Read Online Ten Good Reasons by Lauren Christopher - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lauren Christopher
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“Be sure to check out the underwater whale-viewing pods on the lower level. Your charter guests will love them.”
Stevens moved to one of the back benches with his bodyguards, who looked huge and uncomfortable in dark jackets. They didn’t exactly blend in. Cinderella got back on the microphone.
“We see several types of whales year-round, but at this time of year we see an abundance of gray whales . . .” she continued.
Evan jogged back up to the bridge and repeated his exit, watching the turn again and listening to Cinderella discuss everything she knew about gray whales. She was doing a pretty good job, he had to admit. She had a nice voice—not overly exuberant like her personality, but strangely calm once she was on the microphone.
“. . . The gray whales migrate from Alaska to Baja,Mexico, between December and early March, where they stay in the warmer waters, have their calves, then migrate back up from February to April or May, right along this coast. . . .”
They were a half hour late, but he could finally see some open sea. Stevens and his boys had moved well away from Cinderella, which felt like a strange relief. He didn’t know why that Stevens character was so important, and he certainly didn’t want to have a full conversation about it with Cinderella, but something wasn’t right about that guy.
* * *
Lia gave her overview of the gray whales’ migration, glancing around the boat to see where Kyle Stevens landed, and took a nervous sip of water between her narration.
She hoped he liked the trip. And hoped he didn’t have a lot of requests or changes for his charter next week. And hoped Evan could be a charitable-enough captain.
Clearly, Evan wasn’t going to help much. While Drew was friendly and personable, Evan all but had a “closed” sign hanging from his forehead. Whatever. She reiterated her plan in her head to keep Evan away from all passengers, especially Kyle Stevens. This trial-run tour had to go off without a hitch.
“. . . So take a look around the boat, be sure to take a peek at our viewing pods right down the stairs, check out some of our educational materials, and we’re going to go find some
whales
!” she said into the microphone with a positivity she didn’t feel.
The catamaran picked up speed right on cue. Drew did this, too—sped out to sea once they cleared the jetty. He knew they might have to look around for a while to see any whales, and they only had a couple of hours, so he always flew over the waves in the first part of the tour. Despite her skepticism about Evan—or maybe because of it—the similar style gave her hope.
Lia pulled a few strands of hair out of her lip gloss and turned into the wind. The couple in the matching college sweatshirts leaned against the rail, taking pictures of the Sandy Cove coastline. The fifteen first-graders were corralled along the starboard side, all holding hands in twos and threes, eyes barely clearing the rail.
Some of the moms introduced themselves to one another, wrapping themselves in their jackets against the wind, and Avery was—
Lia glanced around. Where was Avery?
Her gaze flew up to the bridge, where, sure enough, Avery’s sundress rippled in the wind.
Man, she sure hoped Avery wasn’t married. That was some dogged determination.
But she really wanted to keep Evan from the passengers.
She trudged back up the steps, wincing at every left step, and threw her most polite smile toward Avery as soon as her head crested the rail, but Avery wasn’t paying attention. At least, she wasn’t paying attention to Lia. Or her son, who was standing at the edge of the bridge. She was paying attention to Evan.
Evan was standing at the helm, the wind blowing his hair back, his mirrored glasses directed straight ahead, as if he didn’t know Avery was standing next to him. But of course he did: She was at his shoulder, talking nonstop. Words like “divorce,” “two years,” and
Stevens moved to one of the back benches with his bodyguards, who looked huge and uncomfortable in dark jackets. They didn’t exactly blend in. Cinderella got back on the microphone.
“We see several types of whales year-round, but at this time of year we see an abundance of gray whales . . .” she continued.
Evan jogged back up to the bridge and repeated his exit, watching the turn again and listening to Cinderella discuss everything she knew about gray whales. She was doing a pretty good job, he had to admit. She had a nice voice—not overly exuberant like her personality, but strangely calm once she was on the microphone.
“. . . The gray whales migrate from Alaska to Baja,Mexico, between December and early March, where they stay in the warmer waters, have their calves, then migrate back up from February to April or May, right along this coast. . . .”
They were a half hour late, but he could finally see some open sea. Stevens and his boys had moved well away from Cinderella, which felt like a strange relief. He didn’t know why that Stevens character was so important, and he certainly didn’t want to have a full conversation about it with Cinderella, but something wasn’t right about that guy.
* * *
Lia gave her overview of the gray whales’ migration, glancing around the boat to see where Kyle Stevens landed, and took a nervous sip of water between her narration.
She hoped he liked the trip. And hoped he didn’t have a lot of requests or changes for his charter next week. And hoped Evan could be a charitable-enough captain.
Clearly, Evan wasn’t going to help much. While Drew was friendly and personable, Evan all but had a “closed” sign hanging from his forehead. Whatever. She reiterated her plan in her head to keep Evan away from all passengers, especially Kyle Stevens. This trial-run tour had to go off without a hitch.
“. . . So take a look around the boat, be sure to take a peek at our viewing pods right down the stairs, check out some of our educational materials, and we’re going to go find some
whales
!” she said into the microphone with a positivity she didn’t feel.
The catamaran picked up speed right on cue. Drew did this, too—sped out to sea once they cleared the jetty. He knew they might have to look around for a while to see any whales, and they only had a couple of hours, so he always flew over the waves in the first part of the tour. Despite her skepticism about Evan—or maybe because of it—the similar style gave her hope.
Lia pulled a few strands of hair out of her lip gloss and turned into the wind. The couple in the matching college sweatshirts leaned against the rail, taking pictures of the Sandy Cove coastline. The fifteen first-graders were corralled along the starboard side, all holding hands in twos and threes, eyes barely clearing the rail.
Some of the moms introduced themselves to one another, wrapping themselves in their jackets against the wind, and Avery was—
Lia glanced around. Where was Avery?
Her gaze flew up to the bridge, where, sure enough, Avery’s sundress rippled in the wind.
Man, she sure hoped Avery wasn’t married. That was some dogged determination.
But she really wanted to keep Evan from the passengers.
She trudged back up the steps, wincing at every left step, and threw her most polite smile toward Avery as soon as her head crested the rail, but Avery wasn’t paying attention. At least, she wasn’t paying attention to Lia. Or her son, who was standing at the edge of the bridge. She was paying attention to Evan.
Evan was standing at the helm, the wind blowing his hair back, his mirrored glasses directed straight ahead, as if he didn’t know Avery was standing next to him. But of course he did: She was at his shoulder, talking nonstop. Words like “divorce,” “two years,” and
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