by Danika Steel
Her face was deadpan and remained that way, she was one scary lady but I liked the way she dealt with Jack, it sure saved me having to say anything. Something told me that Denna was going to be a fiery shipmate perfectly capable of taking care of herself and she certainly looked the part. She was strong and obviously worked out, her arms were cut with well formed muscles as if she was accustomed to working hard. She was going to give both Jack and myself a run for our money, not that she would need to with me but Jack was a whole different kettle of fish. I was afraid he was out to wind her up, from the minute their paths crossed, it was an inflammable situation, I would have to have my fire extinguisher at the ready for the rest of the trip.
Jack seemed to still find himself amusing and laughed out loud at Denna's quip. “You and I little lady, we're gonna have some fun." He grinned devilishly.
Denna ignored him and picked up her bags, “Where am I bunking up?” Her eyes flashed angrily and although I knew she wasn't angry with me, her reaction still affected me.
“Down through the galley and it's the cabin on the left, my mother's down below, go get some coffee and join us up here. Oh and guys, can you sign the forms on the table? It's just for insurance purposes.”
They both headed off towards the steps. Jack turned to say something to Denna and she shot him a look that could probably turn most men to ash where they stood.
I stayed on deck to continue with my last minute preparations while considering my new arrivals and hoping they wouldn't destroy my ship while they were left to their own devices.
Denna was a very attractive woman, yes, she had a certain coldness about her but it seemed like a veil of protection she shrouded herself in. Jack was clearly, or at least he thought he was, a Casanova, possibly used to women falling at his feet, however, I couldn't imagine Denna falling at any man's feet. It was more likely to be the other way around once she'd wrestled them there. Was I about to embark on a bumpy ride? I sure hoped not, I wasn't good with confrontation.
"Dinner's ready son," my mother called as she joined me on deck. "You might want to join your guests ASAP; those two are going to be a handful. Do you think you can manage them?" she asked, her worry clearly showing on her face. "I get the feeling they're a little different from what you're used to love.” The look of concern in her eyes probably matched the look of bewilderment I had in mine.
“It'll be fine I'm sure mom, they're just...getting off to a rocky start, don't worry, I'll keep you posted.”
"Have a safe journey," she called as she turned and climbed off the boat. I hoped she wasn't stressing too much, she hated it when I left for a trip but we always had radio contact every evening which she had to look forward to.
I headed down to the saloon to join my guests for dinner and drinks, but when I arrived, only Denna waited.
"Good evening," I called as I reached for a beer in the fridge. "Will Jack be joining us?"
"I believe he is off in his cabin stroking his ego," she said dryly, making me choke on my first sip. "I-I hope you like lasagna," I said for lack of anything better as I reached to pull our dinner from the oven.
"Smells wonderful." She smiled, making herself useful by bringing the salad and the bread to the table along with our drinks. I was feeling quite domestic, moving around the kitchen with Denna, talking softly and attempting to avoid awkward conversation and overly long silences, but we seemed to suffer from no such thing. I was remarkably comfortable with the woman who seemed much less cold to me than she had on deck earlier this afternoon.
"Starting without me eh Captain?" Jack called suggestively as he entered the saloon, shifting his leering gaze on Denna and I could see her cool facade return. She did not like our fellow passenger. I suspected Jack had been drinking in his room, a pastime I did not permit aboard my ship. Drinking in the evenings over a meal was fine, but I did not need a drunken sailor failing to follow my orders when it mattered.
"Please join us," I said politely, pointing to a seat opposite me and far from Denna who sat at my side carefully sipping her wine.
"She's a beautiful ship Captain," Jack offered as he helped himself to large servings of everything, not waiting for me to serve which was customary aboard my boat.
"Thank you," I murmured, quickly deciding I did not like Jack at all. I didn't care for the way Denna shrank from his presence, not that she seemed afraid of him, I couldn't imagine her afraid of anyone, but her guard was definitely up.
"You married Captain?" he asked
"No," I replied. "How about you?" I asked Denna hoping to draw her into the conversation. "No," she said softly.
"Don't worry sweetheart, you just need to thaw that cold ice queen thing you've got going on and some man will be more than happy to take you on," Jack said as if her were offering her sage advice.
"Yes, because I'm just dying to catch a man." She smiled a broad fake smile. "Any man will do, so I don't have to be a disgrace all by my lonesome."
I couldn't help but laugh at her dry humor and Jack's obliviousness to her sarcasm. She flashed me a genuine smile as Jack prattled on about his various accomplishments at sea and I rolled my eyes in commiseration. Denna and I would get along just fine-- whether or not we would survive Jack would be the true test.
"Well little lady, would you like to take a walk on dry land before we set off tomorrow morning?" Jack asked after they finished the meal. He had been on his best behavior throughout most of the evening, having abandoned his penchant for dropping not so hidden innuendos at every possible turn of the conversation.
"I'd rather remove my own fingernails with a spoon," Denna quipped, standing to help me clear the dishes while Jack poured another drink for himself.
"I'm going to turn in, good night Seth," she said as she quickly left the saloon.
"She's a bit of an empty vessel,” Jack leered at her retreating figure, "she just needs filling up," he added suggestively.
"Jack ease up on her man, she obviously isn't interested in your companionship and I'd like to have a pleasant trip."
"Sure no problem boss." Jack winked as he sauntered out of the room.
An empty vessel? What a strange turn of phrase Jack had used. My own mother said that exact thing to me the last time I quailed against her matchmaking. “You're an empty vessel Seth Derby and you need a good woman to fill you up.”
CHAPTER THREE – GOING OVERBOARD
I was up long before dawn to double check my final preparations and I was delighted to find Will on board when I went up on deck.
"Hey dad, I thought I'd stop by and help you get things settled," he said with a little shrug of his shoulders, making light of the fact that he probably just wanted to see me one last time before I'd be gone for a week.
"Thanks son." I smiled broadly as we went through my final checklist one last time.
"Morning Captain," Denna called as she joined us.
"Denna, this is my son Will."
"Hi ma'am, nice to meet you," Will said politely, but I could tell he was already smitten with Denna.
"Need any help?" she asked.
"Sure, we could use an extra pair of hands to secure the main sail," I offered, wanting her to feel useful.
"Off to an early start are we?" Jack drawled irritably as he stepped up on deck, barefoot and wearing only jeans, clearly hoping to impress Denna with his muscled chest.
"Just wrapping things up, why don't you go have some coffee-- I'd suggest a large one." I narrowed my eyes at him and his obvious state of drunkenness. It was morning for Christ's sake; he should be sober by now.
"William Parker!" I heard Kelly's unmistakable mom voice echo across the water. "I don't care if you're nearly seventeen; you tell me when you leave the house!"
"Sorry ma," Will grumbled an apology for sneaking out so early. I felt bad for him when his ears reddened in embarrassment.
"Give the kid a break Kel, he's been sneaking out to see me off since he was twelve." I chuckled softly.
"Well, well, well.
" I heard Jack's low whistle of appreciation. Kelly was nothing if not a beautiful woman and I didn't want Jack anywhere near her. "Girlfriend or ex Cap?" he asked with a smarmy grin.
"Neither," I muttered my disapproval.
"Well now, why don't you join us pretty lady?" Jack drawled, turning his charm on Kelly.
"Bite me!" Kelly barked her retort and I could hear Denna's laugh of appreciation.
"I like her," Denna said softly, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Will, say goodbye to your father and let's get some breakfast, I have patients early this morning," Kelly said more gently.
"Sorry son." I smiled as I reached to hug him. "See you Saturday?"
"Bye dad, be safe," he said as he climbed down to the dock where his mother waited.
I really didn't have to deal out many instructions to either Denna or Jack as we carefully left the harbor. They were perhaps a little more experienced than they'd given themselves credit for. Jack was a little patronizing when it came to some of the heavier jobs but Denna soon put him in his place, showing him that she could do anything he could do and in my opinion she usually did it better. There wasn't much conversation as we moored off and headed out to the open sea, but this was normal as everyone was usually concentrating on the job at hand. Once it was acceptable, the sails were lifted and we let the wind carry us further into the open distance.
Denna was strong and willing to listen to my instruction. She was eager to gain more knowledge and I was confident that I could leave her to her own devices. Like she said in her initial forms, she liked to work off her own initiative. Jack was equally capable, but he tended to cut corners in favor of getting the job done quicker. I felt like I needed to keep a closer eye on him as there was no room for nonchalance on my boat and I preferred to have things done my particular way. It wasn't a control thing, it was for purposes of practicality…and I didn't really trust him any further than I could throw him. There was plenty of fun to be had on board a boat, but there were many dangers too and his casual attitude and carelessness could be quite dangerous. It usually took me a couple of hours to assess the level of competence in my clients but with these two, they were pleasing to have on board– so far.
Sailing to an appropriate anchorage point would take most of the day. Once we found where we wanted to be, we would anchor down and for the remainder of the day we'd eat, drink and get to know one another. This would be the only 'down time' we would have during the trip and it served a purpose as far as socializing went, and provided a sense of morale boosting for us to all work as a team.
Throughout the day, we'd take turns resting and grabbing a quick lunch in the saloon, but then it was back to work, sailing across the calm and peaceful waters. By the time we were ready to anchor down, if my appetite was anything to go by, everyone would be starving and ready for that first relaxing drink of the evening.
I was quite satisfied with how well the three of us worked together. Jack was behaving himself-- for the most part. He liked to question my authority, but I was quick to put him in his place. Denna and I made a great team. We worked together like we'd done so countless times before, and she never made me feel like we had to talk to fill the silence, unlike Jack who talked even when no one was listening.
Satisfied that I'd found an appropriate place to rest, I shouted for Jack to prepare our stabilizer, making note of the buoy below. Jack hoisted the anchor up to the deck board and waited for my instruction. Allowing ourselves to come to a settling pause, I nodded my head and Jack heaved the anchor over the side; we all paid attention to the familiar splash of water and then the expected tug on the rope as it prevented us from going any further. All we were left with was a gentle rocking and splatters of water lapping at the side of the boat.
As we were in the middle of nowhere, we wouldn't be disembarking so there were no deck planks to arrange, the only thing that remained to be secured was the bow of the boat. Denna was already making her way down to the front, again, waiting for my command. I waited to access the wind direction, and as soon as I felt it work with the boat, I nodded my head for anchor down. It was great to be able to take a step back and simply observe my crew at work. Obviously, for health and safety purposes, I had to be mindful of their decisions, but when my crew knew the routine on a boat, it was a nice change of pace for me.
“Okay guys, beer time!” A resonated cheer bounced around the boat and I was happy to see everyone getting along, but I couldn't help but wonder how long that would last.
I clapped my hands eagerly as we all made our way down to the saloon. Once down there, my guests took their places at the bar while I grabbed three icy cold beers from the fridge. I stood behind the bar and called out the options of food that were available for dinner and we all readily agreed on fish pie. I popped the pans in the oven while enjoying my second beer with Denna and Jack.
They had gotten along much better up on deck today but I was dismayed that each time Jack spoke; it seemed to be ladled with innuendo. Denna was trying her best to ignore his remarks and she was doing a great job, had it been me I think I would have wanted to wash his mouth out with soap. I already knew Denna was quite sarcastic, obviously a defense mechanism, but Jack was quite oblivious to anything that came out of anyone else's mouth. In fact, Jack was quite oblivious to what came out of his own mouth, unless he was deliberately crass on purpose.
"Tell us about Blondie back at the dock?" Jack asked and I was surprised he wanted to know anything about me, until I realized his interest was in Kelly.
"We've been friends for years." I shrugged, not wanting to get into the more personal details of my life.
"The kid is yours though?"
"I adopted Will about four years ago," I explained.
"Why?" Jack asked, clearly flabbergasted.
"Isn't it obvious?" Denna rolled her eyes. "They've been friends for years; Will's father is obviously not in the picture. I'm sure Seth has naturally stepped into the role of a father figure to Will and they wanted to make it official."
"That about sums it up." I smiled, grateful for her concise assessment of the situation.
"But you're not sleeping with the mother?" Jack frowned as if he didn't quite get it.
"No, Kelly and I are just friends." I chuckled at the look of utter confusion on his face and I was afraid he might actually strain himself if he tried any harder.
"So what's in it for you?"
"Well, I quite enjoy having a son." I frowned, offended by his indifference to Will.
"You're a strange man Captain Seth." He shook his head incredulously.
“Do either of you have children?” I asked, attempting to steer the conversation away from myself as I served up the food.
Jack snorted as he laughed, “Not that I know of and certainly none on purpose."
"No wife, no kids?" Denna shook her head sadly. "Poor guy you must be so lonely," she mocked, but I was certain he didn't realize.
"It would be cruel to the rest of the female population if I were to tie myself to just one girl, and I don't intend on having any little brats running around if I can avoid it. If I ever get married, she'll be focused on me entirely. Kids are distracting and you women can't help yourselves, but I won't be second rate in my own home.”
What a pig, I thought as I caught Denna's look or derision. I knew exactly what she was thinking but I managed to keep my face straight. I had to remain impartial even though I really didn't like Jack, I had to be professional. Jack loved the sound of his own voice and I wasn't sure whether he was even interested in getting to know either Denna or myself. He seemed to prefer to talk about himself or reply with inappropriate comments meant to rile Denna's temper.
“Aren't you a little…old to still be such a spoiled brat wanting his mother's undivided attention? Shouldn't you have learned how to participate in an adult relationship by now?” Denna enquired. "You know, give and take?"
Jack sat back on the bench seat, “I prefer women who actually like plea
sing a man…but where is your man Denna? Do you have anyone interested in taking care of you?"
Without any hesitation whatsoever, Denna gave him her answer and it happened to make me smile. “Well Jackie boy, I don't need a man to take care of me, I can take care of myself. I'd rather be alone than have the misfortune to get involved with someone like you. At the moment, I choose to be single.”
Jack failed to hear the insulting slant. “No woman chooses to be single honey. You clearly just aren't feminine enough to satisfy a man."
The ocean may have been calm but the air between my companions was stormy. I got the feeling that Denna was going to win this one, and she wasn't going to be pleasant about it. I should have stepped into mediate, but I wanted to see what she said.