share.”
Cara hesitated. “Maybe some other time.”
“I promise I won’t make a scene,” Ann said. “I’ll be good.”
“Not today.” Cara’s heart hammered in her chest as she struggled to keep the tremor out of her voice. She couldn’t introduce Ben to Ann when she was in such a caustic mood.
“Fine,” Ann snapped. “Go, already.”
“What’s the matter?” Ben asked the moment he saw Cara’s pensive face at the downstairs door. Cara smiled and made an effort to put the unpleasant scene with Ann behind her.
“Oh, nothing. A silly tiff with Ann.”
Tactfully, Ben did not press her to say more.
Cara paused in front of the truck. “So what do you have planned for us today?”
“I thought we’d do some island hopping.” He hoisted her bag into the passenger seat and helped her into the truck.
They drove down Madison Street all the way to the waterfront, and turned left toward Seattle Pier 52, from which the ferry to Bainbridge Island departed every hour. Cara was delighted. She had been worried that Ben had had some water sports adventure planned for which she wasn’t prepared.
“You know, in the whole time I’ve been here I haven’t taken a ferry ride,” she confessed.
Ben looked aghast. “That’s a criminal situation I plan to remedy in short order.” He paid for their passage at the toll booth and drove into a waiting area filled with other vehicles parked in neat rows.
At the dock, pedestrians and vehicles disembarked from the Wenatchee , a large white ferry with green trim. A Washington State Patrol Trooper from the K-9 unit patrolled the rows of parked cars. His dog, a slim bloodhound with long silky ears on a short leash, sniffed suspiciously at the closed trunks.
The announcement came to board, and the cars drove on to the parking decks. Ben set the parking brake, and led the way up two flights of metal stairs to an upstairs indoor seating area with rows of wide booths with blue vinyl seats and linoleum-covered tables. Ben and Cara chose an empty booth and sat side by side, facing backward to watch as the ferry left the bustling downtown waterfront.
Slowly, the crest of Queen Anne hill and the familiar spire of the Space Needle slipped by as they headed into the Puget Sound. Gulls circled lazily in the overcast sky.
“Do you take the ferry a lot?” Cara asked.
“It’s a great day trip for whenever I want to get away from the city.” Ben stretched back in the seat with his hands behind his head. “A friend of mine named Tom Sanders has a house on Bainbridge, and I sometimes go over there to swim, kayak, or paint. In fact, that’s where I’m planning on taking you.”
Noticing the look of alarm on Cara’s face, he laughed. “Don’t worry, he’s harmless.”
“I’m sure he is,” Cara said quickly. She didn’t voice her disappointment that they would not be spending the day alone together. Ben seemed relaxed and nonchalant as he gazed out the window. He seemed unaware that his presence was enough to fill her with nervous excitement. Was it possible he didn’t feel as strongly about her as she did about him? Perhaps he really considered this a friendly day out. Which is all you wanted it to be, anyway, she reminded herself.
Ben suggested they step outside to the bow. A blast of cold air hit them as they opened the heavy glass doors to the outdoor deck. The wind roared as it whipped Cara’s hair around her face. It was exhilarating to stand at the prow as the ferry steamed onwards, the wind so strong it felt to Cara as though her whole face were being pulled backward. She breathed deeply in the cold salty air.
Before them, the green swath of the island came into focus, dotted with small inlets and surrounded by the cloudy, mystical blue shapes of other low-lying islands. They passed a small sailboat and another ferry heading in the opposite direction. Small whitecaps formed and dissipated in the murky waters. In the distance, Seattle appeared like a toy
Cara hesitated. “Maybe some other time.”
“I promise I won’t make a scene,” Ann said. “I’ll be good.”
“Not today.” Cara’s heart hammered in her chest as she struggled to keep the tremor out of her voice. She couldn’t introduce Ben to Ann when she was in such a caustic mood.
“Fine,” Ann snapped. “Go, already.”
“What’s the matter?” Ben asked the moment he saw Cara’s pensive face at the downstairs door. Cara smiled and made an effort to put the unpleasant scene with Ann behind her.
“Oh, nothing. A silly tiff with Ann.”
Tactfully, Ben did not press her to say more.
Cara paused in front of the truck. “So what do you have planned for us today?”
“I thought we’d do some island hopping.” He hoisted her bag into the passenger seat and helped her into the truck.
They drove down Madison Street all the way to the waterfront, and turned left toward Seattle Pier 52, from which the ferry to Bainbridge Island departed every hour. Cara was delighted. She had been worried that Ben had had some water sports adventure planned for which she wasn’t prepared.
“You know, in the whole time I’ve been here I haven’t taken a ferry ride,” she confessed.
Ben looked aghast. “That’s a criminal situation I plan to remedy in short order.” He paid for their passage at the toll booth and drove into a waiting area filled with other vehicles parked in neat rows.
At the dock, pedestrians and vehicles disembarked from the Wenatchee , a large white ferry with green trim. A Washington State Patrol Trooper from the K-9 unit patrolled the rows of parked cars. His dog, a slim bloodhound with long silky ears on a short leash, sniffed suspiciously at the closed trunks.
The announcement came to board, and the cars drove on to the parking decks. Ben set the parking brake, and led the way up two flights of metal stairs to an upstairs indoor seating area with rows of wide booths with blue vinyl seats and linoleum-covered tables. Ben and Cara chose an empty booth and sat side by side, facing backward to watch as the ferry left the bustling downtown waterfront.
Slowly, the crest of Queen Anne hill and the familiar spire of the Space Needle slipped by as they headed into the Puget Sound. Gulls circled lazily in the overcast sky.
“Do you take the ferry a lot?” Cara asked.
“It’s a great day trip for whenever I want to get away from the city.” Ben stretched back in the seat with his hands behind his head. “A friend of mine named Tom Sanders has a house on Bainbridge, and I sometimes go over there to swim, kayak, or paint. In fact, that’s where I’m planning on taking you.”
Noticing the look of alarm on Cara’s face, he laughed. “Don’t worry, he’s harmless.”
“I’m sure he is,” Cara said quickly. She didn’t voice her disappointment that they would not be spending the day alone together. Ben seemed relaxed and nonchalant as he gazed out the window. He seemed unaware that his presence was enough to fill her with nervous excitement. Was it possible he didn’t feel as strongly about her as she did about him? Perhaps he really considered this a friendly day out. Which is all you wanted it to be, anyway, she reminded herself.
Ben suggested they step outside to the bow. A blast of cold air hit them as they opened the heavy glass doors to the outdoor deck. The wind roared as it whipped Cara’s hair around her face. It was exhilarating to stand at the prow as the ferry steamed onwards, the wind so strong it felt to Cara as though her whole face were being pulled backward. She breathed deeply in the cold salty air.
Before them, the green swath of the island came into focus, dotted with small inlets and surrounded by the cloudy, mystical blue shapes of other low-lying islands. They passed a small sailboat and another ferry heading in the opposite direction. Small whitecaps formed and dissipated in the murky waters. In the distance, Seattle appeared like a toy
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