Landfall: Islands in the Aftermath (The Pulse Series Book 4) by Scott B. Williams Page B

that sucks! I was really hoping when I saw the two boats. Are you sure you’re not holding out on me? I’m not asking for much. Just a toke or two would be awesome!”
    “Sorry, but I’m not kidding. There’s nothing to smoke on the Casey Nicole .”
    “If you say so man, but I still think you’re holding out. What about the other boat? Somebody’s got a stash on board that one, I know it!”
    “No,” Tara said. “The Sarah J. belongs to my retired parents. They don’t smoke marijuana, and I don’t either.”
    Jessica saw that Russell looked completely dejected. It was like he wanted a joint worse than he wanted food, after being stuck here all this time without it. He reminded her of her stupid ex-boyfriend Joey, who was the same way about beer. And as if reading her thoughts once again, alcohol was the next thing Russell asked for.
    “What about a shot of rum… or whiskey? Brandy? Or anything ? I know you’ve guys have to have a liquor cabinet on board!”
    “Look, Russell. We’ve got our hands a bit full right now. As you can see, the tide is already starting to come in. We’ve got to finish unloading this boat so we can get set up to haul her out when it peaks. You’re welcome to the food we gave you and you can eat with us again too, but nobody’s interested in drinking at this hour.”
    “It’s cool, man. Sorry! I’ve just been stuck here so long! You have no idea how glad I am to see you guys!”  
    Jessica felt his eyes sweep her entire body again and lock on for a moment as he said this. It gave her the creeps, but she looked away and pretended not to know he was staring at her.
    “What can I do to help? I’m ready to work! Just say the word, man, and I’m on it.”

Eight

    L ARRY HAD TOO MUCH on his mind this morning to give this Russell guy much thought. He didn’t mind sharing a little food with him, since it was obvious he was indeed a bit desperate and was telling the truth about being stranded on Green Cay. Anyone could look at him and see this was so. Even though Russell looked like the perpetually skinny type, you could see that he had been living even leaner for a few weeks. Larry could tell too that Russell had probably always been a bit of a pain in the ass. It was understandable that he was starved for conversation and human contact, but it was more than that. Larry pegged him as the type that was always running his mouth, telling anyone who would listen about everything he’d ever done and offering his opinions whether they were solicited or not. Larry didn’t have time to hear any of it right now, and the last thing he needed was a drunk underfoot all day when they had critical work to do. He wouldn’t give in to Russell’s request for a drink until that work was done, but figured he would probably share a bit of rum with him tonight if all went as planned.  
    It took another hour and a half, but once they had everything off the boat that could be removed without tools, Larry was ready to begin setting up the tackle to haul her out. That he considered it doable at all was largely because of the ideal slope angle of the beach above the tideline, and the fairly good tidal range for these latitudes, judging by the high water marks on the nearby rocks. There was just enough room on the powdery sand of the beach directly ahead of the Casey Nicole’s bows to accommodate her full length, which would get her high hulls high enough to dry out at low tide. All he wanted to do was fully inspect them and lay up some fiberglass reinforcements over the cracked and damaged areas. It was important to keep the water out of the plywood core under the fiberglass, so these kinds of breaks in the sheathing had to be dealt with as soon as possible.
    “Is it going to work?” Casey asked him as Larry double-checked the set of his anchors on the high ground beyond the beach while they waited on more water.
    “You can count on it, Casey. She’ll come out the same way she went in. Once we