Free Time Storm Shockwave by Juliann Farnsworth

made him feel better.
    Dierdra walked up behind him. “Are you planning on anchoring for the night sometime? You look like a man possessed.”
    He studied her face. “Why do you suddenly not care ?—” He stood up “—you know how upset I am about Stewart.”
    She shook her head dismissively, “He’s fine. What do you need with him anyway?”
    Mark couldn’t believe his ears; it was as if she were a different person. He glared at her. She didn’t seem to notice or care. He hadn’t slept in forty-eight hours or however many hours it had been. He knew that she hadn’t slept much either, maybe that was the problem.
    He didn’t look back at her when he spoke, “Go ahead, and go to bed. I will be dropping anchor soon enough.”
    “Okay, goodnight.”
    A little less affectionate tonight, I guess. He gazed unseeing out the darkened window in front of him. Maybe, just maybe, Stewart had been right about her. Mark was tired and hoped things would be better in the morning.
     
    ***
    Ashlyn had acquired a small motor boat somehow, and they were headed out. It was already dark and Stewart, even nervous on a big yacht, was having difficulty keeping his anxiety under control. She hadn’t said much of anything to him, and it seemed that his questions just irritated her.
    “Where are we going to sleep?”
    She gaped at him. “Where do you think? In the cabin, I know the beds are small and you are used to traveling in style, but I really didn’t have a lot of choices.”
    “I was hoping we wou ld dock somewhere for the night,” he suggested hopefully.
    She rolled her eyes at him. “Where do you think we could do that? Mark’s life is in danger. We don’t have time waste going out of our way for a dock.”
    He didn’t know where they were going— how was I supposed to know there was no place to dock? —he still disliked her, in spite of the daring rescue. After all, wasn’t it her fault that he had been stuck there on that island in the first place? He had to admit to himself that it wasn’t entirely true, but right now, he felt like being angry.
    In spite of the urgency, she slowed the boat, exhausted. When she had it settled, she headed down to the tiny cabin she would be sharing with Stewart. The cabin was quite pathetic in comparison to the yacht, but at least the boat was a little faster.
    He glanced up at her when she came in. “Why don’t you just call him? He has that satellite phone on the boat that he never uses.”
    She studied her hands before looking at him. “I tried. I’m sure Dierdra would have disabled any communications on the ship first thing.”
    “How do you know?”
    She answered matter-of-factly, “That’s what I would do.”
    “You keep saying that, but how do you know she will make the same choices as you would?”
    She sat down on the port side berth, took off her shoes thoughtfully, and let out a long breath. “I’m really sorry for wh at has happened to you,” she answered, ignoring his question entirely.
    It was the first time that she had actually looked at him. She got up and started searching through cabinets until she found a first-aid kit, then she walked over to where he was sitting.
    “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
    “So you are a pretty decent doctor too, is there anything you can’t do?”
    She answered simply, “Nothing that I‘m aware of.”
    He didn’t expect that, it made her sound egotistical. He smirked a little and asked, “Do you really mean that?”
    She raised an eyebrow, “Y es.” She turned to her bunk and pulled the blanket back.
    Her manner had been strange, and she hadn’t said anything more before shutting off the light and climbing into her berth. He just laid there in the dark, contemplating the situation. He couldn’t see why Mark even liked her, and then there was Justin. Stewart hoped he was safe; possibly, she was just insane—he would find out soon enough.
     
    ***
    Mark woke early. He felt much better than he had, but he was still