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He gave a nod. “Tell Kit to stick close, just in case. And I’ll need you to meet us back at the harbour. I guess we’re going to have a busy afternoon.”
“Of course. I’ll see you back there.”
He moved quickly, sharing a relieved look with Kit as he held the boat steady for him to board.
“Well that was fun,” Kit said, sitting beside Lily and slinging an arm around her shoulders.
At the helm, the lifeboat volunteer who’s name Flynn hadn’t caught was quietly cheerful as he steered them towards St Mary’s along with the convoy of other boats – all of them sticking close to the yacht in case the sergeant and PC Hill needed assistance.
“Are you okay?” Flynn asked Lily from his place opposite her.
She nodded, but he could see her teeth were chattering and moved to shrug his jacket off for her.
Kit got there first, giving her his hoodie, then keeping an arm around her shoulders. When she leaned into him, Flynn’s chest tightened. It wasn’t as though he thought there was anything more than friendship between them, but even so, the jealousy was intense.
He kept his eyes on Lily as the boat skipped gently over waves – only occasionally glancing away to catch the sergeant’s eye and confirm that everything was under control. Lily didn’t look at him the whole way back. Most of the time she kept her eyes closed as she shivered by Kit’s side.
Kit, who usually talked incessantly, remained quiet and exchanged a worried glance with Flynn once or twice.
“I think she’s in shock,” Kit said as they stood on the jetty together, waiting for the yacht which was arriving just behind them.
“I’m okay,” Lily said through chattering teeth. “I just need to get home.”
“I have to help the sergeant,” Flynn said, directing the words at Kit. “Can you stay with her and make sure she’s okay?”
“Of course,” Kit said.
It was a worrying sign that Lily didn’t complain about them fussing over her.
“Come on,” Kit said. “Let’s get you home.”
She nodded and finally looked up at Flynn. Her lips parted, but she closed her mouth again and swallowed hard. “Thank you for coming to get me.”
He shook his head – her gratitude both unwanted and unwarranted. In what world wouldn’t he start running if he thought she was in trouble?
“I’ll come over after work,” he said.
“You don’t need to.” She sniffed and wiped her knuckle under her nose. “I’ll be all right.”
“I want to.”
She didn’t object, just shrugged and turned away. Kit stayed close by her as they walked along the jetty and up the harbour steps. At the top, Seren was waiting and wrapped Lily in a prolonged hug. When they set off again, with Kit and Seren flanking Lily protectively, Flynn felt another stab of jealousy.
While he was happy that Lily had people looking after her, he couldn’t help but wish it was him who got to take care of her.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
With so much going onat the station, the afternoon flew by. As busy as he was, Flynn still spent an inordinate amount of time with his thoughts on Lily. As soon as the sergeant told him he could leave for the day, all he could think about was checking on her.
After nipping home for a speedy shower and change, he headed out again. He should never have agreed when Lily had asked for space. Not without explaining everything properly.
Maybe a bit of Dutch courage would be useful before that conversation. At the Mermaid Inn, he found Seren chatting to Noah Treneary on the street outside.
Before he could even say hello, Seren held up a finger to silence him, then continued speaking to Noah in an unnecessarily loud voice.
“Do you know tall Sean who works at the hotel?”
Noah scrunched his features up, apparently as confused by Seren’s odd behaviour as Flynn was. “Sean who we went to school with?”