Contents ( 66)
- Cover
- Books by Valerie Fraser Luesse
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Map of Florida
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
- six
- seven
- eight
- nine
- ten
- eleven
- twelve
- thirteen
- fourteen
- fifteen
- sixteen
- seventeen
- eighteen
- nineteen
- twenty
- twenty-one
- twenty-two
- twenty-three
- twenty-four
- twenty-five
- twenty-six
- twenty-seven
- twenty-eight
- twenty-nine
- thirty
- thirty-one
- thirty-two
- thirty-three
- thirty-four
- thirty-five
- thirty-six
- thirty-seven
- thirty-eight
- thirty-nine
- forty
- forty-one
- forty-two
- forty-three
- forty-four
- forty-five
- forty-six
- forty-seven
- forty-eight
- forty-nine
- fifty
- fifty-one
- Epilogue
- Keep Reading for a Preview of Valerie Luesse’s Next Book!
- Prologue
- one
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
forty-five
It was midafternoon when Peyton backed the Chris-Craft into a slip in Fort Lauderdale, relieved to have successfully completed his first ferrying job. Lisa went to the marina grocery to buy them a couple of Cokes while the dock manager inspected the boat and gave Peyton his money, then offered him another job.
“Boat’s big enough to sleep on, so you won’t have to pay for a room,” Mack McGee said. “Pay’s good. Fella needs it at a fish camp up around St. Lucie by the day after tomorrow.”
“Cubano’s?”
“Yeah, you know it?”
“I do. And I ’preciate the work.”
“Happy to have the help.” Mack showed him the boat, which was called Skidaddle and looked about the size of Finn’s, then handed him half the ferrying fee.
Lisa came out of the grocery and gave him a Coke as they walked back to the docks. “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” she said.
“Doing what?”
“Riding a total stranger’s boat out across the ocean, traveling the whole length of Florida by ourselves, never knowing where our next dollar is coming from . . .”
“Oh, that,” he said with a smile.
“Yes, that.”
“You mind doing it again tomorrow?”
“Seriously?”
“Yep. This one will take us to the little town where Gina’s family lives. Maybe we can stop by and say hi.”
“I’d love to meet them.”
“They’re gonna love you. Especially Gina. She quizzed me up and down about you. I guess now I know what it would be like to have a big sister.”
“Did you ever wish for one—a brother or sister, I mean?”
“Not really. I guess I didn’t have any idea what I was missing, if that makes sense. Hey, we should call Judy. She sure has been a big help to me.”
“She likes you,” Lisa said. “And that says a lot because Judy’s picky. I’ll give her a call and let her know what’s up. I have no idea what my cousin has told Aunt Marilyn. Probably nothing. She’ll want to stay in Key West by herself as long as she can, and she couldn’t care less what happens to me as long as I don’t tell on her. I called her from the pay phone at the store and promised I’d keep my mouth shut if she would. But she can lie like a rug, so I have no idea if that did any good.”
“Want to go to the beach for a little while?”
Lisa held her skirt out. “In this?”
“We can change on the boat. And I can spring for some beach towels. I am that loaded.”
The beach in Fort Lauderdale was lined with dome-shaped cabanas, rented from little stands every quarter mile or so. Peyton rented one and spread two beach towels underneath it, then tucked a small cooler into the back before following Lisa into the water.
She was floating on her back, her long red hair drifting in the ocean.