Page 19

Chapter 19

Luxury Liner

Calvin

It’s drizzling outside, like it does a lot of mornings. But damn, it’s nice to have a roof over our heads. It’s like every other day, but it’s not. Through the mosquito netting, dappled light fights to break into our treehouse. The weak sunbeams play with the golden tones in Haley’s hair. There’s probably a rainbow out there. I should get up, but I’ve got a few more minutes before I have to. High tide can wait—Chiefie’s head is on my shoulder, her warm body curled against my side. Zane’s hand cradles her waist.

Down by the stove, Dante lightly whistles under his breath. I don’t think he even knows he’s doing it. Things are clinking. The stove opens and closes with a loud squeak. I need to remember to grab oil from the Rock Candy.

Zane slowly lifts his hand off Haley.

“I’m not asleep,” her groggy voice huffs into my chest.

“You sure about that, Chiefie? You sound like you’re talking in your sleep.”

“I don’t talk in my sleep.”

Zane laughs.

“Wait? Do I?” She’s awake now.

“No. You’re good, Little Bird. It’s not full-on talking. It’s more mumbling. You’re proper adorable, Haley. No worries.”

She lifts her head, staring at my arm. “And I drool?” She wipes at the wet patch.

But I catch her and roll her on top of me. “I like your drool. I like everything about you. Because I love you.” I reach up and take her lips in mine before she can respond. I don’t need her to say it. She loves me and the rest of us losers too. She’ll get there; the whole Sam thing has thrown her for a loop. I’m not worried. This isn’t like my brother Jared and Trisha. Haley isn’t anything like Trisha, and this whole thing is completely different.

“Calvin?” She sits up, straddling me, and I’ve completely forgotten all that had me worried in the first place.

“Chiefie?”

“You’re thinking about the Rock Candy, aren’t you? You get that gleam in your eye when you’re trying to solve a problem.” She pats my chest, but I take her hand and move it lower to my morning wood.

Zane clears his throat. “I’m all for a little more fun, but the sun is coming up and it’s almost high tide. We should get going.” He digs around next to the mattress until he finds his crew hoodie. He holds it to his nose, breathing in. “Who would have thought that smelling mostly clean laundry could develop into an addiction?”

Haley kisses the tip of my nose. “Not me.” She smiles. “I guess we should get going.”

“We?” Zane asks.

“Yeah, aren’t we all going to the Rock Candy today?”

“Hmm,” Easton says from the platform below. “Is there room for all of us? Maybe you and I should stay here, Firefly.”

Haley pivots back to me. “Why? A tender like that can take five guests to the dock.”

“Yeah, but if we want to bring more stuff back...” Zane scrubs his hand down his chin.

“I need more spices, my large skillet, and bowls,” Dante yells up. “Oh, fuck we had a gross of eggs on board. They should still be good. I’d kill for an omelet. Fuck, olive oil. I can’t forget the olive oil.”

“Dante’s going?” Haley’s voice cracks.

“I can stay,” Easton calls up. “Haley can go.”

“No, we should all go.” Haley’s crawling around on the mattress looking for her clothes, and I sit up.

Zane finds them from the other side of the platform and hands them to her. She stabs her legs into her leggings and zips up her crew jacket, shoving her bra and a T-shirt into her pocket with so much force the zipper slides down to her bellybutton. Damn, it’s a cute bellybutton. Sure, she was just walking around naked, but I’m not the only one staring. I’m even harder and she’s put more clothes on. It’s wacky.

Easton’s standing on the ladder, his head a foot above the platform. “It’s fine, Haley. I’ll stay here and keep the stove going for dinner. We need more firewood anyway.”

Now Rockwell becomes reasonable? What the hell?

“I can get my pots another day,” Dante yells.

What has gotten into them? Or I guess what has gotten into me? I don’t want her going. The less time around Sam, the better. Even though I know he’s not like Jared and she’s not like Trisha.

“If it’s not too rough, we can blow up one of the towable tubes,” Zane says. “We won’t be going fast, and we can strap things down. Or someone can ride on it wearing a life vest, of course.”

“Sure, that will work. Guess we’re all going to the Rock Candy.” I see it now. Me wanting her to stay is irrational.

“First you eat,” Dante calls up.

* * *

I t’s a good forty minutes past sunrise when we’re finally pushing off our little beach. Pepper trots down the path and jumps on the big rock. She mews loudly.

Haley shifts in her seat. “Oh, maybe I should stay. Pepper will be lonely.”

“I left her enough fish for lunch and dinner, Sassy. She’ll be fine, and you know I would miss you more.”

“You are going to be far too busy gathering all your pots,” Zane says.

Dante makes a noise that’s in agreement. “But I’d miss you in here, Sassy.” He puts his hand over his heart and slides it south.

She playfully slaps his knee as I’m getting us out of the breakers. “I do wonder what Pepper is going to think of Penny, though. When they finally meet.” Haley hooks her arm over Dante’s leg and sets her hand on my bare foot.

Easton twists back to the chef. “Breakfast was really good, Dante.”

“Thanks.” He salutes.

“It was amazing.” Haley pats her belly, and I miss the touch of her hand.

“Anything for you, Sassy. But it’s the spices. We’ve been eating like a backwoods New Englander with our food just salted.”

“It was still good.”

“Fresh is always best, Sassy.” He pulls on her so her back rests against his chest. He tilts the side of her head and kisses her ear.

It’s a perfect day to be out on the water. The drizzle has stopped. I worried what it would be like next to the cliff, but it’s not too rough, and the tender cuts through what little chop there is.

“I didn’t think I would ever want to get in a small boat again after the raft, but this is kind of fun.” Haley reaches back, touching me again. “You doing okay? Running over your plan of what to investigate first?”

“Yeah, you called it, Chiefie.” Because that’s exactly what I should be doing, not thinking about the conversation Sam and her are going to have when they finally get to be alone. What the hell am I going to tackle first? The wiring looks like cut spaghetti. The engines first. Damn, I hope they didn’t do anything to the engines. But whoever did this had it planned out. Those stickers were diabolical. How the hell did they have them? I’ve gone over and over this so many times. At one point, I convinced myself that it was someone who just went crazy, like Candy, and they decided to take us all down with them. But making stickers and moving water from one tank to the next... Yeah, the best thing is to keep an open mind, let the evidence point to who did it. Hopefully that will help me undo what they’ve done.

The tender edges around the cliff, into the cove. Dante, Haley, and Easton cheer. I catch Zane’s eye. Fuck, it isn’t going to be easy keeping the truth from them—about how bad the Rock Candy is or the level of sabotage.

Haley looks up at me. “I know; she’s a hot mess, but she’s our hot mess.”

“Just like you, Sassy.” Dante’s deep laugh carries on the waves, and Sam’s head pops up from the back sundeck. “ That he hears? But me singing for hours on end, nothing.” He laughs again.

Haley rights herself in her seat, leaning forward. Maybe it’s for docking and prepping, getting off the tender. But more likely it’s so Sam doesn’t see her touching me or the other guys.

I pilot closer, shooting wide and turning back to the swim deck. Sam’s there wearing a crisp white polo—but then we all are looking and smelling better than we have in weeks. Penny’s beside him. She sits back on her haunches and howls.

Haley laughs.

And damn, I can’t help but smile on the outside. We are far from out of the woods. Really, we’re in the eye of the storm—it feels calm, good, but shit is going to happen on the other side. The other side of the storm holds the power.

Sam holds his hand out, and Zane tosses the rope like the pro he is. He hops out and helps Sam tie us up tight. There’s enough water now that the inflatable isn’t in danger of getting ripped open by the reef. But low tide? I look over the edge into the crystal-clear water and at the reef below. Yeah, later we’ll have to muscle the inflatable into the toy hauler space.

I’m the last one to step out onto the swim platform. Sam has a tray of drinks, and Haley’s laughing.

“It’s boxed orange juice, but I thought we needed a toast.” Sam holds it out for me to take one. That’s when I see the second tray.

“Towel?” Easton offers me one, a smirk on his lips.

“I’m good.” But I shake my head and take one. Damn, it does feel nice to wash my hands and face.

Sam raises his glass. “To all of you. I’m glad we’ve found each other. I know together we’ll be able to work through our issues and find our way home.” Sam clinks his glass with Haley’s.

“Cheers!” Haley clinks back and does the same with the rest of us.

Sam goes around our circle too. When he gets to Dante, the chef cocks his eyebrow at him. I’m growling on the inside. Dante totally said something to Sam about what was going on back at camp. My eyes flick to Haley, but she hasn’t picked up on it.

I toss back the drink. It’s not cold, of course, but damn, it tastes like home. The sugar zings at the back of my tongue, and while we’ve been eating pomelos, this hits differently.

“Salut.” Dante drinks his and winks at me. That fucker; I’m not wrong. “I’ll be in the galley if anyone needs me. Sassy, come see me in a while.”

“I pulled a few tubs out of storage and left them there for you.” Sam places his glass on the tray.

“Thanks, Cap.” Dante slaps Sam on the back and jogs up the stairs. Penny follows. “Are you coming with me? Let’s see what’s left. I’m sure I can find a treat for you.”

“I guess I’ll...” Haley’s jaw drops, and she looks at me. “What can I do to help?”

“I don’t know yet, Chiefie. But there will be something. Why don’t you have a look around?” Preferably far away from Sam.

“Yeah, I’d like that. Come get me when you have something I can help with.” Haley’s hand twitches toward me, but then she pulls it back.

“Sam, Green, just let me know how I can help.” Easton sits on a chair in the toy hauler. It’s a hardback one. “Oh, my damn. Sit down. This is amazing.”

I’m cocking my head at him like a dog.

“No, seriously. Green, Firefly, just sit for a second.” He pulls another chair over. There’s a tackle kit next to it. Sam must be fishing out here. Zane has disappeared. “Two seconds. Tell me if this isn’t the most comfortable chair you’ve ever sat in, ever?”

I nod. “I’ll trust you on it.”

Rockwell has his eyes closed, his hands folded over his stomach. “I’m going to take ten minutes and just enjoy the beauty of a backrest.”

“There’s more comfortable?—”

“I’m not a guest, Firefly. You don’t have to take care of me.” He opens one eye and smiles. “I’ll be up to help in a minute. Promise.”

Haley nods and dashes up the stairs to the porch off the main salon. I start to follow her, but Sam steps in front of me. “Are you heading to the engine room first?”

“I thought I would.”

“I’ll bring the manuals and the flashlights down.” He takes off after Haley. I watch him vanish after her.

“You doing okay, Green?” Easton’s eyes are open.

“Yeah, peachy.” I head through the latched door in the back of the toy hauler room to the engine room.