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… And she was surrounded by very eccentric personalities.
That was a solemn and eye-opening awareness that set her back on her heels. Was she really so bad off? Sure, she was depressed, but who wouldn’t be after losing their spouse and having their world turned upside down?
“Orange is what we have left,” Jared said firmly. She looked at him, nodding, only to see the surprise written all over his face. He’d expected an argument from her, not compliance.
“Thank you,” she said simply in a quiet, humbled voice.
“You’re welcome.”
3BLIMEY…
WILLIAM
This was taking much too long,and he hated special requests for a good reason,William grimaced as another arrival was brought in.
Usually when people booked a ‘Pirate Cruise’ it stipulated on the form online that they were responsible for making their way to the schooner. He would provide latitude and longitude lines, the ship’s name, and they could make their way from the coast however they wanted.
Most came by speedboat, some brave ones came by jet-ski… which made him shake his head in disbelief, while others arrived by helicopter. Frankly, he hated those arrivals. They were the ‘self-important’ ones that needed their backsides coddled during the trip and rarely had a good time.
… But this request had been surprising.
It was an email from a biologist in the Arctic Circle that was pleading to find a way to get her sister onboard. She wanted it to be a secret, a surprise, and hoped that the fresh air would help her out of her depression.
Normally he would sprint in the other direction… but the offer to double the price of the trip to have her ‘kidnapped’ was too tempting to pass up. He made the woman do all the ‘legwork’ contacting the police department to let them know what was going on, explaining that it was a birthday surprise and didn’t want them to waste their time with a misleading abduction call, etc…
If she did all the work, paid double the price, and they would be anchored off the coast anyhow to get a few goods – there was no reason to say ‘No’ at all.
Plus, they needed the money.
Badly.
William was completely stressed out regarding the finances of keeping the ship going, because it had become their home since being discharged. They had come home to heal, found purpose in renovating the old ship together, and foundedSwashbuckled, Inc. a few months later. He didn’t want to let the team down again – and still had so much guilt over that day long ago.
Shaking his head, he straightened the heavy, hot wig so it looked better, and adjusted his belt. The uniform was hot in the sun, but he needed it to be believable and command authority. If something happened, he needed the ‘crew’ for the week to listen to him… and they looked so ‘green’ it was shocking.
The princess was literally filing her nails while some goth chick spit her gum over the side, glaring at everyone. The doctor had just been dropped off via helicopter…
It was only him and Marie to entertain the crew before setting sail – making him look at his watch again, wonderingif the police had actually gotten involved and he was going to have to bail out the guys.
“Think they’re okay?” Marie asked quietly from behind him as he looked towards the shore once more, breathing a sigh of relief as he saw the dinghy headed towards them.
“Yeah, they are finally returning.”
“Oh, thank goodness… I don’t think I can handle any more of the surfer dude’s mouth.”
“Yeah, he’s going to be a problem.”
“The one in the skirt is nuts, Will. I hope you know that.”
“She paid,” he shrugged simply, keeping his voice down. “And we needed the money.”
“Not if she butchers us all in our sleep.”
“Marie…”
“I know, I know… think happy, sunshine-y thoughts,” the woman muttered under her breath, annoyed.
“That’s my girl,” he laughed easily, looking at her and remembering a different time. “You’ve come a long way – and I may not say it enough, but we are all really glad you are with us.”
