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“Hey, kiddo.”
Her expression transforms, and the smile she gives me is so bright and so unexpected I huff a laugh that releases some of the tension that’s got me in a choke hold. “We missed sailing on your boat.”
“My boat missed you too,” I rasp. Why can’t I just say what I’m feeling, which is that I missed them too? These damn emotions are clogging my throat, and I pause to clear it. “What do you say we get the rest of the group ready to go?”
Darla shifts back to her usual skeptical frown but finally shrugs her agreement. I stay focused on her as we walk toward the rest of the kids, which is for the best because I might stumble and fall if I let my eyes stray where they want to go: Jackie.
Jackie’s head is down as I approach, and she grips the handles of Ruby’s wheelchair. She talks to the little girl quietly, and Ruby bobs her head and sprouts an adorable grin. When Jackie finally raises her head, our gazes lock as though we’re in some kind of nonsensical romantic movie—or a sci-fi tractor beam. The moment seems to stretch on forever. The chatter of the kids, the soft slap of the water, the gulls crying overhead all disappear. Every hue, every fleck, every pinpoint of light in Jackie’s sea-glass-green eyes sharpens. I see it all, and I’m transported to another world where it’s only the two of us.
My mind makes the leap to whether she’s here to tell me to my face that I’m a dipshit and to jump in the Atlantic. Maybe she’s planning to push me into the Atlantic herself. No, she wouldn’t do that to the kids.
“Hey,” she says, her small voice yanking me out of the ridiculous trajectory I’m on. Her shy smile encourages me. She wouldn’t offer it if she was plotting to drown me, would she?
“Hey, yourself,” I finally manage. My throat is sticky, and I clear it again. “How are you?”
“Captain Colby! Captain Colby!” Robbie belts out as he bounces his bony little butt in his wheelchair.
Jackie laughs, and the sound spreads warmth through my entire body. “The crew is demanding their captain’s attention.”
“Hopefully the entire crew,” I whisper.
My wistful wish bounces off her, and she leans down to Ruby. “Ready, girlfriend?”
“Let’s do this!” little Ruby cries, and they go wheeling off toward my boat.
My attention is yanked back to Devon, who shows off his crutching prowess. “Look what I can do, Captain Colby!”
“Dude, look at you! You’ve been practicing, haven’t you?” I bump elbows with him.
Nodding, he flashes me a broad grin. “Have to if I wanna be as good at getting around the boat as you.”
Arrow to the heart there, and my eyes sting and fill. Fuck!
Liam stares up at me. “What’s wrong with your eye, Captain Colby?”
I press a thumb to the damn thing. “Something got stuck.”
He tilts his head. “What kind of a something?”
“A drop of seawater or a piece of cloud. How you been, little man?” I swipe away the tear that leaks out.
He gives me a dubious look before launching into everything he’s been up to in the past two months. He ends his recitation by asking if he can take the helm and holds up his uneven arms. “I can do it.”
“Yeah, you can.” I pick him up and tuck him under my arm to carry him, and he lets out the joyful shriek of a ten-year-old.
Peggy looks on, beaming at me. “I’ll be back to pick them up in about an hour.”
“Make that two,” I tell her. When she shakes her head, I plead, “An hour and a half?”
“I’ll see what I can do.” She probably thinks I’m afraid to be alone with Jackie, but she’s dead wrong. I’ve missed these kids, and I want more time with them. I want to bask in their joy and drink it in.
Jackie I’ll tackle later ... if I’m lucky.
We get underway, and Ruby doesn’t freak out for once. It’s a damn miracle, and I can’t help but think whatever Jackie said to her is the reason for the change. Though I’m preoccupied with getting us out of the marina, I steal plenty of glances at Jackie, who seems oblivious to my presence. That’s okay. Her attention is on the kids, where it should be. Lets me focus on sailing and giving the kids turns at the different tasks they enjoy.
After forty-five minutes on the water, clouds thicken overhead, and I beckon Darla and Devon to the nav station. Together, we study the weather map and decide to turn the boat around. The two kids flank Liam at the helm, while Ruby and Robbie are mesmerized by whatever Jackie’s telling them as they sit at the cockpit table.
Back in the marina, we nose toward the slip, where Peggy stands on the dock. Her gaze wanders over the kids’ faces before settling on mine. “How was it?”
