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He rummaged through a compartment in the cockpit and pulled out a lantern, a flare gun, a first aid kit, and a portable radio.
“Yes!” she said. “We’re saved!” She reached for the portable radio and switched it on. It made a squelching sound, the red light of the digital display glowing in the twilight. She pressed the button and said, “Help us. Our boat was struck by lightning.”
She released the button and waited. Nothing but static greeted her eager ears.
“Are you on the right channel?” Sed asked.
“Sixteen?”
He nodded. “That’s the distress frequency.”
He turned on the LED lantern, which gave off quite a bit of light. It was comforting in the rapidly descending darkness.
“Why sixteen?” she asked. “That’s hard to remember. Why not channel one?”
“How should I know? Maybe you’d like to Google the reason.”
She let his snippiness pass. He was probably as stressed out as she was, even if he was better at hiding it. She tried calling for help again. No response.
“Why aren’t they answering?” she asked.
“Maybe we’re too far from their receiver. The boat has a huge VHF antenna to send signals vast distances.” He pointed at the tip of the mast. “But it’s scrap metal now.”
When she squinted up through the gloom, she could just make out the broken skeletal remains of the antenna far above them. “That must be where the lightning struck,” she said. At the pinnacle of the mast, the VHF antenna had been the highest point of the boat.
“I’d say so. I’m going below to find my cellphone and see if we can get a signal. Are you coming?”
She didn’t want to be left out on the deck alone. She pressed the radio against her chest so she didn’t do something stupid like drop it overboard, and rose to her feet. A cool breeze blew across her damp backside, and she couldn’t help but giggle.
“Maybe I should consider putting on something other than this life vest.”
Sed grinned, and some of her tension eased. He extended his free hand in her direction, holding the lantern in the other. “Personally, I think it’s a great outfit. If the fashion industry catches wind, it will be on all the top runways by fall.”
She laughed and took his hand, finding even more steadying strength at the touch of his fingers. “Sure. You could set trends wearing this look onstage. Your female fans wouldn’t complain.” But Jessica would. No one got to view that spectacular cock of his but his wife.
They ventured below deck, which was far less creepy by lantern light, and Sed located his discarded swim trunks near the bedroom door. Jessica dug out the bag of clothes she’d brought aboard and was grateful to slip into a pair of dry underwear and shorts. She didn’t take the life vest off, though. Not even to put on a T-shirt over her bikini top.
Sed pulled his phone out of the pocket of his trunks and powered it on. “No signal,” he said, glancing up from the screen.
Jessica wasn’t surprised. The cards kept stacking against them. Still, she had to believe they’d make it home. Sed was an important person. Hundreds of thousands of people would care that he was missing. They’d come looking for him. On the other hand, the only person who cared enough to look for her was also lost at sea on a disabled sailboat.
“Maybe we can get a signal outside.” She took her cellphone out of her bag and tried to get a signal on hers even though his didn’t have one; there was always the possibility that her phone had superpowers she was not aware of. Yet she couldn’t get a signal no matter how far she extended her arm over the edge of the boat.
“Remind me to have a satellite dish installed on this boat when we get back to port,” he said.
“Why? So lightning can strike that too?”
“No, so we’ll have backup to our backup’s backup. Dad thought installing satellite Wi-Fi was too highbrow and unnecessary.”
“You seem to think I’ll willingly get back on this boat in the future.”
He smiled. “I know you were hooked. Well, until that storm caught us unaware. But what are the chances of lightning striking twice? Especially on the West Coast?”
She wasn’t sure what their odds were. The lightning strike of her feelings for Sed had struck twice, so such occurrences couldn’t be totally unprecedented.
“Sailing was wonderful before I knew what it meant to be at the mercy of the sea,” she admitted. “Can we set off a flair now?” She might feel better if they were doing something that might get them rescued.
“We’ll set off our flare if we see a boat or if someone answers our distress call on the radio and needs a visual to locate us.”
“It’s getting dark. If there’s someone nearby, they’ll see the flare for sure and know we need help.”
“If there isn’t someone nearby, shooting it off will be a complete waste of our flare. Then what?”
Jessica swallowed as she realized he’d used the singular flare and not once, but twice. “Flare? We have only one?”
“Afraid so.”
So shooting flares off every ten minutes wasn’t an option. “What do you suggest we do?”
“Hold tight until morning, when I can better assess the damage. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get something working again or at least hoist the sails manually and steer us toward the coast until we’re close enough for our distress call to be heard.”
She supposed that made sense. The damn compass wasn’t even functioning correctly, and with no stars to guide them, they were sure to get even more lost than they already were if they tried risky maneuvers. The ocean was vast, and they were but a speck on its waves. One wrong move could end their happily ever after before it had really started.
“What do we do until morning?” she asked. She was too amped up to even consider sleeping. What if they didn’t hear a summons on their handheld or if another storm blew in? Or what if they ended up in the direct path of a giant cruise ship?
Sed smiled and set the lantern on the deck. Taking her hand, he drew her body against his, the gentle sway of the boat moving them together in a slow and tranquil dance. “We honeymoon.”
Chapter Ten
Sed held Jessica against his chest and breathed in the fruity scent of her shampoo. He hoped she couldn’t feel the fear churning through his gut. Was he trembling, or was that her? He couldn’t let her know how afraid he was. He had to be strong and reassuring. He needed to figure out a way to get them through this, to keep her and the baby safe, and he would. But before he did all that, he needed to hold her for as long as she’d allow and draw on her confidence in him.
What was it about holding a woman that lent him strength? Had he been stranded out there on his own, he was certain he’d be a basket case right now.
Jessica’s stomach rumbled, and she shifted in his arms. They’d missed dinner. The half can of soup she’d had for lunch wasn’t nearly enough to nourish both her body and the baby’s.
“Let’s go find something to eat.”
“I don’t think there’s anything to find,” she said. “And the microwave won’t work. Neither will the stove or oven.”
“We’ll improvise,” he said.
He picked up the lantern and took her hand, leading her below deck. Setting the lantern on the table, he started rummaging through cabinets. He knew his dad had emergency rations around somewhere.
Jessica, who was opening drawers, gasped in delight. “Granola bars!”
“How many?” He hoped they’d be rescued by morning, but they couldn’t count on it. They’d have to prepare for the worst and pray for the best.
“Four.”
Not nearly enough to make an appreciable difference in their survival. “Eat one now, and save the rest.”
“You eat one with me,” she said, carrying her find to the table.
“I’m not hungry. I had a cabbage roll, remember.”
“We still have a few of those. They’ll spoil if you don’t eat them.”
“I’ll sa
ve them for you.”
“I can’t eat them, Sed. They’re much too spicy. I’m not sure you should eat them either. You’ll probably get an ulcer.”
“Your cooking isn’t that bad, Jess.” And if she got hungry enough, he was sure she’d find a way to stomach the spicy cabbage rolls.
She opened her granola bar and took a bite. “Mmm. It’s funny how good things taste when you’re starving.”
