Free Landfall: Islands in the Aftermath (The Pulse Series Book 4) by Scott B. Williams Page B

choice, and Grant was relieved to hear it. Russell’s interest in Jessica especially, was making her uncomfortable, and Grant knew if it continued, he was going to have to say something to him about it.  
    They were all exhausted after a full day of work with little sleep the night before. After unloading the Casey Nicole and moving her most of the way out of the water, they worked with Larry to scrub the hull bottoms when the tide fell later that afternoon. With the green film of marine growth cleaned away, the repairs could begin tomorrow with the next low tide. A closer inspection once they were clean revealed numerous cracks and scrapes and a couple of places where the reef had punctured the plywood core near the keel of the starboard hull. Larry assured them that none of the damage was serious, but fixing it would take longer and be harder without grinders and other power tools to prepare the surfaces for new layers of glass and epoxy.  
    Russell was in the midst of the discussion the whole time, and no matter what Larry said, he had to add his two cents, usually to offer a differing opinion. Grant was about sick of hearing his mouth, and he knew Larry was, but just as he’d shown them through all the trials they’d already been through, their captain had great reserves of patience, even when dealing with an asshole. Russell even had the audacity to argue in the face of Larry’s generous offer of a ride off the island.  
    “Man, going back to Florida now would be crazy!” he said, as they all sat around the evening cooking fire they’d built on the beach, overlooking the catamaran. “We’d never find your friend now,” Russell continued. “From what you said about those ships and from what your brother and Grant and Jessica said about the smaller gunboats, he’s got to be either dead or in a prison camp somewhere. If we go there, the same thing is going to happen to us. I know he’s your friend, but that’s the harsh reality of it, man. We should all just go to the Exumas. We can anchor near my friend’s house and we’ll be safe and have everything we need.”  
    “I wouldn’t be so sure that it’s any safer there than it is in Florida,” Grant said. “From what Larry told us back when we were first talking about the Bahamas, the Exumas are probably the one place that thousands of boats from Florida headed to after things got bad.”
    “We are not sailing to the Exumas,” Larry said, flatly.  
    “But dude, it’s just stupid to sail to Florida now!”
    “Look, Russell. You said you wanted a ride off this island, right? Well, I’m offering you a ride, but that ride’s going to Florida! You can sail with me, or you can stay here from now on or until you have a better offer. The choice is yours.”
    Grant could see Russell fuming, staring down at the sand between his feet before turning to look at Jessica, hoping to catch her eye and get some sympathy for his cause. She ignored him, of course, and looked at Grant instead. Grant knew from the look in her eyes that she wanted him to say something to get this guy off her back.
    “You need to go with Larry,” Grant said. “He’s offering you a ride and you’ll have free food too while you’re on the passage. If you’ve been stuck here as long as you say you have, I don’t see why you wouldn’t jump at that opportunity.”
    “Because going to Florida is a death sentence. It would be worse than things were here when I was alone. You’re not going there. Neither is Jessica or Tara or anybody else. Larry here is going just because of his friend. There’s no other reason to risk it. I’ll just wait here with all of you then and go with you when you finally do leave to sail somewhere sensible.”
    “That’s not going to happen,” Larry said. “We’ve already got enough people to take care of.”
    “I’m talking about going with them on the other boat—the monohull—when you don’t come back. Because if you sail to Florida, you