Reluctant Partners

Cooper had to keep his eyes on the congested roadway, so he relied on Reece to report everything. “What’s the Dragonfly doing?”

“Just putting along at about three knots. Looks like maybe she’s heading into that little cove up ahead. There’s a big sign-Sinclair Marine.”

“Maybe it’s a chop shop for boats. They’ll take off the name and the serial numbers and replace ’em with-oh, no.”

“What?”

“The sign, underneath Sinclair Marine. What does it say?”

Reece squinted. “Fiberglass Boat Repair, Dry Dock.”

A terrible suspicion occurred to Cooper. “Did I tell you about hitting the rock yesterday?”

ALLIE WAVED TO THE COAST GUARD cutter to let them know she was okay. They probably could see the boat listed to one side and had come to check on her.

“Dragonfly. This is the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Good Lord. They were calling to her on a bullhorn. What was wrong with the radio?

She waved again and smiled, since she could see one officer had binoculars trained on her.

“Cut your engines and prepare to be boarded.”

What? She complied immediately. She never messed with the Coast Guard.

The cutter pulled alongside her and two stern-looking officers leaped aboard with their weapons drawn.

“All parties on deck now. Keep your hands where we can see them.”

“It’s just me,” Allie called from the bridge. “I’m coming down the ladder. I don’t have any weapons, promise.”

The two officers met her as she descended. “We have a report this boat has been stolen.”

Cooper. “Hmm. Well, since I am the owner of the boat-you’ll find it registered to me-I hardly think that’s true. I am, however, in violation of a court order. The ownership is in dispute and I’m not supposed to sail it on my own. But it’s an emergency. As you can probably tell, the boat is taking on water and I’m headed into Sinclair Marine for repairs. I left a message for Cooper Remington on his cell phone.

“Cooper Remington,” she repeated. “That is who made the stolen-boat report, right?”

The officers both took a step back, giving her some space. “Have a seat,” one of them said. “I’ll be right back.”

He stepped off to confer with his captain.

“See that man on the dock?” Allie said to the other officer, pointing toward shore. “That’s Mr. Sinclair. He’s expecting me.” She waved to him, and he waved back.

The other officer returned. “Apparently there’s been a misunderstanding. We’ll escort you in.”

Yeah, now that she was a hundred feet from her destination.

She wasn’t too surprised to see Cooper and Reece standing on the dock waiting for her as she pulled the Dragonfly into a slip where a hoist would haul her out of the water.

“I’ll need to gather a few things,” she called to Otis, who had guided her in. “Just keep her from sinking until I can pack up. How long till you can get to her?”

Otis Sinclair was a portly old man whose family had owned this business for three generations. He did the best work and charged the fairest price of anyone in these parts. Consequently he was always booked.

He gave her a worried look as he chomped on his unlit cigar. “Be a week, at least.”

She groaned. A week with no work, and that was assuming the repairs would be routine. But she had an even worse problem. With the Dragonfly in dry dock, she had no home.

She quickly gathered up a few clothes and toiletries and stuffed them into a backpack. She also unloaded what little perishable food was left in the fridge and put it in a couple of plastic grocery sacks. At least she wouldn’t starve for a day or two.

By the time she disembarked, one of the Coast Guard officers was in serious discussion with the Remington boys. Good. She hoped he gave them hell for jumping to conclusions and wasting the Coast Guard’s time.

When he saw her, the officer broke away from his conversation and offered her a dazzling smile. “Ms. Bateman. Sorry to have inconvenienced you. My name’s Jimmy, and if you need anything you don’t hesitate to call.” He handed her a card.

Behind him, Cooper rolled his eyes.

The officer rejoined his boat and took off, and Allie sauntered up to her nemesis. “Check your voicemail lately?”

At least he had the good grace to look embarrassed. “Um, yeah. Sorry about that.”

“Is that all you have to say? ‘Sorry about that’? First you knock a hole in my boat, and then you try to have me arrested, and that’s the best you can do?”

“I’ll pay for the repairs.”

“I’m counting on that.” Otherwise she would have to make an insurance claim, and that took time.

“It was an honest mistake.”

“You actually thought I was stealing my own boat!”

“He thought you were going to sell it to a drug dealer,” Reece added, looking like he was about to burst out laughing.

Cooper shot him a scathing look. “You’re not helping. Look, Allie, let me make it up to you. Can I buy you breakfast?”

Like that would solve anything when she was homeless? “You can give me a ride to the Bella Motel,” she said. It was kind of a dive, but it was the cheapest digs in Port Clara and they rented by the week. “I need to establish a base of operations and start calling the customers who are booked for the next seven days-at least-and try to reschedule or find them an alternative charter service.”

“I’ll help you make calls,” he offered as he took her backpack from her as well as the bag of food. “Why don’t you stay at the Sunsetter?”

“Because I can’t afford the Sunsetter,” she said pointedly.

“It’s on me. This is all my fault. I’ll take care of all your expenses until the Dragonfly is back on her keel.”

“It’s kind of you, but I don’t want to be your kept woman. The Bella Motel is fine.”

Reece snorted. Obviously he was finding the situation amusing.

She did, too, in a way. It was almost worth suffering through this disaster, just to see the great Cooper Remington eating crow. Almost, but not quite.

COOPER SLOWED DOWN AS HE approached the Bella Motel, which was anything but bella. Probably built in the 1950s, it looked as if it hadn’t been updated since. The U- shaped, one-story building squatted in a semi-industrial area, and the sign indicated you could rent by the hour.

“Allie, you can’t stay here. This doesn’t even look safe.”

“I have a gun, remember?”

“Stay at the Sunsetter. I’ll pay for it.”

“It’s not necessary. Anyway, I wouldn’t feel comfortable living under the same roof as you.”

“Come on, admit it, you don’t really hate me. In fact, you’re starting to like me a little bit.”

“When hell freezes over.”

Reece cleared his throat. “Maybe I should leave you two lovebirds alone.”

Despite her protests, Cooper drove away from the Bella Motel and took her to the Sunsetter. “This is where you’re staying if it’s on my dime.”

“Fine,” she snapped. “But we damn well better be too late for breakfast, because I’m not eating those cream puffs.”

“WON’T MISS GREER SKIN YOU alive for raiding her refrigerator?” Allie asked later that afternoon as Sara put together a plate of cheese and crackers.

Allie was starving. She had spent the past couple of hours shuffling her various bookings, rescheduling a few but mostly placing them with other charter services. She hated to lose the business. A couple of them were longtime customers.

She’d been so busy she’d forgotten lunch, but Sara, always watching out for her friends, insisted Allie eat