“I see.” His face grew serious, as though he understood what a blow that would be. “Would you like to play mine sometime? Every instrument is a little different, but I am sure you could make mine sing.” His blue eyes were kind in the dim light.
She met his gaze. “I would like that very much.”
Chapter 15
Before dawn, March 16, 1854
23 days at sea
“The teeth! So big!”
Ann pried open her groggy eyes to see little Cyrus tossing and turning in his makeshift bed on the floor of their cabin.
“Cyrus,” she whispered.
He stirred and turned toward her.
She slid out of the hammock and bent over him. “Did you have a bad dream?”
“Scary shark!” His little voice trembled and the moonlight shining through the small window made his eyes bright.
“There, there. Don’t worry about that. We won’t be getting near the water. Why don’t you sleep in my hammock ’til morning?”
He hugged her and she lifted him up and placed him inside the hammock. She smoothed down his hair as she gently rocked him back and forth until he was finally calm and hopefully asleep.
Ann glanced toward Adelaide on the mattress nearby, her sister’s gaunt face relaxed in sleep. She’d been none too happy when she heard Ann would be helping in the sick bay soon. So far, she’d let Ann help with Cyrus, but if she changed her mind, that would break Ann’s heart.
Ann knew it was closer to dawn than midnight, and her body told her she wouldn’t sleep anymore. For several minutes she sat at Cyrus’s feet, different scenes from the journey so far replaying in her mind.
The faint glow from their small window seemed a shade or two lighter. In the silence she stood and donned her shawl.
The last time she’d journeyed onto the deck at night had been after Addy’s death. Though the sorrow of losing her niece still stung, today she simply wanted a way to clear her mind, not a way to escape everything she knew.
Will was taking his customary walk along the deck during the middle of his night watch when he noticed a solitary figure just a few paces in front of him at the forecastle. The end of her long braid danced in the cool air. Knowing who it was, and excited to speak with her without many eyes watching them, he drew up behind her and gestured to the heavens. “They are beautiful, aren’t they?” A little bit of light crept over the horizon, but in the other direction, a showering of stars still dappled the darker west sky.
Her quick inhale proved her surprise, but she dipped her head in greeting. The lap of waves against the hull was the only sound as her brows knit together. “For one who accused me of always showing up in random places and getting into trouble”—she drew her mouth into a half smile—“you sure seem to be nigh at hand lately.”
He chuckled, the sound echoing off the wooden deck beneath them. He glanced around, but the sailors on watch were minding their own business and were a good distance away. “I am overseeing the night watch, so it is only natural that I am here. You are the one that seems more out of place.”
“You found me so quickly,” she replied, her tone a little more serious and hushed. He doubted she had the same concerns as him about being overheard, but it seemed the stillness of the predawn lent itself toward a whisper.
He raised his eyebrows. “Your silhouette doesn’t look much like a sailor’s.” She seemed to almost trip backward at his comment, but he continued. “May I ask why you are out of bed at this early hour?”
“I thought the first mate needed some supervision.”
He chuckled, surprised by her reply. It almost seemed like she was ... flirting with him. “Well, if you were that Mrs. Brower, I would believe you.”
“Mrs. Brower?” Ann shot a glance toward him. “What do you have against the dear lady?”
He shook his head. “Dear lady! Ha!” The bottom of his fisted hand pounded against the railing. “She seems to be scrutinizing everyone and everything. On more than one occasion she’s tried to tell me how to run this ship, as though she knows everything about being a mate of a merchant vessel, and then she walks around with that little book—”
“Thatbookis a journal.” Ann laughed, which was a beautiful sound in itself. “And she’s supposed to direct some of the preparations for our journey west to Zion once we land, so she does give instructions to the passengers.”She blew out a small gust of air. “I didn’t know a woman could get you in such a tizzy.”
“Yes, well—” He tugged down his jacket and fiddled with a button as he glanced to the side. “I wish she were the only one,” he muttered, and then immediately bit down on his lip. He shouldn’t actuallysaythe things he was thinking about her.
Perhaps she didn’t catch it, because her gaze seemed determined to watch the sea.
Being near her like this was too much. He was drawn to her, and it seemed like some invisible hand was always providing opportunities for them to converse with each other. The fact that he’d just let such words slip from his mouth was evidence his resolve was slipping. He needed to be clearer and more deliberate.
