Read Online Ten Good Reasons by Lauren Christopher - Free Book Online
Authors: Lauren Christopher
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autopilot. “Get that one down there.”
They made their way down the dock, untying all four lines, tossing them onto the boat, then Evan stepped lithely on board, looping the lines around his arm and stowing them with quick, deft movements. Lia tried to mimic him, peering down the deck to see how he wrapped them around his muscled arms, but he finally strode in her direction and took the rope from her. “Go talk,” he murmured.
She went back to the microphone and flipped through Drew’s book to the section on baleen. “So I asked all of you if you knew how many types of whales were in this part of the ocean today. Does anyone know the answer?”
The little kids from the field trip all shot their hands into the air, waving wildly, and Lia fielded answers, watching out of the corner of her eye for Kyle Stevens. Her gaze kept sliding, though, toward Evan, as he wrapped rope through his biceps and avoided eye contact with any of the passengers. And then her line of vision incorporated Avery, who had Evan securely in her sights. Avery’s lips parted as she watched Evan move down the port side. Fear didn’t seem to be part of her perusal.
Lia forced her attention back to the book.
“Whales are divided between baleen,” she announced, scanning the copy, “which means with sievelike teeth made of keratin, like our fingernails; and toothed whales, which are whales with real teeth.”
Evan glanced back at her, and she wondered for a second if she were getting the info right. His expression—especially behind the sunglasses—was inscrutable.
“We’ll be seeing mostly gray whales today, and possibly some blue, which are both baleen.”
At one point, Cora came out and finished stowing the last line. Evan gave Cora a deep nod of thanks in about the friendliest gesture Lia had seen from him so far, then he trudged up to the helm. Avery twisted in her seat to watch him from behind.
Huh.
So Avery might be attracted to Evan. This was good, right? At least Lia wouldn’t have to worry about a blog write-up going out to thousands of readers a month discussing the scary captain aboard the
Duke
.
Lia took another look at Evan. Maybe the pirate thing was some women’s cup of tea.
As the boat began motoring away, making a slow, wide turn to point them out of the harbor, Lia took a deep breath and thumbed a few pages forward.
But then she glanced up and spotted Kyle Stevens jogging his way down the dock.
* * *
“Captain Betancourt! Captain Betancourt!”
Evan glanced over his shoulder to see Cinderella hobbling up the bridge stairs, but he riveted his concentration back to the turn. He had to give his little brother a lot of credit if hedid this every day. Sandy Cove’s harbor was tricky, seemingly designed more for folks who wanted to hide behind its cliffs than for those looking for an open welcome mat.
“Captain Betancourt!”
He rolled his eyes. He wished she’d stop calling him that.
“Whaddaya need?” He eyed the distance to the jetty and calculated how wide he could make the turn. The sun glared off the water.
“We have to go back!” she said when she got to the top of the steps.
He frowned. This chick was crazy. “We’re halfway to the jetty,” he said calmly.
“There’s a passenger we left on the dock.” She stopped short and took a deep breath, her hands fluttering over the controls as if looking for a “back” button. “We have to get him. He’s here with four others.”
“Seems he’s here late.”
“But he’s important. We have to go back.”
“He should be here on time.”
The glance she threw made it clear he was no one to talk. But he chose to ignore that and forced the throttle instead.
“I’m serious!” She gripped his wrist.
When he glared at her hand, she yanked it away. She needed to stop doing that. She was clearly one of those touchy-feely types. But he wasn’t. And she needed to knock it off.
She stepped back, as if to give him some personal space,
They made their way down the dock, untying all four lines, tossing them onto the boat, then Evan stepped lithely on board, looping the lines around his arm and stowing them with quick, deft movements. Lia tried to mimic him, peering down the deck to see how he wrapped them around his muscled arms, but he finally strode in her direction and took the rope from her. “Go talk,” he murmured.
She went back to the microphone and flipped through Drew’s book to the section on baleen. “So I asked all of you if you knew how many types of whales were in this part of the ocean today. Does anyone know the answer?”
The little kids from the field trip all shot their hands into the air, waving wildly, and Lia fielded answers, watching out of the corner of her eye for Kyle Stevens. Her gaze kept sliding, though, toward Evan, as he wrapped rope through his biceps and avoided eye contact with any of the passengers. And then her line of vision incorporated Avery, who had Evan securely in her sights. Avery’s lips parted as she watched Evan move down the port side. Fear didn’t seem to be part of her perusal.
Lia forced her attention back to the book.
“Whales are divided between baleen,” she announced, scanning the copy, “which means with sievelike teeth made of keratin, like our fingernails; and toothed whales, which are whales with real teeth.”
Evan glanced back at her, and she wondered for a second if she were getting the info right. His expression—especially behind the sunglasses—was inscrutable.
“We’ll be seeing mostly gray whales today, and possibly some blue, which are both baleen.”
At one point, Cora came out and finished stowing the last line. Evan gave Cora a deep nod of thanks in about the friendliest gesture Lia had seen from him so far, then he trudged up to the helm. Avery twisted in her seat to watch him from behind.
Huh.
So Avery might be attracted to Evan. This was good, right? At least Lia wouldn’t have to worry about a blog write-up going out to thousands of readers a month discussing the scary captain aboard the
Duke
.
Lia took another look at Evan. Maybe the pirate thing was some women’s cup of tea.
As the boat began motoring away, making a slow, wide turn to point them out of the harbor, Lia took a deep breath and thumbed a few pages forward.
But then she glanced up and spotted Kyle Stevens jogging his way down the dock.
* * *
“Captain Betancourt! Captain Betancourt!”
Evan glanced over his shoulder to see Cinderella hobbling up the bridge stairs, but he riveted his concentration back to the turn. He had to give his little brother a lot of credit if hedid this every day. Sandy Cove’s harbor was tricky, seemingly designed more for folks who wanted to hide behind its cliffs than for those looking for an open welcome mat.
“Captain Betancourt!”
He rolled his eyes. He wished she’d stop calling him that.
“Whaddaya need?” He eyed the distance to the jetty and calculated how wide he could make the turn. The sun glared off the water.
“We have to go back!” she said when she got to the top of the steps.
He frowned. This chick was crazy. “We’re halfway to the jetty,” he said calmly.
“There’s a passenger we left on the dock.” She stopped short and took a deep breath, her hands fluttering over the controls as if looking for a “back” button. “We have to get him. He’s here with four others.”
“Seems he’s here late.”
“But he’s important. We have to go back.”
“He should be here on time.”
The glance she threw made it clear he was no one to talk. But he chose to ignore that and forced the throttle instead.
“I’m serious!” She gripped his wrist.
When he glared at her hand, she yanked it away. She needed to stop doing that. She was clearly one of those touchy-feely types. But he wasn’t. And she needed to knock it off.
She stepped back, as if to give him some personal space,
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