Terrors of the High Seas.
Melissa Good.
Chapter.
One.
THE GOLF CART snaked its way down the sidewalk, startling several peac.o.c.ks on its way to the docks. It pulled to a halt next to the water, alongside a 54-foot Bertram bobbing in the light chop of the waves.
It was sunny but cool, a gorgeous crisp day, and the occupant of the cart paused to admire that fact as she got out and stretched.
Appropriate to the weather, she wore st.u.r.dy cotton shorts and a light tank top over a one-piece bathing suit. Her medium length, blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, currently poked through the rear of a bright blue baseball cap with a small, embroidered Dogbert on the front.
"Wow," Kerry Stuart stated with a grin. "Perfect weather."
She turned and hoisted a crate of supplies from the back seat of the cart, hugging it to her as she made her way up the gangway propped against the side of the Bertram. The boat rocked under her as she stepped off onto the deck, and she found herself rolling with the motion.
"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate"s life for me," Kerry warbled softly, nudging open the door to the cabin and stepping down inside. She crossed over to the small galley and put down the supplies, then busied herself tucking the fresh foods into the little refrigerator.
There was milk, cream for coffee, b.u.t.ter, and a nice piece of Swiss cheese along with honey ham for sandwiches. Peach and tangerine yogurt for snacks, and a dozen eggs for breakfast joined the store, followed by a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread and a box of frosted strawberry Pop Tarts. Kerry regarded the Pop Tarts bemusedly, and then tossed a package of miniature carrots in next to them. It was the last of the things they had to load before they set off, and she hummed as she worked, hardly believing it was finally the day they were leaving.
She"d tried to take off a few days before they went on this trip, but one thing after another kept happening at work, and finally it"d just been easier for her to go in and take care of stuff rather than let it sit and fester, or worse.
2*
But starting today, her office had strict orders that any call to her cell phone had to be in the event of a complete catastrophe; she was expecting her staff to handle everything else without her input.
It was, after all, the holidays, near the end of the year, and if there was any time she could just disappear for a week, this was it.
Kerry straightened and opened the cabinet above the refrigerator, stocking some essential groceries in it. "Can"t sail without these." She shook the box of Frosted Flakes gently. "Or those." Cans of soup followed, for quick snacks after night dives.
She tended to come up chilled, and the cold fruit Dar was partial to didn"t quite fill the bill for her.
The pop open cans of pineapple and oranges went up next to the soup, along with a couple of jars of jam and one large one of peanut b.u.t.ter.
Finished, she rested her elbows on the counter and gazed around the boat in appreciation. To one side there was a small eating area, a table with sea green and navy fabric seats semi- circling it. On the other side of the cabin was a working/living section with a television and VCR, and built in storage for their hobby gear. Her book bag was already nestled in one of the chairs- Kerry had decided to work on some longhand poetry on the trip- and Dar had stashed a painfully intricate ship model in a drawer to occupy her idle moments.
The boat rocked gently as a set of footsteps sounded on deck, soft and m.u.f.fled as though the newcomer was barefoot. Which, of course, she was.
Kerry glanced up as Dar entered the cabin, ducking her head to clear the low entrance and giving her a rakish grin as she tossed a duffel bag onto the table on the other side of the galley. Her partner was dressed in a pair of denim cutoffs that were just barely legal- there were more threads and rips than fabric-with a ribbed, white tank top tucked into them.
"Hey there, gorgeous," Kerry greeted Dar. "That the last of it?"
"Lock, stock, barrel and body wash," Dar confirmed. "We"re ready to take off outta here."
"Ooo..." Kerry did a little happy dance. "I am so ready for this."
Dar walked around the edge of the couch and encircled Kerry in her arms, then pulled her into a close hug. "Me too," she agreed.
"Mom and Dad are waiting for us to pull out. They"re going to pull into our slip while we"re gone."
"Cool." Kerry was busy sucking in lungfuls of delightful coconutty smelling Dar. "I"m glad they"re staying with Chino. She loves Dad."
"Mm," Dar murmured. "I think he"s trying to sucker my mother into getting them one."*3 Kerry"s brow crinkled. "I thought she was allergic to dogs?"
Dar released her, but slid an arm over her shoulder as they walked toward the cabin door. "She claims to have grown out of it."
They emerged onto the deck.
"I"ll leave the cart there for them, then," Kerry commented.
"Ready for me to cast off the lines?"
Dar trotted up the stairs to the bridge and perched on the leather-covered seat. "Let me get the engines spooled up, then yeah, let "er loose."
Kerry went to work with a will, drawing up the gangway and lashing it into place, then hopping off onto the dock as the low thrum of the twin diesels rumbled to life. She went to the stern line and released it, then did the same with the bow, tossing the ropes onto the deck before she leaped after them.
We"re free. Kerry felt like bouncing up and down and letting out a yell, but it was early yet and there were people who slept on board their boats docked in the Island"s marina, so she regretfully stifled the impulse. Instead, she dutifully walked around the perimeter of the deck, checking over the side for debris or errant lines from other boats. "Clear!" she called up to Dar.
Dar nodded, her pale blue eyes alert as she carefully backed the large boat out of its slip. "Radio the dockmaster, would you?"
"Aye, aye, cap"n," Kerry chortled, before ducking inside the cabin to grab the radio mic. "Dockmaster, dockmaster."
A soft crackling sound came from the speaker, then, "Island dockmaster, go ahead."
"This is Dixieland Yankee, leaving the dock." Kerry had to grin at the name of the newly re-christened boat, the most dignified of the possible choices they"d come up with. Dar"s aunt, from whom she"d inherited the craft, had declined to name the motor yacht, merely referring to it by its registration number when needed. "We have a float plan filed for the American Virgin Islands."
The radio digested the transmission for a moment. "Roger that, Dixieland Yankee. Have a good trip."
Kerry clipped the mic onto its holder and slipped back outside and watched the concrete and wood dock recede as Dar skillfully handled the big boat. They backed into the relatively narrow throughway, then Dar nudged the throttles from reverse to forward and swung the bow toward the dock entrance, keeping the speed just above idle.
Once they were clear of the pylons, Kerry climbed up the ladder to the flying bridge and joined Dar. The boat was moving slowly, but there already was a nice breeze, and it was mussing Dar"s dark hair and getting it into her eyes. Kerry tugged at a lock.
"Want me to braid this?"
"Sure." Dar set her bare feet on the console bars and leaned 4*
back. She felt Kerry"s fingers slide across her scalp and that, combined with the gorgeous weather and the fact that they were headed out for a solid week of vacation together, made it just about a perfect moment.
A week. No cell phones, no laptops, no PDA"s, no pagers. Just a week of sun, sea, diving, and the two of us. Dar flexed her hands on the throttles, feeling the smooth stainless steel under her fingertips.
"What"s that grin for?" Kerry asked, finishing her task and resting her chin on Dar"s shoulder.
Dar wiggled her toes. "I"m trying to figure out what to do first," she admitted. "We could stop for a quick dive on the way down to the cabin, or pull into Largo for lunch or-"
"Both," Kerry broke in. "We can stop at Pennekamp and do a little reef diving, then go to that little dockside crab shack that always looks like it was built for a horror movie."
"Sounds like a plan," Dar agreed, notching the throttles ahead just a bit as they cleared the dock complex. They warily pulled out into the main channel, watching for speedboat traffic. As they turned into the cut, the wind picked up and their speed increased, the sea"s soft chop rustling against the bow of the boat.
Kerry was content to lean against her, one arm draped over her shoulders and her chin still resting on Dar"s shoulder as they pa.s.sed a couple of small sailing boats. "Dar, is that woman naked?"
Dar"s eyes shifted. "Yeah, and boy, is that gonna be a painful sunburn." She shook her head. "Some people just have no sense."
"Ow." Kerry clucked her tongue. "I"m going to go put away the last of our stuff, see if we need to pick anything up in Largo." She gave Dar a kiss on the cheek then climbed down the ladder and disappeared into the cabin.
Dar plucked the water bottle out of its swinging holder and drank from it, then put it back. She opened the small cabinet under the bridge console and selected a CD, waiting while the player sucked it in, then adjusting the volume as the music started. As the land receded behind them, she felt the tensions and pressures of their life doing the same.
The wind blew against her skin, feeling cool and wonderful.
She cleared the inner buoy and opened up the engines a little, sending the bow up as she hummed along to the music.
Diving; rustic but romantic dinner; an overnight stay at the new cabin; then the long trip out to the islands. Dar exhaled in utter satisfaction. Life just doesn"t get any better than this.
Kerry walked past the portholes, tucking back the drapes to let the sun into the cabin. She unlocked the catches and propped the small, round windows open, enjoying the nice breeze the motion of the boat was creating. With a satisfied nod, she retrieved Dar"s duffel and carried it into the cabin"s compact bedroom, setting it on*5 the bed before she unzipped it. She took a moment to open the hatch down there as well, grinning as a tiny bit of spray hit her.
The bedroom had drawers built into the bulkheads and under the bed to save s.p.a.ce-every square inch of room was thriftily used for something. Kerry patted the bed. It wasn"t as comfortable as the waterbed in their condo, but she suspected that after a long day of diving, swimming, and other activities, she"d be able to sleep on the deck itself.
"And I have," Kerry reminded herself. She removed Dar"s extra shirts and bathing suits, folded them neatly and put them in one of the drawers. "Hey, wonder if I can talk Dar into getting a hammock for the deck. We can sleep out there one night."
Kerry gathered their bathroom sundries and carried them into the tiny head, then found spots for the various bottles and jars.
They would, she realized, be seriously b.u.mping into each other in there-both were used to the much larger confines of the condo where they each had their own bathroom.
Kerry cast an a.s.sessing eye at the bitty shower and wondered if they could both fit into it. An eyebrow quirked. Might be interesting to try.
There had been two more small bedrooms past the master suite.
One, they"d left with its double decker bunk, but the other, up in the very bow of the boat, they"d stripped the beds out of and kitted out as storage for their diving gear and Kerry"s underwater photography equipment. She stuck her head inside and gave the BCs and regulators a quick once over, then out of habit checked the valves on the strapped down tanks to make sure they were closed tight.
The boat was also outfitted with a desalinator, which would take in seawater and produce water both for drinking and for cleaning. Kerry felt rea.s.sured by that; running out of water on the ocean wasn"t funny. Since the wind was almost as constant as the sun, it was very easy to become dehydrated out there.
In addition, on the outside deck, Dar had installed a small air compressor so they could refill their own air tanks while they were out on the water, and a rinse sink to toss their gear into. It made the boat a very comfortable place to be, and Kerry suspected that even the extended length of time they"d spend on it this trip wouldn"t be too much of a hardship.
She took the duffel bag and folded it, then tucked it away in a drawer under the bed. Wandering back up the short flight of steps into the main cabin, she snagged a bottle of water and made her way back out onto the deck. The city was falling away behind them-buildings crisply defined in the clear air. She could see the huge cranes of Port of Miami loading freighters, and in the distance, the outline of a moving cruise ship made its stately way 6*
through Government Cut.
It was a pretty view, but Kerry knew where a prettier one was, and she hauled herself back up the ladder and took possession of the second chair in back of the engine console. Now all she could see was sun, water, and Dar. She wriggled into a comfortable position and relaxed, content to let the salt air wash over her as they headed out to sea. Dar had a Jimmy Buffett CD playing, and Kerry rocked her head back and forth to the upbeat tune. "Hey."
Dar shifted in her seat and looked over. One dark eyebrow lifted in inquiry.
"You ready for a totally rocking week?"
Dar propped a bare foot up against the console and leaned forward against her knee, surveying the almost endless horizon in front of them. "Oh, yeah." A grin split her face. "I sure am. Hope the company is up to doing without the both of us at the same time."
Kerry grunted in acknowledgment. "I"m sure they"ll manage to muddle through for a week, Dar. What could happen in seven measly days?"
"Yeah," Dar agreed. "I"m sure they"ll be fine."
They both listened to the music for a few moments, contemplating the clear blue sky and rich, green sea before them.
Then two heads turned and they regarded each other.
"Let"s not think about it." Kerry grinned. "We"ll just jinx them."
Dar merely waggled her eyebrows in answer, and gave the engines a little more gas.
Chapter.
Two.
IT WAS ALMOST dusk by the time Dar shifted the diesels into reverse and idled them into the much smaller dock outside their cabin. She maneuvered the Bertram carefully, sliding into place and holding it there until Kerry could leap off onto the wood and secure the lines to the cleats onsh.o.r.e.
When Dar had first come into her Aunt May"s estate, she"d been a little wary of driving the large yacht. After all, other than some clandestine ventures on government-issue vessels, most of her piloting had been done on much smaller boats. However, she"d been working on the water since she was four, and it hadn"t taken her long to master the big boat"s powerful engines and imposing size, and after that she"d sort of enjoyed taking the vessel out.
Pulling up to some out-of-the-way shrimp shack in the thing and sauntering off to get a c.o.ke in front of a legion of goggling guys tickled her sometimes dark sense of humor.
Now she handled the throttles with a master"s touch as she held her ground while they were tied. The boat b.u.mped gently against the pylons, buffered by the large rubber b.u.mpers Kerry had tossed over the edge of the dock, and Dar shut down the engines, flexing her hands as she removed them from the throttles.
As the sound died, the peacefulness of the place surrounded her, and Dar spent a moment just gazing at their little piece of paradise before she took her sunburned self down the stairs. It wasn"t a large lot, just big enough for the cabin, the sandy ground that led down to the dock on one side and to a small beach on the other, and on the far side of the cabin-a driveway winding up to the road.
It was shaded though, with a thick stand of trees, and surrounded by patches of foliage on either side, so the effect was of snug isolation on this little point of the Key. It was calm, almost sleepy, and Dar liked it. Equally important, she thought, Kerry really likes it too.
And so far, it had been a great day. The quick dive stop had turned into a deep wreck excursion, followed by lunch inside a tiki 8*
hut, followed by a very nice reef dive in the late afternoon. They hadn"t been doing that much diving lately, and Dar felt pleasantly tired and a little embarra.s.sed that she"d forgotten to put on enough sunscreen and had mildly toasted herself.
Ah well. She stretched, hopped up onto the edge of the boat, and stepped off onto the dock. Kerry was returning from opening up the cabin, a splash of pink making her fair lashes stand out vividly. "Everything okay?"
"Looks like it."