“Hey. We’ve got a problem,” Tom said.
“What?”
“There’s a guy here saying he has a charter scheduled with you right now. I told him you just took off with some ladies, and he’s insisting you come back for him.”
Cap pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He knew this charter was going to be trouble.
“Is his name Jonathan?”
“Yep.”
“For chrissake. I’ve got his jilted bride and her bridesmaids on board.”
“He knows that. He says this trip was for him, not them, so he’s insisting you come back.”
“Not happening. It was her credit card that paid for the charter.”
The last thing he needed was a domestic dispute on his hands, so there was no way in hell he’d return to the dock now.
“I’ve told him five times already you wouldn’t come back, but he insisted I call you.”
“Where is he now?” Cap asked.
“Standing at the dock wall waiting for you. He’s already tried to get a couple of the other charter captains to give him a lift to your boat. They’ve refused and don’t want to be part of this drama.”
“Tell him again that I’m not coming back. Call the cops if he gets out of hand.”
“Will do, and I foresee a call to the cop shop in my near future.”
Cap disconnected the call, then glanced over his shoulder to look at the dock wall even though it was practically out of sight. His gaze moved to Emma, who’d climbed up the ladder to the wheelhouse.
“I’m sorry for that,” she said.
“What?”
“I’m sorry Jonathan’s causing a ruckus. I told him I had canceled the trip. He must not have believed me.”
Cap wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t need this kind of drama surrounding him. As a charter captain, he dealt mostly with men who just wanted to catch fish. Easy peasy.
Having been a police officer and drug investigator earlier in his working life, he now realized how much he liked his drama-free life as a charter captain. He’d known from the time he was a teenager, guiding fishing trips for his Uncle Lee in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, that he belonged in the outdoors, not in a squad car or in the investigation office of the City of Sturgeon Bay Police Department. But he was good at it, and there were parts of that job he liked. Busting drug dealers and getting them off the street gave him satisfaction, and he honestly didn’t mind the danger aspect of the job. Truth be told, the danger gave him a little thrill. It was the lying assholes and mind games he encountered every day that took a toll on him. That, and the fact the justice system went so easy on these drug-dealing pricks. He worked hard to bust them, and then they’d only get a slap on the wrist.
Emma cleared her throat, drawing his attention back to her.
“I am really sorry,” she repeated as if needing him to acknowledge everything was okay.
But she was just another liar, having lied to her ex about canceling the trip.
Her pleading dark eyes tugged at him, making him want to tell her what she needed to hear. After all, she couldn’t help the fact that her ex was a prick.
“It’s fine. It’ll all be fine. We’ll be on the lake in no time and away from him.”
Emma closed her eyes and drew in a long breath.
“Did you need something?” he asked.
Her eyes popped open. “Huh?”
“Why are you up here? Do you need something?”
