CHAPTER FOUR
Charley gripped the wheel of her uncle’s friend’s fishing boat. The wind blew in her face as the steady hum of the twin motors thrummed beneath her feet. It had been so long since she was out on the water.
She was a few miles offshore. The beautiful Pacific Ocean stretched endlessly in all directions.
Its surface shimmered like liquid glass under the midday sun.
Thankfully, the water was on the calm side, and the weather was very favorable for February, with temperatures in the low seventies.
The light breeze carried the scent of salt air.
It was the making of a perfect day for this deeply personal journey of hers.
Once she reached her spot, she eased the boat to a stop, her hands trembling slightly as she shifted it into neutral before powering it down.
This was it. Her father and brother’s final resting place.
The ocean had always been their haven, the place where they both seemed happiest. She looked out at the horizon, the endless blue merging with the sky. She prayed that they’d found peace.
She bent down and picked up the two urns. She ran her fingers over their smooth surfaces. Her chest tightened with the weight of unspoken words.
“Dad, Matt,” she whispered. “I miss you both so much. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about you. I hope you’re happy and at peace.”
Her voice cracked as she unscrewed the lids. “I’ll carry you with me always. But it’s time to set you free.”
Charley carefully poured their ashes into the water, her hands shaking as the soft gray powder swirled and dispersed, carried gently by the ocean’s current. She watched as her eyes stung with tears, as the last tangible pieces of her family disappeared into the water.
She sat there for a long time, staring at the spot where their ashes had vanished.
The quiet lapping of the waves against the boat was the only sound.
For the first time, she allowed herself to hope that her dad and brother were finally at rest and that maybe she could find it in herself to move on and find happiness once again.
As the sun hit its peak and started to lower, Charley decided it was time to head back. She had been sitting out there for almost two hours. She powered up the motors but kept the speed low, wanting to stretch the moment a little longer.
Suddenly, a loud screeching sound came from the motors, and the boat lurched forward before coming to a complete stop.
“What the hell?” Charley muttered as she immediately pulled the throttle back and powered down the engines.
The abrupt stillness unsettled her, and she went to check on the issue.
Peering over the back, she saw the problem.
“Shit!” She muttered as she eyed the stray fishing net that was tightly tangled around the propellers of both motors.
She looked around the boat, hoping she could find something she could use to cut the net. Just as she thought that she was out of luck, she remembered her brother’s pocketknife that she kept in her purse.
She walked over and rummaged through her purse until she found it at the bottom. She smiled as she looked up at the sky. “Thanks for watching over me, big brother.”
Walking back to the motors, she leaned over and started carefully cutting at the thick netting.
It wasn’t easy, as the net had metal threads intertwined, making it nearly impossible to free with just her small knife.
Sweat beaded on her forehead as she worked, and her frustration grew with each failed attempt.
There were a few times she had almost lost her balance and fallen into the water.
After spending an hour trying to remove the net, she gave up. She glanced at the horizon as the sun was inching closer to the water. In about an hour and a half, it would start to set, leaving her stranded in the dark. Panic began to creep in as she walked back to her bag and grabbed her phone.
She dialed her uncle, but the reception was terrible, probably because she was still too far from land. “Uncle Glen? I’m—”
“Charley? Hello? I can’t—” His voice crackled before cutting out entirely.
She groaned as she tossed the phone onto the bench seat. Her mind raced as she considered her options. But with her running out of daylight hours, there was only one option left, and that was to make an emergency call over the boat’s radio.
Just as she reached for the radio, she spotted the movement of another boat in the distance.
Charley stood up and started waving her arms wildly. “Hey! Over here!” she shouted, hoping they would notice her.
As the boat drew closer, she realized it wasn’t just any boat.
It was a sleek black Zodiac, the kind SEAL teams who trained in these waters often used.
Her heart thudded in her chest as the boat pulled up alongside hers, revealing a group of big, muscular men, each exuding a confident, no-nonsense demeanor.
Even though she was relieved, she suddenly felt really intimidated.
Shit. They probably think I’m some dumb blonde who doesn’t know how to operate a boat.
One of the men, standing near the bow, raised a hand in greeting. He was tall, with sharp features. “You okay?” he called out, his voice deep and raspy.
The group of men momentarily took Charley aback. On one hand, they looked like capable men. But on the other hand, she had no clue who these men were. They could be serial killers for all she knew. Then again, serial killers probably looked capable too, which wasn’t exactly comforting.
This was either a rescue or the opening scene of a True Crimes episode, she thought to herself.
Although she was about ninety percent sure they were there to help and ten percent sure she was about to become a murder statistic.
She shook her head, bringing her focus back to the man who spoke.
“Uh, yeah,” she managed to say. “I’m okay, but unfortunately, the boat is not. There’s a net tangled in both propellers, and I can’t get it free,” she told him, holding up her knife to show them that she at least had tried to free it.
The man nodded and offered her a small smile. “We can help,” he told her. “Do you mind if I board your boat to take a look?”
“No, not at all.”
Charley’s breath caught as the guy leaped onto the boat with effortless grace, like he did that kind of thing every day. Well, maybe he did.
“I’m Pierce,” he said, holding out his hand.
“Charley,” she said, shaking his hand. His grip was firm but warm, and she had to fight the flutter of butterflies in her belly.
As he removed his sunglasses, her thoughts tumbled over themselves.
His light brown eyes were striking, framed by thick, dark lashes that seemed almost unfair on a man.
And then there was his dimple that appeared when he smiled.
Combined with his sun-tanned skin and the perfectly fitted T-shirt, he was almost too much to take in.
Pull it together, Charley, she mentally told herself. She was suddenly aware of how she must look. She was probably sweaty, slightly windblown, and flushed thanks to her raging hormones.
“So, you said that you caught a fishing net in the propellers?” he asked.
“Umm, yes,” she replied, focusing on the real situation. She led him to the back of the boat. “As I said, I tried to cut it off, but it’s tangled up pretty good. Plus, there is metal intertwined with the netting, and I couldn’t cut through it.”
Pierce leaned over the edge of the boat to get a look at it. His brow furrowed as he carefully inspected the damage. After a few seconds, he whistled low. “Yeah, that’s not coming off easily, and even if we could cut it free, the propellers are done for.”
“What?” she asked, wondering what he meant about the propellers.
“It looks like they were damaged when the net got tangled,” he told her as he pointed out the two cracks.
“Shit,” she said as she placed her hand against her forehead.
“Hey, it’s okay. We can help you get back to shore,” he assured her as he stood up and brushed his hands off on his pants.
“No. It isn’t okay. This isn’t my boat. It belongs to a friend of my uncle.”
“Hey, this isn’t on you,” he said firmly. “This is on the careless assholes who don’t clean up after themselves. People dumping this kind of shit in the water is dangerous for both the environment and for people like you. This kind of thing happens more than it should, and it pisses me off.”
The conviction in his voice surprised her, and she found herself nodding. “I know it really isn’t my fault. But I still feel responsible since I was using it when it happened.”
Pierce smiled, his dimple showing again. “I’m sure your uncle’s friend will understand.”
His words eased some of her tension. He was right. It wasn’t like she ran over the net on purpose. “Thank you. And you’re right. I’m probably getting worked up for no reason. I just feel bad about it.”
“It’s natural,” he said with a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
She smiled at him. “Well, would you guys be willing to give me a tow back in? I’m at the marina right just south of the base.”
He smiled. “Of course. I wasn’t going to let you just drift away.” He winked before he turned back to the zodiac, where the other three men were. “Get the tow line ready,” he told them.
Charley watched with amazement as the three guys and Pierce quickly got to work.
She couldn’t help her wandering eyes when Pierce leaned on the bow of her boat to tie the line.
He had a fine-looking ass. Before he stood back up, she quickly averted her eyes, though she felt the heat in her cheeks, and it wasn’t from the sun.
When Pierce returned to her side, his expression was relaxed. “We’re good to go. I’ll ride with you just in case something goes wrong.”
Charley smiled. “You don’t have to do that. You’ve already done enough,” she told him.
He grinned. “I insist.”
She felt the heat in her cheeks again, but she nodded. “Alright. Thank you.”