lighthearted voice.
* * *
Evan ran his hand down his face, cursed Glenlivet for at least the hundredth time, and turned his head slowly so his eyeballs would stop throbbing. He scanned the dock for Tommy. Clearly, Tommy was a no-show. Bastard.
Evan had called Tommy late last night, an hour after Lia had skipped away and a half hour after he knew he absolutely could not face her and her painful cheerfulness again. She was like some kind of Cinderella cartoon, with singing cartoon birds floating around her yellow hair. He didn’t want to deal with her, didn’t want to deal with Drew’s boat, didn’t want to see the name “
The Duke
,” and certainly didn’t want to deal with a bunch of strangers, kids, or even sunlight. He just wanted to be left alone.
But he said he’d help.
So his midnight call to Tommy Two-Time, after three seductive glasses of scotch, was, admittedly, a little desperate. Tommy might not be the most reliable guy in the world, and had spent more than a few nights in jail around these parts—which might have been where his nickname came from, although Evan wasn’t sure—but he could sail with his eyes closed and knew how to find whales. And Drew knew him as well as Evan did—they’d all sailed together around here when they were kids. So that was a plus. Evan was surprised to get ahold of him at all—he wasn’t even sure Tommy was still around—but, after a strange exchange of information that might have been tinged with too much scotch, Tommy had agreed to navigate Drew’s boat for a fee, which Evan agreed to pay, up front, through the entire week. He’d do that much for Drew.
But when the knock reverberated on his cabin door this morning, and Cinderella stood there looking wide-eyed and expectant, Evan knew Tommy was back to his unreliable ways.
Bastard.
So now he had a full day of stinging sunlight, throbbing brain, nausea, Cinderella, a boatload of kids, and a passenger who looked way too much like Renece to deal with.
He rubbed his face again and wondered if he could get through this day. And if he could stop his eyeballs from throbbing. But—as he’d always told his crew—anyone can do anything for a day.
“. . . type of killer whale?” he heard from behind him.
He opened one eye at a time, peering back over his shoulder. There were no sunglasses on earth dark enough for him right now. “Wha?” he managed to croak out. His tongue felt like it had fur on it.
“Is there only one type of killer whale?”
His questioner was about four feet tall, the stripes on his shirt providing an assault to all of Evan’s senses. Once Evan was able to open both eyes, and come to some semblance of focus, he realized it was
the kid
. The one with the Renece look-alike.
“What do you mean?” He couldn’t handle this right now. He could barely keep his head screwed on.
“Are there lots of killer whales or only the black-and-white ones?”
Evan pressed on his temple so his brains wouldn’t spill out and glanced behind him in hopes that someone would save him. “Actually, the real name for that whale is an orca, and it’s not really a whale but a dolphin—the biggest of the dolphin family.”
“But does it kill people? Will it kill us if we see him today?” The boy plucked at his shirt.
“No, no, kid.” A sharp pain right behind his eyelids had Evan gripping at the bridge of his nose. “No, he’s—”
“
Conner!
What are you doing up here?”
The soft voice had Evan’s head snapping up, and the vision had him on his feet in half a second. But the movements were all too fast, and he swayed embarrassingly and gripped the wheel.
Renece. Damn, she looked so much like her
. . . .
“Hi, I’m sorry. I’m Avery.” The woman thrust out her hand.
Evan didn’t know what she was apologizing for, but he cut himself some slack for slow brainwaves this morning and gave her hand a swift shake before pulling back into himself. She was beautiful, the way Renece
* * *
Evan ran his hand down his face, cursed Glenlivet for at least the hundredth time, and turned his head slowly so his eyeballs would stop throbbing. He scanned the dock for Tommy. Clearly, Tommy was a no-show. Bastard.
Evan had called Tommy late last night, an hour after Lia had skipped away and a half hour after he knew he absolutely could not face her and her painful cheerfulness again. She was like some kind of Cinderella cartoon, with singing cartoon birds floating around her yellow hair. He didn’t want to deal with her, didn’t want to deal with Drew’s boat, didn’t want to see the name “
The Duke
,” and certainly didn’t want to deal with a bunch of strangers, kids, or even sunlight. He just wanted to be left alone.
But he said he’d help.
So his midnight call to Tommy Two-Time, after three seductive glasses of scotch, was, admittedly, a little desperate. Tommy might not be the most reliable guy in the world, and had spent more than a few nights in jail around these parts—which might have been where his nickname came from, although Evan wasn’t sure—but he could sail with his eyes closed and knew how to find whales. And Drew knew him as well as Evan did—they’d all sailed together around here when they were kids. So that was a plus. Evan was surprised to get ahold of him at all—he wasn’t even sure Tommy was still around—but, after a strange exchange of information that might have been tinged with too much scotch, Tommy had agreed to navigate Drew’s boat for a fee, which Evan agreed to pay, up front, through the entire week. He’d do that much for Drew.
But when the knock reverberated on his cabin door this morning, and Cinderella stood there looking wide-eyed and expectant, Evan knew Tommy was back to his unreliable ways.
Bastard.
So now he had a full day of stinging sunlight, throbbing brain, nausea, Cinderella, a boatload of kids, and a passenger who looked way too much like Renece to deal with.
He rubbed his face again and wondered if he could get through this day. And if he could stop his eyeballs from throbbing. But—as he’d always told his crew—anyone can do anything for a day.
“. . . type of killer whale?” he heard from behind him.
He opened one eye at a time, peering back over his shoulder. There were no sunglasses on earth dark enough for him right now. “Wha?” he managed to croak out. His tongue felt like it had fur on it.
“Is there only one type of killer whale?”
His questioner was about four feet tall, the stripes on his shirt providing an assault to all of Evan’s senses. Once Evan was able to open both eyes, and come to some semblance of focus, he realized it was
the kid
. The one with the Renece look-alike.
“What do you mean?” He couldn’t handle this right now. He could barely keep his head screwed on.
“Are there lots of killer whales or only the black-and-white ones?”
Evan pressed on his temple so his brains wouldn’t spill out and glanced behind him in hopes that someone would save him. “Actually, the real name for that whale is an orca, and it’s not really a whale but a dolphin—the biggest of the dolphin family.”
“But does it kill people? Will it kill us if we see him today?” The boy plucked at his shirt.
“No, no, kid.” A sharp pain right behind his eyelids had Evan gripping at the bridge of his nose. “No, he’s—”
“
Conner!
What are you doing up here?”
The soft voice had Evan’s head snapping up, and the vision had him on his feet in half a second. But the movements were all too fast, and he swayed embarrassingly and gripped the wheel.
Renece. Damn, she looked so much like her
. . . .
“Hi, I’m sorry. I’m Avery.” The woman thrust out her hand.
Evan didn’t know what she was apologizing for, but he cut himself some slack for slow brainwaves this morning and gave her hand a swift shake before pulling back into himself. She was beautiful, the way Renece
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