Free Blackfoot Affair by Doreen Owens Malek Page B

asked.
    “Sailboats. My grandfather thought powerboats were an abomination.”
    Jack jumped down into the boat and then held out his hand to Marisa. “He would never have approved of this one.”
    Marisa stepped into the boat and watched as Jack undid the spring line and then flipped on the blower switch. He lifted the cover on the engine to check it for leaks and then switched on the motor. The boat rumbled into life.
    “Are you sure you know how to operate this thing?” Marisa asked nervously, feeling the vibrations beneath her feet.
    “Do you doubt it?”
    “Oklahoma has never been famous for its coastline,” she pointed out uneasily.
    Jack grinned. “I have a local friend who has taken me out in this several times,” he said.
    “How many times is several?”
    “Will you relax? For a Maine lady you’re very twitchy.” He undid the bowlines and fixed them to the posts in the slip and then freed the stern lines and tossed them onto the dock.
    “Here we go,” he said, stepping behind the wheel and guiding the boat out of the slip.
    “What kind of boat is this?” Marisa asked, watching as they passed the fuel dock and headed out into the river.
    “Twenty-foot Sea Ray Bowrider, dual two-fifty Mercruiser engine,” he replied.
    “That was a big help.”
    He chuckled. “You asked.”
    Once on the open water, the breeze picked up and Marisa became fascinated with the river traffic flowing around them. Jack cruised slowly until they had passed the No Wake area and then gunned the motor, accelerating until Marisa’s hair was flying behind her like a flag. He looked over at her and she grinned delightedly.
    “Like it?” he called.
    “Love it,” she replied.
    There was little conversation for most of the trip since it was difficult to be heard over the roar of the motor and the wind. After about ten minutes Jack slowed the boat and turned into a narrow passage hemmed in on either side by marsh grass and weeds.
    “What’s this?” Marisa asked.
    “The inland waterway. It was dredged by the Army Corps of Engineers, but even at high tide there are some shallow areas. It can be tricky in here.”
    “Tricky?” Marisa said warily.
    “Relax, counselor. Open up that compartment and hand me the chart inside, will you? It looks like a map with lots of numbers on it.”
    “I know what a chart looks like,” she said stoutly.
    “Forgive me.” He extended his left hand and Marisa gave him the chart. He unfolded it, frowning slightly, and then stabbed at it with his finger.
    “See here? Four feet deep. This boat draws three feet, so even if the chart is just a little bit off, or if the bed has shifted, we could get into trouble.”
    “Trouble?” Marisa said weakly.
    “We could go aground,” he said, guiding the boat slowly forward. Greenery pressed in on either side and birds splashed in the tide pools on the shore. There was an eerie silence, punctuated by the chirping of crickets and the distant racketing of cicadas.
    “Then why did you come this way?”
    “It’s shorter, for one thing, and I want to make our reservation. It’s a prettier trip, too.”
    “What happens if we go aground?”
    “Same thing that happens in a sailboat. Got to get her off the bar and into deeper water.”
    “Wouldn’t it have been a lot easier just to drive?” Marisa said logically.
    He laughed. “Would you stop being such a lawyer for once? Where’s your sense of adventure?”
    “I think I left it back at the hotel.”
    “You just said you loved this trip.”
    “That’s when we were going thirty miles an hour in open water,” she replied.
    There was a grinding sound and Jack said, “Damn.”
    “What?”
    “I think we’re stuck.” There was a whirring noise as he raised the engine and then gunned the motor slightly. Nothing happened. He shut the engine off resignedly.
    “Yup,” he said, and yanked on his tie. Marisa watched as he undid the knot and pulled it off and then began to unbutton his shirt.
    “What