Nine days on the water
an excerpt

Chapter One
“Back upon the mended road I paused, taking time to check the dial ...” — Lillywhite
Lily sat on deck, the sun on her face and the breeze blowing through her hair. It was March off the coast of Florida, so it wasn’t the desperate kind of heat that they talked about on “Dexter,” but it was warm enough.
The Khetienn rocked to and fro, and Lily began to get used to the sway of the rhythm. “What the hell am I doing out here?” she asked herself. She wasn’t a veteran sailor, hell she really wasn’t that great a swimmer, so she kept her eye on the blue life jacket she’d brought with her. She hadn’t put it on, because the other five shipmates didn’t have their on, and she didn’t want to seem like a wuss, but it was always within arm’s reach.
Still, it was a beautiful day, the first of many, she hoped, as her group set sail to the Bahamas on this man-made cruise. She’d agreed to go months before. It sounded like an adventure … but mainly, she agreed because of Scott.
Scott loved sailing. He wasn’t a veteran sailor either, but he was smart and picked up the skill relatively quickly. He had fallen in with a sailing club, and quickly determined who was the best and the brightest. He learned from them.
The boat rocked and leaned from a gust of wind. “Shit!” she cursed under her breath. She hated wind gusts. She didn’t know much, but she knew that sailors sailed with the wind, not against it. The technical and complicated combination of sails, mast, and line was supposed to keep a ship upright and moving full steam ahead. But when an unexpected gust of wind came from a different direction, the sailor has to compensate. Some recover quickly, others take a few moments.
The novices took the longest, and that was who was at the wheel now. One of the younger club members. She looked over at Scott, who was supervising this young pup.
“Scott …” she said. “Where’s Peter?” Peter was the captain of the boat – the skipper – and was the person she trusted most to sail this 46-foot behemoth.
“It’s OK, just a wind gust,” Scott reassured. Yeah, she knew that. The young pup apologized. She didn’t mean to make him feel bad, but she still was a little afraid.
Scott had taken her sailing before. He was self-taught but smart and cautious. That made her feel confident in his abilities. Scott lived near a small lake and the sailing club had a few boats that members could take out. The first time he got her out on the water she was terrified, but acted cool for his sake.
She perfected that act. The last time she went out with Scott and John, another member of the club, the wind gusted and the lake took on some white caps. The boat leaned hard, and Lily tightened her life vest. She had one phobia in life, and that was a boat tipping and sending her flying into the cold water.
Oh yes, she could deal with bugs, rodents, even snakes. High places were no problem. Tight spaces no trouble. But, this ... she began to panic. “If this thing tips, I’m going to freak out.” She gripped the rails and held on in silence. Her brown knuckles turned white . Still, she said nothing.
Back on shore, John smiled and said to her, “Wow, you’re really good. My wife would have been a nervous wreck. She never comes out with me.” Scott smiled, and Lily knew he was proud of her. Dealing with this fear had drawn her closer to Scott, and that’s what she wanted.