His Pirate (Second Chance Book 2) by Stephanie Lake

Author:Stephanie Lake [Lake, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical, LGBTTQ
Publisher: Loose Id LLC
Published: 2017-05-21T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Everyone was on deck, watching the green horizon of Barbados grow in their view. Apparently even hardened seamen got tired of nothing but blue three hundred and sixty degrees around the boat. Thirty-three days since they last set foot on land, and the green horizon beckoned to his soul.

The past week their water tasted so bad, Rhain lost his desire to drink, and the food was nothing more than dried provisions that all tasted like wood shavings.

Lydia squeezed his arm and pointed at a large white-and-gray seabird skimming over their spot by the rail so quietly it didn’t seem real.

The bird was close enough he could see a small but intelligent eye considering them. To the bird, they must all seem like clumsy flightless creatures on a floating wooden island.

“They are amazingly beautiful, Rhain. Just seeming to float on the air with no effort.”

He watched the agile creature drift off to watch a group of sailors before heading toward shore. “Would you fly if you could, Lydia?” he asked.

“Oh yes. Without hesitation. To feel so free, with the wind pushing me up, farther and farther toward the clouds. What an unbelievable experience that would be.” Her gaze moved up to the sun’s midmorning kiss. “Would you, brother?”

Rhain glanced at the glaring sun and then back at his sister. He suspected he would not choose to fly. Not unless he were guaranteed a safe landing back on earth. “I think I would much rather watch you fly, dear.” He kissed the top of her curly head.

She giggled and hugged his arm.

So different, the two of them. Lydia, frail and not expected to live to her twenty-fifth birthday, willing to embrace anything, and he…

He squinted at the bright sky, then opened his eyes fully on the breathtaking shore. He embraced what he knew. He tried to live a normal life. Would be happy to live a normal life, if he was normal. He wasn’t. So how far from what he considered orthodox and safe was he willing to go?

His gaze shifted to the captain, currently at the wheel. First Mate Dunn stood next to him, performing something incomprehensible with a sextant. The pirate captain, tall and strong, guided the ship and issued orders such as “shake up the main,” “keep her trimmed by the head,” and other unfathomable commands.

Rhain barely recognized the words as English. He smiled. Apparently, he was willing to go quite a bit out of “normal” to gain what he truly desired. “Maybe I would take a flight with you, dear. A very short one.”

After several minutes of ogling his pirate, he turned greedy eyes on the land. They occupied a prime viewing location. The captain insured they had a good spot that morning by ordering a few sun-leathered men away from the fore rail.

“Rhain, I’ve been able to piece together some of the captain’s accounts and showed him how to keep two sets of books to trick the taxman; he was surprised by that.” She laughed. “He has a problem this year.

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