Unraveled

Chapter Two

The sun was beating on the back Amara's neck with a fury as they hauled their suitcases with them toward the boat. It was a small boat that looked like it served the owner well with the paint peeling off and broken seats, but it would get them where they needed to go. She cupped her hand over her eyes, squinting as she watched the captain make his way toward them.

"If every man in the United States looked like that, then maybe I would have a boyfriend by now," said Lena as she drank up the sight of the captain.

As he got closer Amara was able to get a better sight of him and realized what she was describing about. The captain was well over six foot tall, tan, and might she say, a well sculpted body. How this country kept producing such riveting men was beyond her, but she would hardly complain. He quickly took out bags from them and their eyes met. His eyes were a soft honey color that shone bright in the sun. She had only ever seen eyes like that on one person, and that was years ago when she was a little girl.

John stepped forward introducing himself,"I'm Professor Marshall. We are the small group coming to visit Dr. Walker and stay with the good doctor."

The captain looked over John for a few seconds before responding in a light accent,"ah, yes. We were expecting you, so please follow me to the boat." It was as if he was surveying the professor for potential threats and if he was worthy enough to sail on his boat for the day.

The captain was not what she was expecting. The classic captain's face was darkened by the sun with a rough, almost leather look to it that was complimented by salt and pepper hair. When she was little and they would watch the boat go by at the beach and they would imagine that the captains were a part of the ship themselves. That freedom she had not been able to recognize in herself for years.

Lena grabbed her arm and hauled her toward the captain, "Good morning Captain!"

The captain's gaze seemed to darken to an amber color as he stared at Lena with a calculating gaze. His gaze flicked to Amara's with the same crinkles around his eyes,"I'm Captain Anthony Gray, but you may call me Captain Gray."

She could see his gaze move to Lena's face an almost darken once again. She had to rub her eyes. Never, in all the years that she's known Lena, did a man immediately not take a liking to her. It was like hating a puppy. She either roped you in with her looks or her personality, but by the end of day you were ensnared by her presence.

He walked toward to boat, dragging the bags with little effort with him. The sun seemed to beat down in a thick haze, making it difficult to move around. Amara grasped the rope as she began to get on the boat and tighten her grasp with ever step she made. The boat seemed steady enough, but with all this extra weight it started to look like it would be sinking as soon as they tried to leave the dock.

She mumbled a curse under her breath as she made her way onboard the deck. The waves were starting to get rougher as they pulled away from the dock. The next two hours were the longest hours of her life. More than once she was almost cast into the sea, but Captain Anthony always seemed to be nearby and catch her before she fell in. The way he looked at her was unnerving and there was a familiarity in his gaze that she did not understand. It was almost like he was trying to read her emotions and see what she was thinking as she tried to stay in one place on the boat.

Every time he touched her, Lena's mood started to darken and she started to snap at any question that came her way. She was slumped over in her seat with her blond hair strewn around her, rubbing her temples with a soft sigh.

She pushed away some trash on the seat and grabbed her hand,"What's wrong Lena?"

Without raising her head, she looked up with at her friend with a tortured face, "nothing, Amara. Everything is perfectly fine."