Authors: Amie Nichols
Climbing aboard my boat, and home, I grab a towel to wipe the sweat from my face. I usually jog in the morning, but today I volunteered at Orr's Island's YMCA, teaching CPR and basic life saving techniques. Ever since I left the SEAL team, I like to do classes to keep my skills sharp. Not that I will ever lose them, I'm sure. My training was extensive and grueling, and I've saved people in some of the worst situations imaginable.
I bought my yacht when I got back to Bailey Island a little over a year ago. When I was honorably discharged from the Navy, I had nowhere else to go. So I came home after being gone eight years.
If it wasn't for my sister I'm not sure I would have come back. I probably would have found somewhere, anywhere other than the small island I grew up on.
“Justin.” I turn toward the dock, hearing a familiar voice call my name.
“Sheriff,” I greet when I turn around and see my father dressed in uniform. He hates that I will only call him that. I haven't called him dad since I was in high school. I've been avoiding Sheriff Ben Bennett, dodging his phone calls for the past few days.
My father and I have butted heads since I was a boy. My mother died of cancer when I was young. Thank God for my sister or there would have been a good chance my father and I would have killed each other years ago.
“Son, you've been avoiding my calls,” my father says, stepping off the dock onto the deck of my boat. I haven't seen him much since I got back. I stare at him and notice the wrinkles that are starting to set in around his eyes. His hair shows the gray, and he has a pot belly that is causing his shirt to be too tight. My father has always been in great shape, but looking at him now he seems to age right before my eyes.
“Been busy, you know.” I know he knows that I haven't been busy at all. He cocks his head at me knowing full well that I'm full of shit. I don't work, except occasionally at a friend's tourist shop on Orr's Island where I teach tourists how to wakeboard during the busy times. It's fun, and the college girls that come in for lessons always mean a good time for me.
Besides my pension from the Navy, my sister and I received large inheritances that were put in a trust fund for us when our grandfather died. When I turned twenty-one I invested, and now if I do need money I only take from the interest accrued. Other than hanging out at The Gull, a local tavern owned by one of my friends, Jim Dobbs, I don't do much else besides jog, swim, and tinker on my boat.
“Yeah, I know you are soooo busy,” he mocks me. I know what he's been calling about. The McGill brothers went missing a few days ago, and I'm not sure if he's here to arrest me as a suspect or ask my opinion. The oldest brother, Jade, is also my slimy, asshole brother-in-law who has slowly drained my sister's inheritance to nothing, using her money to buy his fishing boat and a large warehouse for the start-up of his fishing company.
He somehow ended up with an exclusive contract to a well-known seafood chain, becoming their sole provider of lobster. The worst part is that all the money he's made, he's supposedly been putting it back into the company. Conveniently an account that Suzy has no access to. With me constantly riding her to find out when she would be getting her investment back, she finally started asking questions. He had a whole slew of lies ready for her. Such as wanting to buy another boat, or needing to repair this or that. Even she was starting to figure out she wasn't getting her money back. When Jade started staying out all night, Suzy really wokeup. They were high school sweethearts, and I think at one time Jade really loved Suzy, but his backwoods family never approved of her.
When they were trying to get pregnant, with no luck, Suzy went to a specialist only to find out she had female problems and was the reason she couldn't get pregnant. It made their relationship even more strained. Mary McGill, Jade's mother, made Suzy feel like less of a woman every chance she got. Suzy went into a severe depression, and didn't start getting better until I got home.
I had been helping her the past few months with finances, trying to figure out how she could get her money back in the divorce. We found out that Jade had worked the business to be only in the McGill name. Suzy had even signed her rights away to the business. She obviously did not know that was what she was doing. He told her they were some tax papers. She trusted him, so she signed with no questions asked. It states specifically that in the case of a divorce, the McGill Fishing Company was not subject to assets owned. About a month ago we contacted a lawyer and he told Suzy it was a
very iron clad contract. And with Suzy's signature there in black and white, it would be hard to fight.
“What's up?” I ask, using my towel to wipe the sweat from my chest and arms. Grabbing a beer from the mini fridge, I tilt the bottle toward my father to offer him one and he shakes his head. With a suit-yourself shrug, I twist open the bottle and take a long swig.
“Was wondering what you think about the disappearance,” he says. So he's wanting my opinion. I was sure I was going to be arrested as a suspect. Everyone in town knows I would rather punch Jade McGill than look at him. We've had more than one confrontation over the years. When he started cheating on my sister, he hid it at first, but after a while it was like he couldn’t care less and he wasn't sneaky about it either. He didn't have anything to lose, after all, and I was sure he was going to be hitting her with divorce papers before we could. Like I said, we had been working on finding a loophole.
“I don't know, have you looked into the alien abduction thing?” I deliver my smart ass comment and get a look of disappointment.
“Son,” he says in a firm, serious tone. I know it's not a joking matter, but I say good riddance to the McGill boys. Fucking assholes, all three of them. They got themselves into something and I think they've paid the price. Now, what that something is and how they disappeared, I can honestly say I have no idea. “The coast guard played the mayday for Mary McGill, and she swears the voice is not one of her boys,” he tells me, talking about their mother, who is the worst of them all.
“Okay.” I'm not sure what the hell I'm supposed to say here.
“They want to play it for Suzy, but she hasn't answered her phone and has not been at home. Do you know where she is?” he asks. I know he loves his daughter, but their relationship has also been strained. My sister looks just like our mother, and it is hard for my dad to deal with.
“She's been staying with a friend in Augusta. I'll see if I can get her to come back.” I mainly say this to get my father to leave. She's been staying there for the last few nights after the news of their disappearance. Tammy Coons, Jade's girlfriend, has been wailing all over town about the loss of the love of her life.
“Thanks, son,” my father says before leaving, stepping off the boat and onto the dock. I swear my father is clueless. Either he ignores the gossip in town about his son-in-law and Tammy, or he is really just that dense. I watch as he walks down the dock to his patrol car parked in the lot in front of the row of docks. I just shake my head, going in to take a shower.
That evening I walk to The Gull. I haven't talked to Jim in a few days and am wondering what the new gossip is. When I step into the tavern my eyes go directly to the woman sitting at the bar. It's the same woman I saw watching me today; the drop-dead-gorgeous tourist who is staying at Esther's B&B. I can't help but smile, because I think my night has gotten a whole lot better.
Chapter 4
Ellie
I've been sitting in the little local bar for about fifteen minutes when the running man walks in wearing jeans and a tight t-shirt that shows off his great upper body. I notice him, but look away fast when our eyes meet. I don't know if he recognizes me as the woman who was ogling him today.
“Hey, Jim.” He sits across the bar on a stool that is a few seats away, but on the curve of the bar so I can see him.
“Justin,” the bartender greets him, setting down a small glass with some golden liquid in it. The running man, I now know as Justin, smiles in thanks showing off perfect white teeth and sexy-as-hell dimples. I can't help but watch him. He is very attractive; rugged with a firm jaw line, and very muscular arms and broad shoulders. His dark hair is stick straight but short, the front spiked up a bit. I think this is probably the best looking man I've ever seen.
He notices me watching him and shoots me a panty-wetting smile. I smile back and turn my head to look down at my glass of wine. There's that damn heart flutter again.
After my small nap, I showered then changed into a short jean skirt and a halter top and decided to take a walk. I found this local tavern, and the name and atmosphere drew me in. The Gull is decked out in a nautical theme, but in a cheesy way. Everything that has to do with boating or water is in this bar. Its walls cluttered with fishing nets, oars, stuffed swordfish, and ship steering wheels among other nautical themed decorations. A captain's bell is above the door that alerts everyone when the door is opened.
I twirl my wine glass in my fingers as I try to look anywhere but at Justin. Like a prairie dog, my head pops up when I hear Jim, the bartender, start talking about aliens.
“So the newest is that they were abducted by aliens, but were returned as mermen, because even the aliens thought they were assholes.” Jim is leaning on the bar in front of Justin, telling him the new gossip.
“Fuck. Mermen, really?” Justin laughs a deep throaty laugh that makes something low in my belly twitter. I'm staring again, and I don't realize it until Justin is watching me back.
“Oh, sorry,” I apologize for my rude eavesdropping. “It's just that the innkeeper where I'm staying was rambling about some abduction and I was convinced she was crazy,” I try to explain.
“Esther is crazy, but on this she was just repeating what she's heard,” Justin says, and I realize I just ousted myself as the woman who was staring at him.
“Ah,” I feel my cheeks get hot, feeling embarrassed. Another emotion I'm not used to feeling. He gets up and moves over to the seat next to me. The tugging in my lower belly gets stronger and I sit up straighter as he turns his stool toward me. I get a waft of his cologne, and goddamn does he smell good.
“So, here's the story,” Justin says, his voice deep. I can't help but watch his lips as he speaks. “Three brothers leave one morning. They go out to check their cages like they do every morning. A small squall of no significance that lasts less than twenty minutes comes upon them. A mayday message is received by the coast guard from The Sweet Suzy, and by the time the coast guard makes it to the fishing boat, all three brothers are gone. Just vanished without a trace,” Justin enlightens me. I watch his face as he tells the story, and it's like he is talking about a fable, not something that has just happened.
“Well, if there was a storm maybe they went overboard?” I add, completely enthralled in him and the story.
“No way. These boys have been fishing these waters since they were in diapers. One, maybe, could have gone over, but all three?” He holds up three fingers, wiggling them for emphasis. He cocks his head like he has made his point and I laugh. It's a nervous laugh, because I am extremely in awe right now of this gorgeous, charismatic man sitting beside me.
“So what happened to them then?” I ask, taking a sip of my wine. My mouth is dry and my heart is palpitating.
“You tell me. That's the question on everyone's lips.” He shrugs, finishing his drink. Jim is watching us with amusement on his face as he pours more liquid into Justin's glass. McCallen. I'm impressed at the expensive Scotch he is drinking. “Jim, get this lovely woman a drink,” he says, pushing my now empty wine glass toward Jim's side of the bar.
“Thank you,” I fold my hands in front of me and turn my body a little so that my legs are closer to Justin. I notice at once that his eyes go down, checking me out. This was not my intention, but the look in his eyes when they make their way back up to mine makes my body hum. I'm pretty sure he was just picturing me naked, and I was just picturing me naked under him.
“Well, what do you think? It obviously wasn't aliens.” I take a sip of my wine, and then another, trying to calm my very fast beating heart. At the same time I'm thinking I should get the heck out of here before the running man makes me even more of a gooey hot mess.
“I have no idea, and really, honestly...” He stops mid-sentence and I lean in, waiting for his response. I don't even realize I'm doing it until he looks down between us. Seeing that I'm much closer to him now, he turns his head straight, putting his hand up to his mouth. It is almost a look of disgust. Did I read the signals wrong? Maybe I was being too forward leaning in to him.
I sit straight again, mortified. What, does he think I'm desperate? Did my lean-in turn him off?
The look he gives me actually pisses me off, and I want to yell, “You came and sat by me. Sorry if I invaded your personal space, asshole.” My range of emotions right now is scaring me. I finish my wine in one gulp then reach in my bag and grab a twenty.
“Are you leaving?” He seems shocked by this. Did I just imagine the look he gave me? The man is still hotter than hot to me, which makes me even more pissed off at myself.
“Yeah, just remembered I have somewhere to be.” I uncross my legs to stand up. Again, his eyes go down for a look.
What is your deal?
I want to shout at him. One minute he looks at me like he wants to eat me alive, the next he looks at me like I'm the alien.