the yacht and reassure Charlie that you’re okay.” Blake motioned for me to pick up one of the smaller ammo boxes and follow him. “Tillman, guard Reese and Uma while we are away. I’m gonna get the yacht closer once the tug is secured and get the girls on it.” Tillman nodded and Blake and I headed to play barge hopper to get to the yacht.
The “hopping” was awkward with the box of ammo, which only seemed like a few pounds when I first picked it up, but as I went out onto the barge it felt like it weighed a ton, especially when I made that leap between the two barges. The jump was only a few feet, but the river lapped at the sides of the barges and it was dark and dank like a watery grave, beckoning for me to slip inside, making my anxiety shoot up. My parents had told me stories about the Mississippi. Warnings to stay away, it wasn’t a place for swimming or playing. Children would be swept away in seconds if they fell in. I tried not to think about that as I made my way across the large expanse that was littered with debris and ropes, perfect for tripping a girl and sending her over the edge.
We had moored to the side of the last barge and when I finally managed to get to the yacht, I could have kissed it. It was awkward climbing up with the ammo but I made it onto the deck and was rewarded by one of those toe curling Blake kisses and a quick ass grab before he was up in the captain’s seat and I was untying us. I looked up when the loud groan of an engine reverberated and I almost cheered when I saw the large tugboat pull away from its slip and edge closer to where the Humvees were parked. It seemed like a choppy ride and I saw the tug slam forward and jerk repeatedly before it smoothed to a straight path.
Blake’s radio cracked to life. “Like riding a bike,” Marquez cackled. “This baby is brand new and can turn on a dime. Not to mention it’s got almost half a tank, that’s 100,000 gallons of fuel for the nautically impaired. You know what that means, Miller boy?” Marquez’s laughter was tinny over the radio.
“What’s that, Marquez?” Blake was smiling. It was a good sight to see.
“I can drive this baby close to 90,000 miles before I have to refuel it.” His hoot of joy made me want to yell in triumph too, even though I had no idea why we would want to go 90,000 miles on a tugboat.
“Well, as long as you can drive that thing and weren’t just blowing smoke up our asses,” Blake countered.
“My Papi taught me when I was just a teen, I got this, man. He had my own tug picked out before I got my driver’s license. Cried when I told him I joined the Marines instead of the Navy.”
“Quit the flirting boys, get that Humvee loaded up so we can get the hell out of here.” Zachary interrupted on the radio.
“Backing it in now, lemme show off my parallel parking skills. Marquez out.”
Blake shook his head and watched as Marquez maneuvered the tug like a compact car into the spot between two barges. Zachary jumped off the dock into the aft deck of the boat and cleared off as much as he could. When he was done he signaled for Tillman to go for it. There was no ramp…he just launched the Humvee off the dock and onto the deck of the tug. We were lucky the river was low this time of year.
There was that word again, luck. But I couldn’t deny that since this shit happened, luck had been in our favor. Then I kicked myself mentally for even thinking it. I didn’t want to jinx myself.
The closest Blake could get the yacht without crashing was on the other side of a large barge. In this area of the river they were anchored three to four deep. It was tricky getting this close. I disembarked and went for the girls. It was a process to coax Uma into climbing down on the deck of the barge and crossing the expanse. It took a few harsh words from Reese and the lure of Charlie pacing on the deck to get her to climb down onto the barge. She was crying as she made
The “hopping” was awkward with the box of ammo, which only seemed like a few pounds when I first picked it up, but as I went out onto the barge it felt like it weighed a ton, especially when I made that leap between the two barges. The jump was only a few feet, but the river lapped at the sides of the barges and it was dark and dank like a watery grave, beckoning for me to slip inside, making my anxiety shoot up. My parents had told me stories about the Mississippi. Warnings to stay away, it wasn’t a place for swimming or playing. Children would be swept away in seconds if they fell in. I tried not to think about that as I made my way across the large expanse that was littered with debris and ropes, perfect for tripping a girl and sending her over the edge.
We had moored to the side of the last barge and when I finally managed to get to the yacht, I could have kissed it. It was awkward climbing up with the ammo but I made it onto the deck and was rewarded by one of those toe curling Blake kisses and a quick ass grab before he was up in the captain’s seat and I was untying us. I looked up when the loud groan of an engine reverberated and I almost cheered when I saw the large tugboat pull away from its slip and edge closer to where the Humvees were parked. It seemed like a choppy ride and I saw the tug slam forward and jerk repeatedly before it smoothed to a straight path.
Blake’s radio cracked to life. “Like riding a bike,” Marquez cackled. “This baby is brand new and can turn on a dime. Not to mention it’s got almost half a tank, that’s 100,000 gallons of fuel for the nautically impaired. You know what that means, Miller boy?” Marquez’s laughter was tinny over the radio.
“What’s that, Marquez?” Blake was smiling. It was a good sight to see.
“I can drive this baby close to 90,000 miles before I have to refuel it.” His hoot of joy made me want to yell in triumph too, even though I had no idea why we would want to go 90,000 miles on a tugboat.
“Well, as long as you can drive that thing and weren’t just blowing smoke up our asses,” Blake countered.
“My Papi taught me when I was just a teen, I got this, man. He had my own tug picked out before I got my driver’s license. Cried when I told him I joined the Marines instead of the Navy.”
“Quit the flirting boys, get that Humvee loaded up so we can get the hell out of here.” Zachary interrupted on the radio.
“Backing it in now, lemme show off my parallel parking skills. Marquez out.”
Blake shook his head and watched as Marquez maneuvered the tug like a compact car into the spot between two barges. Zachary jumped off the dock into the aft deck of the boat and cleared off as much as he could. When he was done he signaled for Tillman to go for it. There was no ramp…he just launched the Humvee off the dock and onto the deck of the tug. We were lucky the river was low this time of year.
There was that word again, luck. But I couldn’t deny that since this shit happened, luck had been in our favor. Then I kicked myself mentally for even thinking it. I didn’t want to jinx myself.
The closest Blake could get the yacht without crashing was on the other side of a large barge. In this area of the river they were anchored three to four deep. It was tricky getting this close. I disembarked and went for the girls. It was a process to coax Uma into climbing down on the deck of the barge and crossing the expanse. It took a few harsh words from Reese and the lure of Charlie pacing on the deck to get her to climb down onto the barge. She was crying as she made
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