He shot her a reassuring smile. “I know. It’s still difficult.”
“Difficult is still to come. I don’t think any of them want to talk about what happened to the rest of their party.”
“Yeah? Well, they’re going to have to. I need answers, and I won’t be the only one. Once we rendezvous with the Coast Guard, they’re going to have so many questions they may never stop answering them.”
To Rowan, that sounded like a nightmare. She didn’t voice her concern, though. Instead, she merely stepped back and allowed Quinn to continue with his business. He was nowhere near done for the evening.
IN THE END, QUINN DECIDED to approach the captain for the initial question-and-answer session. It seemed like the most professional thing to do. Once he got a basic story, he could allow their new guests to settle in for the night. Odds were, everyone would be better off to answer questions in twelve hours.
“I don’t want to bother you, Captain Winchester,” he started, choosing his words carefully. “It’s just ... I need a little information.”
“I don’t know what I can tell you,” Winchester rasped from a lounger, one of the nurses monitoring his pulse and blood pressure. “I’m not even sure myself what happened.”
“There must be something you can tell us.”
“We set out from St. Augustine on the fifth,” he started. “That’s not the home base for the Sterlings, mind you. They live on the Gulf side.”
“Which is where we’re going,” Quinn volunteered. “We port on the Gulf side.”
Winchester looked confused. “Are we on the Gulf side now? I’m not sure how that happened.”
“We’re not. We’re heading south. We will be on the Gulf side when we dock tomorrow, though. That will happen at around noon or so.”
“I ... what day is it?”
Quinn swallowed hard. It would only make sense for the captain to lose track of time on the ocean. He was dehydrated and probably spent all of his time sleeping to conserve energy. “It’s the twentieth.”
“You have got to be kidding me.” Winchester viciously swore under his breath. “I can’t believe it’s been that long.”
“You still haven’t told me what happened,” Quinn prodded gently. “I need to know so I can relay information to the Coast Guard. I guarantee they’ll meet us when we dock. You guys are going to be media sensations when word of this gets out.”
“Oh, well, that’s exactly what I always wanted my claim to fame to be.” Winchester rolled his eyes. “As I said, we left St. Augustine on the fifth.” He sounded stronger, although not by much. “The first night passed without incident. We were in no hurry. This was a pleasure cruise to celebrate Ben and Vicky’s engagement.”
“Okay. That makes sense.” Quinn bobbed his head.
“We didn’t run into trouble until we hit West Palm Beach,” he supplied. “That’s when things went to crap. A sudden storm popped up, one we weren’t expecting, and the mast was struck by lightning.”
“You were on a yacht, though, right? There should be contingencies for that.”
“There should,” Winchester agreed. “We were screwed from the start, though. The storm turned us around and the lightning fried all of our navigational equipment. Even the backups weren’t working.”
“That should be impossible.”
“Yeah, well, if you can figure out a reason why ... that would be great. I don’t know what happened. All I know is that we started taking on water about an hour after the lightning strike. Things weren’t great for us at that point, but I thought we could wait it out and get our bearings when the sun rose.
“The problem was, the ship had other ideas,” he continued. “I tried to engage the bilge pump but that wasn’t working either. By then, there was a lot of water beneath the deck and people were starting to panic. I made the decision that we should get in the life rafts ... but a few of the people on the ship disagreed.”
“Pat Sterling?”
“He was one of them,” Winchester acknowledged. “He didn’t want to abandon his pride and joy. He put up a terrific fight. Finally, his wife convinced him he had no choice. He could always buy a new boat and start from scratch, an idea that appealed to him. He agreed to evacuate.
“At first we were going to take both dinghies,” he continued. “There was emergency equipment — beacons and a battery-powered radio — that we wanted to load. We were splitting up the two when things got really bad ... and the ship started going under.
“Pat was determined to get the radio and he went below deck even though I told him not to,” he continued. “I did the only thing I could and loaded people. When Pat didn’t immediately come back, Barbara insisted on going after him. I had a firm hold on her and was going to physically put her on the escape raft when her buddy Carly stuck her nose in and they both fought me together.
“I’m ashamed to say, they overpowered me,” he said, choking up a bit as his eyes turned misty. “I feel guilty for it, but I didn’t have a lot of options. I had to get everyone else off the ship. I figured they would turn up ... but they didn’t. By that time the storm was getting worse and the second raft broke away without anyone in it. It might still be out there for all I know. That was the boat with the radio, though. We were forced to take the one that had nothing but a bit of food and water in it. The bigger stores were in the other boat.”
“I’m guessing you planned to lash them together.”
“Yeah.” he bobbed his head. “That just didn’t happen.”
Quinn clapped him on the arm. “You did what you had to do. Although, I have to ask, are you sure the three people who went below deck didn’t survive?”
“I’m sure I never saw them again. I screamed for them, of course. They didn’t appear, though. I don’t see how they could’ve survived. There wasn’t another lifeboat and the ship went down around West Palm Beach, at least that’s my guess. It might’ve been a bit further south.”
“Well, I’ll make sure the Coast Guard knows to send someone out that way. The odds of finding the Serendipity are low but never say never. We found you, and that should’ve been impossible.”
“Thanks for that, by the way. We tried yelling out to you, but we simply didn’t have voices left. I have no idea how you even found us.”
“I heard someone scream so I knew you were there.”
“I don’t think anyone screamed.”
“I heard it. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. You should take it easy and get some sleep. Morning will come soon enough ... and then you’ll be facing an entire round of new questions.”
“I’m not looking forward to that.”
Quinn didn’t blame him.
3
Three
Rowan woke in Quinn’s arms the next morning, the sun barreling through her suite porthole. She’d forgotten to draw the drape when crashing the night before — she was up much later than usual — and she was regretting the oversight now that she had to face the day earlier than she would’ve liked.
“It’s too early,” Quinn muttered, throwing the arm that wasn’t wrapped around her back over his face. “Go back to sleep.”
Rowan arched an eyebrow, amused despite herself. Neither one of them were morning people, but Quinn was usually better about greeting the day than her. “I don’t believe I said anything,” she noted finally.
“You were thinking it,” he muttered, shaking his head.
“Thinking what?”
“That we should get up.” Quinn put his hand to the back of her neck and tried to press her down. “Go back to sleep. It’s not morning yet.”
Rowan chuckled. “You’re really crabby this morning, huh?”
“I’m ready for you to go back to sleep.”
“Okay.” Even though she knew it was a lost cause, Rowan rested her head on his shoulder. She was no longer tired, but she was willing to play a snuggly game or two. “Sometimes I think your chest is like a seashell. I can hear the ocean in it.”
“Shh.
”
“I can hear other things, too.”
He kept his eyes closed. “Shh.”
“It gives me ideas.” She trailed her fingers down his chest and slipped them under the covers, finally getting his attention. “Oh, you’re awake. I’m so glad.”
He chuckled as he caught her hand. “You’re feeling full of yourself this morning.”
“We have a lot to do.” She turned pragmatic. “You need to check on our rescued folks. We dock in about three hours.” She glanced at the clock for confirmation. “I have to finish uploading my photos. By the way, I took photos of the people you saved last night. I was kind of sly about it because I didn’t want them knowing, but I checked and none of them have the omen.”
Quinn’s eyes were completely open now. The death omen was essentially her claim to fame. As a kid, it started showing up in the photographs she took. She didn’t immediately understand what it meant, but eventually she caught on. In the years following, she tried to save people. Sometimes it worked. Other times, it didn’t. Quinn and Rowan initially bonded over her ability when she was trying to save a guest on her first cruise. It was the omen that Quinn assumed the Phoenix Society was most interested in ... although now wasn’t the time to revisit that particular discussion.
“That was smart,” he said after a beat. “I didn’t even think to ask you to do it. I’m glad you took the initiative.”
“I thought I might be able to warn the doctors if someone was especially sick,” she admitted.
“It’s too bad you didn’t snap photographs of the other people on the boat. At least then we would know for sure if they’re dead.”
Rowan made a rueful face. “We can’t go back in time. I believe you’ve said that to me multiple times now. We can only deal with what’s in front of us.”
“Have I told you how annoying it is when you repeat my words back to me?” he teased, tickling her ribs and making her gasp.
“How annoying am I?”
“So annoying I’m going to have to teach you a lesson.”
“With your lips?”
“Amongst other things.”
“Well, at least that’s a morning activity I can get behind.”
He was smiling when he rolled her over and planted a kiss on her lips. “Let’s see how true that is, shall we?”
QUINN HAD AN EXTRA SPRING in his step when he let himself into the closed medical wing. If one of the guests had an emergency, he or she would be allowed inside. Since they were close to docking, Quinn hoped they would be able to hold off and keep their newest guests isolated until the Coast Guard could question them.
When he walked into the room, he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d badly misread the situation.
“I don’t understand why we’re being kept here,” Patrice complained, hands on hips. She stood in the middle of the room and glared at the doctors and nurses nervously circling the patients. “Are we under arrest?”
“Is there a reason you should be under arrest?” Quinn automatically asked.
Clearly The Bounding Storm’s newest guests hadn’t heard him come in because most of them jumped at the sound of his voice.
“Is that a trick question?” Patrice challenged. She looked markedly better than she had the night before. The color was back in her face, which looked cracked and dry thanks to exposure to sun and saltwater. Quinn had no doubt she would be back to normal relatively quickly, though.
“I’m merely trying to ease your burden,” Quinn replied. “What is it that seems to be troubling you?”
“Oh, well, so many things,” Patrice snapped. “For starters, why aren’t we allowed to leave this room? Why are we your captives?”
Quinn made a face. “I hardly think ‘captives’ is the way to describe you. As for being locked in this room, I admit we did lock the doors last night. That was to keep others out, though. If you really wanted to leave, no one would’ve stopped you ... although my understanding is that you were weak and needed IVs.”
“That’s neither here nor there,” Patrice pressed. “You locked us in.”
“No, ma’am, I didn’t.” He folded his arms over his chest and stared at her. Hard. She was the sort of woman who was used to getting her own way and it didn’t matter who she had to step on to do it. She thought everyone — no matter if they were in her employ or not — should bow at her feet.
That wasn’t the sort of game Quinn played.
“Yes, you did!” Patrice gestured toward the door. “It’s locked.”
“It is,” Quinn confirmed. “It’s locked so looky-loos from the ship don’t come in and stare. More importantly than that, we figured you wouldn’t want just anyone wandering in and taking photographs that can be sold to various tabloids.”
Patrice was taken aback. “Wait ... what?”
“You heard me.” Quinn refused to back down. It wasn’t his way. “You guys are big news. To my knowledge, the media doesn’t know you’ve been rescued. That’s a benefit for you. It’s only a matter of time until word gets out, though.
“We cannot control what our guests send out via email,” he continued. “There’s wi-fi on this ship and news spread quickly last night that we were conducting a rescue. I guarantee, no matter how hard we worked to keep the guests back, someone figured out what was going on and emailed someone else on the mainland. It’s only a matter of time before the news stations pick up on this.”
“I guess I didn’t think of that.” Patrice dragged a hand through her hair, which was freshly washed. “I ... um ... well ... .”
“That’s her version of ‘I’m sorry,’” Winchester offered from his bed. He was still pale and prone, although he looked better than when Quinn last talked to him. “She doesn’t mean to get worked up, by the way. It’s just ... we didn’t think we were going to get out of there. We were grateful last night … and remain grateful. Other things have started popping up after a good night’s sleep, though.”
“We really are grateful,” Ben added, speaking for the first time that Quinn could remember. His voice sounded like it had been raked over jagged rocks for weeks on end. “I didn’t think I would ever get a chance to actually say ‘I do.’” He cast a fond look in Vicky’s direction. She was out cold, asleep. “It’s just ... now that we’re actually heading home, we have time to think what that home is going to look like.”
“My husband and daughter are gone,” Patrice added. “I know they’ve been gone for two weeks, but when we were trying to survive ... .”
“It was easier to push out of your head,” Quinn surmised, sympathy washing through him. “I get it. It’s not fair and you’ve had a lot to deal with. This new reality is something you need to adjust to. That doesn’t mean you can take out things on me. I want to help, but I’m only going to put up with so much.”
Patrice chewed on her bottom lip and nodded, sliding back onto the empty bed that clearly belonged to her. “I understand. Do you have information to share with us?”
“I guess that depends on how you want to look at it.” Quinn stood in the middle of the room and addressed everyone who was awake. “The Coast Guard has been notified of what happened. They’ll be waiting at port. We’re not far out now. I would suggest, when we arrive, that you remain here until the other guests are removed from the ship.
“Again, that will essentially eliminate the possibility of anyone getting photographs you might not want splashed over the front pages of newspapers,” he continued. “It will also make things quiet when you meet with the Coast Guard. My understanding is that, even though you launched from the other side of the state, that you live over here.”
“We do,” Ben confirmed. “We live in Tierra Verde. We have a compound there. My father sailed the Serendipity to St. Augustine. We were there for an engagement party thrown by Vicky’s family. The plan was for all of us to sail back, make a big party of it. Obviously things turned out differently than we planned.”
“I’m very sorry for your loss.” Quinn meant it. �
�Since you’re local, though, it will be easier to get you home. The Coast Guard will be handling that. They have questions. I believe they’re going to try and find the Serendipity.”
Patrice made a face. “Are they going to try and raise it?”
She looked so horrified at the prospect Quinn was taken aback. “I don’t know. I guess it depends on if they can even find it.”
“You’ll have to forgive my mother,” Ben started. “It’s just ... I think she’s worried about the bodies if the ship is raised. I mean, my father would be totally happy having a burial at sea. If the boat is raised, though, that means we’ll have bodies to deal with, right?”
Quinn nodded. “Yes. Nothing is set in stone, though. I wouldn’t get too worked up until after you hear from the Coast Guard.”
“That makes sense.” Ben rolled his neck. “We’ll need to host memorial services anyway. We’ll have to honor my father and sister the right way.”
“Of course we will,” Patrice agreed. “I’ll handle the funerals. I ... that’s my job.”
“I’ll help you,” Ben offered kindly.
“We’ll all help you,” Leona agreed, shifting on her bed. Quinn thought she was asleep, but it turned out she was merely listening with her eyes closed. “This has been the worst tragedy I could ever imagine. Still, it brought us together as a future family. It was a bonding exercise.”
“It was,” Patrice agreed, solemn.
Quinn found the emotional display weird, but he decided to push it out of his mind. “So ... are you guys in agreement that you should stay here until we clear the ship of the other guests? I just want to make sure we’re on the same page.”
“We’re agreed,” Patrice answered quickly. “We don’t want bad photos getting out. That would be the absolute worst.”
“Yeah, the absolute worst.” He couldn’t put his finger on it, but Quinn felt something was off about Patrice’s reaction. It was possible she was in shock, but he was almost certain something else was going on. “Okay, well, I need to check in with my staff. We’ll have breakfast delivered to you here. I’ll come back when it’s time to take you to the Coast Guard. How does that sound?”
Farewell Seas Page 22