Chapter 20
“I’M NOT SO SURE. SOMETIMES I THINK I PICKED THE WRONG FIELD TO BE IN.”
Chevelle
The evening excursions always have a little more of a party vibe. Especially the bachelor parties.
I see Cam sitting in his boat, watching as tonight’s guys walk toward my boat. There are six of them, and they’ve clearly already been drinking. Cam eyes me and goes back to watching them.
His own excursion group is getting settled in his boat.
A group of three couples who probably won’t even fish.
Sure, the guys will put their rods in, but the women will sit up front and sip their wine and gawk at Cam.
He’s got another guy, Gage, on the boat because Cam knows he’ll be torn in two different directions.
That’s the problem with luxury fishing boats like his—they demand a higher level of service, which means more staff.
“Welcome to Reelaxing Fishing Tours,” I say to the guys.
They each look me up and down. I’m used to that. It’s not a big deal. I’ve never felt like I couldn’t handle myself.
“Are you the entertainment?” one guy asks.
I instinctively look at Cam, although he’s far enough away that he didn’t hear what they said. “No. I’m your tour guide.”
“Shit. Really? Girls like you fish? Hell, who’s the lucky bastard who got you?” The one guy doesn’t stop talking the entire time he boards.
Another guy gives me a look of apology, but he’s holding a fifth of alcohol, which means I don’t trust him.
Once everyone is boarded, I catch sight of Cam getting his boat ready as well.
“Let’s go over safety,” I say.
“It’s fine.” One guy waves me off.
“I swam in college,” another says.
“Regardless of your swimming skills and whether you’ve been on a fishing boat before, the life jackets are under the bench.
There is enough for all of us. Should you want to wear one the whole time, you are more than welcome.
Please do not put your hands or any other body part out of the boat while we’re moving.
Once we’re anchored, you may move around.
There are drinks in the coolers, and I’ll put out the food when we stop.
The excursion will last two hours and fifteen minutes, then we’ll head back to the marina during the remaining fifteen minutes. Are there any questions?”
One guy raises his hand. “Are you this bossy in bed?”
Trying to keep it light, I wink and say, “Only my boyfriend knows the answer to that.”
They all say “ohhh” in unison.
“Then let’s get started. Please remain seated while I get us to where we’re going to fish.”
I go to my wheelhouse and start the engine, then navigate out of the marina. Cam’s already ahead of us. For some reason, I thought he was going to wait for me because he was worried, and then I was going to give him a piece of my mind.
When we get to open water, he turns to the right, and I go to the left to head toward Sandcastle Island.
It’s an island that’s not habitable, but a lot of boats stop for their guests to walk in the water and even swim.
There’s a good fishing spot, and if it ends up being bad, I figure this group won’t mind partying there.
The guys all continue to drink on the way to our destination, and I’m pretty sure they’re talking about me since every once in a while, one of them looks my way.
Other than that, they seem harmless, although not one of them is wearing a wedding ring.
I like the married guys better because they usually treat me with more respect.
I cut the motor when we reach our destination, and we glide to a spot I’ve had success with in the past. After tossing the anchor down, I get the poles ready and pull out the bait. “Okay, guys. Does anyone need help?”
“Oh no, we’re all skilled,” one guy with a cocky attitude says. I can read the innuendo in the way he says it that we’re not talking about the same thing.
Everything is good for about forty-five minutes. Mostly because these guys are struggling to get their bait on because they’ve all drank way too much. After I’ve gone around like a kindergarten teacher and helped each one, they sit back and relax, waiting for the fish to snatch the bait.
I bring out the food, but none of them are interested in eating.
One of them falls asleep and the rest decide to draw on his face. I roll my eyes because I hate these charters. These are the ones where I’m thankful I have a gun in the locked box.
“This is boring. Did you say something about an island?” the bald guy says.
“Yes.” I glance at my watch. “But we wouldn’t have much time there.”
“Better than this.” He stands and steps on the edge of the boat. “To the island.”
“Please get down before you fall.”
Thankfully, he listens. I bring up the anchor and start the motor. One of the guys helps me collect the rods, and I hang them from the back of my boat.
When we arrive, the island is crowded because it’s a Saturday night and you never know, this could be the last warm weekend of the season. One of the guys runs and jumps out of my boat before I can drop anchor.
“Don’t do that again,” I call to him.
He just laughs and walks up the sand, approaching the first woman he sees.
They each file out with their beers in hand and walk the island while I wait in the boat. I’m busy on my phone, and when it’s time to leave, and they haven’t returned, I hop off the boat in search of them.
They’re scattered along the beach, some swimming, one making out with a girl, two more tossing a football. I wonder where it came from until I see a pouting kid on the ground near them.
“This group is horrible,” I murmur to myself. “Reelaxing Fishing Tours is leaving now. So if you came with Reelaxing Fishing Tours, get back to the boat now. Otherwise you’ll be left here.” I yell it loudly enough for them to all hear, but none of them come. This is what I was afraid of.
I walk back to the boat and find two of the guys there, asleep again.
So much for them helping me round up their friends.
I glance at my watch. We’re now five minutes late.
Another guy stumbles over and says the other three are on their way, but when the other three join us, they have three girls tagging along.
“I’m sorry, just the charter guests are allowed on board. If you’d like to meet up with them, I’m dropping them in Sunrise Bay.”
The girls all look at me as though I ruined their night.
“Come on. Loosen up a bit. I thought you were gonna be a fun one,” the guy says and falls face-first on the boat. Blood splatters. I’m pretty sure he might have broken his nose.
He gets up and laughs, as do his two friends.
“Holy shit!” one of the girls cries.
I grab my first aid kit and help the guy get control of his bleeding. Thankfully it’s just a cut, not a broken nose.
“We just have to pour alcohol on it.” His friend tips a bottle of vodka over his face, and it spills all over my boat.
I close my eyes and suck in a deep breath.
“Here.” The bald guy, who I think is the one who booked me, pulls out a wad of cash. “How much to keep this party going?”
“More than you have. I’m taking you guys back, and you can party at the bars in Sunrise Bay.”
“But what about our friends?” Another guy swings his arm around one of the girls.
“Sorry, no guests.”
“This is bullshit. Who made you chief of the fucking ocean?”
“Sorry, girls,” I say and shake my head. They back up, and I grab the rope to free us from the shoreline.
As I push the boat out a little, the bald guy gets behind the wheel. “I’m the captain now.” He lets a maniacal laugh loose.
“Get away from the wheel.” I jump on my boat and force him aside.
I stare at the radio. Cam’s only one call away, but I really don’t want to hear, “I told you so” or “you shouldn’t be out with all guys.” There are plenty of charters that don’t act like this.
Then one of the guys jumps off the boat to go rejoin the party on the island. I just need to get them all back to the dock safely.
I pick up the radio. “Cam. Cam. You there? This is Chevelle. Over.”
“Cam to Chevelle. Over.” Hearing his voice feels like a blanket of calm wrapping around me.
“I need a little assistance here. Do you mind swinging by Sandcastle Island? Over.”
“ETA three minutes. Over.”
I bring the boat back up to the shore, and the guy who jumped in the water gets back in. So far I have two passed out, one bleeding, one soaking wet. Good times.
Cam shows up, takes one look at the state of the guys, and climbs aboard from his boat. “Think you can get the boat back to the slip in one piece, Gage?”
The guy nods.
“I hate to leave you, ladies and gentlemen, but you’re in great hands with Gage. I promise he can multitask, ladies, and keep those wineglasses filled.” He winks and all the women sigh. Everyone always loves Cam.
Gage drives off and Cam looks at the guys.
“You’re the guy from the other boat,” one says.
“Hey, Einstein. Mind getting in an actual seat?” After the guy sits, Cam crosses his arms and sits down with them.
I take us all back to the dock. Once I get us in position next to the dock, Cam jumps out and ropes up my boat. He escorts the guys out of the marina. I’m not sure what he says, but they look slightly chagrined when they leave.
When Cam returns, he doesn’t say anything about them, just helps me clean up the mess.
After what feels like a lifetime, I finally blurt, “You can say it.”
He looks at me with his forehead wrinkled. “What?”
“I told you so. You’ve warned me a million times I couldn’t handle them on my own.”
He sits on my bench seat and pats the spot next to him. “Chevelle, they didn’t respect you. Who’s to say they would have respected any captain?” He shrugs. “It’s not your fault. And I would never tell you I told you so. All I want is for you to be safe out there.”
“Thank you.”
We look over and see Gage bringing Cam’s boat into the marina. “You don’t have to thank me. I’m just glad you called me. There was a time you wouldn’t have.”
I hate that he’s right, but he is. I’m surprised myself. And that shows how much we’re changing. How I’m trusting him, and man, that scares me.
“Now, you can pay me back by coming somewhere with me tomorrow.”
“Okaaay,” I say, unsure where he wants to take me. “But first, I’ll help you clean your boat.”
We leave my boat and head to his.
“And we keep this to ourselves?”
He laughs and puts his arm around my shoulders. “I wouldn’t ruin your tough-ass reputation. You earned that fair and square. Like I said, what happened could’ve happened to anyone.”
“I’m not so sure. Sometimes I think I picked the wrong field to be in.”
He stops and turns to me, putting his hands on my shoulders. “Do you love it?”
I nod.
“Like you can’t imagine doing anything else?”
“For the most part. I love being able to work outdoors and being with different people every day. It’s only times like tonight…”
He shakes his head. “Then you keep doing it and love it. Cases like this are rare, and you can call me anytime. I’ll always come.” He dips his head to my eye level. “And you’ll never hear me tell you I told you so. Ever.”
I nod, and he seems satisfied as he strides off toward his boat.
My heart thumps, and a feeling I haven’t felt in so long washes over me. That crush is transforming into love. I’m sliding down a hill, and I can’t gain traction as I fall head over heels in love with Cam. I just hope I’m not on my way to heartbreak along with it.