Damn. Dane took one last long look at the dunes where he and Lacy had made love, remembering the way his brain hadn’t zoned out like it had in the past with other women. With Lacy, he’d been both mentally and physically present. The feel of her skin remained on his hands, the taste of her on his lips, and the memory of those unfamiliar feelings pierced his heart like a spear.
He knew it wasn’t fair to take his trouble with Lacy out on Hugh, and he didn’t see Hugh often enough to warrant turning him away. Maybe the distraction would help him get through the day. He texted him back. Sure. Meet me in pkg lot in 10 mins.
Dane looked back at the hotel, a wave of sadness washing through him. He should stick around and say goodbye to his father and his siblings, who were all due to fly out over the next few hours, but the last thing he wanted was to hear them say they told him so. The last thing he needed was to walk back into that hotel and remember what he’d felt like the night before, knowing that he’d lost any chance he might have had with Lacy.
THE SUN HAD yet to ease the brisk New England morning. With coffee in hand, Dane pulled the hood of his Brave Foundation sweatshirt over his head, stuffed his wallet and cell phone into the pocket of his cargo shorts, and headed down the dock toward his slip with Hugh in tow. On a normal day, heading into New England waters would have his mind reeling with anticipation, his body infused with adrenaline. Today his mind was back in Wellfleet, stuck like a pig in mud in that moment at the park when he felt Lacy tear her heart away from his, when for the first time in his life he’d been unable to talk his way into a woman’s arms.
“Where’s Rob?” Hugh asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Maybe it was a mistake bringing Hugh with him. Dane wasn’t even sure he could muster pleasantries or patience.
Dane eyed the sixty-foot lobster boat. Sturdy. Seaworthy. He checked his phone again. Where the hell is Rob? Rob had worked for Dane for the past ten years. He’d come on almost every assignment, and they were the safest and best damn team around. Hugh eyed a woman on a sport fishing boat a few slips away. Come on. Really? Dane didn’t have time for this shit. He climbed aboard.
“Let’s go,” he snapped at Hugh.
“Damn, bro. Ease up. I’m just taking in the eye candy. Shit. You know she’s hot beneath those sweats,” Hugh said.
Two years ago, he’d have been right beside Hugh, drinking in the curves of some anonymous woman, but now the only woman he wanted to ogle was the one who wouldn’t even return his fucking texts. Fuck.
Dane spotted Rob heading down the dock in rumpled clothing, his eyes locked on the ground and the temporary deckhand they’d hired to help them out following behind him.
“You all right?” Dane ran his eyes down Rob’s clothing.
“Yup,” Rob said. “This is Tim.” Rob lifted his gaze to Hugh. “Hugh, good to see you, man.”
“Rob,” Hugh said. His eyes followed Rob’s every move.
Dane watched Hugh scrutinizing Rob. He was surprised to see Hugh paying such close attention to someone other than himself. Hugh was usually too self-centered to worry about anyone else. Then again, Dane had learned about another side of Hugh on the boat yesterday, too. Maybe his baby brother was finally growing up.
Rob moved robotically through the motions of checking equipment. At five foot ten, Rob was a good five inches shorter than Dane. He was a burly man with an ever-present five-o’clock shadow and thick brown hair that had recently begun to gray at the temples. Rob was usually like a lion, strong and sure. Today he moved like a wounded housecat.
“What’s up with him?” Hugh asked. “The last time I saw him, he was all shit talk and false bravado.”
“Dunno,” Dane answered. Rob was a forty-four-year-old father of two, and Dane had always been able to count on him. Only over the past few weeks had he noticed a change in Rob’s demeanor, but today was far different from anything he’d seen before.
Dane scanned the deck for the chum barrels. “Where’s the chum?” he asked.
“Shit,” Rob said. “Tim, go get it ready. We’ll come pick it up. It’s down at the wharf.”
“Dude, we were supposed to pull out of here half an hour ago.” Dane shook his head.
“Sorry, man. I was up all night. Sheila and I are having an ass load of trouble,” Rob said.
“Trouble?”
Rob put his hands on his hips and spit in the water. “Yeah. I didn’t want to say anything, but she left me, Dane. She said she needed a break, to clear her head or some shit like that.”
“You didn’t want to say anything? Shit, Rob, you tell me when she breaks a nail,” Dane said. “We just had dinner together a few weeks ago. You guys seemed fine. Jesus, Rob, how does that happen after fourteen years of—”
“Fourteen years of marriage? Got me by the balls,” Rob said. “She took the kids and went to her mother’s three days ago.”
“What happened? Was it because of all the travel?” Dane asked. In all the years they’d worked together, Dane had never seen Rob do anything inappropriate with women. He’d always spoken highly of his family, and as far as Dane knew, he was a great father. He couldn’t imagine him doing anything that would cause Sheila to leave.
Rob shook his head. “I just don’t know."
Dane noticed the evasive shift in Rob’s eyes, and he realized that Rob knew why Sheila had left, but he wasn’t ready to share it with him just yet. “We can table this run.” Dane put a hand on Rob’s shoulder. “Take a day. It’s no big deal.”
Rob shrugged him off. “Bullshit. I’m fine.”
“Rob—”
“I’m fine. Let’s do this shit.” Rob turned and stalked to the far side of the deck.
Dane watched Rob walk away, wondering how the hell fourteen years of marriage could end just like that. How could fifteen months of—What? Long-distance flirting?—end just like that?
DANE PILOTED THE boat out to sea, stewing over the way Lacy had ended their night. She hadn’t wanted him to walk her to her room, and as he watched the elevator doors close, with Lacy on one side and him on the other, he felt as if his heart had been cut in two. Now, as they raced out into the open sea, anger crept in. Why hadn’t I anticipated her panic attack? Why the fuck did I tell her about those other women? Hell, why didn’t I go see her?
“Excuse me, Dane?”
Dane spun around. Tim had tied a bandana around his head, reining in his blond hair, which stuck out below and hung down to his collar. He had a broad chest and a thin waist, and his bulbous biceps rivaled Dane’s, though he was a good ten years younger. “Yeah?”
“It’s just, uh, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but Rob’s out there puking his guts up and I’m, uh, wondering if you wanted to go check him out. I can take over here.”
“Shit,” Dane said.
Tim took over, and Dane found Rob leaning over the rail. Hugh stood a few feet away with his arms crossed, shaking his head.
“You okay?” Dane asked.
“Yeah,” Rob said.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick? You could have stayed back onshore. I’ve got Hugh and Tim. Hell, we can afford to miss a day, too, Rob.” Dane reached for a towel and handed it to his friend.
“I’m fine.” Rob took the towel and walked away.
Hugh sidled up to Dane and whispered, “Hangover.”
“No way. Rob would never be so careless.” Or fall off the wagon. Rob was a recovered alcoholic, fifteen years sober. Dane had shared that information with Treat and his father, and now he wondered if the Braden hotline had fed Hugh that intel, too. Dane looked back at Rob, who was leaning over the opposite railing. He shook his head, not wanting to believe it. He pulled Rob away from Hugh. “Something else you want to tell me?”
Rob grimaced. “No.”
“Rob, we can’t do this with you in this condition. Hell, Rob. Why didn’t you come to me?” Dane pushed aside his thoughts of Lacy long enough to really focus on Rob.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just having an off morning,” Rob said.
“Off enough that we should cancel the run?” He narrowed his eyes, but Rob met his stare and held it.
“No.”
THEY’D BEEN CHUMMING the water and fishing for sharks for two hours. Dane watched Rob like a hawk, and he seemed to have pulled himself together. Maybe it was just an off morning.
“Fin!” Hugh yelled.
“Jesus, Hugh, why don’t you call in the cavalry?” Rob snapped.
“It’s about time,” Dane said. Between Lacy and Rob, his patience had worn thin.
Dane and Hugh stood beside each other, arms crossed, watching the water expectantly.
Rob grumbled beneath his breath, “Come on, you son of a bitch. Take it.”
The shark circled, then disappeared, and a few minutes later it reappeared.
“Son of a bitch. Take the bait,” Rob growled.
“Does it usually take this long?” Hugh and Dane stripped off their shirts. Their muscles already glistened with sweat.
“Yeah, this is nothing. Sometimes Rob and I are out here for four or five hours and we come up empty-handed. It’s the nature of the beast,” Dane said.