Page 11 of Deadly Waves

“We would like to make sure that’s not possible,” Will said, his eyes twinkling. “We know that nothing is completely safe, but we want to be alerted to any problems so we can fix them before something happens. The sooner we know, the better.”

“I can see that,” Mandy said, turning her head to catch the sun as it rose high in the sky. It was a hot and humid day, but the wind on the ocean kept it tolerable. “It’s just beautiful out here.”

“It definitely is.” Will said, his eyes never leaving the angular planes of Mandy’s face. James cleared his throat to get the man to focus on him. “Where was I again?”

“You were going to give us a tour,” James answered, instinctively tugging Mandy a bit closer. If she noticed, she didn’t comment. He was thankful for that. “I think the women would like to know where everything is since they’ll be on their own a lot of the time while we do sweeps and checks.”

“We certainly do,” Ally intoned. She’d changed into a pink floppy hat once they unpacked in their suites. “I, for example, would love for you to show me where every deck cabana is located so I know where to procure a stiff drink.”

Mandy giggled as James rolled his eyes. “I can’t wait to have a piña colada,” she admitted. “I’ve never had one on a cruise and something tells me that’s going to make it better.”

James’ expression softened. “I’ll make sure I fill you full of piña coladas,” he said. “I might even drink one with you.”

“You will not,” Grady scoffed. “That’s a total chick drink.”

“I’m going to wait until you get drunk on your manly drinks and cut your hair when you’re not looking,” Ally warned.

Instead of being turned off by the family dynamic, Will grinned. “I love that you’re all so close,” he said. “I brought my daughter and some of her friends here, and it makes me feel better knowing you’re on the job. It’s easier to trust people who love freely.”

Despite his agitation with the man’s lecherous eyes, James couldn’t help but like him a little better after the admission. “I only like people who love freely,” he said, darting a pointed gaze at Mandy. “They’re my favorite type of people.”

“Mine, too,” Will said, snapping himself out of his reverie. “So, who wants a tour?”

“As long as it passes by a bar, I’m in,” Ally said. “In fact, if you could move us past bars at regular intervals, that would be even better.”

Will snorted. “Simply delightful.”

“NOW, THISis the aft area,” Will said an hour later, opening a private gate that locked off a small part of the deck from the rest of the boat. “On a normal cruise, we would have guards here. Since your family and my family are the only ones in the VIP section, though, I didn’t see fit to staff guards for this trip.”

“What does that mean?” Ally asked, slipping through the gate and widening her eyes when she saw the pool. It looked like a small lagoon more than anything else. “Wow!”

“Wow indeed,” Will said, smiling indulgently as Ally’s head whipped around. “This is for the VIP guests. It’s saltwater instead of chlorine, and you need a card – which you all should’ve received upon check-in – to enter. You can either access the area from the hallway on your floor or the deck.”

“And this is private?” Emma asked, moving forward. “We can hang out here by ourselves if we want?”

“Yes,” Will confirmed. “The captain also has a card so he can relax away from others, but he’s usually in bed by eight so you can have the run of the place if you want to swim at night.”

That was a tempting offer – especially because James and Mandy enjoyed swimming naked – but James wanted to make sure the area was really private before committing an opinion to the record. “You said your daughter was here,” he reminded their host. “Will she be hanging around by the pool?”

“She’d better not be,” Will replied. “This is a child-free zone. No one under the age of eighteen is allowed back here. Even though she’s my daughter, I made the rules very clear. If you see her sneaking around, make sure to tell me.”

“She sounds fun,” Grady quipped, grinning.

“She’s a good girl,” Will said. “I don’t want you to think otherwise. It’s just … she’s at a certain age.”

“I think we all remember what it was like to be a teenager,” James said, pursing his lips as he glanced at Mandy. “Emotions run deep. I just wanted to check in case … .” He broke off, unsure how to finish the sentence.

“In case you want to spend quality time with your wife without children staring at you while it’s happening,” Will finished, his eyes sparkling. “I understand. “No one will be around this area. I wouldn’t encourage any … shenanigans … during a normal cruise. This seems to be a special occasion, though.”

“I call dibs on tonight,” Grady said, raising his hand.

James slapped it down and shook his head. “Do you ever think before you speak?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s your job since you’re the boss,” Grady replied. “How close is the nearest bar to here?”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Ally said, grinning. “I love this pool.”

“Isn’t the whole point of going on a cruise so that you can meet new people?” Jake asked. “I don’t think it’s bad if you guys want to hang around the pool alone for some of the time, but it might do you good to mingle, too.”