“Oh, Alex,” Nina said. “You’ve got it all wrong. The dogs are never the problem. It’s thepeople.”
“You’ll make a birthday cake, right?” I said to Alex.
“I’m thinking peanut butter and blueberry cupcakes.”
“That sounds good, actually.”
Alex’s knife flashed in the light as he sliced through strawberries. “I’ll be sure to save you one.”
Alex grinned at me, but a moment later his face transformed into a wince of pain. He jumped back from the counter with a hiss, cradling his hand against his chest. Blood ran thick and fast over his white chef’s coat, and I was on the other side of the island before I could think.
“Are you all right?” I took his hand in mine and examined the wound. The knife had sliced into his middle finger just above the first knuckle, but I couldn’t tell how deep.
“I’ll live,” he said through gritted teeth.
“We need to wash this now.” I grabbed him by the elbow and led him over to the sink. “Don’t look at it.”
Alex looked away as I rinsed his hand. I grabbed a clean dish towel from nearby and wrapped it around his finger, keeping pressure on the wound.
Nina, always calm in a crisis, called over her radio for RJ, who tookcare of any injuries we had on board. “Please tell me you can cook with one hand.”
“How bad is it?” Alex winced.
I glanced at the bloody dish towel I held around his finger. “It’s not... great, but you’ve still got your fingertip.”
“You’re useless, Alex,” Nina said, joining us beside the sink. “Don’t you know how to hold a knife?”
“Jo distracted me.”
“We were having a conversation!” I said.
“You are very distracting, Josephine,” Nina said. “It’s the knees—their beauty blinds me on a daily basis.”
Alex looked down at my legs, that almost smile on his face even as he was clearly in pain. “They are pretty nice knees.”
“I hate both of you. Here, hold your own damn finger.” I pushed Alex’s hand to his chest. “And you know what? I’m going to wear pants from now on, beautiful knees be damned!”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Nina said. “No one looks good in khaki pants.No one.”
“Just watch me!”
RJ arrived, looking both confused by the conversation he’d walked into and annoyed that he had to be there at all. I’d never heard RJ speak more than three words at a time, and those three words happened to beCopy that, Captain.He was silent as he examined Alex’s finger. The ten minutes it took for him to stitch Alex up stretched on uncomfortably as Nina counted off all the ways khaki pants offended her, and RJ’s eyebrows lifted themselves so high they eventually disappeared into his hair. In the end, Alex’s hand was wrapped up and useless, and RJ left muttering under his breath. The three of us sat around the table, Alex with a sheepish look on his face.
“Thanks for nearly amputating yourself when we need you to cook, Alex,” Nina said. “I can’t believe you’re leaving me to deal with his incompetence by myself for the next two weeks,” she added to me.
I knew she was only half kidding. Nothing made her angrier than a charter going awry, and this one hadn’t even started yet. But after Saturday, charters wouldn’t be my problem for an entire two weeks. My only concern would be spending as much time with Mia and Kitty as possible.
“Should we just order food for the guests?” I asked.
“We’re not serving takeout on a charter,” Alex said. “Especially not for dog people. I can still cook. I just need a little help.” He gave us a pleading smile.
“Not it.” Nina touched her finger to her nose and gave me a pat on the shoulder. “Have at it, babe.”
“If it means I’ll be spending less time with the dog people, I’m in. Besides, I’ve always wanted to learn to cook.”
“Liar,” Alex and Nina said at the same time.
“We know you love your Lean Cuisines and microwavable popcorn,” Nina said.
