Chapter 9

9

"That's a tall mast you've got there."

"Why, thank you," Jace replied with a wink. "I haven't gotten any complaints yet. I know we just got off the water, but I thought it might be fun to get back on it in a completely different way. Is that all right?"

Erin stood next to him on the pier, taking it all in. "Yeah, it's just…You know I don't know how to sail, right?"

"You made that pretty clear earlier. In my line of work, it's safest to assume that no one knows how to sail." He stepped down onto the deck and held out his hand. "Here. I'll help you."

She laid her hand in his and climbed aboard, but she still looked scared as she took in the sails and the rigging. "It's a lot. Do you have a crew?"

"Nope. Just me."

Erin blinked and looked up at the mast again. "You can't sail this by yourself, can you?"

"I can, actually. The rigging is set up so I can do everything from the cockpit." He spared her all the nautical jargon. Jace could teach her later about the spinnaker or jigging, but none of that really mattered right now. He just wanted to share a bit of his life with her while they had a chance. He didn't know what would happen when they reached the end of the week. They'd have to discuss that at some point, but right now, the water was calling him.

"That's impressive."

"And you haven't even seen me sail it yet." He moved over to a storage locker and lifted the lid, pulling out a couple of life jackets. "The first rule, though, is safety."

"I don't mind being safe, but I admit this makes me a bit nervous." She pulled on the life jacket and buckled it in the front.

"I know it's not the luxury of the yacht, but I think you'll have a better time." That was practically guaranteed, considering no wedding would be taking place aboard this boat today. Jace fired up the small outboard motor that slowly pushed them out of the harbor and into the bay. The breeze was picking up, promising a perfect day of sailing. He unfurled the sails and used the wind to take them further.

"Oh!" Erin held onto the railing.

"Are you good?" he asked. He didn't want to scare her.

"As long as you're good," she replied, her hands tight. "This feels completely different, like we're out of control."

"That's part of what made me fall in love with it," he admitted as he made a few minor adjustments. "Everything about this boat is manmade, but there's an element of nature to it that you can really feel. The yachts are nice, but this makes you think about what it was like back when people were first learning how to conquer the seas."

"I can't even imagine," she murmured. "What if the wind isn't going in the direction you want to sail?"

Jace adjusted the main sheets, watching the luff of the sails. "Fortunately, I don't have to wait for the wind to cooperate. There's a lot I can control with the sails and their positioning, but it's mostly just our propulsion. The rest is up to the rudder. Here. Take the wheel and you'll see."

She glanced at him uncertainly before she slowly put her hand on the wheel. "What should I do?"

"I just want you to see what it feels like. Take it a little starboard. To the right," he added, once again remembering that this was his world and not hers. Jace hoped they might be able to blend some of that and share a bit of each other's passions. It was hard not to get ahead of himself when he could feel that bond between them continually growing.

Erin gave the wheel a slow tug to the right. "Whoa."

"Yeah, it's pretty responsive. That's one of the things I like about it, though. I'm much more connected with the water when I'm sailing this than when I'm behind the wheel of one of those yachts. It's like the difference between riding a horse down a trail or taking a luxury sedan down a smooth highway. They have their benefits, but I have my preferences. Try going left."

She did as he asked, causing the boat to swerve once more. Jace easily adjusted the sails to keep everything in check, and she laughed. "I don't think those explorers you mentioned would have made it very far if I was in charge. I can't even imagine what it would've been like to sail completely across the sea with no land in sight."

"You know, this boat is capable of that." He wound the sheeting around a cleat, satisfied with where it was for the moment. The day was mild, and now that he had everything in place, he shouldn't need to make adjustments for a while.

"Really?" She looked around at the boat once again. "I guess I assumed you'd have to have a much bigger ship to make that happen."

"Oh, no. You should see some of the crazy sailors and what they get out and do. I'm not going to say I've never considered it, but it would be a hell of an undertaking." Jace took the wheel back from her, giving her time to relax and get used to the movement of the boat.

Erin scooted over, but she no longer had a death grip on the railing. "I've never been on a cruise, Gretchen and Hugo's wedding voyage notwithstanding."

Jace had managed to put most of that out of his mind. Bringing Erin back to his house had been a much more pleasurable thought. Other than a quick report to Rodney to let him know about the unexpected turnaround, he'd been much more focused on having his mate in his home and bed. "I never did ask if you'd ever been able to talk to Gretchen."

"Yeah, and a lot of good that did. She actually knew about Hugo and Blaire, and she didn't care. As far as she was concerned, he could do whatever—and whomever—he wanted as long as she got to live like a kept woman. It was her dream, she said, and I ruined it."

He could see the hurt and pain that still lived inside her, and he wished the salt spray could wash it all away. As he learned how to be a father, Jace had come to understand he couldn't make everyone's problems disappear. He couldn't make them any better by telling someone to think positively or blithely giving simple advice. Still, he could feel his bear getting uncomfortable as they spoke. "It's not right of her to put the blame at your feet. If she wanted you to be a part of the wedding, she should've told you what her relationship with Hugo was like."

"Maybe." Erin flicked her fingers unenthusiastically in the air. "Everyone's got their way of thinking about relationships, and I'm sure the gap widens when it comes to being a shifter versus being a human. I don't think it's right for either one of them to use each other, but I doubt they look at it that way at all."

"You could be right." They were far out from the harbor now, leaving behind the mass of boats that often choked the coastal areas. A few sails showed on the horizon, but no one was around to hear them. "Does Gretchen know about you? About being a shifter and a witch?"

A strand of hair had escaped Erin's short ponytail. She combed it back with a fingernail. "Yeah, but that's because she's a witch, too. That's not my secret to tell, so if she asks, you didn't hear it from me."

He put his arm over the back of her seat, both for his own comfort and because he wanted to be closer to her. "Scout's honor, although I never was a Scout."

She laughed. "I'll remember not to tell you any more secrets, then. Not that I have any others to share," she added quickly.

"I'm sure there are plenty more secrets," he replied. Jace was eager to find out all of them. "Is that how you and Gretchen know each other? Is she in your coven?"

"No," Erin replied quickly. "I don't mean that in a bad way, but she's just not really like us. We're all shifters, for one thing, and she just…I don't know. It's hard to explain. "

"That's okay," Jace assured her. It was all right, whether that meant she didn't want to explain or that it would take a while. He had all the time in the world while he was out there in the bay with her at his side. "Does she know how to heal plants like you do?"

"Gretchen's specialty is remote viewing. She can see things in her mind that she can't see physically. That was how she knew some kids were picking on me on the playground. Oh, hell." Erin pressed a hand to her forehead. "That's probably how she knew Hugo was cheating on her. But anyway, these kids were picking on me."

Jace relaxed, letting the warm sunlight flood over his body as he listened to Erin recount the first time she met Gretchen, as well as how their friendship had grown and changed over the years. He liked watching how her face changed with each part of the story. Smiling, laughing, shaking her head, knotting her brows, twisting her lips. Every now and then, he tweaked the sails, but he was mostly absorbed in her. This was his mate, the person he was supposed to be with. He'd spent so much of his life without her, and now he had a lot of lost time to make up for.

When she reached the point of being invited to the wedding, Erin stopped her story and let out a long sigh. "Well, that was kind of therapeutic. Thank you."

"No problem." Jace felt that familiar sensation of another boat coming up on them, and he looked over his shoulder to check the location. He saw no other boat, though.

"What about you? Any friends you've had since childhood?" she asked.

The eagerness in her eyes told him it wasn't just a polite question meant to make up for all she'd shared. Erin genuinely wanted to know. "My brothers, if that counts."

"Sure, it does."

"I think so, too," he admitted. "We're all pretty close. I think I mentioned that our clan all lives right there on the shore near my house. It's been that way for generations, with the houses all being passed down from one to the next. We've seen a lot of history."

"That's lovely," she said softly.

He had to agree. "It is, and I think our clan even today sort of represents that. In a way, my brothers and I all claim a different aspect of the Cape. Dylan, the oldest and our Alpha, is a park ranger for the Cape Cod National Seashore. That job suits him quite well, really, and it's what our father did before he retired. Ross and his husband have a great little restaurant in Provincetown, and Dex owns a campground."

Erin nodded. "Diverse, but all different parts that come together as elements of where you're from. Especially when you add yourself in."

She got it. He didn't have to say much, and she understood. Jace felt them grow that much closer. "Exactly. I do have another brother, Will. He's addicted to the water, like I am, but he's sailing the seven seas right now. We don't see him very much. Otherwise, though, we're all very close."

"Your family sounds wonderful." Erin snuggled a little closer to him, fitting into the shelter of his arm.

"They really are. I know we've just got a few days together before you need to go home, but maybe you can meet them first." His bear rumbled with pleasure at the thought of bringing his mate to meet his family. They would love her instantly, he knew. The nagging thought of what to do after this week still bothered him, but he didn't have any solutions yet. Maybe something would come to him before it was over .

"I'd love to," was her simple answer.

Another nagging thought tugged at him. This time when Jace glanced over his shoulder, he did see another boat. It was distant, but he adjusted the wheel so they'd keep plenty of space between them.

"What's wrong?" Erin had been leaning into him, her body relaxing against his, but now the tension she felt in him had her sitting up.

"Just a second." Jace tried the wheel again but still didn't get the response he wanted. He chewed his lip as he moved it in the other direction. "Damn. I think one of the rudder cables came off the pulley."

"What does that mean?" Erin asked. She was trying not to sound alarmed, but she wasn't doing a very good job of it.

Jace sighed. "It means we don't have any steering, but I should be able to repair it." He unwound the rigging from a nearby cleat and lowered the mainsail, fastening it to the boom so that the wind wouldn't continue to push them along while he couldn't control their direction.

She watched him nervously. "Is there anything I can do?"

"There might be, in a moment. I'm sorry that this happened, Erin." If it'd been just him out on the boat, he would've just cussed a bit about it and fixed it. But this was the first time she'd come out sailing with him. It obviously unnerved her a bit, and he didn't want it to be the last time.

"It's all right. It's not like it's your fault."

"No," he replied hesitantly. He hadn't taken the boat out in choppy waters or done anything extreme that would cause the cable to jump the pulley. Jace had always been adamant about maintaining his boats, whether for business or pleasure. He hadn't slacked in that department, which meant the chances of him running into any problems out on the water were slim to none. Still, he must've slipped up somewhere. He was embarrassed and a little pissed, but he tried not to let too much of that show as he took off his life jacket.

Now, she was genuinely alarmed. "What are you doing?"

"I can't reach the pulley from up here. I've got to dive down and take a look at it. It's all right," he assured her. "I'll jump in and make sure the problem is what I think it is. Can you grab the toolbox out of the storage locker for me?"

"Yeah. I'll do that."

He plunged into the warm water and ducked under the transom. Jace knew the boat well, since he'd had it for several years now. He easily found the pulley, but the cable hadn't just slipped off it. It was completely disconnected from the rudder. It was no wonder the wheel didn't do anything when he turned it. Fortunately, he knew it was something he could fix.

Just before Jace came back to the surface, he felt that odd sensation at his back again. It was the same one he'd had earlier, a creeping perception under his skin of being watched. He turned, gazing through the blue depths that surrounded him. Jace was alone.

Surfacing, he wiped the water from his eyes to find Erin waiting for him, her face pinched with worry. "It's just the cable, like I thought. Open up that box for me."

She unfastened the latch and lifted the lid before pushing the toolbox closer to him so he could see inside. "Will it be hard to fix?"

"No, not really. It's just a pain since I have to do it underwater, but that's nothing I haven't done before." Seeing that his casual discussion wasn't reassuring her, he reached up and took her hand. "Don't worry. You're only going to get wet if I splash you. We'll be up and cruising in no time. "

Erin gave him a weak smile. "Okay. I'll be right here if you need me."

Jace dove down once again. He wrapped the cable around the pulley and kept tension on it as he guided it to the rudder. It was hard not to blame himself. There had to be something he missed, something he'd neglected at some point. His failure had made Erin worry.

Just as he was fastening the cable in place, that odd feeling once again took up residence in his spine and shoulders. He whipped around, certain that something was in the water with him. The sunlight filtered down through the water in pale beams. Far off, a few small fish flitted further into the distance. The hull of the ship was large over his head, but it was no threat. Jace decided he'd been thinking too much about Ian's idea to go find great whites for his tours. He hurriedly fixed the cable, wanting it done before he had to come up for air again. He took one last look around and swam up.

Erin was standing up and looking toward the bow of the ship when he emerged and pulled himself up onto the transom. She whipped her head around to him and rushed forward. "Is everything okay?"

"I should ask you the same thing." Jace used the side of his hand like a squeegee to scrape the water from his skin and flick it away, although plenty of it still ran from his hair and shorts. "You look a little spooked, but I've got everything fixed."

"Well, I was a bit concerned about that," she admitted, her fingers fidgeting in front of her. "I've never had to worry about getting stranded on a boat before, but I believed you when you said you could handle it. It's just that I thought I saw something in the water."

His muscles stiffened. "What kind of thing did you see?"

"Nothing, apparently," she replied, impatient with herself. "I was here waiting for you, and I thought I saw a big shape out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look, and there was nothing there. It must've been a shadow playing tricks on my eyes, although it happened a couple of times."

"Yeah, maybe we've been in the sun too much," he conceded, although Jace wished he had a reasonable conclusion for what had happened. They both had the instincts of hunters, of animals who were far more aware of their surroundings than humans. He didn't want to ignore that, but they were safe on the boat now. "We should be able to get back now. Do you want to help me test out the rudder? "

"Sure. What do I do?" She looked eager to be useful.

He couldn't blame her. Taking action was much better than standing around ruminating on what might be lurking in the water around them. "Go up to the wheel and turn it gently to the right. I'll be able to watch the rudder from here and make sure it's working."

"Okay!"

Jace knelt in the back of the boat and peered over the edge, leaning out just far enough that he could see the dark shape of the rudder. He watched the water around it, still not completely convinced that they were alone. Jace was confident in the water but knew he could still become prey if he weren't careful. There was absolutely nothing to make him think he wasn't, so he focused on the rudder. It moved just as it should. "Now to the left. Perfect. We're good to go. Want to help me raise the sail?"

She'd relaxed a bit now that there was no reason for the Coast Guard to rescue them and nodded. "Sure. Just show me."

Jace taught her how to release the mainsail and hoist it up the mast. He stood behind her, his arms around her as he showed her how to work the rigging, pointing out the different movements of the sail and how to adjust for them. As she leaned into his body and they guided the craft together, Jace let all those worried thoughts leave his mind.

The only thing that mattered right now was being there with his mate.