Captain's Choice Ch. 03-04

As I stood at the door to the afterdeck, I saw Ardele walking back toward the gangway to our dock. Obviously she had been up well before me. I watched her occasionally wipe sweat from her brow and even from a distance I could see the flush of exertion on her face.

"Mornin'," I said as she stepped aboard. "You've been working hard by the look of it."

"Hi. Yeah, got to keep in shape. No gym nearby," she said, breathing fairly heavily still.

"Doesn't look like you need to do much."

"Thanks, but it can go away quick enough if I don't keep up the workouts."

"That would be a shame."

I saw her look up at me as she was untying her fancy runners, but she said nothing.

She stepped past me into the cabin and headed for the refrigerator and her morning juice fix. She walked back to the door and onto the afterdeck, carrying the glass in her hand as she sat in one of the deck chairs. She looked sexy when she was sweaty with her hair plastered to her head. Few women could claim that, but Del was one of them.

I fetched a hand towel from the nearby head and passed it to her.

"Thanks," she smiled.

She was wearing a t-shirt that was soaked in the front, revealing a sport bra beneath. Her shorts were nylon and nicely framed her lovely long legs. I'd noticed some time ago that she didn't use nail polish and very little makeup. It just didn't seem very necessary to me ... and apparently to her as well. She was quite at peace with her appearance and didn't exhibit a shred of vanity. It was hard to tell if she had any idea just how appealing she looked.

While Del went for a shower, my curiosity got the better of me and I walked over toward the Sound Settlement to see what I could see. Del's comments about the women aboard this boat had intrigued me and I wondered just what they were all about.

I found two of them on their rather large afterdeck and said good morning.

"Hi, you must be Pat," a rather voluptuous bottle blonde said with a distinct American accent.

That surprised me and I managed a nod and a yes in confirmation.

"Del says you restored your boat yourself. You did a hell of a job."

"Thanks, but I had help."

"How's your summer looking for charters," the other dark-haired woman asked. She was a good deal slimmer and taller than her friend.

"Fine. We'll be busy for the next two months. Our first group arrives this afternoon."

"Yeah ... so we heard," the blonde said. "Too bad. We were going to invite you and Del over for dinner. Get to know you since we're going to be here for the summer ourselves."

"That's a nice thought. Maybe when we've got a couple of open days."

"Great!" the blonde said, sizing me up I thought. "My name's Tanya and this is Corrine."

"Nice to meet you, ladies. Pat Hamelin, as you probably already know," I chuckled. It seemed that Del had pretty much given these women any information they wanted.

"Don't be a stranger, Pat," Corrine smiled. "I'm sure we're going to be seeing a lot of each other in the next few weeks." Their smiles reminded me of a shark ... or then again, maybe a hungry cougar.

"No doubt," I said, waving and turning back up the dock. Del's description of the women seemed to be accurate. They were on a hunting expedition.

I walked back to the boat and was met by Ardele. Maybe I should say a scowling Ardele.

"I see you met a couple of the club members." It sounded like an accusation.

"Yeah ... I let my curiosity get the best of me," I admitted.

"Thinking of getting to know them better?" There was no humour in her voice.

"I'm not quite that desperate yet. Maybe later this summer," I said, trying to dismiss it lightly.

"I'd be surprised if you were ever desperate," she mumbled, turning away.

I watched her walk away toward her bunk, pulling the sheets off and stuffing them into the almost full laundry bag. She would haul them up to the marina washing machines and make sure all the bunks and beds were made with clean sheets and pillow cases. They wouldn't get done again for five days. Her good mood seemed to have vanished and I decided not to bother her. In fact, I thought it might be a good idea for me to disappear for a while.

"I'm going for a walk, Del. Lock up while you're at the laundry, please."

"Okay." It was a toneless acknowledgement.

I picked up my MP3 player, plugged in the ear buds and walked up the gangway. A walk in the morning sunshine wouldn't do me any harm. Damn women! They are so bloody hard to understand sometimes. Worse, I have no idea what I did or said that switched her off. It couldn't be my little visit with the cougars, surely. I thought she knew me better than that.

I learned a long time ago that a brisk walk helped put things into perspective. When I had been stressed, I found I was able to work out that stress as I moved along. I hadn't needed to exercise away any stress lately. The truth was, Ardele Quinton had taken a lot of stress out of my day-to-day existence. I had to admit I was dependent upon her to keep my world stable. She did things without asking because she knew they needed to be done.

I began to question if I was taking advantage of her without telling her just how valuable she was. Maybe that was what was at the root of her mood change. No, that wasn't it. It was my visit to the Sound Settlement that set her off. I claimed it was curiosity, but I wonder if she thought it was something else. Did she really think I was over there checking out the women? Women!

I stayed away for a little over an hour before I was back at the boat. Ardele was nowhere to be found. My stomach was rumbling, so I made myself a sandwich and opened a beer, sitting on the afterdeck in the sunshine. I was uncomfortable. I didn't want Del to be unhappy. I certainly didn't want to be the cause of it. I also didn't like the idea that I didn't know where she had gone. There was no note on the galley counter that we would usually leave if one or the other of us stepped away.

I could hear music and I worked out that it was coming from the women's boat. I could see a couple more women moving around on the boat. I wondered if Ardele had gone over there. I didn't see her, but she might be in the cabin. I tried not to think about it, but it was hard to shake the feeling that I had upset her.

Lost in my thoughts, I jumped when I felt the boat move slightly. I looked around the rear bulkhead and saw Ardele had jumped on the forward deck and was adjusting the warp. I sighed in relief that she was back, realizing now how tense I had been. I was going to have to be a good actor not to reveal just how upset and worried I had been.

"Hi ... you go for a walk?" I asked as casually as I could manage.

"Yeah," she said in the tone of voice I had been more accustomed to. "I finished the laundry and hitched a ride into town. I walked around, had a quick lunch and came back. We should be seeing our guys pretty soon."

Everything was back to normal, or so it seemed.

"I didn't mean to upset you this morning," I said, hoping I wasn't reopening a touchy subject.

"I know," she said, not adding anything.

"When I do something like that, please tell me. I'm kind of clueless. I can use all the help I can get."

"Yeah ... I noticed." I couldn't see her face, so I couldn't tell just how she was reacting to my apology.

I decided to drop it and not make things worse. I was tense all over again. I tried to avoid her, but somehow we were usually in the same space. The boat was getting smaller on me. I had half a mind to get off and go up to the parking lot and wait for the guys to arrive. Anything to break the tension.

I jumped in surprise when I felt two arms encircle me and pull me against a warm female body.

"Relax, Pat," she whispered softly. "You're wound up tighter than a clock spring. You didn't need to apologize to me. I had an attack of the "stupids" when I saw you over talking to those women. You don't need them. They aren't right for you."

I felt myself begin to breathe again. The tenseness wasn't gone, but it had lessened. Ardele continued to hold me, her chin on my shoulder. I could feel her warm breath on my cheek. I turned to face her, looking into her eyes, trying to see what I wanted to see. I tipped my head forward and kissed her lightly on the lips.

There was no hint of surprise from Del. In fact, I saw a faint smile, so I returned for something a little more lasting.

"You're breaking your rule," she whispered when we broke the kiss.

"Rules are made to be broken," I grumbled.

"Glad to hear it. I thought I was going to have to drug you to get a response from you."

Her hand had worked its way down to my crotch and was massaging my growing erection.

"How much time do we have?" she asked between more intense mouth-to-mouth contact.

"How much do you need?"

"Quite a lot. I've got a lot of catching up to do."

"Why don't we start small and work our way along as time permits."

"Small is the wrong word, Pat. Right this moment I'm thinking big, hard and fast."

I pulled her into the aft cabin and shut the door. We were naked in less than a minute and my head was between her legs the moment she flopped onto the bed.

"Oh fuck, Pat. I don't need this. Put it in me now. Jesus, have mercy on me," she begged.

I moved up over her, knowing time was of the essence. There was little resistance as I pushed steadily into her, helped along by her pulling at my hips. It was only seconds later that I was pumping steadily and vigorously, watching her eyes as they grew bigger and her face took on a look of surprise.

Neither of us was going to last very long. That was confirmed when Del went off like a bomb and I immediately followed by flooding her womb with my seed. It was quick, frantic, and oh so good. I had briefly collapsed on her before falling off to one side.

"Sorry ... that wasn't much to write home about," I said quietly.

"Didn't matter," she said. "I just needed a fix."

"We might have broken the world's speed record," I suggested.

"Naw, I had a boyfriend in high school that could come quicker than that. I never knew the difference until I dumped him and hooked up with a guy who knew how to hold out longer than ten seconds."

I laughed. "I guess I can throw the rule book out the window, huh?"

"Your choice. I've been waiting for this. It's taken a while, but I'm through being patient."

"I didn't even bother to ask you about protection," I said. "I should know better."

"I'm okay. Don't worry. Besides, would it have mattered?"

"Probably not. We were both pretty hot ... out of control."

"True, but sometimes that's when it's best."

"I'm not spontaneous by nature."

"I know. I could tell," she said quietly, stroking my face.

"I guess we'd better fix the bed and get ready for our crew," I suggested, wishing we'd started this an hour or so earlier.

"You go have a shower. I'll look after the bed and airing the cabin out."

And that was it. Was this Erica Jong's zipless fuck? No emotional connection, no planned seduction, no strings, no recriminations? No, it wasn't. At least, not for me. There was always an emotional component for me, regardless of who the woman was. And there were strings. We were going to be together every day for months at a time. There had to be more to it than just primal urges. I wondered if Ardele felt the same. It was a question that bothered me and yet was never asked. It would be almost six weeks later before I got an answer.

Our crew, Pete Masters and Dean Wilmot, arrived just before three that afternoon. They had their gear stowed within a couple of minutes and were ready for any assignments that needed doing. There were none. We had a beer on the afterdeck as we awaited our guests.

"I think this is a good move, Pat," Pete said as he peeled the label off his bottle. "This is right where the action is and the scenery around here is fantastic."

"No kidding," Dean agreed. "Hard to beat this for a trip into the wilderness. Throw in some whales and eagles and the city folks go apeshit."

"That's the idea," I agreed. "That's what we promise them and this is the best place to be to make good on that promise."

"This is nothing new for you, is it Del?" Dean suggested.

"No, we were in some pretty remote camps, picking up booms or barges. But this is better. More civilized and the clients keep you from becoming jaded about it. To them it's all new and exciting. They want to see everything and remember it all."

"Yeah, and the food's way better," Pete chuckled.

"No doubt about that," Del agreed.

Our guests arrived just before five that afternoon. Introductions were made all around and we helped them get settled into their cabins. By the time we had set out the food we had prepared for the supper hour meal, I had the feeling that these guys were going to be okay. They didn't expect to be waited on hand and foot and they were polite. They were all in their mid-to-late forties and, judging from the clothes they wore, appeared to be fairly prosperous.

As we finished the meal and relaxed over a glass of wine, I had a chance to ask them about their expectations and hopes.

Darren Sunden seemed to be the spokesman for the group.

"I was thinking since the sun comes up early," he began hesitantly, "we could get an early start tomorrow morning. Do some fishing in the morning, have some lunch in a cove someplace, then do some sightseeing in the afternoon. How does that sound, guys?" he asked, looking around at his friends for confirmation.

He got general agreement and I was pleased with that.

"What do you consider an early start?" I asked.

"Six o'clock too soon for you?" Zach Miller asked.

"Nope ... no problem. We'll probably head north up the straits unless the wind picks up. Otherwise, we'll head down to Cape Mudge and fish the flats."

It was that easy. Dean and Pete would look after getting the live bait before we left. The bait barge was in business by five each morning and there were grumbles that it was not early enough. It was plenty early enough for me and our clients.

We were lucky the next morning as the wind was light from the northwest and wouldn't pose a problem as we headed for Seymour Narrows. There had been some nice Chinooks taken there in the last week, several over twenty-five pounds. I would moor the Captain's Choice around the corner, behind a small rock pile island on the north end of Quadra Island and the boys would take our guests out, two to a Zodiac, to try their luck. Both Pete and Dean knew their way around these waters and if anyone could find some fish, they could.

That left Del and me on the boat alone. We would do up the beds, check and clean the heads and get lunch prepared and still have some time to relax. It would allow us to plan where to take the guests that afternoon. We guessed that the wind would come up in the afternoon as low tide approached and that made the decision easier. We would work between Sonora Island and Quadra Island south toward the south tip before turning up the entrance to Johnstone Strait toward Menzies Bay. I estimated we would be back before sunset.

The boys returned just before lunch and by the grins on everyone's faces, they had something to show for their efforts. Darren had picked up a decent sized halibut chick, probably close to twenty pounds and plenty big enough for a great feed of fish and chips with lots left over. His partner, Tyrone, had a nice eight or nine pound Cohoe salmon and was anxious to talk about the fight he had landing it. Cohoe, or in his lexicon, Silvers, are tenacious fighters and often come to the surface to jump in an attempt to spit the hook. Tyrone was obviously a good fisherman, since he didn't lose the fish as most rookies would.

Zach had landed a pretty good sized Ling Cod and that too would make a nice meal. Carl had been skunked, but had hooked a couple of Cohoe that both spit the hook. It didn't seem to bother him, though. All four of them were excited about the action that they found and that was our aim.

The fish were in a cooler in the hold, and would be dressed and filleted when we got back this evening. We still had plenty of bait for tomorrow as long as one of us remembered to hook up the recirculating pump to keep them alive overnight.

I was using the upper bridge and was joined at one time or another by each of the guests. They all had digital cameras of some kind. I was hoping they would get some good shots today, but we had four more days after this one and I was sure there would be plenty of subjects for them to shoot. We didn't have to wait long. A pod of Orcas moving south passed by us just as we rounded the north end of Quadra and the guys were all over it. Dean had given them a heads-up in plenty of time to scramble for their cameras.

"Serendipity, I think it's called," I said as Ardele stood beside me on the bridge.

She gave me a questioning look.

"Good fishing in the morning, great scenery in the afternoon. I think the guys are pretty happy with their first day."

"Yeah ... no doubt about that," she agreed.

Our good luck stayed with us for the whole five days. The weather held and by the end of the charter, every guest had his limit of salmon and countless pictures. Carl overcame his first day "skunk" and had boated the largest fish, a twenty-seven pound Chinook that took him almost an hour to land. He was being very careful not to lose this fish. Everyone else had their legal limit of salmon.

When they stepped off the boat for the last time, they couldn't say enough good things about how they were treated and just how rewarding their five days were. All music to my ears, of course. Dean and Pete made out like bandits with tips. The guys were very generous and thankful for all the help they got from our two deckhands. Del and I had declined tips, telling them that all the hard work was with the deckhands. They ignored us and we found a check for two hundred dollars in an envelope addressed to both of us after they had gone. I bought the four of us dinner with it.

That set the tone for July and the first part of August. For the most part, the weather was good with little rain and not much wind. We had pretty good luck fishing as well, but then it was a good year for salmon anyway. Plenty of whale sightings, seals, sea lions, and even elephant seals made our guests very happy.

Early in August, we had a charter of five men who gave us cause for concern. It was clear they weren't fishermen, nor did any of them have a camera with them. In fact, they were pretty tough looking characters. They had chartered us to hold a meeting in the main cabin and made it plain that they didn't want anyone else in there unless they were summoned. They didn't even want us handling their luggage. After the first day, I gave Pete and Dean the week off and Del and I assumed all duties.

They didn't care where we took them during the day as long as it was away from other people. They stayed aboard the boat at night making both Del and me nervous, to say the least. We had decided they were criminals planning some big job and we were undecided what to do about them. Should we report them to the police? I didn't see any sign of guns, but I wasn't sure they didn't have them stowed in their cabin. We were told not to make up the beds since they would look after that themselves.

I was counting the days until this charter was over. We were not having any fun at all and we spent most of our time staying out of their way. They seemed to be happy with that and certainly were satisfied with the food. Other than that, I had no idea why they would have wanted to charter us. It made no sense unless they didn't want to be overheard. This sure as hell wasn't some corporate meeting.

Unbeknownst to me, Del had taken some pictures of the five guys with her iPod, pretending to be playing a game on it, I guess. When they finally left at the end of the charter, we got a perfunctory thank you and a wad of bills to pay the invoice. The next morning, Ardele and I were in the RCMP detachment at Campbell River, telling them about our guests and their behaviour. They thanked us for the pictures and the descriptions, took the cash to have it inspected with a promise to return it, and that was it.