Swallowing hard, I answered carefully. “I know. I’ve thought about that since the moment Arella told me about it. I still have to try, though. If there’s even the slightest chance . . .” Tears sprang to my eyes and my throat closed up to the point that I couldn’t finish.
He reached over and grabbed my hand. Without thinking, I squeezed his and then froze, staring down at our linked hands, then quickly back up at him. He was every bit as shocked as I was. Tess, noticing we’d stopped, turned back and gaped as what was happening—or rather not happening—registered with her. Cappy, still several steps ahead on the maze of docks and boats, slowed down uncertainly, looking confused.
“Is there a problem?” he asked hesitantly.
Rand answered, his eyes not leaving mine. “No problem at all.” The slow, sexy smile he gave me nearly curled my toes right then and there. I felt smug satisfaction coming from my bracelet and sent it a silent thank you. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tess take Cappy’s arm and motion for him to continue on.
My mind whirled as we walked, so astounded by the fact that I could touch Rand again, that I barely noticed as Cappy and Tess slowed to a stop at the end of the dock.
“Welcome aboard the Sea Witch,” Cappy announced proudly. He gave us a moment to stare before he ushered us onto the large deck. Rand helped me step over from the dock, not relinquishing my hand for more than the few seconds it took for him to follow me.
“Um, Jeremy, I thought you said this was a little boat?” This thing had to be at least thirty or forty feet long. I had been expecting . . . well, I didn’t know exactly what I’d been expecting, but this wasn’t it.
He snickered. “Dis is da little boat. Dat o’er der is da big ‘un.” Our gazes followed his, to where several larger yachts were tied up. Squinting, I could just make out one that had Sea Witch II across the back of the hull.
“Why would Stella have two, what are these, yachts?”
“If I might answer that one,” Cappy said with a respectful bob of his head to Jeremy. “Yer aunt, she used ta go out quite often, back in her, er, younger days. She entertained on ‘em a lot, too. Even after she became more . . . reclusive . . . she still had me ta keep up on her boats for her. She told me ta trade out the old ones for these, just in the last coupla’ years, but she only ever stepped foot on ‘em once. She never even had me take her out on ‘em. Last year, she sold half o’ that big one across the marina there ta Jeremy, here, but I still captain it for him. And for you, should ya be needing me ta.”
So technically, I only owned one and a half boats. Still . . . I shook my head, trying to absorb it all. “How long have you worked for my aunt?”
“Oh, maybe about forty years or so now. My da, he captained for her before me.”
I wondered if he had paranormal roots or if he was human. He wasn’t a shifter, I could tell that much. Then I remembered I couldn’t see Clyde or Dutch’s animal side, either, so maybe Cappy was like them. Wouldn’t he be younger, though?
He’s part leprechaun. Less than a quarter, so he doesn’t have the longevity most of his kind normally have. His father retired when he was about one hundred years old and he still accompanies both his sons out on the water for short trips.
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I filed the information away until I had time to process it.
Cappy gave us a few moments to explore the boat. There was a generous seating and entertaining area here on the upper level. Rand and I followed Tess down to the lower level and just stood there for a moment, taking it all in. There wasn’t a ton of room to move around, but there was a kitchenette and a seating area with panoramic views.
“Oh. My. Gosh. Come take a look, you two.” Tess’s hushed awe brought us over to an open doorway. We stepped into a fairly large bedroom with gorgeous wood walls, built in cupboards, and tons of shelves. There was even a skylight above the bed. Tess had already rushed over to open a door on the left side of the room. “It’s a bathroom. A little on the smallish side, maybe, but still.” I peeked around her to see an odd looking toilet. Rand nudged me.
“That’s the head. The shower is over on the starboard side.” He nodded to the door on the right.
We explored my ‘little boat’ for another fifteen minutes, talked to Cappy for a bit, and then, after getting a text from Sam informing us she had just pulled into the resort, we headed back to the restaurant, leaving Cappy to his own devices on the boat. Rand's hand didn’t leave mine the whole way.
Back at the restaurant, Jeremy downloaded the app for the video he had recorded earlier onto our phones, promising to forward any further activity. Sam and the horse shifters watched the video Jeremy had shown us earlier. Jeremy, Rand, and I were the only ones who would have recognized the person in the video, so it didn’t mean much to them.
As soon as the short clip was done, Sam pulled a small plastic bag out of her attaché. “We stopped at Merv’s on the way here. He found this hidden under the rear bumper of the Jeep. Clyde removed it. He says he doesn’t sense
