“What do you think about the whole situation with Betsy and Frank?” she asked.
Bradford came closer and sat beside her. She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I don’t know what to think. Betsy and Frank are institutions on Coral Island. They’ve been here longer than me, and everyone loves Betsy. I can’t imagine she would’ve done anything wrong. Other than kidnapping her own son, of course, which most people are conflicted over anyway. ‘She had her reasons’ would be the most obvious response, I suppose.”
“That’s what I think too. She had to get out of there, and she was willing to do whatever it took to keep her son safe. I’d do the same thing.”
“Me too.”
“We can’t judge her for that.”
“I agree, but you seem to be struggling to come to terms with it. You’ve brought it up before…”
“Iamstruggling,” Charmaine agreed. “I keep going over and over it in my mind. There was something about the way she said it. Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. That’s the conclusion I’m sticking with. I love Betsy—she’s my friend and my boss. She’s like family to me since I don’t have anyone now but Auntie Finn, her husband and kids, who I haven’t even met yet. Sean is gone, and even though I don’t ever want to see him again, I miss him. Is that odd?”
“It’s how things are with family.” Bradford kissed her forehead. “It’s complicated. You love them, but sometimes you also can’t stand them. You want to be around them, and then when you are, they drive you crazy.”
She laughed. “Exactly.”
They sat in silence for a few moments.
“How’s Evie going in the new office?” Charmaine asked.
Bradford inhaled a deep breath. “She’s going great, but there’ve been a few hiccups with our rental contract and so on. The council is breathing down our necks about an approval we missed, things like that. I’m glad the construction work is finished and Evie can finally take on customers. I know she’s excited to stop commuting to Airlie Beach now that she has an office on the island.”
“She seemed nervous about it when I spoke to her.”
“She’ll be fine,” Bradford responded. “She’s a natural with our customers.” He stood to his feet and stretched his arms over his head. “Are you hungry?”
“I could eat,” Charmaine replied, standing with him.
“Great. I’ve got prawns and olives, crackers and cheese in the galley. It’s the usual fare we serve when we take this boat out full of tourists. I’ll put it on a plate and be right back.” He walked across the boat carefully, ducking beneath a thick, heavy pole attached to a sail.
“I’ll join you,” Charmaine said.
“This is the spinnaker pole,” Bradford said. “Make sure you’re careful. It does move about. You should sit and enjoy the view, relax.”
“Okay,” she replied, with a laugh. “But, I can’t sit up here while you’re doing all the work.”
“Yes, you can,” he replied with a wink. “I won’t be long. Enjoy yourself.”
She sat, took off her hat since it was threatening to fly off at any moment. Then she wrapped her arms around her bent knees. The wind had picked up, and it whipped her hair so she couldn’t see very well. Her purse was inside, and there was a brush with a hairband wound around the handle. She should put her hair up and grab a cap, since the straw hat was never going to stay on her head in this wind.
She clambered across the deck. It had begun to sway. She looked up to see dark clouds hustling across the sky from the horizon. She hadn’t seen them coming. It looked like it might storm, and soon. Her hair blew against her face, blocking her view completely, and she bent low to move towards the cabin. Just then, something hard and heavy hit her in the back of the head.
With a cry, she fell to her knees. The boat rocked to one side, and she slid down the deck towards the ocean. The water was darker now and surged, slapping against the side of the boat.
With a hand pressed to the back of her throbbing head, she screamed, “Brad!”
Two strong arms wrapped around her body and dragged her to her feet. She squeezed him tight, not wanting to let go. He led her down into the cabin. Immediately, the wind eased up and she could see again. Her head ached.
“The spinny thing hit me in the head.”
“The spinnaker pole?” he asked, leading her to a soft couch.
“Yes, that’s it. Ouch.”
“I told you to watch out for it.”
“I couldn’t see — my hair.”
