Redhead Meets Redneck: First Date (14 page)

“The bow?”

“That’s
the front of the sailboat.”

“
Do all boats have a bow, or just sailboats?”

“Yes, all boats ha
ve a bow,” William chuckled.

William led
her past the sofas to two doors, one on each side of the sailboat.

“These are the master suites.”

He opened the doors and inside she saw that each room had a double bed, a bathroom, and skylights that flooded the rooms with creamy-sanguine light.

“Oh my gosh
.” Laura tried to restrain herself, but she was overwhelmed by the size and elegance of William’s sailboat.

“I
’ve seen four bathrooms so far. There’s a fifth?”

“On the other side of these two bedrooms is one more with a bathroom and two bunk beds.
It’s only accessible by a hatch on the forward deck. It’d be a great place for a couple of children to sleep. It’d give them privacy and a sense of ownership.”

Laura noticed the
same glowing smile on William that she had seen when he had referred to children at the church.

“I
’d show you the two suites in the stern, but they’re replicas of these.”

“
William, let me get this straight. Your sailboat has a beautiful kitchen and living room, five bathrooms, and five bedroom suites?” Laura’s tone hinted of sarcasm.

“Guilty as charged. But remember that I use this for winter cruises for my best employees, so
it’s a business write-off.”

“And of course you
can use it the rest of the year when ever you want.”

“Mm-
hmm.”

Laura turned and faced William. They were standing in the narrow hallway outside the master suites. She took a half step towards toward him and placed her palms lightly on his chest.

“William, you live a wonderful lifestyle. Why haven’t you been snatched up by some young hottie that likes rich muscular men with expensive tastes?”

William
wrapped his hands around her waist, then slid them up and rested them on her shoulders. “The short story is that if that’s what I was looking for, I would have found it long ago. The long story, well, you’ll have to wait to hear that until this terrorist situation is behind us.”

“I’m looking forward to that—actually both
of them.”

“Me too. Hey, I need to go up and check a few things topside. Why don’t you relax in the saloon for a few minutes.”

“Saloon?”

“Oh, s
orry, that’s what mariners call the living room on a sailboat.”

William turned and climbed the stairs to the deck wh
ile Laura plopped down on a fluffy white cushion and leaned her head back on the sofa backrest. She wondered why William had talked so negatively about the “rich bonehead” that owned the big house on the hill while having dinner on their first date. After seeing his cabin and sailboat, she would have thought that that type of house was exactly what he would want for himself.

William returned from topside and said,
“I called the general, and his extraction team will be here at seven p.m. to get us. That gives us a few hours to kill. Would you like to go for a sail?”

“I
’d love to, but shouldn’t we wait for the general to send his extraction team?”

“I
t’ll take him a while. Let’s make use of the daylight while we can.”

“S
ure, if you think it’ll be okay.”

“You relax a bit more while I take the sailboat out into the river and then I will give you your first sailing lesson.”

“
First
sailing lesson. I wonder if he plans on a second, or third, or . . .”

Laura
could see William through the hatch. He turned a key, and she heard an engine cranking, followed by the sensation of the boat moving backwards. She thought that while William was preoccupied with maneuvering the sailboat into the river, she would checkout the kitchen supplies. Opening the pantry doors, she found freeze-dried lasagna, freeze-dried beef stew, freeze-dried chicken breasts, freeze-dried peas, carrots and broccoli, and a dozen other freeze-dried variations of dinner menus. She thought how he needed some real food. Maybe she could buy some juicy steaks and a salad, and cook him a real meal.

Laura walked up the stairs to the cockpit and noticed that William
’s head was facing the back of the boat, looking toward the marina. Walking to the back of the cockpit she sat down close to him, and he looked at her and smiled.

“Ready for your first lesson?
”

“Really, William,
that can wait. I don’t think I’m in the mood.”

William’s expression fell, then tightened.
“Laura, it will do you good to get your mind off the issues at hand. Now be a good girl and hold this wheel, and steer the boat toward that light house.”

Laura
squinted as she looked several miles to what appeared a tiny white lighthouse. At first the sailboat seemed to wobble gracefully left and right as she tried to hold an even course. Soon, she got the hang of adjusting their direction by turning the wheel in small movements. She watched William as he pulled some ropes and turned a crank that raised the sail. He then reached down, turned a key, and the motor stopped and he sat next to her. She heard the sound of the sailboat slicing through the waves that approached them. Seagulls were honking along the shoreline, and she could hear children playing in the water near the shore. The quiet was intoxicating.

“This is nice. I had no idea how peaceful sailing is. I suppose motorboats aren’t this quiet?”

“No way. Motorboats are fine for fishing and water skiing, but for quiet solitude, a sailboat is perfect. I love the winter trips to the Bahamas because it takes nine or ten days to get there and I can unwind on the way down. Once I get there I’m rested and ready to have fun.”

“What kind of fun?”

“Snorkeling, swimming, lying on deserted beaches, watching beautiful sunsets, catching fish and cooking them for dinner.”

“Speaking of dinner, I noticed that your shelves are stocked with freeze
-dried food. Do you eat that a lot while sailing?”

“Heavens, no. That’s only for emergencies, like now. When I go on a trip
, I typically stock the refrigerator and freezer with lots of fresh food. But, I like to have the freeze dried food in case—”

“In
case your newest girlfriend is being chased by terrorists?”

“
Laura, I haven’t had many relationships, and yes I do live by the Boy Scout motto.” William looked into Laura’s eyes, paused, and continued, “So, you’re volunteering to be my newest girl friend?” He slid close enough that their bodies lightly touched as the sailboat rocked gently towards its destination.

Laura looked into his eyes. Then
she reached her free hand around his shoulder and drew him close. She could feel his warm breath on her lips. He reached across with one hand and took hold of the wheel. She wrapped her free hand around his other shoulder and drew tightly into his warm muscular chest. He brushed his lips against hers, and she lightly kissed the corner of his mouth, and worked her kisses down his neck, tightening her embrace. She felt his muscles tighten and flex as each of her kisses found its mark. His free hand traveled up and down her back, and found its home in her hair. He gently squeezed a handful of her curls and he guided her lips back to his. He pressed tightly into a kiss that, for a moment, made her forget about terrorists and the ensuing dangers.

Pop—pop—pop.

“What was that?” Laura’s body tensed at the sound of gunfire.

William looked up
. Three bullets had breached the sail. He looked at Laura. “We’ve got problems. That yellow truck pulled into the marina just as we were pulling out. Somehow they found out about my boat. Get below, now!”

Laura began to object, but realized that William was right, and now
wasn’t the time to argue. She flew down the stairs, and upon entering the kitchen, stopped, and wondered. What do I do now?

She heard m
ore popping noises. Should she hide? Should she get below the waterline so the bullets couldn’t hit her? Maybe the terrorists would try to spare her because she wouldn’t be much good to them dead, but then they would torture her. What should she do?

Just then William yelled down into the kitchen, “Go to the starboard master suite and get some guns!”

“Starboard? Which suite is that?”

“It’s on the right side of the boat. The guns are under the bed”

Laura ran forward and into the starboard suite. She lifted the edge of the mattress and found a cover that could be removed. Peering into a locker, she found a dozen guns of all types: shotguns, hunting rifles, semi-automatic pistols, and revolvers. She grabbed a pistol, a rifle, and a shotgun. Stuffing the pistol into the back of her waistband, she ran back to the stairs, climbed into the cockpit and handed the rifle and shotgun to William.

“Thanks, now get below.” William’s voice was strong and commanding. But Laura
wasn’t about to let anything bad happen to William.

“You might need my help.” Laura crouched low in the cockpit as she peered over th
e edge of the boat, looking for the terrorists.

She glanced up at William an
d saw a silent, unyielding face.

Looking back at the Marina
, she could see two men with rifles running down the dock. They jumped into a skiff with a large outboard, and one started pulling the starter rope while the other untied the dock lines. She was too far away to hear the engine start, but she saw the boat jerk backwards abruptly. The skiff surged forward and turned in their direction, one man in the back, the other in the front with a rifle pointed at her and William.

William looked at Laura with eyes full of desperation. “Laura, take the wheel, I
’ll do the shooting.”

“I’ll take the wheel, but I may do some shooting too.” Laura reached behind herself and pulled out the semiautomatic pistol. William looked down at his pistol, shook h
is head, and formed a thin smile.

The skiff was making a
beeline for William’s sailboat. White curling rolls of water formed on each side of its bow, and the terrorist’s hair was blowing backwards. Laura looked at William, his face bearing a steeled look.

“Their skiff is much faster than my sailboat.”

“What are our options?”

“We could surrender. Then they would spare you torture, unless torturing me didn’t work.”

“Why would they torture you?” Laura paused. “Oh, they think we’re romantically involved.”

“Mm-
hmm.”

“Other options?”

“We can’t outrun them, so we’d have to fight.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“If we lose, they’ll kill us once they get the information they want.”

“So, our only real option is to fight, and win?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“How?”

“I’m thinking.”

Laura watched William’s face as it tensed, his eyes focused on the approaching skiff. She wondered what he was thinking, but she didn’t dare interrupt.

“We could act like we are going to surrender. They’ll think we’re out-numbered,” William said.

“Two against two
isn’t out-numbered according to my math.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I know you
’re quite capable, but they don’t. So we’ll use that to our advantage. If they think I’m surrendering, they won’t suspect you’re going to be a threat. That’s their weak spot.”

Wi
lliam paused and continued staring at the approaching skiff. “Put the pistol back in the rear of your waist band. I’ll put the shotgun by my feet, but hold the rifle over my head like I’m surrendering. When they start to board our sailboat, their eyes will be focused up toward the rifle, so you’ll be able to pull out the pistol and shoot. Did you see the movie
Patriot
?”

“Yes, why
? Did you want to rent it after this is over?” Laura purposely wove sarcasm into her voice.

“Do you remember the father’s instruction
, ‘aim small, miss small’?”

“Oh, right. G
ood advice.”

William opened a compartment under the seat and pulled out what looked like a hunting knife with a leather scabbard and two sharp edges.

“Also, Laura, here’s my knife. Clip it to your waist band, under your shirt, and if you need to use it, hold it like this.” He held his hand with his thumb up, fingers wrapped around the handle, and the blade pointing down.”

“Then you can
cut on the upstroke —”

“And
stab on the down stroke. I took knives 101 also.”

William raised an eyebrow, “I should have known.”

William’s focus hadn’t left the approaching skiff. He reached down and handed Laura a rope that was lying loose in the bottom of the cockpit.