“Come,” Bonnie said, taking Cali’s hand and drawing her toward one of the empty tables near the banked fire. “Let me explain.”
Cali’s legs were wooden and her thoughts whirling, but she followed the pirate captain.
“There was a battle,” Bonnie said as they settled across from each other. “That much was true. It had nothing to do with The Cruel Mistress, though we got caught up in the thick of it, regardless.” She paused. “But in the chaos, I saw an opportunity.”
“An opportunity?”
“To disappear.” A faint flush climbed the woman’s cheeks. “Amid all the chaos and wreckage, it wasn’t difficult to let word spread that Bonnie One-Eye had gone overboard and not resurfaced.”
Cali sat back slightly. “But why? Why fake your own death? I thought you needed more time as Bonnie One-Eye.”
Bonnie released a heavy breath. “Once you left, I realized how wrong I’d been. I’d been going through the motions before, but when you were gone, I couldn’t see the point. There’s never a good time to leave piracy, but the easiest way to walk away from Bonnie One-Eye was to let her vanish at sea. That way themystery will live on, especially if carefully placed and well-paid sources report occasional sightings.”
Cali shook her head. “But what happens to the name now?”
“I discussed it with my mother and grandmother,” Bonnie said. “We agreed the name could be retired. There doesn’t need to be a fourth Bonnie One-Eye, unless someone wants to take it up again someday.”
Cali absorbed this slowly. “And the ship? The crew? Who’s captaining The Cruel Mistress now?”
“Gert,” Bonnie said with a warm grin. “Gunpowder Gert, as she’s already insisting on being called.”
Cali laughed as she pictured the orc behind the captain’s wheel. “That suits her.”
“It does.” Bonnie reached across the table and caught Cali’s hand again, turning it over in her own. “She’ll captain Tris well. The crew trusts her, and Tris loves her.”
Cali studied her for a long moment. “Are you sure about this? All of it?”
“I’ve been sure since before you ever stepped off my ship. Maybe longer than that, if I’m honest with myself.” Her thumb traced slow circles over the back of Cali’s paw. “I knew, watching you walk down that gangway, that I was a fool not to run after you.”
Cali’s chest tightened. “Leaving you was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I couldn’t ask you to give up your whole life.”
“The crew will always be my family, and I plan to visit them often. Gert would have my head if I didn’t. But it’s time for anew chapter.” Her eyes sparkled in the firelight. “I was actually hoping I might find work. Illustrating, perhaps. I hear there’s a promising new author in need of cover art.”
Cali’s breath caught, and before she could think better of it, she leaned across the table and kissed the woman, sinking into the familiar taste of brandy.
“That sounds perfect,” she murmured when she finally pulled back. “I should warn you that my current living arrangements aren’t exactly grand. I have a room at the village inn.”
Bonnie’s eye drifted toward the window and beyond the tavern. “I think that stream would make a lovely spot for a houseboat.”
Cali laughed outright. “You truly cannot take the sailor out of the woman, can you?”
“Not entirely, though I’m willing to negotiate the terms.”
They kissed again, slower this time, and it was somewhere in the middle of that kiss that a loud, groggy snort interrupted them from across the room.
“We’re coming to look for you, ya know,” Thrain mumbled, eyes still closed, his voice thick with sleep, apparently responding to the sound of Bonnie’s voice in his half-awakened state. He settled back against the chair, already drifting again.
Then his eyes flew open. He sat bolt upright so fast that Bramble tumbled out of his beard with an indignant squawk, and Crumpet took flight before he hit the ground. Thrain gaped across the room at Bonnie, his mouth working soundlessly for several long seconds.
“Son of a wand waxer! What did I miss?” He squinted at the pirate. “What happened to your patch?”
“Bonnie is no longer Bonnie One-Eye,” Cali said, squeezing the woman’s hand. “She’s given up piracy to come live in Wayside.”
“Has she now?” Thrain blinked a few more times as he accepted this turn of events and then settled back into the chair. “Good decision. Wayside’s a fine place. We’re lucky to have you.”
He fell back asleep and resumed snoring, as both women dissolved into laughter.
Cali pulled Bonnie closer and wrapped her arms and tail around her. “Welcome to Wayside.”
