Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
H arper had been out on a few boats in her time. Two of them had actually been legitimate yachts. Celebrities liked to show off and boats were a great way to do that. Even if they were only renting, which a lot of them did. Chartering was what they called it, but renting was the reality.
Still, it had been a few years since she’d been out on any kind of watercraft. She wasn’t sure what today would entail. If they’d just be riding around on the boat, or getting in the water, too.
She decided to wear a bikini with shorts and a T-shirt over it, and to bring a coverup in her bag. That would be easier to put on over a wet suit than actual clothing.
She also packed a big beach towel, a hat, two kinds of sunscreen, a lip balm with SPF 50, a backup phone battery bank with a charging cord, her tablet, cooling vitamin face wipes, a hair elastic, a hair clip, and a small baggie that held a container of ibuprofen, Band-Aids, and a tube of antibiotic ointment.
Probably overkill. Mitch’s boat would have a first aid kit. She hoped. She had no idea what kind of boat it was. For all she knew, it was a fishing dingy. But he’d invited them and the dogs. That had to mean there was room, right?
And even a fishing dingy should have a first aid kit. If not, she had the bare minimum with her. Better safe than sorry.
For Archie, she packed an extra towel, a collapsable dog bowl, a baggie of his kibble, and a smaller baggie of treats from the big basket of goodies Mitch had sent. She tucked in a puppy training pad just in case he had to go to the bathroom while they were out on the water. It wouldn’t do for him to have an accident on Mitch’s boat.
She’d thought about taking a bottle of water just for him, but there’d be plenty of water. Mitch said he’d provide drinks. That had to include water.
She took her big tote bag out to the kitchen. Willa was on the couch, earbuds in, phone in her hands, doing whatever.
Archie was standing by the doors out to the back deck.
“You need to go out?”
His tag wagged and he woofed softly.
Willa sat up, not as unaware as Harper had imagined. “Does he need to go out?”
“Yes.”
She stood, pulled her earbuds out, and tucked her phone into the back pocket of her white cut-off shorts. “I’ll take him. You might need to help my mom. I think she’s freaking slightly about being in a bathing suit all day.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll go up and check on her.”
As Willa headed down the steps with Archie, Harper went up. She found Frankie in the bathroom in front of the mirror. Sighing. She was wearing a blue printed tankini with a skirted bottom. “You look cute. What’s wrong?”
“Please.” Frankie rolled her eyes. “Getting old sucks, that’s what’s wrong.”
Harper leaned on the door frame. “No argument from me. But you really do look cute in that suit.”
“I think you’re just saying that.”
“I am. Because you look cute.”
“You don’t know what it’s like.” Frankie glanced at her sister. “You have a very nice figure. I have…this.” She patted her hips.
“You have a nice figure, too. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not nice . Besides, I had the benefit of not having children.” Harper wanted to hug her sister. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re so much more than your body. You’re beautiful. You’re incredibly smart. You’re kind. You’re creative in ways I couldn’t even imagine being. And you have two of the most perfect kids anyone could hope for.”
Harper crossed her arms, on a roll and not ready to stop. “And despite what you think about yourself, Lucas doesn’t seem to think the same way.”
“Stop it. We’re just friends.”
“Mm-hmm. I see the way he looks at you. And it’s not in a just-friends kind of way.”
“Maybe you should get your eyes checked.” But Frankie was smiling a little. “I’ve packed enough for a week.”
Harper snorted. “Pare it down. We’re only going to be out for a few hours.”
“That’s what everyone aboard the SS Minnow thought, too. But I will. Are we bringing any food? I get the sense that between Joyce and Lucas, we don’t need to.”
“Same. I only packed snacks for Archie.”
“Okay.”
“How long before you’re ready to go?” Harper checked the time on her phone. “We’re supposed to be at the marina in half an hour.”
“Soon. I just need to pull out half of what I put in my bag and—oh, I just thought of something.” Frankie rubbed her chin.
“What?”
“How big of a boat is this? Is there going to be a bathroom? I don’t think I can go more than three hours tops without a bathroom. What am I going to do? You non-child-bearing types have no idea what it’s like when you hit a certain age.”
Harper laughed. “If you have to pee, you can always get in the water. I have no idea if the boat will have facilities or not. It could be a fishing boat for all we know.”
Frankie grimaced. “I don’t know about this.”
“We’ll see when we get there. We’ll figure something out.” Harper pushed away from the door. “See you downstairs.”
It took another fifteen minutes to get them and all their gear loaded into the golf cart. Archie looked excited, but he usually did, unless he knew he was headed to the vet’s office. Today was clearly not about that.
The marina parking lot was only half full when they arrived. Most of the vehicles were golf carts. Harper parked.
Willa leaned forward from the backseat. “How do we find the boat?”
“Mitch texted me the slip number. It’s seven, so we just follow the signs, I guess. Can’t be too hard.” Harper hadn’t yet told Willa about Mitch being okay with pictures being posted to social media. She figured she’d let him tell Willa, just in case he’d changed his mind since he’d mentioned it.
They got out and made sure they had everything. Willa was in charge of Archie, who was leashed, plus she had her purse. Harper and Frankie each had their tote bags with the towels and everything else.
It really did look like they were going out for days rather than hours.
They headed for the marina office and the gated entrance that led to the boat slips. A slightly scruffy but smiling guy came out of the office.
“Ladies, welcome to the marina. Are you Mr. Ripley’s guests?”
“We are,” Harper answered.
“I’m Kai. I’m the marina master. He told me to keep an eye out for you.” Kai pointed toward the last dock. “All the way down and hook a left. You’ll see her.”
“Her?” Willa asked.
“Mr. Ripley’s boat. Fine craft.” He gave them a smile and a salute. “Have a good voyage.” He ducked back into the office.
Willa giggled. “He’s interesting.”
“For sure,” Frankie replied softly.
They followed Kai’s directions, and soon saw Mitch and Lucas standing on a large blue and white boat.
“That can’t be it,” Frankie said. “It’s a yacht.”
She wasn’t far off. The boat was a lot bigger than Harper had imagined. It was beautiful. She read the name on the back, not quite understanding it. She’d ask about that later. “That has got to have a bathroom.”
As they got closer, the men saw them. Lucas jumped back to the dock and came to help with the tote bags. “Hello, ladies. This is going to be fun, don’t you think?”
Frankie nodded enthusiastically. “I can’t wait.”
Mitch got off the boat, too, helping Willa, Archie, and Harper aboard. She smiled at him. “Hey.”
“Hey. Glad you could make it.”
“You doing all right?” She knew this would be a trying day for him.
“Yeah, I am. Thanks.”
“I have to admit, I don’t get the name. Oar Knot ? Is that some boating slang?”
Mitch grinned. “No, that was Jeanie’s joke. You know, like Ripley’s Believe It Or Not? That was her nautical pun.”
“Ah, now I get it.” She felt a little silly for asking, but Mitch didn’t make her feel that way at all, thankfully. “Cute. Although the boat isn’t cute. The boat is beautiful and big. Very impressive.”
“Thanks. You want the tour?”
Archie and Scout were doing their best to run around, but despite the boat’s size, it still wasn’t big enough for that. “Hey,” Harper said. “Archie. Easy .” She shook her head and looked at Mitch. “Sorry. I’d love the tour. How big is it?”
“Forty-two feet.”
Her brows went up. “Technically, that makes this a yacht. Anything over thirty feet can be classified that way.”
He laughed. “How do you know that?”
She shrugged. “I once helped a client decide which yacht to buy. You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve helped people with.”
“You should write a book.”
“Now, you sound like my sister. She said the same thing, and that I should make it fiction to get around the NDAs.” She shook her head. “Not going to happen. Would you want me to write about you, even under the guise of fiction?”
“No. And I really appreciate that. Come on, I’ll show you the cabin.”
She followed him through a sliding acrylic door, frosted with a tiny dot pattern that provided privacy.
The spaciousness of the cabin on the other side surprised her. “This really is a yacht. You could live on here.”
Not only could she stand straight up, but there was a large, U-shaped dining booth, a small kitchen, and, tucked under the deck they’d just been standing on, a small, open bedroom area. She pointed to a door between the bedroom and kitchen. “Is that a bathroom?”
He nodded. “It’s got a shower and everything. Have a look.”
She opened the door. It was bigger than she’d expected. Not spacious, by any means, but not claustrophobia-inducing, either. “Frankie will be happy about that.”
Mitch chuckled. “It was a big selling point for Jeanie, too.”
“Did you guys ever go anywhere on this boat? Like for more than just an afternoon?”
His gaze shifted to the small bedroom nook. “We did. Weekends anchored near the island I’m going to take you guys to today, and a few times we went all the way down to the Keys. They were good times.”
She watched his expression grow more distant. “You sure you’re doing okay with all of this?”
His attention snapped back to her and he quickly nodded. “I am. So far.”
For his sake, she hoped today was easy for him, but she had a feeling there was no way he could be on this boat with all these memories and not have some issues. She resolved right then to keep an eye on him and do the best she could to help him through whatever feelings got stirred up.