As she watched, the hostility shifted into something she couldn’t as easily identify.
“In my experience, people steal things for a few different reasons.” He still hadn’t stepped back, and the simple words were almost tangible in the tiny space between them. “Personalgain seems to be the usual motive.” His broad shoulders drew her eye as he rolled them back. Then he lifted his hand and held it by her face. “Other folks are in it for the thrill.”
Wendy stopped breathing as he ran a finger down her cheek with the word “thrill.” The zing that followed his finger lingered as he leaned even closer to say, “And then there’s the desperate ones.”
He squinted a little as he searched her eyes. “Which are you?”
Wendy’s lips parted, but no words came.
Something shuttered behind Hook’s eyes. He straightened, raising his hook so the lantern hung between them. “Do you need an escort back to your accommodations?” Before she could huff yet again, he added blandly, “We wouldn’t want you to get lost.”
“I’ll be fine,” Wendy said through gritted teeth.
She snatched at the lantern, but the curve of the captain’s hook caught and she tugged his arm forward. Wendy was mortified, but Hook simply twisted his arm a bit to release the handle.
An apology hovered on her lips, destined to never be spoken as a shout from the crow’s nest drew their eyes upward.
“Fire off the starboard beam!”
Looking up, she saw a pale arm sticking out over the crow’s nest wall and pointing to something behind her. She looked at Hook, who had already turned his attention to the ocean off the right side of the ship. Swiveling, she peered into the darkness. Atfirst, nothing could be distinguished from her angle; then the clouds over the moon moved away, revealing a ship in distress.
Wendy gasped and rushed to stand at the railing closest to the disaster in progress. She heard Hook sound the alarm. The pounding of running feet filtered to her brain as she watched the smoke billow up from the smaller craft. Now and then, flames became visible, but the bulk of the fire seemed to be belowdecks. For now.
As she watched, theJolly Rogermoved closer, bringing the full scene into view. The wind shifted, bringing the smell of smoke. They could hear the fire roaring and, more alarming, two distinct wails. From behind, she heard Hook shout, fully in command of the rescue efforts. Wendy couldn’t tear her eyes away from the family that became fully visible as the flames erupted through the deck.
Against the terrible illumination, she could see a woman clutching a crying baby and a man holding a young child. The man alternated between waving his free arm at theJolly Rogerand trying to herd his wife toward safety. The swiftly sloping deck complicated things.
Wendy stared with unblinking eyes, wishing she could help but knowing she would only get in the way. Faster than she thought possible, the yawl from theJolly Rogerhad been deployed. With cold fingers clamped to the railing, she watched as Hook, the fiddler, and a large, blond crew member rowed the small boat into position. The sea obliged their efforts withgentle waves, and first the toddler, then the mother and baby were soon passed into the hands of the crew.
But when the father moved to join them, the sinking ship lurched, and he lost his grip. Icy panic shot through Wendy as his head hit the railing. Hook must have been prepared for this possibility, because he was in the water seconds after the injured man slipped beneath the surface. After an endless, breathless moment, both heads broke the water. Hands reached to pull the pair on board, and the sounds of crying, yelling, and general chaos met Wendy’s ears again.
The band around her chest loosened as the unconscious man was placed in the bottom of the boat. Hook had secured himself by hooking his prosthetic into the wood and bobbed patiently until his men could assist him. It was too dark to truly make out his face, but she thought he looked unfazed.
The return trip to theJolly Rogerwas less frantic. At the ship, the crew insisted that Hook climb up first. Wendy saw his brief scowl in the lantern light, but he didn’t waste time arguing. At the top, he immediately turned to reach for the toddler, disregarding protests that he needed to dry off.
The young mother eyed the robust, blond man like a basilisk as he handed her child up to Hook. The babe in her arms fussed louder, so she soothed the infant as well as she could as she continued to stare at the strange man holding her oldest. Hook barely held the small boy before passing him to Wendy and moved to help his crew lift the injured man onto the deck. Thisseemed to relieve the mother, who relaxed and allowed herself to be helped aboard.
The young one in Wendy’s arms clung to her at first, then began fretting in earnest when he perceived that she wasn’t his mother. Wendy started the arm bounce that still came naturally after so many years with her much younger brothers. She shifted slightly away from the dramatic scene in an attempt to prevent the child from seeing the blood that dripped from his father’s head.
“Hush now, little one. It’s not so bad,” she said, using her calmest voice. “Your mama and daddy are here, and I bet we can find a snack. Would you like that?”
Tears still welled in the boy’s large brown eyes, but he sniffled and half-hiccupped/half-nodded. Over his head, Wendy saw one of the younger crew members, a mousy looking boy wearing riding boots, lurking nearby. He stuffed his hand in one of his vest pockets and pulled out a cookie. After glancing at it and brushing off a bit of lint, he offered the treat to the child.
Not worried about food of dubious origins, the toddler slowly stretched out his hand to accept it before pulling it back to his chest with decent speed.
“How kind,” Wendy said, keeping her voice low. “My name is Wendy. What’s yours?”
Tousled curls brushed across her jaw as their owner buried his face in her neck.
“I’m Phillip!” volunteered the half-grown pirate.
“And he’s Phillip. See, everybody has a name. I’d like to know yours, please,” she prodded.
The boy murmured something into her neck.
“Oggy?” Wendy asked, fairly certain that wasn’t what he had said.
He repeated his name but didn’t move away.
