The Complete Where Dreams - Volume 2 of 2

Chapter 16-2

Perrin noted that Russell actually looked pleased rather than amused when Jaspar declared his boat, the Lady Amalthea, as “righteous.”

“I named her for a unicorn who turned briefly into a princess but decided she was better off as a unicorn.”

“Smart lady!” Jaspar declared.

While the guys were bonding over the boat, Perrin climbed aboard and gave Tammy a hand to steady her. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and there were a lot of boats headed out from the Shilshole Marina. There was a fresh wind, which meant good sailing, but the weather was warm enough she’d probably only need a light windbreaker once they were under way.

Perrin had always liked the boat, she was like her owner in so many ways. She was just as pretty as Russell was handsome, but she was rough around the edges too. The two of them matched. Russell had spent a year refinishing the 1940s sloop, Russell had taught her that meant one mast not all the way at the very front. But for all her fine finish, she was narrow inside.

“It’s called a Pullman style cabin,” Russell told the kids on the guided tour before they left dock. They’d all climbed together down the narrow ladder until they were standing well below the waterline. “Like those railroad cars in the old movies where you sleep down one side and walk down the other.”

On one side of the off-center aisle down below was a galley, a table for seating four people that could turn into a narrow bed for two, a tiny bathroom that he gave them detailed instructions on how to use, and the boat ended in a double-bed up forward.

Perrin had dug out some good stories about what a motivated girl could do on that particular bed. They shared a look that made Cassidy blush, even if she was smiling brightly. Perrin kissed her on the cheek to make up for it and received a hug in return.

On the other side of the aisle was a narrow bench, long enough to sleep on if you stuck your feet into the space behind the ladder. Russell called it a pilot’s berth. “Because it’s closest to where the pilot needs to rush in case of an emergency,” he pointed at the ladderway back to the cockpit. A tiny wood stove, an awkward bench and a tiny closet completed the way forward.

Cassidy had raided the restaurant to create a massive basket lunch. Nutcase, Bill’s small black cat, was the only other passenger, almost as rough-mannered as her owner, but also sweet to the core. The kids both took to her right away.

Russell lost a lot of ground when he insisted that the two kids had to wear life vests, but made up for it by producing small racing vests that didn’t inflate until they were submerged, rather than the big, poofy orange things.

Russell recruited Jaspar and Bill to help him get the boat away from the dock, though Perrin had seen him do it single-handed any number of times when Cassidy was too busy to help. Perrin preferred just being a passenger.

“It’s nice to let myself be taken care of sometimes,” Cassidy leaned back, seated her sunglasses firmly and smiled up at the warm mid-morning sun. “Nothing better than a spring day in early May.”

Perrin made sure that she and Tamara were slathered in sunscreen and both wearing floppy hats, their fair complexions would crisp out on the bright water. She’d only been fooled once. The air felt so fresh and cool when you were gliding over the water. She’d burned red as a lobster on her first trip and had to finish the outing lying on a cool bunk below, being tossed about at the mercy of the waves.

The three of them sat in the cockpit and let the world go by.

Perrin talked about some of the new designs she was working on, including Melanie’s dress. Tammy tried so hard to pretend that she could still breathe normally after Perrin told her she’d get to help on the whole dress. Perrin had to hug her so that she wouldn’t hyperventilate.

Cass understood perfectly and began teasing Tamara about being careful not to become too famous or Cassidy would have to chase her off, because nobody was allowed to compete with Perrin. It forced Tammy to laugh, breathe, and think of something else. Meanwhile the boys coiled lines and unwrapped sails. In moments they were headed out.

Her favorite moment was after the sails were up, but not yet drawing wind. Russell would nudge the tiller aside with his knee, lean down to kill the engine, then wink at his wife as it spluttered to silence. He did it every time. A shared memory Cass had never explained and Perrin didn’t want to intrude on. Sort of like the moment she and the kids had torn up those awful paintings. That memory was theirs, not for others.

The boat dug in, suddenly at the wind’s call, there was a visceral surge that echoed deep in her body. It was a place of peace, a perfect moment.

Bill dropped down beside her and slid an arm around her waist just as Perrin realized quite how alike this moment was to when she was lying in Bill’s arms. Quiet, peaceful, powerful. Centered.

She leaned against him and closed her eyes, letting the motion of the boat just take her where it wanted to go. As long as Bill’s arms were around her, she knew she’d be safe.