Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
Sawyer
I took my last bite of the lobster mac-and-cheese I'd ordered at the resort restaurant—a good counterpoint to the lobster-mac souffles Ash served on the boat, though he'd probably given them a punny name like Lobster MacDaddy by now— and checked the time on my phone.
"Damn, I have to go soon."
"Booze cruise duty calls, huh?" Brooks said from his place across the table with Skylar. Poppy and Cash were squashed between the table and the wall.
I'd grabbed a quick bite with my friends since I would be working too late to hang with Ash, but Grandma Kitty had taken one look at the packed dining room and decided to order room service instead.
"Yeah. I'll be glad when Hudson gets back tomorrow."
Even though Heath had turned up on Wednesday as promised—crabby but sober—and taken the tours I gave him, there was no way to avoid this booze cruise.
Heath had seemed a little abashed when he heard about it. "Guess it's my fault you're stuck doing it, huh?"
"Partly," I said, then tossed him a bone. "But I might have ended up doing it this week anyway. The schedule was tight. Doesn't mean I plan to volunteer in the future."
He'd nodded. "Yeah, you've done more than your fair share of those runs."
It wasn't an apology, but it was an acknowledgment. Heath and I might never be friends, but a grudging respect had sprung up after I set him straight.
I'd still have to tell Hudson what happened—he deserved to know about Heath's drinking problem in case it got worse—but I'd recommend he give Heath the chance to right his mistakes.
Maybe I was just in a forgiving mood because of everything with Ash. I'd spent years resenting him, and now I was going to miss him because I had to work a few hours.
Shit sure had changed fast.
Just as I stood up, Ash emerged from the kitchen. Nice. Maybe we could walk down to the dock together and I could snag a private goodbye kiss.
Cash waved an arm, putting an end to that idea. "Yo, Ash! Come join us, boyfriend!"
"Dude."
"What?"
"We're not, like…"
"Boyfriends?" Brooks asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because you've spent like every night together for how many nights?"
Okay, so we'd hung out and hooked up all week, but I was still wrapping my head around all this change and what it meant going forward.
Ash veered toward our table. "Hey, guys. I already ate on the boat since Sawyer's abandoning me for work tonight."
"Good," Cash said. "You're just in time for after-dinner drinks. Hang out with us."
"Oh. Uh, okay?"
"You can take my seat," I said. "I've got to go, so you'll be at these jerks' mercy."
Ash grinned. "I can handle them. The question is, what will they tell me about you?"
I groaned as my friends laughed.
"Oh, yeah, Ash knows how the game is played." Cash slung an arm over Ash's shoulders.
"Play nice. I know where all your bodies are buried too." I eyed Cash, then Brooks. "That goes for all of you."
"I don't have any dead bodies," Poppy said.
"Fair. But you won't go telling tales out of school. I trust you. "
"What, and you don't trust me?" Cash said, blinking wide eyes like an innocent lamb, the faker. "I'm hurt."
I rolled my eyes. "Sure, you are. Just don't have too much fun at my expense while I'm gone, okay? I don't want you to scare Ash off."
Ash grinned. "As if they could."
Cash engaged him in gossip instantly, and I dragged my feet in the direction of the exit, reluctant to leave.
Brooks joined me as I walked out. "You know he's totally gone over you, right?"
"You think?"
"It's obvious," Brooks said as we stepped into the hallway. "And I think…maybe you're feeling some kind of way about him too?"
"Maybe." I hesitated. "It's a big change. Our past is messy."
"All true, but if you've got real feelings for the guy, you've got to let that go."
"I know."
"He deserves a clean slate, and so do you, Saw. Trust him. Trust yourself. If you can't…"
I pushed the door open, stepping into the balmy night air. "What, Brooks? Just spit it out."
"If you can't let the past go, then you should end it before it gets any more serious. Because I'm pretty sure Ash is already half in love with you. If not all the way."
My heart skipped a beat. "You think he feels that strongly?"
"I'm pretty sure. Which is why you owe it to him to make up your mind about what you want."
I could almost see it. A future with Ash. All of us one big group of friends.
It wasn't really a matter of what I wanted. It was a matter of what I could trust. Could I risk a future with Ash after everything that had happened in our past? I'd let go of my resentment and forgiven Ash. But could I believe in him, in us, without reservation?
I didn't have time to figure it out right then. I told Brooks goodbye and headed to the dock to meet my booze cruise tourists.
They were a bunch of young twenty-somethings.
"It's my 21st birthday!" a brunette who looked about twelve crowed as she boarded the boat.
Her friends, a mix of college kids, whooped and hollered.
Great. This was going to be a real treat.
"Happy birthday, Kerry," I said gamely before reaching for the next guy.
He was too macho to accept my help and stepped up without taking my hand. The next guy attempted the same and nearly fell off the side of the boat before I grabbed him.
"You all did some pre-gaming, huh?"
"We did! Yeah!"
I helped the rest of the group aboard, one of the last women in the group meeting my gaze with a sheepish smile. "Sorry for my friends. They're just having fun."
"That's the point of the booze cruise. Don't worry about it."
I hated booze cruises, yes, but I didn't blame tourists who wanted to have a good time. I just didn't want to be responsible for a bunch of drunken, impaired adults on the lake. Not to mention how obnoxiously loud and reckless drunk people could get.
"All right, everyone, take a seat. I've got a few rules."
"Rules? Boo!"
I smiled. "Yep, sorry. You want to get this show on the road, then you've got to listen. Otherwise we'll cancel it right now."
"I love a man with a firm hand!" one of the women called to a chorus of laughter.
I ignored her and went through my safety spiel, emphasizing the requirement to stay seated while the boat was moving, to keep arms and legs inside the boat, and what to do in the event someone went overboard or the boat became incapacitated.
Afterward, I got everyone situated with a drink from the cooler, then took my seat in the captain's chair and started up the boat. The woman from before, not the birthday girl but the one who'd apologized for her friends, sat in the co-captain's seat.
"Is it okay if I sit up here? I'm not really in the mood for their kind of party."
"Sure," I said. "It'll be pretty boring. I'm just going to drive the boat and lecture everyone to sit the fuck down before they end up drowning."
She laughed. "I'll help you yell at them then."
I grinned as I hit the throttle, taking us slowly out of dock. "Appreciate it."
"I'm Darla, by the way."
I shook her hand. "Sawyer."
"Go faster!" someone called.
I flipped them the bird over my shoulder, figuring they weren't the kind of group to get offended, and they all laughed.
Once we'd gained some distance from the resort I pushed the throttle, speeding up. Behind me, the group cheered.
"Darla, will you warn me if they get up to any hijinks back there?" I asked. "I'll try to check from time to time, but I need to keep an eye out because the lake gets crazy this time of night."
She glanced toward the group. "Ronnie, sit your ass down, dude!"
"Buzzkill!" he called.
I cut a quick glance back to see he was retaking his seat.
"Thanks. You're gonna make this a lot easier for me."
She smiled. "Well, it's not selfless. I'd rather get to know you than?—"
"Shit," I cursed as a DreamBoat cut across our path out of nowhere. Well, not nowhere. They'd just shot out of a finger-shaped inlet. There were several on the lake, and one of the reasons there were a lot of accidents. Aside from drunken recklessness, anyway.
Those fingers created blind spots for boaters. Just like intersections without proper signage, we sometimes didn't see we were on a collision course until it was too late.
I throttled down so quickly my boat jerked, and there were started exclamations behind me.
The DreamBoat was packed with people—far too many people. Music blared from their speakers, cutting over the horn of another boat. One that hadn't seen them in time.
I looked to see who was driving, wishing I could warn him somehow. That was when shit went from bad to worse.
Because the driver was some frat bro guzzling a beer while he drove. And the DreamBoat operator? He was too busy feeling up a busty woman to realize what was happening.
Darla shrieked beside me as the DreamBoat and a small speedboat collided. The smaller craft went spinning, and someone flew overboard.
There were cries that echoed even over the sound of that blasting music.
"Everyone stay calm," I called as my group all rushed from their seats to peer into the dark.
"Are they okay? Oh my god."
"I think I see someone in the water."
"That boat is sinking!"
The DreamBoat was going on its merry way as if it hadn't just caused a serious accident.
Bile rose up my throat. I made no secret of the fact that I didn't like the way they operated, but this?
They weren't getting away with this shit.
I grabbed the radio and called for water rescue, then handed it to Darla. "Tell them we're on the Swallow party strip near the Blue Fin inlet, okay?"
I jumped from my seat while Darla conveyed the directions in a shaky voice. I ripped open the seats and pulled out the life ring buoy, then tossed it in the direction of the sinking boat.
Sirens blared in the distance, telling me that our rescue boat was on the way and would probably arrive before the boat submerged.
The man who'd gone overboard grabbed the life ring, clinging to it, but appeared too weak to swim.
I pulled the line, reeling him toward my boat, and a couple of my passengers helped me get him aboard.
The accident had sobered them all right up.
It was an older guy, maybe in his fifties, and he was shaking hard, most likely in shock.
I retrieved one of the emergency rescue blankets we stored under the seats and threw it over his shoulders. "You're okay. We've got you."
"M-my w-wife."
"I think you're the only one who went into the water. Just stay still and wait for help. Do you hurt anywhere?"
Moving someone after an accident was a risk, but we couldn't leave the guy in the water with other boat traffic potentially coming through.
"M-my leg…" His face tightened with pain as the shock subsided enough for him to register it. "Broken. B-but Jane…"
The sirens grew louder. "The rescuers are here, okay? We're going to talk to them. I'll make sure Jane is safe."
Darla tapped my shoulder. "I need you on the radio. They've got questions about the situation, and I don't know…"
I nodded. "Just stay and keep him calm. He shouldn't move."
"Okay."
I returned to the front of the boat, grabbing up the radio. "This is Sawyer West. I'm the operator of the cruiser you see at the accident scene. We saw it happen and pulled one person out of the water. He's in shock, possibly with a broken leg. I've got a rescue blanket over him, but he needs medical assistance."
"All right. Good work. We're going to send a medic aboard. Just hang tight."
"I will. I didn't see anyone else go into the water, but he's worried about his wife."
"Understood. We're assessing the situation on the other boat. We need to board those folks. But we'll be with you as soon as we can."
"Got it. I, uh, witnessed the accident. I can make a report, but I've got a boat full of freaked out tourists."
"We'll let you get them out of here as soon as it's safe to do so. In the meantime, thank you for your patience."
I lowered the radio with a shuddering breath.
Accidents happened on the lake. It wasn't my first time narrowly avoiding one. But this…this was entirely avoidable. I'd gotten a brief look at the DreamBoat operator. I recognized him.
Julian Long.
He'd let a drunken passenger operate his boat and had nearly killed someone as a result.
With shaky fingers, I texted Ash.
Gonna be late. Fucking Julian just did a hit-and-run on a boat. Well, not Julian. No. Because some drunk passenger was driving. Jesus Christ.
My phone rang in my hand instantly. I glanced around, but Darla and another woman were staying with the injured boater. Everyone else was sitting, pale-faced, talking in hushed voices.
We were in a holding pattern until the medics boarded and I was asked for a statement.
I lifted the phone. "Hey."
"Are you okay?" Ash asked.
In the background I heard Cash and Brooks asking their own questions. Apparently Ash was still at the resort.
"Uh, yeah. They didn't hit us. Plowed into a little speedboat."
"Oh god."
"I can't talk long. I'll have to give a statement."
"Of course. Fucking Julian. I knew that guy was a hazard."
"He was just doing what you all do, right? Party on the lake. Keep your passengers happy, no matter what it takes. And fuck the safety of everyone else out here."
"Sawyer, I never would have done that."
There was activity at the stern as medics boarded the boat.
"I've got to go," I rasped. "You probably shouldn't wait up for me."
"Fuck that, Sawyer. I'm waiting right here until you get back. I'm not him , okay. I didn't do this. I left the DreamBoats because of shit like this." His voice went brittle. "I'm not responsible for this."
Remorse smacked me in the face.
"I know. Sorry. I should…"
"Yeah, okay. Stay safe."
I disconnected—from the call and the situation. Numbness descended as I went through the motions, answering questions, assisting the rescuers, and then finally, finally taking my tourists back to the docks after a tour from hell.