Until Then (Cape Harbor #2) - Heidi McLaughlin Page 0,84

him until her head rested on his chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and he did the same to her. She felt his lips press to the top of her head, and her body relaxed against him.

“Come on.” He let go of her and removed her hands from him. “We have enough gas to get to Kiket Bay. There’s a marina around there somewhere. We can get gas, food, and the provisions we need.”

“Are you sure you want to do this, Graham?”

He didn’t say anything as he reached for her hand. He led her out onto the front porch, closed and locked his door. They picked up their bags, with Graham carrying most of them, and made their way over to the boat.

When they arrived, Bowie’s slip neighbor was getting ready to untie his boat as well. “Morning, Mr. Reser.”

“Morning, Graham. Taking the Holmes Forty-Two out, I see?”

Graham’s hand pressed into Rennie’s lower back, and he helped her onboard but didn’t follow. “For a few days at least,” Graham told the man. “What about you?”

“The missus wants to spend New Year’s Eve out on the water, away from the crazies.”

“Sounds smart. Have a good time, Mr. Reser. See you next year.” Graham climbed aboard and winked at Rennie as he passed by her and disappeared down below. Rennie was climbing down the steps to get the last bag when the man spoke up.

“He’s a good man.”

She paused and looked from the man to where Graham had been a few moments before and back at the man. “I know he is. Someone like me doesn’t deserve someone like him—that’s for sure.”

“Happy New Year.”

“You too,” Rennie said. She bent down and picked up the last bag and gave the man a wave before ascending the stairs to the upper salon, where she found Graham putting a few things into the locking cabinets.

“I put your suitcase in the bigger room. I’ll take the smaller one or sleep up here. The view from the boat at night is pretty spectacular.”

“Oh, okay,” she said. She went downstairs and into the master bedroom and decided to unpack. She felt the boat start to move and chided herself for not helping Graham pull buoys. He was doing everything for her, and she had nothing to offer in return.

She came out of the room and found him behind the steering wheel, playing with the navigation equipment. “You know, Brooklyn never told me how nice this boat was. It reminds me of the boat my parents had when I was growing up.”

“Maybe that’s why.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Rennie sat down across from where Graham sat and looked out the window. “How long until we’re at the other marina?”

“Not long. I thought we’d fuel up there, grab a few snacks or something for lunch, and head to Friday Harbor. It’s a great island. It should take us about four to five hours, depending on the wind.”

“No one will find us.”

They made eye contact. “He won’t find you, Ren.”

She nodded. Her purse was beside her, and she felt her phone vibrating. She dug for it and glanced at the notifications. Over one hundred missed calls from Theo and work. One thing she couldn’t stand, and the other got on her nerves lately. She stood and walked to the edge of the boat, cocked her arm back, and heaved her phone into the water. She expected to feel some sort of relief, but she felt only anger.

“Don’t need it?” Graham asked after she sat back down.

“The only person I care to speak with is standing next to me,” she said while staring out the window. It was cold, and she tucked her legs under Graham’s sweatshirt. He briefly left the helm and pulled the sliding windows shut all around them and turned on the heat. “I guess boats are really meant to only go out in the summer.”

“We’ll be fine. I checked the forecast, and there isn’t a storm in sight. I’ll keep watch.” Once Graham was out of the no-wake zone, he pulled the throttle and picked up speed. Rennie longed to feel the wind in her hair, so she went outside, closing herself off from Graham. She stood at the bow, with her hands gripping the railing, and screamed until her throat hurt, hoping Graham couldn’t hear her.

TWENTY

It took about an hour to reach the marina. Rennie helped when they came to the dock, pushing the buoys out to protect the boat, and while Graham fueled it up, she