He considered my offer for a long moment and then nodded. “Boring, Mom. And what about the animals? The whales and dolphins? Will they come up when it rains?”
“I don’t think so, honey. I think they stay hidden real deep where the water is calmer.”
“Oh.” I could tell it wasn’t the answer he’d been hoping for. In the past couple of days, we’d seen some marine life from the boat, and even a couple of dolphins while we played on the shore at the beach the day before. Jackson was fascinated by all of it.
I made a mental note to see if there was an aquarium or aquatic wildlife park at the next stop. He deserved to have a special outing after all the uproar over the past couple of days since we’d left California. “What about the pirates?”
“Pirates?” I wrinkled my nose.
“Like in Peter Pan.”
“Oh,” I said, smiling. For a moment I’d been wondering if leaving him alone with the tablet had been the best course of action. I wasn’t around enough to make sure he hadn’t stumbled across something a little out of his depth. As long as he was referring to the cartoon kind of pirates, all was well. “I think they fly to Neverland. Right?”
Jackson’s eyes lit up. “Can we go to Neverland?”
Gee, that was a whopper of a field trip request.
“When we go to sleep at night, sweetie. That’s when you can go to see Peter and the pirates.”
“The lost boys,” he said, very serious about the matter.
“Yep! You’re so right.”
He nodded and leaned back against the pillows I’d stacked up behind him. “Chase is teaching me how to talk like a pirate.”
“Is he?”
“Mmhmm. It’s fun. Everything with Chase is fun. Don’t you think so too?”
My heart squeezed and I nodded, unable to speak around the lump in my throat. I replaced Jackson’s headphones and kissed his forehead before getting up from the bed. “Watch your movie, sweetie, I’ll check on you later.”
Jackson nodded and I watched as he pushed a button on the screen and immediately got lost in his movie.
I tore myself away and went upstairs after a quick sweep of the galley to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. Chase was upstairs, getting the last preparations in place. I found him at the front of the boat, locking the storage cabinets underneath the built in seats. The wind was already howling and I stopped at the top of the stairs to tie my long hair back into a ponytail. But even tied back, it began to whip around my face as soon as I stepped out from the protection of the archway.
“What can I do?” I called over to Chase. He straightened at my shout and for a moment, we were suspended, in the midst of the chaos kicking up around us. His eyes swept over me, as though assuring himself I was all right. That was all that mattered to him. I could see it. I could feel it.
I thought back to Jackson’s words of adoration. He was just as enthralled with Chase as I was. He fit seamlessly into our dynamics and I wasn’t sure if it was because of the nature of the situation or if he just clicked with us. It was hard to imagine trusting anyone else with our safety and equally as difficult to remember what our life was like before he’d walked into it.
“I think I got everything up here,” he answered after a long beat, dropping his eyes to sweep over the deck. I could see him ticking things off of his list. When he brought his eyes back to me, he looked sure, confident, and prepared. I clung to his assurance, hoping it would help keep me from dissolving into a panic once the wind and waves hit us hard. “How’s little man?” Chase asked.
I put my hands in my back pockets and took a few steps to close the space between us. “He’s all right. Tucked in with a movie and those headphones you gave him the other night. He was asking where the sea creatures and pirates go when it storms.”
Chase smiled. “We were talking about pirates the other day when he was helping me steer the ship.”
“You’re very good with him. I appreciate all of your help.”
Chase bobbed his head. “It’s not a problem. I’m glad I can help. He’s a sweet kid.”
“Thanks.” I smiled. “He’s not happy that he’s missing all the action though.”
He chuckled. “He’s all boy.”
I laughed along with him. “Can’t argue with that.” I looked around the deck and locked onto the dark clouds that were quickly rolling overhead. “What do we do now?”
“We wait.” Chase started toward the bridge and I followed a pace behind. As soon as he ducked inside, he let out a loud curse. “Shit.”