This is the thirty-fifth episode of the novel Two Tamas in Paradise. There are fifty episodes. This is the fourth novel in the Trace Troy South Pacific Adventure series.
It may now be purchased on Amazon. It is available in paperback or Kindle digital format.
Hurt Fellings
Shortly past 8:00 AM, Adam stepped into the pilothouse from below. Both he and Trace rocked around in the pilothouse from the heavy seas. Adam sat on the bench. He rolled with each wave.
“Sleep well?” Trace asked.
“Off and on,” Adam said. “I heard the passengers in the mess.”
“Yeah,” Trace said, “they weren’t sleeping, so I told them they’d be better off keeping each other company.”
“How ya handling her?” Adam said.
“Fine,” Trace said.
“I had seas like this, maybe once,” Adam said. “I was pretty green and nearly lost her a couple of times.”
“Daylight reveals the danger you were oblivious to a few hours ago,” Trace said.
Waves gushed over the bow, and sheets of water smashed against the windshield.
“What’s your strategy?” Adam said.
“Sail through it as best we can,” Trace said. “I had Makani and Sage trim the storm jib.”
“Makani on deck?” Adam questioned.
“He’s younger and more experienced than Coyote,” Trace said. “I didn’t want to risk injury.”
Adam cocked his head and clicked his cheek. “I don’t think Coyote will see it that way.”
“Sage didn’t say a word,” Trace said.
“How far to Gambier?” Adam asked.
“Most likely seven days,” Trace said. “Do you want to take the wheel for a while?”
“Where ya goin’?” Adam said.
“No place,” Trace said. “I’d just like to have a break. I’m tensed up a bit.”
They exchanged places. Trace sat on the bench, leaned against the back wall, and placed his feet on the bench.
“Ahh,” Trace said, “that feels better.”
“Go below and take a nap,” Adam said.
“I’m fine here,” Trace said.
Adam looked forward and watched the waves wash over the bow. He kept the bow pointed at forty-five degrees. Soon, he was consumed with holding the boat steady. Every wave and each course adjustment was a victory in seamanship. Skills that had long lain dormant, returned. Thirty years were like yesterday. His exhilaration was great. He wore a confident and victorious smile.
“I haven’t felt like this in thirty years,” Adam said. “Come to think of it, I didn’t even feel this good thirty years ago. It’s impossible to explain.”
Adam waited for a reply. He turned toward Trace. Trace’s head rolled from side to side. He was asleep.
Coyote climbed into the pilothouse. He appeared bothered. Adam recognized the sneer on his face as being angry.
“What’s with him?” Coyote said, tossing his head toward Trace.
“Him is the captain,” Adam said. “And the captain is sleeping. He’s had a tough night.”
“Why didn’t he wake me to reef the sails?” Coyote said. “He used the cook—the cook to reef the sails. I’m a deckhand. That’s my job.”
“I think Trace was worried about you getting hurt,” Adam said.
“I didn’t come on this trip to be treated like some old washed-up senior citizen. I can hold my own with anybody.”
“Yeah,” Adam said, “and that’s why he chose you to go with him to the police station. You can handle more than your share, but he was worried about the heavy seas that Makani and Sage would do a better job and be safer.”
“He should have at least woke me up and let me know,” Coyote said. “Why didn’t he do that?”
“Why?” Adam said. “Because he’s the captain.”
“Hey, Coyote,” Adam said, “Trace and Sage both have tough jobs; treat us as greenhorns and at the same time dads. This ship was mine longer than it has been Traces’s, but here I am, sucking hind teat.”
Coyote grinned. “Yeah, yeah, I know better. I just got up out of a dead sleep. I’d have probably got washed overboard if I was out there.”
“If these two kids of ours ever come back to ranching,” Adam said, “we’ll blister their hides then.”
“For sure,” Coyote said. “Have you ever been on seas like this before?”
“Come to think of it,” Trace said. “This is the worst. I had one that was close to this, but this is the worst.”
“Does it scare you?” Coyote said.
“Right to the bone,” Adam said.
“I took two drinks of whisky and let it settle in before leaving my cabin,” Coyote said. “A man that scared shouldn’t be on deck in weather like this.”
No comments:
Post a Comment