Chapter 7
GEORGE
G od help me.
Flirty Rafe was so far out of my realm. Whenever he would tease me, I was at a loss.
But I was also beginning to see that Rafe was more than his lighthearted demeanor. He’d bravely followed me downstairs in the middle of the night, to face possible violence, when he could have just as easily left me on my own.
Afterwards, I’d taken his hands in mine.
Purely on instinct. He was panicked, and all I wanted to do was reassure him that everything was okay.
Christ, I’d even fought back an urge to wrap my arms around him, to comfort him in a way that I rarely did with anyone.
Rafe had strength and sensitivities hidden beneath the surface that I’d not taken care to see before now.
“George, we have a problem.” Noah’s deep voice startled me from my musings, the cup in my hand nearly slipping from my grasp.
Tea sloshed over the rim and spilled onto the floor.
“Shite, sorry I startled you,” he mumbled and grabbed a napkin from the table, quickly mopping up the mess.
“No worries, I had my head in the clouds. What’s going on?” I asked him, placing the cup on the table beside me, determined to get my brain back in working order.
“The air conditioning unit is acting up. Coolant is leaking from one of the tubes, and the unit is running hot. You may notice it getting warmer up here for a bit. Jasper and I are working on it, but it’s best to delay our departure until it’s fixed.”
“Thanks for the update ,” I replied.
“I’ll let you know as soon as we’ve got it to rights.” Noah nodded and headed back out of my office.
Turning to the radar, I noticed the swells were up today. Not enough to warrant staying docked, but still concerning. After calling the harbormaster, I reviewed the itinerary and made a few adjustments.
An hour later, with the air conditioning fixed, we sailed up the coast to drop anchor near Fraser Island.
Surrounded by clear, turquoise waters, and lined with miles of golden sand, it was almost too beautiful to be real.
This area was known for its delicate coral reefs and was a magnet for scuba divers from all over the world.
The sun had vanished behind cumulous clouds and my inner radar warning was sounding off.
The coast guard had no further weather watches or warnings, so I put aside my concerns for the time being.
But I’d been at sea long enough to know that my gut was usually right.
I checked the scanner again and charted out a route in case we needed to pull anchor and leave for the nearest marina.
My radio crackled to life. “Captain, do you copy?”
“Yes, Charlie. Go ahead.”
“The tender won’t start.”
God, another delay. “Well, then our guests will have to amuse themselves on board until you can fix it.”
“I’ll let you know when we’re ready.”
“Thanks.”
While I preferred to take a break, I reminded myself that Rafe and his guests came first.
My phone pinged and I reluctantly checked it.
Aldo: I need to see you. Why are you ignoring my texts and calls?
Fuck, my ex-boyfriend was a pain in the arse.
He dumped me over a year ago, and yet for the past several months, he’d been hounding me to contact him.
Part of this was my fault since I hadn’t blocked him.
His messages sounded sad, almost desperate, and I felt badly.
Which was insanity. He was the one who cheated the entire time we were a couple.
Then blamed me. If anyone should feel bad, it should be me.
I guess it was time to make things clear.
George: I’m on charter. And I have no wish to see you. It’s over. I’m blocking your number.
Aldo: I just want to talk. That’s all. As a friend. Please don’t block me.
Guilt swamped me, so I chose to ignore the issue. For now.
I tucked my mobile in my pocket and made my way down to the bridge deck. And I stumbled onto a photo shoot in progress.
Rafe was sitting on the floating dock that attached to the stern, camera at the ready, while his models sat, or rather posed, on the various jet skis in the water. Given the minuscule swimwear, I was pretty sure it was the last thing people would look at.
That’s the entire point, I chided myself, remembering that not everyone was like me, practically immune to the display of all that naked flesh.
Decker stood up and waved at me and I reluctantly waved back. Then he lost his balance and fell back into the water, his high-pitched scream filling the air.
“Fucking hell,” Rafe asked as he stood up. “Are you all right, Deck?”
Decker’s head popped up out of the water like an eager seal, coughing and sputtering. “Yeah, I think so. I swallowed seawater though. Wait, something slimy just touched my leg!”
He let out another piercing scream for good measure, his vocal range one that most opera singers would envy.
“Ow! Fuck, something bit me!” he screamed as he swam towards the dock.
I rushed down the stairs, offering my hand for Decker to grab. Rafe stood beside me, offering one of his, and together we hoisted Decker out of the water. The other models jumped off their jet skis and scrambled onto the dock.
I glanced at the familiar round red welt on Decker’s left thigh. “You’ve been stung by a jellyfish.”
“Oh my God, is it poisonous? Will it scar?” Decker began to hyperventilate.
“It’s okay, Decker. You’ll be fine. I’ve seen and experienced this type of sting before.” I crouched down and grasped his shoulder. “Take a deep breath and count to ten, then breathe out. Slowly, in and out. It’s going to be okay.”
I turned to Rafe. “Let’s help him up to the bridge deck where he can stretch out on a lounger, and I’ll grab the first aid kit.”
Rafe took Decker’s other arm and together, we guided him up the stairs. Once he was comfortably seated, I paged Jana to get him something to drink.
“Will he be all right?” Rafe asked as he stood beside me.
He smelled like sunscreen and coconut lotion. Like the best part of summer.
I nodded. “I’ll have to check to make sure there are no tentacles left, and then he needs to soak the area in warm water and apply hydrocortisone. He should be fine, but you won’t want any close-ups of his leg for a while.”
“You sound like a doctor. Don’t tell me you’re qualified for that too?” Rafe quipped.
I laughed at his put-out tone. “Hardly. It’s from years of living at sea, and far from hospitals. You get used to diagnosing and treating your own ailments.”
Opening the patio door, I walked through the lounge to the storage closet, Rafe following behind. I located the medical kit on the bottom shelf and pulled it out.
“What happens when you’re seriously injured and days away from shore?” he asked.
Then you’re screwed . Yes, there had been a few times when I was in the middle of the ocean and so ill, I wondered if I’d make it to the next day.
“We’re only an hour from shore, Rafe. Don’t worry,” I replied as I turned around.
“I’m not worried about us, now. I was asking about your past. Has that happened to you?”
I nodded. “Once I was sick with diphtheria on board a navy vessel in the middle of the Indian Ocean. I had a medic monitoring me, but it was still touch and go. I thought perhaps my time was up. Unfortunately for you, I’m still here,” I quipped.
“A week ago, I might have agreed with you, but for some reason I don’t find that funny at all.” Rafe shook his head as he grabbed the kit out of my hands and walked back outside.
Once I got over my surprise, I followed him. Decker was lying down on a lounger with a glass of bubbly in hand, Jana and Veroush fussing over him.
“Okay, let’s have a look,” I announced as I cut through the entourage and inspected Decker’s leg.
The wound was bright red and slightly swollen, but that was normal for a sting of this nature. Rafe opened the medical kit and handed me a pair of tweezers and alcohol pads.
“Thank you, Nurse Carter,” I replied as I tried to lighten the mood.
“Anytime, Doctor Bernard.”
“Is there numbing cream?” I asked.
Rafe rifled through the box and shook his head.
“Okay, then. Decker, I’m going to examine your wound and extract any remaining tentacles. You might want to finish that champagne before I do so.”
Decker nodded vigorously and swallowed the last of his drink. “I’m ready.”
I gently felt the wound and ran my fingers around the edge, until I felt one lump. “Take a deep breath and hold it,” I instructed as I cleaned the area with the pad and deftly plucked out one tentacle. It was a tiny bugger that could cause immense pain if not removed. “Breathe out.”
Decker paled but so far, so good. It probably helped that Veroush was holding his hand.
I removed four more tentacles before giving the wound a final inspection.
“I think I got them all. I want you to go soak in a warm bath with Epsom salts for twenty minutes, then apply this cream twice a day for five days.” I gave him the tube of hydrocortisone.
“If it becomes more painful, you run a fever, or you notice the rash spreading, you tell me right away. You should be fine, but we want to watch for signs of infection.”
“Thanks, George. It already feels better.” Decker stood up and took a few small steps.
“Glad to be of service. Jana, can you ensure Decker has bath salts and anything else he needs?”
“Of course, Captain.”
“I’ll help Decker back to his suite,” Veroush announced and wrapped his arm around Decker’s waist. Decker wasn’t limping anymore, but he leaned into Veroush anyway.
I caught the smiles between them as they walked away.
Odd that they should appear happy given his injury, but it wasn’t my place to say anything.
“We need to burn sage or Palo Santo,” Rafe announced once he closed the medical kit.
“What?”
“We need to cleanse the aura of the ship. The break-in attempt, the tender not working, and now this incident. I think a merman put a curse on Now, Voyager ,” he replied matter-of-factly, hands on his trim hips.
“I thought it was a love spell,” I replied and immediately regretted the comment.
Not that I believed in such ridiculous things. But I’d overheard Andrew’s joke about the ship—he found love with Rowan here and so did Rowan’s best friend Dylan and his fiancé Max.
“Not anymore,” Rafe added and looked right at me, pinning me in place. “I can’t say as I’m surprised.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Exactly.”
I shook my head, wondering how this weird, circular conversation got started in the first place.
Right. A curse.
“Sailors have superstitions, but merman curses aren’t one of them,” I responded.
“Well, there’s bad juju, and I mean to rectify it.”
“Do what you need to. Just don’t set the ship on fire when you burn the sage.”
“Shush,” Rafe whispered, walking up to me. “You don’t want to put that thought out to the universe. Haven’t you ever heard of self-fulfilling prophecies?”
“Only on the discovery channel,” I replied as I rolled my eyes.
Even though this talk was outlandish, I was still charmed by him. Conversing with Rafe was stimulating and often confusing, but always interesting.
“Come on, Rafe, you’ve lived too long in Miami. There is no merman and no curse. The marina warned me in advance that they’d had issues with vandalism. Secondly, engines break down. And finally, jellyfish are common in these waters. Everything that’s happened has a logical explanation.”
“You stick to your view, and I’ll stay with mine,” he replied, his big blue eyes far too anxious for my liking. “Something tells me that an even greater disruption is about to be unleashed.”
I thought about my own instinct that a tempest was approaching—despite factual evidence to the contrary.
Could it be that Rafe was right?
I’d no doubt this voyage with him would be one neither of us would ever forget.