Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“And if we’re not both single?” I asked. The idea of even going on a date with someone else seemed impossible right now.
Gannon looked down at his water and then back up at me. “Right now, I can’t honestly think of having anyone else in my life, Addie. I also don’t expect the two of us to remain saints, either. You’re going off to college, and I’m heading into the military.”
I sighed and dropped back in my seat. “Should we make some kind of pact that if we’re still single by forty, we marry each other?”
Laughing, Gannon flashed me a bright smile. “I’m down for that, but can we make it a little younger, please?”
A tear slipped free, and I wiped it away.
He leaned forward and whispered, “You will always own a piece of my heart, Adelaide Bradley. No matter what happens with our lives, you will always be a part of me.”
I lost the battle, my tears flowing freely down my face now.
He reached across the table and wiped the tears away. “Please don’t cry, Addie. I hate it when you cry.”
“I promised myself I wasn’t going to do this,” I said as I took the napkin Gannon handed me and blew my nose. “I said I wouldn’t cry.”
He winked. “You have no idea how much I want to cry as well.”
I laughed. “I’m going to miss you so, so much, Gannon.”
“We’ll write old-fashioned letters, text, and call each other.”
With a nod, I asked, “Do you promise?”
The expression on his face turned serious. “I promise you, Addie. Here, give me your pinky.”
With a childish giggle, I put my pinky out. “A pinky promise, like when we were little?”
“They’re the only kind of promise you can trust,” Gannon mused.
We hooked pinkies and locked gazes.
Clearing his throat, Gannon said, “I love you. And I promise no matter what happens in my life, I won’t stop keeping in touch with you.”
That’s the thing about promises, though…life gets in the way and you can’t always keep them.
Gannon
Present day – Seaside, Maine
One of my most favorite things was when the pilot boat lifted and dropped. I loved it. And the thrill of embarking a ship into not-so-smooth seas was more than an adrenaline rush. I fucking lived for it.
Ever since I could remember, I’ve wanted to be a port pilot. My father was in the Navy, and I loved hearing about his tales from being on the Naval ships. He met my mother when he came to Seaside with a Navy buddy of his. He’d said it was love at first sight, and he’d made her a promise that if she married him and left Seaside to be with him in the Navy, he’d eventually bring her back to Seaside to raise their family. That’s when he decided he needed a career change and chose the law. My mother had gone to school to be a doctor and decided that wasn’t for her, so she got her degree in education, instead. She’d taught fourth grade for as long as I could remember until she finally retired.
My father had kept that promise and was now one of the best lawyers in the state of Maine. He still had a love for ships just like me and my older brother, Brody. I’d spent much of my childhood running around the docks and piers. Then came the moment when I’d been old enough to ride out in the pilot boats to meet an incoming cargo ship. My father had gotten us onboard because his best friend Doug was the pilot.
There had been something so thrilling about watching Doug go from the smaller pilot boat to a rope-and-wood ladder so he could climb up the massive ship. That first moment I saw him do it, I knew I was going to do it someday too. My father, of course, wanted me to go into law or something safer. I wouldn’t listen though. From the time I was eight years old, it was my dream to be a boat pilot someday.
And that someday had come. After attending the Naval Academy for marine engineering, I had entered the Navy as an ensign, where I’d spent six years on active duty on ships. As soon as my time was up, I was back in Seaside pursuing my dream. I was on my third year as a deputy pilot, and about to become a full bar pilot. Right in time for my father to retire from his law office—though I knew he would keep doing legal work for the Penbay Pilots Association.
“Less than a minute, Gannon!” Chip called out. Chip was Doug’s son. He’d taken over for his father when he’d retired a few years ago and was now the launch master who drove the pilot ship out to the vessels I would either be embarking or disembarking on.