by Renee Hart
Table of Contents
End Of The Road
Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Epilogue
BONUS BOOKS
One Simple Thing
Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Tessa's Spring
Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Tessa's Summer
Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
My Chance
Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Wherever Love Takes Me
Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Crazy Sweet Love
Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
End Of The Road
An Alaska Adventure Romance
RENEE HART
Copyright © 2016 by Renee Hart
All rights reserved, worldwide.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Description
With Lou's boat in dry dock in Anchorage for repairs, and fishing season already underway, finding employment on another boat is the only way to make enough to get the troller, Lindy Lee, back in action.
A fishing boat captain in Homer in desperate need of crew members, provides a lucky break.
Renee Hart's third Alaska romance adventure.
Three more standalone books in the Alaska Adventure Romance Series:
A Single Year,
The Summer Nanny
and
Together in the Wild
by Renee Hart,
are available on Amazon.com,
FREE with Kindle Unlimited.
Chapter 1
Lou checked messages on the cell phone again hoping to hear from anybody looking for crew. The salmon season was already in full swing and most of the boats were already out there fishing. No one was looking for an extra hand at this point, at least not in Anchorage.
Sitting out the season wasn’t going to earn Lou any money for the repairs needed on the Lindy Lee and the damages were too extensive to be overcome with duct tape and super glue. That last storm had nearly put the troller at the bottom of the ocean and the crew along with her. Fortunately, the coast guard arrived in time to get a line on the boat and tow them back to shore. Otherwise, Lou wouldn’t be needing a job on somebody else’s boat.
The Lindy Lee was sitting in dry dock looking war torn and weary. She’d been stripped of her trolls and the wheelhouse looked like a bomb had gone off in it. There wasn’t a single unbroken window anywhere and the door was barely hanging on by one hinge. The rust on her hull just added to her sad and broken appearance, and Lou could barely stand to look at her without wanting to cry. Lou’s dad probably would have, as he loved that boat as if it were his only child, Lou thought a bit sarcastically.
***
Ray scratched his head and wondered how he was going to make any money this fishing season if he spent his days stuck at the dock. If it wasn’t one thing wrong, it was another, and nearly all of his crew had walked off and joined other boats. They came down to Homer looking to make money during the salmon season, not to sit around watching him working on the engine. Now, only he and Jonesy were left to sort out the problems keeping them in port.
Jonesy was an old salt that came with the boat. Ray’s father and Jonesy took to the high seas together back in the day when a man could make a year’s salary during the summer season. The two of them stuck it out during the lean years and lived rich during the golden ones when the salmon ran so thick you didn’t have to move the boat to catch ‘em. The old man kept threatening to retire, but Ray figured he’d rather go down with the boat than sit in a rocking chair.
Banging his knuckles on the manifold for the fifth time that day, he growled in frustration. This old boat wasn’t going to give him an inch without a pound of flesh to pay for it. His father had the touch and kept this motor purring long after another man would have sent it to the scrapyard. Sadly, Ray hadn’t gotten that as part of his inheritance, just this rusty old boat and a crusty old deckhand firmly set in his ways.
Finally, he spotted the problem with a wire making a faulty connection. He was sure that he’d checked all the wiring first thing and couldn’t figure out how this one had gotten past him. The wiring sheath was pulled over the end of the wire as if to hide the break. He stared at it for a while trying to make sense of how that could have happened. Shrugging his shoulders, he gave up thinking and fixed it. The engine rewarded him with a roar as it came back to life.
Hoping this would be the last hurdle keeping him tied to the dock, he pulled out his cell to check for messages. He’d put out the word all up and down the coast, he was looking for crew. So far, there’d been no response and without a couple of first rate hands, he and Jonesy would be working double shifts. It wasn’t a pleasant prospect for either of them.
The old guy was feeling his years and needed more time to rest. Ray kept him on more out of respect for the old-timer’s relationship with his father than for his speed on the nets. He really needed two, maybe three more hands to bring in a catch that would cover his expenses and keep the boat running.
Finding a message, he opened it up and quickly scanned through it. He was relieved to see a guy named Lou Alberts was looking for a job up in Anchorage. He’d posted his resume link with a couple of references for back-up. Ray decided to jump right on this guy and sent him a text. He figured if the guy was all his resume said he was and he re
ally needed a job, he’d be in Homer by tomorrow. If he wasn’t Ray would figure it out when the guy was leaning over the rail puking his guts out.
***
Lou nearly fell off the chair when the cell phone began vibrating. Pulling it out, the message was short and sweet.
“Heading out tomorrow from Homer. Find the Seabiscuit by nine if you want a job.”
That was the word, Lou wanted to hear. Picking up the rucksack from the dock, it was out the door and down the road as time was short and Homer was three hours away with a good ride. Longer if no one was headed to ‘the end of the road’ at that time of the day. Maybe Lady Luck would come along for the journey south.
***
Ray was on the boat by seven going over the nets and checking his supplies. He planned to stay out as long as he could to make up for the missed days. The reports trickling back said the fish were running well. He was never sure how much you could trust some of the stories as fishermen were well known for telling fish tales. That just came with the territory, he figured.
He jumped at the sound of a voice calling from the dock.
“Ahoy, on the boat!”
Standing up to see the caller, he was surprised to see a young woman with a rucksack thrown over one shoulder. She looked to be about five foot eight with blond hair pulled back into a ponytail and eyes like the gray of the sea on a stormy day.
“Permission to come aboard.”
It was clear she wasn’t really asking. It was more like observing the formalities as she stepped on board without waiting for him to respond. He was just standing there like an idiot staring at her with his trap hanging open.
“Lou Alberts reporting for duty, sir,” she said extending her free hand to him.
“You’re a woman!”
Looking down at herself, she did a quick once-over and looked him straight in the eye.
“Last time I checked, you’re right. I’m a woman. Is that a problem for you?”
Realizing there was no right answer for that question, he wisely shut up and pondered his next move. He’d never had a woman on the boat and neither had his father. Jonesy wasn’t going to be happy about this at all as he was old school and always said women on a boat were bad luck.
“You’ve got a pretty impressive resume,” he said lamely.
“You mean, for a woman,” Lou asked.
She couldn’t help the trace of sarcasm that crept into her voice. Running her own boat kept her from having to deal with this whole sexist thing and she wasn’t used to it. She had a strong reputation built up with the other captains around Anchorage, but apparently, he hadn’t bothered to call any of her references to check up on her. Otherwise, someone would have clued him in one way or another.
Attempting to cover up his awkward beginning, he decided to back pedal and start again. Maybe he could keep himself from having to deal with a lawsuit over discrimination.
“Excuse my surprise. Your name threw me off. I was expecting a man with a name like Lou. Sorry. My name’s Ray. Welcome to the Seabiscuit.”
Shaking his outstretched hand, Lou gave him a grin and said, “No harm, no foul. Let me stow my gear and I’ll give you a hand with those nets.”
The two of them were busy with the final checklist when Jonesy came along. When he caught sight of Lou with a gaff in her hand, he stopped short and stared. She noticed the glare on his face and decided to ignore him. Latching down the gaff, she picked up the rest of the gear she was packing away and continued working.
Ray saw Jonesy staring at Lou and hunched his shoulders as he knew that look meant he was about to get his ear chewed off. Calling out a good morning to the old salt did nothing to soften the look on his face. He turned his glare to Ray and mouthed a few choice words. Ray shrugged and waved the old man to come aboard.
“Let’s go, Jonesy. I want to get out there before the fish are all in somebody else’s boat. We’re already late for heading out.”
Without a word, Jonesy turned around on his heel and marched off. Ray watched him go in stunned silence. He knew there was no chance the stubborn old coot would get on this boat with a woman on board.
“Looks like you need another crewman for this boat,” Lou said dryly.
Ray just shook his head in frustration. Another fishing day down the drain and the clock was ticking. If it wasn’t for bad luck, he wouldn’t have a claim on any kind of luck at all.
“I think I can fix this pretty quick, if you’re okay with that,” Lou said pulling out her cellphone.
Ray just nodded and turned away. He was out of ideas on his part.
Fifteen minutes later a cab came screaming up to the dock and Ray was surprised to see a younger, taller version of Lou jump out and come running down to the boat.
“Permission to come aboard, Captain,” she panted as she wrestled her hastily packed rucksack off her shoulder.
Ray couldn’t help but notice some lacy bit of women’s underwear hanging out of a side pocket. He looked at Lou helplessly.
“Captain Ray, I’d like you to meet my little sister, Adrian. She’s got plenty of experience crewing and as I learned last night, is fresh out of a job. The two of us have been working on our father’s boat since we could hold a line by ourselves.”
Ray scratched his head. This was a fine kettle of fish, he thought to himself. Heaving a sigh, he gave the order to cast off and the two women hurried to make it so. It was clear to him, they’d both done this kind of thing before, and it wasn’t long before they were heading northwest out of the harbor.
As the two women settled themselves in for the ride, Ray was left alone with his thoughts.
Chapter 2
“Daddy! Daddy! Swing me around again,” Ray cried.
His father was happy to oblige him and the little tyke squealed as his legs flew straight out behind him. Strong hands covered his in a tight grip and the boy trusted in his father’s strength. The man was a lumberjack and could fell a tree in a few mighty strokes of an axe. To Ray, his father was as solid as a rock and nothing could bring him down.
The two of them were left alone when Ray’s mother decided the life of a lumberjack’s wife wasn’t for her. She took off before the boy’s fifth birthday looking for something better. Ray’s father just shrugged when he found out and took the boy with him when he had to go to the woods. He never talked about the woman again that Ray ever heard.
A couple of years went by before Ray’s dad realized his son was supposed to be going to school. Living so far away from the nearest town, there wasn’t a school within a day’s ride for the boy to attend. That settled it for the man and he packed the two of them up and headed north to Alaska with a solid grubstake in his pocket and a dream of a new life for the two of them. He’d always wanted to try life as a fisherman. With Lady Luck smiling down on him, he’d get them a boat and they’d learn a new way of life.
***
Ray cut the engine and took a look around the area. There wasn’t another boat in sight as far as he could see and this was his spot. He could feel the fish beneath him just itching to get in his boat. His father used to laugh at his special feel for the fish, that is, until he realized Ray had a gift. The boy was always right and their catch was all the proof he needed to believe.
The two women stepped into action as soon as the motor was cut and started hauling out the gear to lay the nets. They were hanging gillnets for Sockeye and it was clear they knew exactly what to do. Ray didn’t even need to give them any orders. He watched the two of them carefully as they worked the lines and played out the nets at a nice even speed. They worked out any tangles long before they happened and the whole operation went as smooth as butter. All he had to do was keep the boat moving in the right direction, and soon they were hauling in salmon. They worked hard for several hours until the light was gone. It was time to have some supper and call it a day.
“Either of you know anything about cooking,” Ray asked with a grin. “Not that there’s going to be much of that out he
re, but all I’m really good at is opening a can.”
“Well, one thing for sure, you don’t want to trust any cooking to Lou. She can mess up a bowl of water in a microwave,” Adrian laughed as she poked her sister in the ribs.
Lou grimaced at her sister and turned away to stow a couple of stray buckets. She didn’t sign on this gig to be the cook. Let Miss Smarty-mouth step up, she thought.
Adrian caught her thinking without a word and headed down below to see what was for supper. Not expecting to find much, she wasn’t disappointed. It was clear Captain Ray wasn’t much for food shopping.
Finding some mismatched cans of beans and a few more without labels, she called up to her sister for a couple of ‘smalls’ to incorporate into a decent meal. She was rewarded by the sound of a splat as a fish came flying into the galley and landed on the counter. The unexpected arrival of a couple more caught her in the chest, and she briefly considered throwing them back. Thinking better of it, she quickly filleted them and arranged a nice plate of sushi. Mixing up a pan of beans, she tossed them on the stove and looked for some kind of bread. No luck there.
She had the table laid for three by time the others had washed their hands and came down to see what she’d thrown together. Without a word, the food disappeared quickly and their dirty dishes were the only sign there’d been a meal at all. The three of them sat back simultaneously and groaned in unison. At the sound, they all burst out laughing. Ray was finally feeling his luck was changing for the better.
“I cooked, so that means you got the dishes,” Adrian shot off at Lou.
“Naw, for a meal like that I’m happy to do the dishes. You two go get some shuteye and I’ll take the first watch,” Ray said with a grin.
Lou looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but didn’t protest his decision. He was the captain of this boat, after all, she thought. The two women were gone before he could say, “Halibut.”
***
Ray had the galley cleaned and coffee made before the two women got to dreaming about whatever came to them in the night. He was pleased with the outcome of the day and felt good about his prospects for the morrow. The two women knew their way around the boat and performed their duties without a lot of silly chatter. That was more than he could say for his last crew. It seemed somebody was always moaning about the weather or the fish or how someone else wasn’t earning their pay. He hadn’t heard a single word of complaint all day.
