by Ronna Gage
She jerked her arms free. “I won’t lose you again.” She stood silent for a second, the moment stood still for them. “I can’t bear the thought of leaving you and not having you close to me,” she cried and threw herself into his arms.
Her fear gripped him like a vise. “I will be fine, but I can’t let you stay here. That is just something else to worry about. Now, go down below and stay there,” he ordered louder, escorting her down the hall to the stairwell to her stateroom.
“Only if you come with me.” Rae Anne’s bottom lip trembled as she looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, yet determination shot at him from their depths.
Landy couldn’t budge her. “Let go, babe.”
She refused to release the life-or-death grip on his waist. He had to calm her fears and get her down below for her own safety and his peace of mind. “I have to attend to the crew. I want you inside where you’ll be safe. I don’t want to argue about this, Rae Anne.”
Landy and Rae Anne stood face to face outside of her stateroom door. Her body shook. “Landy, stay with me. I can’t stand the thought of you being hurt ever, or dying without me saying good-bye. There is no way in heaven or hell I can survive that again.”
Deep sobs interrupted her heartfelt words. Landy stood silent. Rae Anne cried.
“It almost killed me when I was told you were dead.”
The rain outside fell hard enough to be heard through the stateroom door. Each pelt on the window reminded Landy of the approaching storm. “Rae Anne, listen to me. I am not going to die. I will be on deck securing the yacht. When I am done, I will come back for you.”
He opened the door and entered with caution, aware with each step that Rae Anne followed him. The downpour beat on the window so hard he feared it would break any second. Landy secured the windows, battened down the shutters, and turned to Rae Anne. “Do you have emergency lighting?”
Wide-eyed, she stared at him. “What?”
“Do you have candles and a flashlight?” he asked, jerking the desk drawer open. He pulled a flashlight out and checked the power strength. “You may not need this. The backup generator should kick on, but just in case.” He laid the light on the desktop and then turned to the door to leave, but Rae Anne caught him about the arm just before he made it.
“Promise me you’ll come back.” She grabbed the lapel of his shirt and shook him.
Her wild-eyed fear tore at Landy’s heart. He couldn’t find the nerve to scream at her when she looked so genuinely vulnerable. He nodded. “I promise.”
“I mean it. Don’t let the sea take you.”
Landy smiled at the thought flashing in his head: an old seafarer and his lady. He moved an errant piece of hair from her eyelashes. “I won’t let the sea take me, my lady. I’ll be back for you.” Landy softly placed a kiss on her forehead. Rae Anne looked up expectantly. “I promise.” His placed a gentle kiss to her lips, and then it became possessive with the taste of her fear. He had to tear himself away or nothing would be done to protect the ship and her from the hurricane’s wrath. “Stay here.”
He left her safe in the stateroom. I promise. His whispered vow echoed in his ears and was tattooed on his heart. Walking down the hall, Landy made a vow to himself.
Come hell or high water, I will keep that promise.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The stateroom lights flickered, and then went dark as pitch. Rae Anne waved her hands until she found the nightstand. She patted everything with clumsy strokes until she made her way along the wall to the desk where Landy set the flashlight before he left. The waves tossed the yacht into such highs and lows that she found it difficult to keep her balance. She traversed the large stateroom with caution. A hard and sudden pitch forward and she lost her footing and fell, hitting her head on a piece of furniture. She lay at the brink of twilight, listening to the mighty winds blow an eerie howl, and the torrential rain gave out its abusive pelting against the rattling shutters. The powerful waves were no match for the yacht, and as it rocked violently in the dark recesses of the water, Rae Anne lunged headfirst into a deep oblivion of fear. “Landy!” she cried out before she lost consciousness.
* * * *
Morning light sprayed into the stateroom, giving it a new look of golden sunshine. Rae Anne looked around and found herself in bed with a comforter around her. “How did I…”
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Landy called to her from the master bath. “I came to you last night and found you unconscious on the floor with a big gash on your forehead.”
Although a smile tugged at his lips and humor rang in his voice, worry filled his eyes as he sent her a searching look. He walked slowly to bed and sat down.
“I’m beginning to think you’re accident-prone.” Landy laid a cold rag onto her head. “This is the third time I’ve had to give you a compress.”
“What happened?” Rae Anne reached up to touch the throbbing bump on her head. Her hand touched Landy’s. The feel of his warm skin ignited the passion deep inside. His gaze bore down into hers. Her stomach flip-flopped like last night’s turbulent seas. Landy you’re gorgeous. She admitted it freely to herself if not for him. She noted his differences. Other than his cold glare and foul language, ten years of aging and maturity transformed him from cute to downright handsome. Something grew between them, she felt it radiating in the silence.
“The last thing I remember, the room went dark. I wanted to find the flashlight or candles.” The pain in her head intensified. The throbbing felt like a drummer was using it to tap out the solo at a metal band concert.
“I found you on the floor when I came in last night.” Landy lifted the rag from her head and placed it on the bedside table. “I picked you up from the floor and put you in bed.” Landy softly inspected the injury to her head with his fingertips.
Did he stay with me all night or leave?
“After I put you in bed, I lay beside you and made sure you didn’t have closed head trauma.”
With her question answered, she basked in quiet elation. He didn’t leave me. “Thank you for…where are we now?” There is no time like the present to find out if he still planned to leave the ship and her. He might as well do it now and get it over.
“Well, that’s the thing. I can tell you we’re on land.” Landy took the glass of water next to her bed and helped her sit up. “I am afraid, love, I don’t know exactly where we are right now.”
Rae Anne looked at him. “Did you get hit on the head too? Are you all right?”
“I am quite all right,” he said with a laugh.
“So what are you saying?”
“We’re lost.”
“Landy, don’t joke. Nobody gets lost anymore.”
“I don’t know where we are at this moment. I am sure it is a charted island somewhere.”
“This is like a bad episode of Gilligan’s Island.” Rae Anne moaned. She had a throbbing headache and no idea where her yacht had landed. “This is the twenty-first century, for God’s sake.”
“I know what century we’re in,” Landy argued.
Rae Anne jerked the covers off and tried to sit up. Too fast. The room started to spin like a top. She flopped back onto the pillows, nauseated by her effort.
“Easy.” He helped her back up to get a drink of water. “There is some good news.”
“Oh, good! I can use some good news. But your guarded expression tells me to doubt it.” Rae Anne sat up again, slowly this time. Since the bed didn’t spin, she leaned against the headboard. The soft padding of the king-size pillow took her weight as she eased her body back. She sighed.
“We’ll be able to live on the boat for the time being, but eventually we’ll have to move onto the island itself.”
“Why would we have to move off the boat?” Landy made no sense. “If we are okay and the boat is habitable, why not sail the coastlines to civilized lands?”
“The ship has a hole in the hull. The bilge is collecting at a fast rate.”
“So, we sail
the coastline.”
“The bilge will sink us if we move.”
Rae Anne blinked. She couldn’t believe what she heard. “Why aren’t we sinking now? You said we could stay on the ship for the time being.”
“We’re sitting on a reef. We have basically run aground.”
Rae Anne rolled her eyes. This just gets better and better. “Too bad we don’t have AAA for boats.”
Landy laughed at the comment.
At least he found my comment funny.
“What about the radio?” Rae Anne should have known not to ask such a simple question. She felt it in her gut that something was wrong with the equipment.
“It’s busted.” Landy stood up, but didn’t leave the bedside. “There’s more.”
“Let me have it.”
“Rae Anne, I worried how to tell you. I am not only obligated by ethics to give you a full report as the owner of the vessel, but I’m also worried you will freak out on me.”
“I’m—”
“Stronger than I gave you credit for,” he finished. “Rae Anne, I have come to the realization that you can face anything, as long as you know what to expect. Here it goes. Whatever we ran into last night tore the yacht up pretty badly. The hull has a hole the size of a basketball, the radio is shot, and there is very little electricity from the battery source.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, we will use the power for perishable food storage only. Gina thinks…”
“Where are Kip and Gina?” Rae Anne realized she hadn’t seen the two.
“They’re on the island. Gina wants to be on land for a while. She was pretty shaken up last night.”
Rae Anne nodded. “I’m relieved to hear they are all right. I understand how Gina feels, by the way. I too would like some steady ground around me.”
“What? A sea-loving woman like you?” Landy said with humor.
“Yes, even a sea lover like me. I will take a storm anytime than to be stuck in the pits of political hell. Where are the others?”
Landy’s silence unnerved her. She waited with her breath held.
“They didn’t make it to the island. I’m not sure if…”
Rae Anne closed her eyes and held up her hand. She nodded slightly, opened her eyes, and sighed. Landy was no longer standing beside her but was sitting with her on the bed. He held her hand, her eyes blurred with unshed tears. “We will pray for them,” Rae Anne whispered. The pain of losing three members of her crew fisted her heart. “I’m thinking this is one part of a pirate’s life they hated. Losing a member of its crew.” She looked down at the strong hand that held hers and then into Landy’s saddened eyes. “I can take anything, Landy, as long as you are alive and well.”
He squeezed her hand and then let it go.
She had to open her big mouth. Great another step back. “What does Gina think?” Rae Anne asked, remembering she had cut Landy off in mid-sentence earlier.
“Uh, hmmm, she thinks it would save electricity if we cook the food outside. She found a grill and some other things in a storage locker. She and Kip took the dinghy to the island to set up a base camp.”
“How far out are we from the island?”
“We’re about an eighth of a mile. You can swim it if you had to, but to swim it and carry a bunch of stuff would be hard.”
“How long will the foods last?” Rae Anne was grateful for the insight to go ahead and overstock the food pantry and freezers. She had planned on having some small luncheons with some of Marcus’s and her father’s biggest supporters.
“We have enough food to last us at least several months. Some of the food stuffs will run out, but Gina is a whiz at making it stretch.”
Rae Anne soaked in all the information. She looked at Landy and shuddered at the dangers they possibly faced: pirates, snakes, God knew what else.
“Rae Anne.” Landy swallowed hard, knelt down by the bed, and took her hand in his again. “I’m sorry your plans got turned upside down, but I will not let anything happen to you. There is no need to hide your fears.”
Landy’s conviction to protect her touched her heart. Rae Anne smoothed a hand over his face. “I’m not worried about that, Landy.”
“What’s bothering you?” She said nothing. “Tell me, if you have any questions or doubts. I want to know what they are. I’m quite sure I can answer them.”
“Us. What happens to us now? Last night you were ready to leave me at the port. Today, we are on an island that is God only knows how far away from civilization.”
“You got me there. To tell the truth, I haven’t thought about leaving since we went into crisis.”
“Why?” A flicker of hope settled in her heart again.
“I had other things on my mind.”
“Like what?”
The moment was silent and pregnant with expectations of a new beginning, or the end. “We are out of crisis. Let’s deal with one problem at a time, shall we?” Landy walked to the door and paused before he turned around to face her. “I’ll swim to the island and check in with Gina and Kip. I’ll return with the dinghy, and we’ll go to the island together if you want.”
“I’ll gather some necessities.” Rae Anne got out of bed and slowly gathered things around the room. “Landy.”
He turned just inside the door’s threshold.
“I want to save all I can of this yacht. Use what we can to survive with some comforts.”
He gave a grunt of agreement and then left the doorway.
* * * *
“I guess he decided to make things work after all.” Roger Bassham said to Señor Juarez, the marina attendant in Mazatlán.
“Señor, you don’t think the storm…did it keep them away?”
“No. If I know Señor Laurent. Nothing would keep him from this port if he wanted to dock.”
Roger flipped his keys in his hand. “I have other things to do than to stand around here all day.” He reached into his jeans. “Here, I’ll leave my business card just in case he does show up here. I can be reached at the Marriot.”
“Si,” Señor Juarez said and took the card.
Looking at the paper on the clipboard, the Hawaiian Islands would be the next logical port for repairs. Won’t hurt to make a few phone calls to check things out. Just in case. The first port of contact was Barcelona, Spain, in three months.
“Perfect! That should be the time Landy and Rae Anne need to get it back together.” Roger tucked the clipboard under his arm and hummed a tune while he strolled to the car. To his realization, the song fit the situation.
Time is on our side.
He laughed at the coincidence.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Rae Anne stepped out onto the dock of the yacht and took in the picturesque scene before her.
“What do you think?” Landy asked from behind her.
The beautiful island paradise looked more like a retreat rather than a shipwreck site for the crew. She imagined he lagoon with clear water had an abundance of fish to feed her small band of explorers. The clean, sandy beaches had no discarded towels and personal items about. Moreover, the fruit bearing trees would provide sustenance to go along with the fish dinners.
“I can think of worse places to live than this small island. It is our new home of sorts, for the four of us.”
“I wish the others could have seen this place,” Landy whispered with sadness.
Rae Anne had come to terms with the broken equipment, the damage to the bottom of the yacht, and that no one expected them to show up at the next port for three months. She would make the best of it, but thinking of the three lost crewmembers grieved her most.
“Rae Anne, you ready?” Landy asked.
She turned to him and found his arms loaded down with the emergency kit, the handle-powered portable radio, and a backpack. “What’s in the backpack?”
“A few necessities.”
Rae Anne looked at the assortment of things in his arms and shook her head. “Skipper.”
“Skipper? You wanna be my little buddy?” Landy gave her a wicked grin and then threw the load into the dinghy below.
Rae Anne smiled in spite of herself. So much went on in her mind and around her. Her toe still ached, she still battled that awful headache, Landy replaced his irritation and agitation towards her with humor and snide teasing remarks, and to add to the crisis, they had a lot to unload off the yacht to make life easier during their indefinite shipwreck. Time didn’t seem to favor the crew. First things first. “Does Gina have coffee made?”
“Yes, and if you hurry your butt, you can get some,” he joked, and then stepped out onto the deck. He steadied the dinghy and turned to assist her. He came aboard, looked down at her. “Ready, matey!”
“Hmm.”
“Land ho!” he shouted and turned the dinghy toward the island.
* * * *
Landy steered the ferry through the shallow waters of the lagoon, shut down the motor, and let the vessel’s momentum take them into the designated landing. He whistled to Kip, and within a matter of seconds, Kip stood at the shoreline off the beach and waited.
“Okay, matey, here we are.”
“What’s the update, Kip?” Landy asked when he grabbed the bow and eased the nose into the groove.
Rae Anne stood before Kip extended a hand to her and fell back down. “Whoa!”
“Don’t rush, Mrs. Carmichael,” Kip advised. “You may have a concussion.”
“Okay, but please call me Rae Anne, or even Rae.”
A part of Landy wanted Rae Anne to insist that Kip continue to call her in a formal manner, but Rae Anne—if he knew this one at all—didn’t particularly care for close friends to be so formal.
Landy watched Kip take hold of Rae Anne’s hand and help her off the boat. He took great care in how he assisted her, and something in the pit of Landy’s stomach sent a burning flame shooting through his heart. He glared at Kip when he turned and made eye contact with him.
Kip smiled and gave a small chuckle. “The update you inquired for earlier, Captain.”
