Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“No. I actually really like them, and I was hoping we’d see some on this trip. But that doesn’t mean I want to end up nose-to-nose with one, after you Titanic us. If we’re forced to use my suitcase as a floatation device and there’s only room for one of us, I hate to tell you this but I’m saving myself, Jack.”
He shot me a look. “Good news, Rose, there are four inflatable lifeboats onboard. There are also a lot of lifejackets, so why don’t you come here, put on about a dozen of them, and trust me?”
“Why’d you get such a big boat?”
“It’s not that big.”
“It’s alarmingly huge.”
“Would you feel better if I’d rented something tiny?”
I thought about it before admitting, “That’d probably be worse.”
“So, are you coming?”
“Do you swear you know what you’re doing?”
“Yes.”
I finally relented and climbed onboard. After he handed me a life jacket, he said, “I’ll cast off the stern line while you cast off the bow.”
“What language was that?”
A look of understanding crossed his features. “Now I see why you’re nervous. You’ve never been on a boat before, have you?”
“Of course I have.” I held up my hand and started counting on my fingers. “I’ve been on the ferry to Alcatraz, the paddle boats in Golden Gate Park, the Jungle Cruise in Disneyland, and a fishing boat. That last one was with my sixth grade class. It was super gross. They brought up these huge nets full of fish, and my science teacher dissected one right there on the boat. As a bonus, the sea was choppy, so half the class was hanging over the side and puking their guts out. It was delightful.”
After he helped me put on the lifejacket, he grasped my shoulders and said, “I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to you, Daniel. We’re going to be within sight of the shore the whole time, and I’ve been in and around boats all my life. If I didn’t think I could handle this, I would’ve made other arrangements. But I used to own a boat that was significantly bigger than this one, so this is as easy for me as driving a car.”
I frowned a little. “Sometimes I forget you’re filthy rich, and this is totally a rich guy skill set, isn’t it? Don’t ask me how I keep forgetting that, after spending a week with you in a thousand-dollar-a-night hotel suite.” The corner of his mouth curled into a half-smile, before he quickly pulled up a poker face. That made me say, “It’s more than that, isn’t it? Like, a lot more. What is it really, three thousand dollars a night? Five? Never mind, don’t tell me. I think the answer might make me nauseous.”
He changed the subject with, “Come with me, and I’ll show you how to cast off. That means untying a boat from a dock.”
Within minutes, the prep work was done, Malcolm was behind the wheel with the motor running, and I was curled into a ball in a corner of the cabin, waiting to see if we were going to make it out of the marina without incident.
Of course, what I’d failed to take into consideration when I was inventing shit to worry about was that Malcolm was the most competent person I’d ever met. He piloted the boat like he played the piano—effortlessly, and with undeniable skill. In fact, he made it look so easy that I felt ridiculous for hesitating to get onboard.
We left the marina at a slow, steady pace. Once we were out in open water, he sped up, but it wasn’t anything too crazy. Gradually, I uncurled myself and looked out the window. The water was calm and sapphire blue, and in a relatively short amount of time, civilization gave way to a thick forest that seemed endless.
After a while, I said, “Explain to me where we are, exactly.”
“We’re traveling between Vancouver Island and the Canadian mainland. There are hundreds of islands and islets all through here. Some are inhabited. Most aren’t. The one we’re heading to is around forty-five nautical miles from where we started.”
The boat’s engine purred as Malcolm calmly kept moving us forward, and eventually, I conceded, “Okay, this isn’t bad at all. It’s actually pretty fun, and you really do know what you’re doing.”
Malcolm glanced at me and grinned. “Thanks for trusting me.”
A couple of hours later, he announced, “According to the GPS, that’s our destination.”
I’d been facing the back of the boat and watching the churning wake, which was oddly soothing. But when he said that, I crossed the cabin and stood beside the captain’s chair as we slowed to a crawl.
We were passing a tiny islet on our right, which was little more than a few rocks and four or five trees. Directly ahead of us was a large island with an entire forest on it, and at the top of a rocky outcropping was the lodge. It was every bit as beautiful as the photos I’d seen. Its exterior was mostly glass and dark wood, so it complemented the natural environment. It was architecturally striking with graceful angles, and now, shortly before dusk, the whole thing was lit from within and glowed like a paper lantern.