Page 8 of Deadly Waves

Grady was understandably suspicious as he increased his pace and moved to his brother’s side. “Why is your room especially bigger?”

James ignored his brother’s stare. “Because I’m the boss.”

“Yes, and I’ve mostly been the boss for the past few weeks,” Grady said. “I think the bigger room should be mine.”

“Well, that’s not going to happen,” James said. “Your room is plenty big. Don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Sophie said. “You always told me that size doesn’t matter.”

The men chortled as Grady’s face turned a mottled shade of red.

“I don’t need this abuse,” Grady muttered. “I just … I don’t appreciate this. I think that since I’ve been the boss thanks to James’ need to babysit Mandy over the past few weeks, the big room should be mine.”

James’ shoulders tightened at his brother’s words. He knew he meant them in jest, but he didn’t appreciate Grady putting the onus of recent events on Mandy. “Don’t go there.” His voice was low and full of warning and Grady didn’t miss the furtive look Mandy shot in his direction. She looked embarrassed, which was the last thing Grady wanted.

“I’m sorry,” Grady said hurriedly, holding up his hands. “That’s not what I meant. I … I’m sorry.” He knew exactly how wrecked James was during Mandy’s kidnapping and he would never purposely hurt his brother. He didn’t want to upset either of them. They’d been through enough and he had no intention of adding to their heartache. “That was wrong. I speak before I think sometimes. You know that.”

“Oh, we all know that,” Ally intoned, flashing a bright smile as she tried to calm the situation. She wasn’t known as the peacemaker, but when it came to Mandy she had no intention of letting anyone spoil this trip. She knew how much her best friend and brother needed it. “I think it’s your hair. I’ve come to the conclusion that your hair is so long it saps some of your intelligence. You should let me cut it.”

Grady self-consciously reached for his shoulder-length locks. His hair was something of a joke in the family, but he knew that the longer hair made him much more attractive than his brothers. “If you touch my hair, I’m going to shave you bald in the middle of the night. Mark my words.”

“Ooh, I’m shaking in my shoes,” Ally said, shooting him a pointed look. Out of all the Hardy siblings, Ally and Grady fought the most. They had a lot of the same mannerisms, which neither was particularly fond of admitting. “Jake won’t let you shave my head, will you, love bug?”

Jake was used to Ally giving him a different nickname every day so he didn’t balk at the new one. “I will kill him if he tries, angel.”

Ally shot a triumphant look in Grady’s direction. “Ha!”

“I’m not afraid of him,” Grady said. “I’m stronger than him. We’ve thumb wrestled. I know.”

This time the joke was enough to lighten everyone’s mood and James barked out a laugh as he relaxed his stance. “Everyone is going to have a good time,” he said. “I promise. This will be one of those trips we talk about for years.”

“Does that mean I get the big room?” Grady challenged.

“Nope,” James answered, not missing a beat. “The big room is mine. There’s a little something special in there for Mandy.”

Mandy’s eyes lit up at the news. “What?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“I hate surprises.”

James snorted. “You’re not going to hate this one, wife. Trust me.”

“OH, MY… wow.”

Mandy was positively breathless when James showed her into the suite. The room itself was beautiful, designed for big spenders and potential high rollers interested in gambling at one of the ship’s casino rooms. James didn’t care about that. He and his wife would’ve been fine with a mattress and each other. It was the window in the floor that intrigued him when the owner told him about the suites.

“What is this?” Mandy dropped to her knees and peered through the window. The ocean expanse spread wide beneath the large rectangular frame. “Is this like an ocean window? Is it real?”

“No, it’s fake,” James teased, leaving the garment bag on the bed and the suitcase in the middle of the floor as he joined her. “What do you think?”

“I … it’s amazing,” Mandy said, licking her lips. “Did you pay extra for this?”

“I’m here on a security job,” James reminded her. “I didn’t pay extra. I did, however, ask the owner for one of the window rooms when he told me about them. I thought you would enjoy it.”

“It’s beautiful.” Mandy leaned closer so she could stare out the window. Since the boat was still at the dock, there wasn’t a lot to see other than a few fish and assorted plant life. “Do you think we’ll be able to see bigger animals once we get out to sea?”

James smirked. He knew exactly what she was asking. “Do you mean sharks?”