Sail Away by Jen Talty
5
Reid stared at the screen and blinked. His fingers trembled. He glanced around the hotel room until his gaze fixed on the window. The first curve of the yellow sun kissed the light-blue sky. A fifty-million-dollar business with one hundred direct employees, and he couldn’t trust a fucking single one.
Why?
Because he’d had a stupid breakdown over Darcie.
He slammed his fist on the sofa and jumped to his feet. Pacing at the edge of the bed and planting his hands on his hips, he let out a long breath. He had no right to be mad at her for his inability to get over her. That wasn’t her fault. He should have fought for her. He should have told her that he would have followed her to the ends of the Earth.
Instead, he’d ruined his life.
“Fuck,” he muttered. He had to get into the backup server without Preston being notified, and he wasn’t sure how he could do that since he no longer knew the external password. The only way for him to get into the system was to do it from inside.
But that would alert Preston.
Reid was fucked.
And once Preston got wind that Reid was poking around… God only knew what his partner might do or how he would respond.
The worst part was that Reid was pretty fucking sure that Preston was up to more than sliding the fire-retardant material into manufacturing early. Reid just didn’t know what, and he wasn’t sure how to find the answers. What he did know was that he hated putting Darcie right smack-dab in the middle of it all.
His cell phone buzzed.
A text from Preston indicating a change in plans and that there would be no jump off Deception Pass.
Thank God.
That was the last thing Reid wanted to do, only he didn’t like the replacement excursion very much either. He’d rather double down on the kayaking through the rapids.
His chosen ringtone chimed. He jumped.
A local number that he didn’t recognize appeared on the screen. He declined the call and tossed his phone onto the bed. He had to figure out how to get into the system without Preston being notified. It shouldn’t be this hard. It was like an alarm, so maybe he could intercept the texts somehow.
No. That wouldn’t work because he had no clue how to do that. He considered himself well versed in technology and knew a thing or two more than most, but he wasn’t that good.
His phone rang again.
Same local number.
He figured he better answer it this time.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Reid. It’s Jag Bowie.”
Of all the people in Seattle, Jag was not someone Reid expected to hear from. “Hey, Jag. What can I do for you?”
“I was hoping to meet you for a cup of coffee this morning.”
“I’m going to be getting on a boat shortly.”
“I know. My sister’s vessel,” Jag said with quite the stern, deep voice. “But that’s not till noon, and the marina is across the street. I’m in the lobby. If I don’t see you in five, I’ll be up banging on your door.”
“Isn’t this something like police harassment?” Reid said sarcastically under his breath.
“If I didn’t sort of like you, I’d take offense.”
“I’ll be down in a few.” Reid stuffed his phone into his pocket along with the plastic key. He slipped his feet into his cowboy boots and meandered out the door. If he had a little sister, he’d be doing the same thing. He couldn’t blame Jag for being concerned.
When they first met, Jag had really disliked Reid, in part because of Reid’s age. He wondered what a man a little older than him would see in his kid sister. But after spending some time together, Jag and Reid had become good friends.
Until the breakup.
Reid stepped from the elevator and found Jag sitting at one of the tables in the breakfast area with two tall mugs of coffee. He didn’t wear a cop uniform, but he had a badge hanging on his navy-blue shirt and gun on his hip.
“I really didn’t think I’d see you this trip.” Reid held out his arm.
Jag shook his hand good and hard. “You’re looking much better than the last time our paths crossed.”
“Yeah, that’s a night I wish never happened.” Reid took a seat and shifted. “The things I do remember were pretty rotten, and what I don’t remember, I wish people would stop filling me in on.” He glanced inside the mug and smiled. “You remembered.”
“For a Southern man who claims to be a fucking cowboy, you drink coffee like a goddamned girl with all that fancy-schmancy stuff. And I’m not sure I got it right. The girl at the coffee shop didn’t understand one of the things I said, so she did the best on what she thought I meant.”
“It smells like it’s got all my requirements.” He brought the paper mug to his lips and closed his eyes. “Oh. That’s good fucking coffee. Darcie won’t have that on her yacht. I’ll have to suffer for a few days.”
“How did that happen, by the way?”
“What? Me ending up on your sister’s boat?” Reid shrugged. “Pure luck. Never in a million years would I have believed Darcie would wind up back here of all places. She swore to me she’d never live in Seattle. Ever. Not even to have a slip for a boat.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but after the two of you broke up, she went a little crazy. Coming home was the first sane thing she did, though we all thought it weird and very unlike her. She tends to run away when things get tough, not come crawling home.”
“I agree, which is why I was shocked. Do you know what she has planned after this summer season?”
“She’s taking her captain’s test. But after that, she doesn’t have anything lined up. Another scary thing for the family.”
“She’s gone weeks, even a month between gigs before.”
“But she’s always had them ready and waiting. We know she wants to captain, but she’s not even looking.” Jag leaned back, resting his hand on the butt of his weapon.
Reid pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why am I here?” This was not the type of conversation he’d envisioned when he walked into this lobby.
“Two reasons. First, I’m asking you to stay away from Deception Pass. Don’t make me arrest you.”
“I’ve always enjoyed handcuffs.”
Jag rolled his eyes.
“Don’t worry. We have called off those plans.” Reid held up his hands. “Swear to God. We’re going looking for sharks instead, or at least that’s what Preston says we’re doing.”
“Are you being straight with me?”
“I’m telling you what I’m being told. But either way, I’m not participating. I’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
“At least I won’t have to pull your body from the water,” Jag said. “The second reason I’m here is my sister. I know there are two sides to every breakup, and seeing you in New Orleans, I can tell Darcie did a number on you. And I’m not sold that either of you are over the other.” Jag held up his hand, waving his wedding ring. “My wife and I had a horrible breakup after I told her that I put the wrong person behind bars, and a killer struck again, murdering my wife’s sister. So, I know a little about heartache and patching that sucker back up.”
Reid knew all this, and he sure as shit didn’t want to sit here and listen to it again when he needed to figure out how to save his company and get Preston the fuck out of his life. However, he couldn’t be rude to Jag. It wouldn’t be right.
“I shouldn’t be the one telling you this, but Darcie spent the first part of this year working every exotic boat she could get on. She even took a job as a stew again.”
“Oh, good grief, she did not.” Reid struggled to see Darcie working on the interior of a yacht. Besides it being stereotypical, something Darcie couldn’t stand, it was not the kind of work she was good at.
“It was as if she was trying to work you out of her system. And then Captain Jim hired her as boson on a yacht. Next thing we knew, she and Slimy Jim were an item.”
“I take it you don’t like Captain Jim,” Reid said with his hand over his mouth, trying to contain his amusement.
“He cheated on my sister.”
“Yes. I know that,” Reid said, clearing his throat.
Jag lowered his gaze. “How?”
“Darcie told me last night.”
“She said she ran into you for like ten minutes. I’m surprised she told you about Jim at all.” Jag squeezed his paper mug and tossed it into the garbage.
“I was still at the docks when she got back from your parents’ house.”
“Really. And what happened?”
“Nothing,” Reid said. “She and I just needed to clear the air. I wanted to apologize. That’s it.”
Jag stood and adjusted his pants, looping his fingers into his weapons belt. “Do you still love my sister?”
“Interesting question when you’re standing in cop mode, presenting your gun as if I’m being interrogated.” In order to level the playing field, Reid hopped to his feet.
“It’s just a simple question.”
“That has a complicated answer. And a man who’s had his heart crushed by the woman he loves more than life itself should understand that.”
“I guess I have my answer.” Jag smiled. “The one thing my family, especially my father, doesn’t understand about Darcie is that she’s not running or chasing anything. While they are all trying to figure out what it is she wants. Or why she wants it. And suffocating her while doing it. She’s living the dream, only no one who matters to her ever gave her permission to enjoy it.”
Reid opened his mouth. Nothing but a gasp came out. He closed it and tried again. “That was profound and kind of beautifully said.”
“I’m married to a writer, who has me read and write with her these days. I find myself saying weird shit all the time. But even I didn’t get it until my father said something last night about Darcie, and it hit me that we’re all asking her to conform to what we think, and no one is listening to what she thinks. She always used to say being the baby sucked because everyone knew things before she did. She hated it when any of us said something like you just wait until you’re my age.”
“Try being twelve years older and her boyfriend and say something like that.” Reid palmed his coffee mug. “She’s always felt like she had to fight to be seen, heard, and respected in anything she’s ever done.”
A young couple, who were barely awake, and their two toddlers, who were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, entered the breakfast area. The young mother mumbled something about birth control and caffeine, while the father waggled a finger at the kids and pretended to scold them.
When he was Darcie’s age, or even Jag’s age, Reid didn’t think he wanted a wife, let alone kids. He didn’t want to settle down. He liked jet-setting from one whirlwind adventure to the next.
And then he went and fell in love with Erin. She was a bright soul with dark demons. However, she made him want to be a better version of himself, and if she could have gotten a handle on her emotional and mental issues, well, he really didn’t know. Because she wasn’t here anymore.
But Darcie was flesh and blood, and she’d turned his world upside down and shook him to the core. He went from wanting to be thrown from a rocket as a human bullet to sitting on a front porch with a puppy, a newspaper, and maybe, just maybe, a little boy or girl playing in the front yard. And then she’d walked out of his life, and she’d taken the image with her.
“I know. As her big brother, it pains me to see her struggle like that and not be able to drop-kick her so she gets that she’s her own worst enemy.”
“Sometimes we have to figure that one out for ourselves.” Reid scratched the back of his head. He’d stood in the way of himself for years after Erin died. He couldn’t open himself up because he always worried that once he peeled back a layer, he’d find the ugly demons.
But everyone had a past.
Baggage.
He’d learned when he fell in love with Darcie that he hadn’t been afraid of losing someone again, but rather of not being able to save them. Because no matter what he did, he knew he never would have been able to fix Erin.
She knew it too, and in the end, she did what she believed—no, what she knew—would end the suffering for everyone.
Darcie had been right, and in the beginning of their relationship, he used Erin’s death as a shield. And that had been a shitty thing to do. By the time he figured it out and tried to turn things around, it was too late. Darcie already had one foot out the door.
“What’s on your mind?” Jag asked.
“Just work stuff. I really shouldn’t be taking a three-day cruise. But my partner is still more like a twenty-year-old surfer dude than a grown-ass man.”
“I’ve heard Preston is a piece of work.” Jag glanced over his shoulder as the two toddlers knocked over a carton of milk. He covered his mouth. “I’m going to suck at being a father because I won’t be able to keep a straight face when my kid does stuff like that.”
“I’m sure you’ll be a great one. Thanks for stopping by. It was really good to see you.”
“You too, man.” Jag slapped Reid on the shoulder. “Tell my sister you still love her, and then listen to what she has to say. That’s all she wants. To be heard.”
“Yes, oh, wise man.”
“And don’t ever say that again.” Jag waved his hand over his head. “Have a fun trip. We’ll see you for dinner at my place when you get back.”
“I don’t think so,” Reid responded.
“You’re going to sweep my sister off her feet.” The doors closed behind Jag.
“I’m probably going to get myself thrown off the ship by my own business partner, but that will be about the only excitement,” he mumbled as he headed to the elevators and poked at the button.
It was going to be a long couple of days.
