Three Little Words by Cassatta Allison

Author:Cassatta, Allison [Cassatta, Allison]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Gay & Lesbian
ISBN: 9781611244069
Publisher: Amber Quill Press, LLC
Published: 2013-04-23T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

The most grueling of the work came right after they'd pulled the first trawl back. Everything moved along at lightning speed. They pulled the traps, cleared out the lobsters and the abundance of soft shell crabs, filled the traps with bait again, and readied them to go back into the ocean.

Apparently, they did really well that first day, even with the eggers--the pregnant lobsters--and the puny ones they'd had to throw back. Mark was the happiest Matt had seen him since he'd arrived in New England. From the sounds of it, if the season kept up the way it was going, Mark would find himself back in the black again.

Now, they were well into the fourth day at sea. It was a cold, fall Thursday morning. The sun hadn't even begun to ascend from beyond the horizon. The guys had polished off massive helpings of bacon and eggs that the quiet guy--who still hadn't said his name--had made. It was probably the most satisfying meal Matt had ever eaten. They made their way back up to the deck. Mark went straight to the wheelhouse to make sure the autopilot had kept them on course overnight.

The winds were a bit colder and much stronger than they had been during the previous days. The spray was so intense it felt like little needles prickling at Matt's cheeks. The ocean flopped the boat around a little more furiously than before, but Matt's stomach and legs remained on course thanks to Dramamine and a huge Scotsman.

The boat pitched hard to the left, and Matt grabbed the rail so he wouldn't be tossed across the deck. It made his heart jump in his chest.

"Scotty!" Mark called from the wheelhouse. There was a new urgency in his voice and concern in the way he looked past everyone to Scotty. "They've issued a gale warning."

"Got it, Skipper."

"What's a gale warning?" Matt yelled over the sound of waves crashing against the boat's hull.

No one answered him.

The other two crew members immediately began tying down cages. They moved with speed and focus, like they'd done this job a million times and "gale warnings" were nothing to worry about, just something to prepare for. Another day in the life of a lobsterman.

Matt felt completely helpless, standing there clueless, but concerned. "What can I do?" he yelled again.

"Go fetch the tarp, lad. It's folded in the corner of the engine room," Scotty commanded.

As carefully, but as fast as he could, Matt headed back down into the cabin, past the closet and the bunks, past the table and the galley, and straight back to the door he remembered Mark telling him led to the engine room. The hand jiggled, but the door didn't want to open, not easily. He bumped it with his hip, tugged, kicked, then bumped it again, and the door finally sprang free.

The smell of used motor oil and some brand of fuel stung his nostrils. He did his best not to breathe in the fumes and went straight over to the first corner where Scotty promised the tarp would be.

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