40. Caleb
FORTY
Caleb
T he water was my safe haven. My go-to. The place where I found peace. The place that presented answers. But not today. No matter how many shoals I coasted over or how many channels I followed, there wasn’t an answer to the problem Carrie had created for me. Damn it. Damn her for doing this.
The bag full of money was under my bed. As the hours passed, I grew more uneasy that I had left it. The cleaning crews didn’t go through our things, but what if today was the day someone’s vacuum tangled in the bag’s strap? What if I had just done the single most stupid thing I could have done?
I steered the boat around in circles, just waiting for a call to come in from base. I waited for word that a swimmer needed help or a boater was in distress. Nothing. It was quiet. That was supposed to be a good thing. I was no good out on the water like this. The money was burning through my mind over and over. I coasted closer to shore and pulled out my phone.
“Hi, there. I was wondering when I’d hear from you.” Her words were slow and seductive.
“Carrie, you shouldn’t have left what you did with Gabe last night.”
“What? I told you I wanted to repay you. Consider yourself repaid.”
I growled. “This seems like a joke to you. It’s my career. I could lose everything. I’ve tried to explain to you how serious it is. I can’t take the money.”
“No one will ever know. Keep it somewhere safe. Use it when you need it. Buy something nice for yourself. You deserve it. You deserve more.”
“I want you to take the money back. I can’t accept it. You know I can’t. You aren’t stupid. Stop the games and let me drop the duffel bag off tonight.”
“Oh shoot. I’d love to see you tonight, but I’m going to be gone this weekend. Lucas and I are headed to the mountains for a few days. I thought I’d take him somewhere cooler. We can talk when I get back if you want.”
“What do I do with a bag full of money until you get back?” I gritted my teeth.
She giggled. “The bag’s not worth that much. But deposit the money. Invest it. I’m sure you could make that money grow in a sweet little dream you’ve always wanted to try. I’d love to be a part of that dream. Whatever you want, baby. Enjoy it. I’ll call you when we get back to Tranquil Harbor and we can talk some more.” She hung up.
I thought about pitching my phone into the water. I was furious.
Before I started the engine on the boat, I drifted for a few minutes. The waves sloshed against the side of the boat. I looked over the side as minnows weaved in and out of seaweed. A pelican landed nearby, and I knew those minnows didn’t have a chance.
It was eat or be eaten on the water. Sometimes it was all about diving deeper, getting away from the surface to hide out until the danger passed.
Maybe that’s what I needed to do with the money. Let all this blow over with Carrie. Let her move on to something else so I could come up with a plan. Maybe it was a good thing she was going out of town for a few days.
My radio crackled. A rush of adrenaline pumped through my veins. It was the call I had waited for all morning.
“This is base. Cutter 21?”
I picked up the receiver in a hurry to answer. “Cutter 21 copy.”
“We have an abandoned vessel near the Blue Heron Marina.” My heart beat faster. I turned the engine.
“I’m en route now.” I spun around in a wide U-turn and headed toward the marina. I knew it probably had nothing to do with Margot, but I raced there as quickly as I could.
When I arrived on the scene there was a small ski boat tied to a buoy post. There was no one in the area. I called in to base.
“Base, this is Cutter 21. I’m at the abandoned vessel. I don’t see anyone.”
A few minutes later, Gabe glided up next to me. “What do we have?” he asked.
“Abandoned ski boat.” I had boarded the boat after reporting to base. There was no sign of anyone.
“She out of gas?” He pointed to the fuel gauge.
“No.” I shook my head. The key was still in the ignition.
“Who called her in?”
“A boater passing by.” I checked for any phones that might be onboard. I looked for personal items. There was nothing. “Throw me your tow rope,” I instructed.
Gabe bundled it together and then tossed it toward me. “Want to tow her back to base?”
“Yeah. If someone reports her missing, at least she’s safe.” I attached the rope to the stern and pulled it tightly. I looked up at the cottage before hopping off the ski boat. Margot wasn’t outside. I’d hope to catch a glimpse of her. I was surprised she hadn’t come out with two Coast Guard boats near her docks.
“Want to go say hi?” Gabe teased.
“Nah. I’m good. We have plans later.” I climbed aboard my cutter.
Gabe seemed to be surveying the Blue Heron. He cocked his head. “That place could really be something, you know? If Walt hadn’t let it run into the ground just imagine it. Gas pumps would be nice for starters. What does Margot say about that?”
I peered at my friend. “About gas pumps?”
“Yeah. Turning the marina around? It’s the best spot on Marshoak to launch a boat. What if you could get a drink or shit, just pick up a bag of ice if you needed it.” He wiped the sweat from his brow.
“She’s mentioned it. We’ve talked about some of her ideas.” I didn’t want to share all the details with him. Margot’s creativity flowed in places other than her writing. With money to get started, she could take the Blue Heron where it needed to go.
“And? Why not get them done?” He made it sound simple.
I huffed. “Money. Walt wasn’t good with it and now she’s paying the price. She can’t just throw a bunch of money at it she doesn’t have.”
“Maybe you two could win the lottery.”
I paused and looked at Gabe. I laughed. I almost couldn’t stop laughing.
“What’s funny about that?” Gabe was confused.
I shook my head, chuckling. He was right. It was perfect. It was the answer to everything. I had the money Margot needed to save the Blue Heron. The lottery was under my bed in a duffle bag.
“Nothing. Nothing.” I shook my head. I still had to come up with a plan to put it in place, but it was exactly what she needed. And what I needed to get Carrie off my back.
I reached for my water and adjusted my hat. The ski boat was secure. Gabe finished tying off his stern line.
“I was thinking we should go out sometime,” he announced.
“What do you mean by that? I’m not much for the bonfire scene these days.”
“You know. Like a double date.”
I exhaled. “You want to go on a date?”
“Well, I’m not asking you out, you asshole.” He laughed.
“I’m a good date, man. Just ask Margot” I turned my hat around.
“I’ll have to take your word for it. Let’s get this boat out of here.”
I nodded. “I’ll ask Margot. She’d probably be cool with it.” The truth was I didn’t know if she would want to go out with Gabe and his summer girl. Now that she had decided to stay, I thought it was time to introduce her to more people.
I smiled when I thought about my mom’s dinner invitation. Maybe that was the place to start.
I signaled to Gabe I was ready to begin the tow. He returned the signal. We eased carefully on the gears and hauled the ski boat back to base together.
A fter my post ended for the day, I showered and dressed to meet Margot at the cottage. I had counted and recounted the money in the duffle bag twice since I’d been back. It was all there. Every single dollar bill. I shoved it to the very center of the bed and moved some boxes around it. Tomorrow I’d find a way to move it.
I pulled into my parents’ driveway on the way to the Blue Heron. My mom was at the kitchen window. She waved and met me at the front door.
“I didn’t expect to see you. Are you staying for dinner?” she asked.
I leaned down to give her a light kiss on the cheek. “No. I had some of Dad’s tools in my truck that I’d borrowed and needed to drop them off. They’ve been rattling around back there.”
I walked inside. It smelled like home. No matter what my mom was cooking in the kitchen. No matter what new candle she had picked out to try. It was home and there was no other smell like it in the world.
“What is for dinner?” I wanted to know.
She smiled. I followed her through the living room. “It’s so hot I didn’t want to turn on the oven.”
“Can’t blame you for that.”
“Tonight, it’s shrimp burgers.”
My mouth watered and I was certain she heard my stomach rumble.
“You sure you don’t want to stay?” Her expression softened. “I heard what happened today.”
I didn’t follow. “You heard about the ski boat?”
“Ski boat? No. I don’t know anything about that.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
She patted the table for me to sit while she poured a glass of sweet iced tea. It was one of the specialties my mother was famous for on the island. She would brew sun tea all day long on the back porch.
“Nan came over after work,” she explained. Nan had lived next door in the white brick two-bedroom house since I was a kid. She’d never married and didn’t have any children. Jacob and I were like adopted sons to her she would tell us and anyone else who would listen.
“How is Nan? Did something happen over at Reel Time?”
“You don’t know then?”
“Mom, spit it out. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The sweet tea was good. Cold. Refreshing. Homemade.
She poured herself a glass and sat across from me. “Nan said your friend, Margot, had breakfast at Reel Time this morning. And I’m not sure how to tell you this, but there was a guy with her, holding her hand.”
I frowned. God damnit. This island was too small sometimes. “That was Ethan, Mom.”
“You knew about this meeting?”
I cleared my throat. I hadn’t talked to Margot all day other than to send her a text I was coming over. It was strange she hadn’t called or texted either.
“He’s an old friend of hers that came in from out of town. I knew they were having breakfast together.”
“Oh.” She looked worried as if what I said made little difference in the conversation she and Nan already had.
“It’s fine. I met the guy. I know the situation. Okay?” I drank the rest of the tea. “And maybe tell Nan that even though she means well, she shouldn’t meddle in other people’s shit.”
My mom gasped.
“Sorry. I mean their business. You know what I mean. This is how bad gossip gets started around here. I don’t need it. Neither does Margot. That’s not fair to her.”
“All right. I’ll tell Nan next time I see her.” She stood as I rose from the table. “But speaking of this Margot, am I going to get to meet her?”
I grinned. “I think so. How about dinner?”
“Really? I’d love her to come over. For both of you to be here. And Jacob?”
We both looked at the door when we heard my dad’s truck door slam. “I need to get those tools out of the truck and put them back in the workshop.” I hugged my mom. “I’ll call you later about what night works.”
I jogged off the front porch steps. Dad was already hauling the tools out of the back.
“Hold on there, let me help you with those.” I met him at the bed of the truck.
“I’ve got it,” he answered.
“You went fishing today?”
He nodded. “Nothing biting much. A few trout. That’s all.”
“Enough for dinner?” I asked.
“You can have them if you want them. They’re in my cooler.”
I thought about breaking out Walt’s grill in the shed behind the cottage and cooking dinner for Margot. We had a lot to discuss. I wanted to know about breakfast with Ethan before I heard another island version of it.
"Yeah, I'll take some fish."
"For your friend?" he asked.
I chuckled. If I didn’t bring Margot to the house soon to introduce her to everyone, she was going to have a hard time unraveling the reputation people were planting and creating without her input. I needed to take care of that.
“Yes, for my friend. And before you ask, I already told Mom we’re coming over for dinner. So you can meet her.”
Dad slapped me on the back. “Good. I’ve been hearing a lot about her.”
“Oh, about that.” I paused. “Don’t pay any attention to what Nan has to say about today.”
Dad seemed unaffected. “Son, I’ve learned that lesson a long time ago.” He headed over to his truck and handed me a small cooler. He opened the lid.
“Already fileted.”
“Great. Thanks.” I took the handoff and added the cooler to my truck bed. I was looking forward to surprising Margot with dinner. Maybe I’d pick up a bottle of wine at the market on the way to the Blue Heron.
We finished unloading the rest of the tools and storing them in his workshop. I told him goodbye and backed out of the driveway, on my way to see Margot.