Kiss On The Bridge (17 page)

Eventually Anneli whispered. “About now is
the time the hero is supposed to kiss the woman.”

She barely finished the last letter of the
sentence before Wade started to kiss her.

Finally they were safe.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“DARRYL I have spotted a vessel on the edge
of the radar.”

The man speaking wore a white sailor’s
uniform. His eyes were glued to the round glass indicator he sat in
front of.

Darryl bolted across the large bridge of his
ship, sweeping one of his sons from his path. He leaned closer to
the radar, slapping the man on the shoulder. “Good work. Change
course ten degrees to intercept. It must be Anneli.”

“The blip could be any number of ships,”
reported the young man. “If you study the radar there are two blips
on the same wave. If they didn’t collide, they were close enough to
hand each other the daily mail.”

“You could be right. I’m a betting man. The
odds are in my favour one of those blips holds my daughter. The
quicker we intercept the sooner I will know.”

Watching the blip for three hours took a
strain on Darryl’s nerves. He retired to the lounge area deep
inside the belly of the super yacht.

One of his crew came looking for him. He
found Darryl staring out of the porthole scanning the calm ocean. A
pod of dolphins was the only thing he’d seen in over an hour.

“Excuse me Sir I have an urgent message from
the Captain.”

Darryl faced the man. “Don’t stand before me
like a statue, spit the message out.”

“The Captain has asked me to escort you to
the bridge.”

“Why, have we intercepted the yacht where my
daughter is being held a prisoner?”

“Not yet.”

“Go away. Call me when we arrive.” He faced
the window before swallowing the red liquid in the wine glass he’d
been holding.

“Sir, the Captain insists on talking to
you.”

Darryl clicked his tongue at the young man
before climbing the stairs to the bridge. The moment he spied the
Captain he blurted. “This needs to be good news.”

“We have to cut the engine or call into port
for more fuel.”

Darryl slammed the wine glass onto the chart
table spilling the red liquid. “We’re not stopping. How close are
we to the yacht?”

“If the blip on the radar is the yacht your
daughter is on she’s about one hour from our present location.”

“Order my ship to move faster,” spat
Darryl.

“We don’t have enough fuel. If we’re lucky we
might just make it to the blip we’re chasing. Once the tanks are
dry we’ll be adrift and at the full mercy of the wind not to
mention the currents.”

Darryl threw his wine glass at the wall
before pacing the bridge. “Why didn’t you inform me of this
predicament before we got underway?”

“I did try to tell you.”

The four-man-crew looked up from their
assigned duties. Each man stared straight at Darryl wearing a
questionable expression.

“What do you propose?”

“Cut the engine to preserve what little fuel
we have left; Raise the sails. By doing so, the maintenance men
might have the second engine fully operational by the time we
arrive at the yacht. If we sail into rough weather we might have to
make a dash for land. At any rate we can buy diesel in Sydney. Two
engines running at one-hundred percent, we’ll easily catch the
yacht.”

Darryl rubbed the stubble on his chin. “The
sails have never been raised on this ship.”

“There’s always a first time.”

Darryl eventually lifted his head, staring
the Captain in the eyes. “Raise the sails. I want to arrive at the
yacht before nightfall.”

The Captain started barking orders. In
minutes the speed of the luxurious yacht fell dramatically. The
moment the massive sails were hoisted their speed gradually
increased. Eventually their speed plateaued at a fraction less than
fifteen knots.

“If our speed remains constant we’ll be at
the blip this afternoon,” reported the Captain.

“Good, call me when we have arrived,”
grumbled Darryl. Making his way to the door, he looked over his
shoulder at the Captain, sitting on a high backed chair staring out
over the calm sea. Darryl snorted before disappearing down the
stairs.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

WADE AND Anneli picked themselves up to start
taking stock of what needed to be done before they could get
underway.

Wade stepped away from the handle which
helped to lift the main sail. Looking skywards he said. “I have to
fix the broken boom before I climb the mast to replace the pulley
at the top.”

“Do you have to climb to the top of the
mast?” questioned Anneli.

“Yes. The pulley is jammed. If it’s not
replaced we can’t hoist the mainsail. It must have been damaged
when Charlotte rolled.” Wade shifted his attention to Anneli.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. There’s a cleat up there. I’ll don the
harness before I start the climb. When I get to the top I’ll clip
myself in. The only thing you have to do is help drag the new
pulley up the mast.”

Wade marched over to a locked cupboard, slid
the large bolt back and opened the door. Sitting neatly on the top
shelf he found a brand new stainless steel pulley. He carried it
and a long length of rope to the mast. Tying one end of the rope
around the pulley and after winking at Anneli, Wade started to
climb the mast using the hand and footholds.

Anneli saw Wade reach the highest foothold
three feet below the top of the mast. He clipped himself to the
cleat before setting to work.

The operation usually didn’t take long
however he’d only ever practiced the change over on dry land. Being
in the middle of the ocean might be another story. Although the sea
remained relatively calm the mast still moved side to side. Wade
knew if he looked too long at the water he’d throw up.

In a couple of minutes the four bolts were
off. Wade attached the rope to the old pulley before lowering it to
the deck. He signaled for Anneli to yank on her end of the rope so
the pulley could be hoisted up the mast. Inside ten minutes Wade
stood on the deck.

After a long kiss Wade whispered in Anneli’s
ear. “While at the top of the mast I managed to look around the
ocean.”

“I thought you were trying to stop yourself
from throwing up.”

“I wondered why you quickly moved away from
the mast to the side.”

Anneli grinned at his smile.

“On the horizon I spied a large ship. Her
sails were up.”

“Strange,” Anneli said slowly, deep in
thought. “If I were to guess, I’d say the ship might belong to my
stepfather. He’s doing everything he can to get me back. I can’t
understand the reason why he’d want to raise the giant sails. It’s
never been done before.”

“Maybe the ship’s low on diesel.”

“It’s possible. Do you think we can outrun
her?”

“I believe Charlotte can easily outrun your
father’s small ship. If it’s a race he wants, he’s in for the ride
of his life.”

“The boom has to be repaired before we can
raise the sail,” blurted Anneli.

Wade glanced up at the very top of the mast.
He nodded before marching across the deck to the locked cupboard.
Opening the door he found what he needed. “This hammer, the pliers
and four new bolts should do the trick. What I need you to do is
locate the ship following us to see if you can estimate how far
away she might be. After I’ve completed a rough panel beating job
on the boom, I’ll re-attach it to the mast, we’ll be good to
go.”

Anneli found a pair of binoculars hanging
from the wheel on the bridge. She walked to the nose of the yacht,
lifted them to eye level and scanned the horizon. She spied the
ship Wade saw, confirming the vessel belonged to her stepfather.
For several minutes she studied the craft. Slowly the vessel
changed direction. The new course put her on a heading directly for
Charlotte. “Wade, how many minutes left before the repairs are
completed?”

“I’m almost done,” he called back.

Wade slipped the last bolt through the boom
plate, pushing the four bolts home. It looked to be an almost
perfect alignment between the boom plate and the mast. Snatching
the smaller shifter from his pocket Wade started to tighten the
four bolts.

Anneli walked over to view the repairs. “I
don’t want to place undue pressure on you, my stepfather’s yacht
has changed course. It’s bearing down on us.”

Wade knew by the hysterical pitch in Anneli’s
voice they needed to set sail immediately. He jammed the tools back
into the cupboard, placed the old pulley on the top shelf and
slammed the bolt home which locked the small door.

Anneli started to unleash the sail from the
holding straps. Working as a team they wound the sail up to its
stop. The wind immediately filled the sails making Charlotte lurch
forward. Anneli led Wade to the bridge, pointing to the large yacht
following them.

The race appeared to have started.

Staring at the clouds, Wade searched for warm
thermals. He zigzag Charlotte on the ocean surface trying to obtain
maximum speed in the light breeze. Slowly the yacht increased her
speed, hovering just shy of fifteen knots.

The ship behind them seemed relentless. She
neither gained nor lost ground. Hour after hour she remained
shadowing Charlotte. The sun rose in the East and set in the West
five times. Still the large ship remained in view.

Wade placed the binoculars down on the
fiberglass desk. He turned to face Anneli. “You look tired, go have
a sleep.”

“I’m staying,” she insisted firmly.

“I thought you might.”

“I’ve been thinking about the chase. My
stepfather’s yacht has two large engines. I’m sure he could easily
catch us. If he’s low on diesel why didn’t he stop in Sydney?”

Wade shrugged. “He might have studied the
weather, gambling on making it to Melbourne under sail. Or he
doesn’t want to lose sight of us.”

“I guess I’d do the same thing too. Where
exactly are we?”

“We’re sixty four nautical miles from the
entrance to Port Phillip Bay,” reported Wade.

“What happens when we arrive in Melbourne? My
stepfather will catch us at port.”

“We’re not going to Melbourne. I live off
Flinders, right on the point. If there’s enough distance between us
and the ship we’ll be able to hide at my place. We’ll be sipping
champagne on the balcony watching him fly through the heads into
Port Phillip Bay. We can even give him a wave.”

“How long before we arrive at your place?”
Anneli commenced a daydream of what might transpire at Wade’s home.
The fantasy plastered a sexy expression on her face.

“It depends on the wind. Present speed, about
four hours.”

“How’s the engine?”

“Fine,” Wade answered. “It’s the fuel. Sea
water has contaminated the tank.”

Anneli walked over to the barometer. She
stood staring at the numbers. “We’ve come so far, so quickly. I
can’t believe there’s nothing we can do except hope the ship
doesn’t overtake us.”

“We can keep scanning the air for stronger
winds,” hinted Wade. “Everything will turn out. Before we start
searching the sky, I need to say something. I hope you realize I’m
going out on a limb here.”

Anneli faced Wade square on. “This sounds
serious.”

“It is.”

“You have my undivided attention.”

Wade reached out, placing his hands on her
hips.

Anneli searched his face as if his statement
might be written in his eyes. She felt a little nervous at what
he’d been thinking about for the past few days. After such a horrid
start to their trip the rest of the voyage back to Melbourne
remained uneventful. Having a lot of time to think about the future
definitely seemed to plaque his thoughts.

“I have a couple of questions I’ve been
chewing over since our first meeting on the bridge a year ago.
They’re really statements not questions; though one idea is a
question.” Wade looked over Anneli’s shoulder to focus on the land
coming into view.

“For the first time since we have known each
other, you sound nervous. I bet you don’t get nervous in a court
room full of highly paid lawyers or the Judge. Spit it out.” Anneli
rolled her eyes, grinning seductively at knowing what he wanted to
say.

“Okay,” said Wade on a sigh. Straightening
his back he stood to full height. Sweat broke out near his temples.
He raised his hand to wipe the annoyance away. “The kiss on the
bridge felt unique,” he stated.

The gleam in Anneli’s eyes couldn’t over
shadow her enthusiastic expression. She resorted to biting her lip
to mask her excitement. “So far I have to agree.”

Wade’s shoulders slumped. “I’m having a tough
time of this, please, you can’t interrupt.”

Anneli looked lovingly into Wade’s dancing
pupils. They easily showed his nerves. She inadvertently gave him a
hard time. For a few moments she thought she could feel his knees
tremble. She sensed the man standing before her looked more nervous
than a groom on his wedding day. “Okay, I won’t interrupt
again.”

“I’ve forgotten where I got up to; I have to
start over.” Wade exhaled in an attempt to relax. “The kiss on the
bridge felt unique. I loved it so much I wanted to get to know the
person who not only allowed me to kiss her, she wanted to kiss me
back.”

“You’re stalling.”

“I know I am.” Wade cleared his throat.
“Anneli, whatever you say in the next thirty seconds I want you to
know I respect every cell in your body.”

“Thank you, it means a lot to me.”

“Anneli, what I really want to say is; I have
fallen deeply in love with the woman behind our first kiss. I want
to love you forever. If you feel the same way as I do, I’d love you
to consider saying yes to my next question.”