It suffices to say that because this is one novel in a series, there may be things not understood unless one knows what has taken place in previous novels from this series. Here is a link to the first novel in the series: The Big Gamble in Paradise, paperback or Kindle.
Harmony On Rough Seas
Sage was at the helm when the seas turned rough. It woke Trace, who was asleep in his cabin. He staggered while dressing.
He climbed up to the pilothouse. “How ya doin, Sage?”
“Just rough enough to keep me awake,” Sage said, “but we’re holdin’ steady.”
“Just to be safe, I’m going to reef the sails,” Trace said. “I’ll do it myself. I’d rather do it now than when the wind is at 20 knots. Makani can sleep.”
“Careful out there,” Sage said.
Trace grabbed his slicker from a hook. He put it on and went out onto the foredeck. He struggled a little to keep his balance but had the aft and fore sail reefed in half an hour.
He returned to the pilothouse and checked the barometer. He tapped it. “Falling a bit, not much,” Trace said.
“Have you heard anything over the radio?” Trace asked.
“High seas expected,” Sage said. “Other than that, nothing.”
“We knew it had to come sometime,” Trace said. “Up ’til now, it’s been pretty good.”
Makani climbed up the companionway fully dressed and rubbing his eyes. He yawned, “What weather coming out way?”
“High seas and wind,” Trace said.
“How high, what speed?” Makani said.
“We haven’t heard,” Sage said.
“I fix coffee and cinnamon roll,” Makani said. “Need something in stomach to throw up.”
“Thanks for thinking about us,” Sage quipped.
Makani staggered down the companionway.
Trace adjusted the dial on the radio until he heard a weather report. “Twenty knot winds and six to seven foot seas,” the reporter said.
“On the Bering that’s a mild day,” Trace said.
“What’s the biggest seas you’ve been on?” Sage asked.
“Fifty,” Trace said. “And I ain’t afraid to say it, but I was scarred shitless. You literally stare dead with each wave. But our captain had experience with the Coast Guard. It was a pony ride for him. The guy had ice water in his veins. Then there was the season on the crab boat. You haul gear in forty-foot seas. That’s one reason I’m here and not there. I swear to god those guys have a death wish.”
Hmm,” Sage said, “they say a lot of men go to sea to get away from their wives. A cowboy just gets on his horse and rides away for a week and says he’s looking for strays.”
Makani brought coffee and cinnamon rolls. All three bore the rough seas from the pilothouse. They shared stories and spun tales. After twelve hours, the seas calmed. Makani followed Trace to the foredeck. They hoisted the sails.
Makani took the wheel. Trace and Sage went to their cabins.
Before sleep came, Trace smiled contentedly. ‘Those were precious hours,’ he thought. ‘I almost hate to break the camaraderie by hiring two strangers. Right now, the chemistry is near perfect.’
He slept.
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