The boat trip around Point Bonita and through the rough water known as the Potato Patch didn’t serve Jackie well. For most of the journey she sat slumped, her head between her knees. Alex felt sorry for her, but knew better than to say anything. A wave hit them broadside and sloshed cold water over the side of the tossing boat. Instinctively he moved to steady Jackie, but she fisted her hands in the pontoon rope and didn’t look up. He crouched down, near enough to grab her if she lost her grip.
“Times like this I do wonder why I didn’t take the job with dolphins in the Florida Keys,” Gage said as another wave smacked the boat and soaked them good. Alex admired his skill as he navigated the troughs of the waves and maneuvered away from the point toward the crescent of rocky shore just north of Muir Beach. “Warm water. Piña coladas. Babes.”
Jackie tipped up her head. A wavering smile showed briefly. “No hockey?”
Not only was she pale, she looked tired. But even wet and fighting seasickness, she was beautiful. Yet it was more than just her physical beauty. The woman had a presence that seemed to trumpet into his soul.
“For a man who loves skating on ice, your tropical fantasies surprise me,” Alex said.
“Let’s not get into Gage’s fantasies,” Jackie muttered. “I’m not sure I could take it.”
The boat lurched in a near shore wave and tossed Jackie into Alex’s lap. He closed his hands around her ribs and kept her from slipping into the bottom of the boat. Even through the neoprene of her wetsuit, he could feel the gentle curve of her hips. A discussion of fantasies was not a safe topic, never would be with her around.
She blinked up at him as he righted her. For a flashing instant, he saw her eyes widen, felt her relax in his hands. Then she stiffened and the look in her eyes was all Dr. Brandon once again.
Nope. No time for fantasies.
“When we pull in”—Gage pointed to the shore—“Alex, you hop out and take the net with you, then pull the boat up. I’ll hop out and net the guy, and you and I will hold the net over him while Jackie clips the strap and pulls it free. Then we push off.”
“I saw the Coast Guard photos this morning,” Jackie said. “He’ll need a shot of antibiotics.”
“Too close for too long, Jack.”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head. If Alex were a betting man, he’d say the sea lion would get its drug.
At Gage’s signal, Alex unstrapped the net.
Gage motored the Zodiac closer to the beach. Alex saw the red gash on the sea lion’s neck. The animal, perhaps startled by the sound of the motor, reared up. Gage cut the engine, but not before the sea lion charged into the breakers.
“Plan B,” Jackie said. Before he or Gage could move, she jumped over the side.
“Damn her!” Gage leaned over the side of the boat.
Stronger words rose in Alex’s mind as he readied to jump in after her. As he slung a leg over the side, Jackie surfaced.
“Come on in, Alex. The water’s delightful.”
Gage knelt at the side of the boat and wedged his foot into the stabilizing ropes. “Give me your hand.” He reached for Jackie. “This is insane.”
“It’s an endangered species.” Jackie sputtered as a wave caught her. “You just net him, Gage, and I can clip the strap.” She held up her knife. “Alex can handle the boat.”
“She’s serious,” Alex said.
“She’s crazy, that’s what she is.”
“If you two are finished discussing my state of mind”—she glanced over her shoulder as she treaded the rolling waves—“I think our guest of honor has decided our next move for us.”
The sea lion was not six feet from the boat.
Gage motioned and Alex took his place at the motor.
“Steer at an angle. If you have to, run it up onto the beach.”
Gage readied the net and threw. The sea lion bucked into it.
“Give me a hand,” he shouted to Alex. “Jackie, back off. Get out of the way!”
Alex cut the motor and slid to the front of the boat. Jackie was not moving away, she was swimming straight for the net and the big bull. The bull reared again and the net caught her arm. Both she and the sea lion plunged below the surface. Alex dove over the side. The water was murky, but he was able to see enough to pull the net away and free her arm. They surfaced, sputtering.
“Just hold it,” she said, nodding to the handle of the net. “It’s working.”
He wanted to grab Jackie and throw her into the boat—then maybe sit on her for good measure—but he swallowed back his fear and grabbed the handle of the net. The slope of the tideline was shallow enough that the sea lion couldn’t dive and escape the net. Jackie dove under the water and swam straight into the side of the net, pressing up against the bull.
Alex counted off twenty seconds.
“Get her up,” Gage said.
“I’ll give her thirty seconds, total,” Alex said, swallowing his panic and counting in his head. Then the jig was up—he’d haul her in no matter what.
He counted off six more seconds and prepared to dive. At seven seconds she surfaced, brandishing the severed packing strap.
“Got it!” she shouted with a smile. “Gage, hand me the syringe wrapped in my towel.”
“No deal,” Gage said. “Get in the boat. He’ll be fine.”
“I’ll fire you.”
“Miami beckons.” He leaned over the boat. “Hand her up.” He motioned to Alex. “We’ll pull the net off once you’re both in.” He tied the rope of the net handle to the boat.
“I am not going in,” Jackie protested. “Hand me my syringe.”
“But you are,” Alex said. He grabbed her by the waist and hauled her to the boat. “You most definitely are. You can’t fire me.”
Alex reached under her butt and pushed her up over the side of the boat. Gage grabbed her under her arms and hauled her into the Zodiac. Alex levered his foot in the rope and Gage hauled him up over the side as well.
He landed face-first in a foot of water that had washed into the boat. He fell against Jackie when he scrambled to his knees.
Gage tugged the line holding the net and the thrashing sea lion to the side of the boat.
“Lever the net handle under you,” Gage instructed. Working together, they pulled the net free of the sea lion.
The three of them balanced in the pitching boat and watched as the big animal appeared to debate whether to swim out to sea or back up to the beach. It eyed the boat and then hauled up onto the beach. It sat, erect, staring at them.
“It’ll need to recover after all that,” Gage said as he bound the net to the side of the boat.
“Mutiny,” Jackie huffed. “No other word for it.”
“You can shoot us at dawn,” Alex said. He’d only had his hands on her butt for a few brief seconds, but it had been enough to tell him he wanted more. That he even entertained such a thought at a time like this probably did warrant being shot at dawn.
Jackie was seasick all the way back to Pier 39. If anyone had told him that watching a woman struggling to keep from getting seasick could be rousing, he’d have considered them nuts. But as he watched her try to hide her misery, his admiration for her grew by the minute. When the boat lurched in a wave and he ended up with her hips in his hands to steady her, his admiration wasn’t the only thing that grew in response. He shifted his position and looked away, tried to call up some stats and ignore the effect she had on him, but for the rest of the ride he was aware of her every move. The woman could torment him without even trying.
Gage tied off the Zodiac, and Alex gave Jackie a hand up onto the dock.
“Breakfast.” Gage beamed. “We get twenty percent off at Captain Drake’s.”
“Food is not anything I can consider right now,” Jackie said weakly.
Alex looked at his dive watch. “I have an hour to get to the stadium. I’ll have to pass.” He turned to Jackie. “You okay to drive?”
“She’s never okay
to drive,” Gage quipped.
“You are officially fired,” Jackie said with a weak smile.
“When she’s fired me a hundred times, that’s when it’s official. I think we’re at forty-seven.” He looked at Alex. “Thanks. From both of us.”
“I can say my own thanks,” Jackie said as she peeled her wetsuit down to her waist. The thin rash guard under it did nothing to hide her taut nipples or the lush roundness of her breasts. He looked to her face and felt heat rise up his neck; she’d caught him staring. He was almost glad she didn’t peel the damn thing the rest of the way off, although he couldn’t help but wonder what she had on underneath it.
“I was thanking him for me and the sea lion,” Gage said with a wink before walking off down the dock.
Jackie was still pale and shaky. Alex wanted to wrap his arms around her. Hell, he wanted to kiss her. But instead he stepped back.
“I could take you to the stadium and drive you home after,” he offered.
“Thanks, but I have a lunch appointment. That is, if I can even think about food by then. But Bradley’s got some new restaurant in mind. Maybe it’ll spark my appetite.”
Bradley. Just the way she said the guy’s name made Alex growl inside.
He couldn’t deny that helping with the work meant a lot, made him feel in a small but significant way he was contributing to a greater good, but when it came to Jackie personally, it might be time to admit that he really was wasting his time. In his mind he’d tried out several scenarios for asking her out, but clearly he was too late. She liked the science guy; Gage had said as much.
She grabbed her gear bag from the edge of the dock. “You and Gage shouldn’t be allowed to cook these sorts of excursions up,” she said with a smile. A real one. She pulled a sweatshirt out of the bag and shimmied it over her head. “But I am grateful for the help,” she said as her head popped out. She pivoted and snatched up the bag. “See you at the Center.”
Her stride was slower than usual, but the way her hips moved as she strolled along the dock made him crazy. He was pretty sure she didn’t know she moved like that. If she did, she’d button it up in no time.