Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
“Oh . . .” Sail felt like an idiot for assuming she meant something else. “Yeah, you’re right. There’s an amazing place, not far from here. They have the best desserts in town. We’d have to drive though.”
“I’ll see you at eight, Sail.”
“I’ll be here.”
Galvin gave him a little wave and then ran toward the diner. She avoided the main entrance and veered to the side where the gate was. Sail watched her until she disappeared, and jumped again, when Dune opened the car door.
“What was that about?”
Sail glanced at his brother. “We’re you watching us?”
“Yes,” Dune said. “I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“That was kind of you.” Sail put his car in drive and headed toward the marina. Thankfully, Blue Lobster Adventures had reserved parking for employees. People were taking advantage of the extremely nice weather and still took their boats out.
Dune carried the bag of muffins toward the boat they would take out for the day. Sail greeted Speed, Wilson, and Ana, who was waiting for her muffin. Once she had it, she took off for the ticket booth so she could start checking people in.
The rest of them stuffed their faces and began getting the boat ready, although either Speed or Wilson had done most of it the night before. Still, life jackets had to be counted and equipment checked.
Sail went to start the motor, wanting to give it ample time to warm-up, Dune followed. “What’s up?” Sail asked his brother when he spotted him.
“Look at this.” Dune handed Sail his phone. Sail read the article, his eyes widening and his blood boiled. Four dolphins were found, not far from their parent’s property this morning. This explained where their father was.
“What the fuck, Dune. What’s going on?”
“It’s the people drilling for the wind towers. No one will listen to us when we tell them it’s affecting sea life.”
“Why are they doing this?”
Dune shrugged. “Big money. They swear what they’re doing isn’t hurting the animals, but this is proof. Dolphins and whales don’t just die,” he said. “At least not at the rate they are.”
“Should we cancel? We can’t have the guests seeing a dying or dead animal in the water.”
Dune shook his head. “You’re right, but we can’t cancel. It’s a tour bus and I don’t even know what we’d say. It’s a gorgeous morning. Can you be lookout?”
Sail nodded and reached under the cabinet for the high-powered binoculars and a walkie-talkie. Dune clipped his radio to his belt and added the speaker to top pocket.
“Radio if you see something and I’ll divert as best possible.”
“What a shit show.”
“Yep,” Dune said.
Sail shook his head. “Wanna start some trouble.”
“As long as it’s good trouble, I’m in. Honestly, I think Dad will be in as well. This shit has got to stop. We’ve never had this many deaths.”
The brothers high-fived, and then set out to continue readying their boat for the day. When the first passenger stepped on board, Sail greeted them with a smile and welcomed them to Blue Lobster Adventures whale watch. He warned them they were going to get wet and if they wanted to stay dry, they needed to move inside.
As expected, everyone stayed outside and had their phone ready to capture the majestic beauty of a breaching whale.
galvin
. . .
Galvin clocked out, untied her apron, tossed it into the laundry bin, saw that it was full, and started a load of wash. She hollered to Andy, letting him know she started the washer, and reminded him she was leaving for the night.
Her mind was on the long, hot shower waiting for her upstairs as she walked toward the backdoor. She’d agreed to dessert with Sail, even though fear and question plagued her decision. Galvin liked Sail. More than she should. The smart thing was to remind him they would only ever be friends, and his romantic gestures—whether he meant them to be romantic or not—should stop.
Except, he made her insides feel mushy and lovestruck. Somehow, he’d softened the hard stance she’d taken when they first met and despite trying to keep a wall between them, the foundation began to crumble.
Galvin had never been so torn on what to do before. Mostly, she made a decision—especially one involving her life—and stuck to it. But Sail whittled away at her defenses and thoughts of giving him a chance were like a siren’s song—pulling her under his spell.
She pushed opened the door and stop dead. Sail sat at the picnic table with his head bent toward a stack of papers. He looked focused. Determined. And he muttered to himself.
“Hey,” she said, testing the waters so to speak, but also to alert him to her presence before the door behind her slammed shut.
Sail sat up straight and glanced at her. A slow smile spread across his lips, but didn’t meet his eyes. Galvin sensed something was off and then chided herself for knowing this. This wasn’t how someone kept their wall up.