Tam approached her after she tripped on a rope, then kicked the offending coil as hard as she could. “Have you eaten today?”
Wendy’s hands flew to her hips. “Of course I haven’t! I don’t know where the galley is or even what time meals are served around here.” Her foot ached, but she attempted to tone down the surliness because Tam had been the nicest to her so far. If his expression was anything to go by, she failed.
He backed away, then nodded and hurried off. Wendy returned to sit in the niche she and Adli had inhabited for most of the night. Setting her back to the bulk of the crew, she pulled her knees up to her chest and glared at the agitated waves.
“Here.”
She looked over to see Tam placing a very full plate and a cup of water nearby. He pushed it closer, then vanished behind some crates. “Thank you,” she called in his wake.
The food was devoured in short order, and Wendy relaxed against her makeshift backrest. The sun warmed her face, and the delightful breeze kept her from overheating. The sounds of industry provided a pleasing background as she watched the sun sparkle off the playful waves.
A mischievous giggle dragged her eyes toward the disheveled curls poking out from behind a large coil of rope. In the distance, she heard a woman calling for Adli. Dark eyes peekedabove the rim of his hiding place, then dropped beneath with another laugh.
Moving slowly so as not to alert her prey, Wendy sauntered over to the toddler’s sanctuary. When she was close, she reached down and hoisted the child into her arms.
His giggles turned to a shriek in an instant. Then he turned to look at her and cried, “Wenny!”
“You, too?” Wendy returned his smile. “Let’s go find your mama, sneaky boy.”
“Mama!” Adli agreed.
It wasn’t hard to find the boy’s mother. She was searching around a pile of tarped cargo while her husband held the baby and spoke with Hook, who looked disgustingly affable.
“We can take you as far as Buala, if that is acceptable,” the annoyingly elegant pirate was saying. The smile on his face was charming and did funny things to her insides.
The other man switched the baby to his right arm and said, “That is more than we can ask for. Thank you.”
Wendy didn’t hear any more as Adli yelled for his mother. The woman placed a hand on her heart and sighed.
“Thank you for returning my naughty child.” She caught the boy as he launched himself from Wendy’s arms. “I never introduced myself last night. My name is Rahma.” She smiled with expectation.
“Oh, right, I’m Wendy. Nice to meet you.”
They walked the few steps over to Rahma’s husband and the captain.
“Are you the lady of the ship, Wendy?”
Hook arched a black eyebrow and curled his lip in a sneer. Wendy huffed in offense at his reaction, then shook her head at Rahma. “Not at all.”
A knowing smile crossed the older woman’s lips. “So it’s like that, is it?”
“It’s not like anything!” Wendy hotly denied.
Rahma hummed a tactful response and invited Wendy to take a walk around the deck with her. Wanting to get as far away from Hook as possible, Wendy agreed.
Adli grabbed Wendy’s hand, and Rahma took the baby from her husband. Half-expecting to be grilled about her non-relationship with the captain, the first half of the stroll was mildly awkward for Wendy. But Rahma seemed to be content with letting the conversation be a gentle chat about nothing much. Adli interjected from time to time with somewhat comprehensible baby babble about everything he could see.
Around their second lap, Wendy worked up the courage to ask how their ship caught on fire.
A grim smile slid across Rahma’s face. “My husband was not a good man when I met him. Some of his past choices paid us a visit.”
“Oh.” Wendy didn’t really know where to go with that.
Fortunately, Rahma’s husband appeared then and announced that it was naptime for Adli and the baby. Wendy passed off the toddler and said goodbye to the little family.
Too restless to take another nap herself, Wendy wandered aimlessly for a bit. When she came upon young Davi learning how to mend sails, she had an idea. Davi’s teacher was a man in his thirties who sported the intricate neck tattoos common to certain Jocestrian islands. When asked, he lent her the smallest needle and the finest thread he had in his supplies. They weren’t suited for embroidery, but Wendy made it work.
As she repaired the tear in the purple dress, she listened to the lesson. She learned that the man—who looked like a decades-younger version of Smee—was named Maaka. He instructed the youth with patience and a quiet sense of humor. Neither Maaka nor Davi included her in the conversation, but they didn’t seem bothered by her presence, either. Davi might have spoken with her if he wasn’t so intent on his lesson.
