically. “He weighs more than I do, Gulliver, but yes, he can swim.”
He pointed to the back of the boat. “I’m going to put him in the water and get him to swim to shore once you’re waiting on the beach. It’s the only way.”
