The Inside Passage (Ted Higuera Series Book 1) Read online

  “The bitch is a gold-digger. She doesn’t love him. How can she? She’s a hot chick and he’s an old guy.”

  “I don’t know, dude. She’s always acting all lovey with him every time I see ‘em.”

  “Yeah, she loves his money and power.” Chris clamped the outboard onto the dinghy.

  “So you’re sure about this? You’re really not going to your own Dad’s wedding? We could postpone the trip, or maybe meet them somewhere before the wedding.”

  Chris didn’t reply.

  “I’ve been thinking about it, you know. You really ought to consider that. You don’t want to piss him off, dude. All that he’s got is going to be yours some day.”

  “You don’t really think that there’s going to be anything left once that bitch sinks her claws into him, do you?”

  “Your Dad’s smarter than that. He’s a lawyer, dude. He’ll protect you and Sarah, just watch.”

  “Yeah? Well fuck ‘em. Let’s blow this burg.”

  Chapter 9

  Toronto, Canada

  The landing lights from the Boeing 777 sliced through the night over Toronto. As usual, a slight drizzle fell from the overcast sky.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we ask that you return to your seats. The captain has turned on the seat belt sign. Please return your seats to the upright position, fold your trays, stow your electronic gear in preparation for landing.”

  Ahmad whispered to Mohammed as the big jet touched down. “Don’t forget: we must act casual. Do nothing out of the ordinary.” He was exhausted from the long trip. From Tehran they flew to Cairo, then on to London, and finally across the Atlantic to Toronto. It seemed like they had been in the air for days.

  ****

  “What was the purpose of your trip?” The custom agent examined Ahmad’s passport.

  “We were visiting my family.”

  “Do you have anything to declare?”

  “No sir.” Ahmad recalled his training. Look straight into their eyes, speak in an even tone. “We only brought home some trinkets, gifts to my parents and sister.”

  “I see. . . please follow me.”

  As usual, Ahmad was pulled from the line. Once again, he heard the voice of his trainer. Keep a calm outward appearance. Don’t let your anger show. Remember to look casual when going through customs. They’re teaching customs agents techniques to spot liars. Project a calm demeanor.

  He was searched and questioned while the custom agent pawed through his luggage.

  It amazed him at how far he had come. All of the little slights, the blatant discrimination. It was a little scary; he was putting his life on the line. On the other hand, it was thrilling, joining the fight for Islam. What would his father say? It didn’t really matter anymore, the die was cast.

  ****

  Seattle

  Ted rode shotgun as Chris pulled his mom’s old Chevy Suburban into a parking space near the dock.

  “If you guys’ll round up a couple of dock carts,” Chris said. “I’ll start getting the stuff out of the car.”

  Ted pushed a heavily-ladened two wheeled cart behind Chris. Meagan followed them carrying as little as she could get away with. At low tide, the floats were far below the seawall. Ted let Chris go down the ramp first, just to see how it was done.

  “Here we are.” Chris picked Meagan up by the waist, twirled her around and lifted her aboard. “Home sweet home.” Chris hopped up onto the boat and lightly planted a kiss on Meagan’s lips.

  “Awkward!” Ted groaned. “Get a room you two.”

  Chris gave Ted a guilty look, then got back into command mode.

  “As soon as you hand all that stuff up to me, bro,” Chris pointed towards the two dock carts, “head back up to the car for another load. I’ll get this stuff passed down to Meagan.”

  “Sure, make the Mexican kid do all the hard work.” Ted passed up a box of groceries. “Hey, ‘mano, look at that.” He pointed up the dock.

  Candace, in jeans, a white Oxford shirt with turned up cuffs and wedge sandals glided down the dock, basket in hand.

  Híjole, she’s got legs all the way up to her ass.

  “Hi guys.” Candace brushed back a strand of long black hair. “I brought you a bon voyage gift.” She handed the basket to Ted.

  “Look at this.” Ted peeked into the basket. “Champagne, paté, cheese. This is a mucho high-tone picnic. A barrio boy like Ted, he’s used to a bagfull of burritos.”

  “Thanks.” Chris stared at Candace for a moment, then took the basket from Ted and handed it down the hatch to Meagan.

  “I’ll help Meg put things away in the cabin,” Candace said. “. . . If that’s all right.”

  Ted appreciated the view as Candace climbed aboard.

  “Knock yourself out.” Chris turned his back to her. “You must have a lot of time on your hands, to come here and help us pack.”

  “I want to get you guys off to a good start. This is going to be an unforgettable summer for you.”

  Chris ignored her and continued to pass the boxes of stores down to Meagan.

  ****

  “Hi, Meg it’s good to see you again.”

  Meagan, bent over a locker under the settee, straightened up to see Candace smile as she climbed down the companionway ladder.

  “How can I help?” Candace asked.

  Oh good, extra hands, Meagan thought. “We’ve got all sorts of beer, water and pop. You can store them in this locker.” Meagan returned her smile and pointed to the upholstered bench on the right side of the cabin.

  Even dressed in jeans Candace looked classy. Large diamonds dripped from her ears and a matching tennis bracelet sparkled under her turned up sleeves. Dressed for the warm early July weather in running shorts, a tank top and flip-flops Meagan felt like a slob by comparison.

  She noticed Candace’s manicured nails. “I love that polish, what is it?”

  “It’s Kinky in Helsinki.” Candace wiggled her fingers in front of Meagan’s face. “One of my favorites.”

  “I loves it. Your nails are always so perfect.” Meagan put her own hands behind her back, hiding her chewed nails. “I can’t seem to grow mine out.”

  “Well, you certainly seem to know what you’re doing down here.”

  “Yeah, I hate to say it, but I guess I learned a little bit from my Dad.” Meagan showed Candace how to stow the beer. “We want to keep the heavy stuff down low in the boat. Besides, it’s cooler there.” She wiped her brow with the back of her hand.

  “I’m really impressed with you, going on this trip.” Candace looked up from the settee locker. “I don’t know if I could spend a summer living with a boatful of testosterone.”

  “It’s no biggie. We have a private cabin and the bathroom, excuse me, the head, is plenty roomy.”

  “I mean, the boys are going to want to do guy stuff all summer. How’re you going to cope with that?”

  “They’ll probably try to do some stupid macho stuff, but someone has to keep them in line. Besides, if we sent them off by themselves, they’d probably never come back.” Both women laughed.

  “You know,” Candace said, “I bet they’ll expect you to do all the cooking and cleaning.”

  “”Well, they better get over that right away.” Meagan accepted another box of groceries from Chris. “I’m not going to spend my summer playing den mother to a couple of frat boys.”

  “You better let them know that up front. If you aren’t firm from the beginning, you’ll end up being their slave.”

  “Hey, what’s the deal with all of these beans?” Meagan shouted up the companionway as Chris handed down a case of refried beans. “Who’s going to eat all of these?”

  “Careful, chica,” Ted bellowed from the dock. “Those are the source of my super powers.”

  “Super powers my ass,” she yelled back. “The only power they’re going to give you is the power to blow us all out of the cabin.”

  “I am not going to be eating refried beans all summer.” She turned bac
k to Candace. “I hate to say it, but I’m impressed with how well the boys cleaned up the boat. I expected it to be a disaster.”

  “That wasn’t the boys, honey. I spent a couple of days scrubbing down here. You should’ve seen it before I started.” Candace held her nose with one hand and waved the other in front of her face.

  “Well, thank you.” Meagan stood in the center of the cabin with a box of produce in her arms, looking for a place to put it. “God knows I didn’t want to have to do all that cleaning.”

  “How are things going with Chris?” Candace took the box from Meagan and set it on the counter.

  “Okay, I guess. . . What do you mean?” Meagan filled the net hammocks strung along the cabin windows with fresh produce.

  “I mean with the family. How are you getting along with them?”

  “Well, ah. . . Sarah’s really random. When I’m around her, it’s like she doesn’t even see me. I ask her questions and she totally answers Chris.” Meagan stowed boxes of cereal and bags of bread in the locker behind the settee back.

  “Sarah’s not so bad.” Candace straightened up, finished with stowing the beer and pop. “She’s starting to come around a little. How about Harry?”

  “Harry?”

  “How are you getting along with Harry?”

  “He seems a little awkward too.” Meagan stopped stowing dry goods and turned to Candace. She felt her anxiety meter tick up a notch. “He looks at me like he’s always waiting for me to make a mistake. I don’t think he likes me very much.”

  “Why not?” Candace’s voice had a soothing quality to it.

  “We had the strangest conversation at the party.” Meagan shook her head and went back to stowing groceries. “I felt like he was trying to give me some kind of coded message.”

  “Really,” Candace said. “Like what?”

  “Like. . . I kinda thought he was telling me to stay away from Chris.”

  “You know, Chris doesn’t like me much either.” Candace brushed back her long, dark hair.

  “Oh, he’ll get over it.” Meagan immediately dismissed the thoughts of Harry. She didn’t like to think about what she didn’t like to think about. “He’s just not ready to have a step-mom yet.” Meagan ran her hands through her hair. She was glad it was short. Long hair would really get in the way on the trip.

  “I think it’s more than that.” Candace stopped and stared at her. “He thinks I’m trying to . . . replace his mom. . . I’m not you know.”

  A silence hung in the air as the two women continued to stow the stores. Meagan climbed back into the quarter berth on her hands and knees with four two and a half gallon jugs of water. Finally, Candace spoke again.

  “You know, Meg, we can help each other.”

  Meagan lifted the mattress and stowed the water jugs in the locker underneath the bunk. She looked out of her hole at Candace.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Harry doesn’t like you much. Chris hates me. I have a feeling we’re going to be family for a long time. It could get pretty ugly.”

  Meagan crawled out of the bunk.

  “I don’t know why Harry doesn’t like me. Everybody loves me. . . “

  “I could make things a lot easier for you with Harry.” Candace took a step towards Meagan. “I have ways of bringing him around.”

  Meagan thought for an instant. What would I have to do for her?

  Chapter 10

  Seattle

  Ted thought the round of trips back to the SUV under the hot sun would never end. Finally, the last stores came aboard. “Dude, this is too much like ant work.” The last thing he handed up was Meagan’s cat carrier. He climbed aboard and followed Chris down to the cabin.

  “What’s with the cat?” Ted asked as Meagan removed the Burmese from his cage.

  The small plump cat was almost black, but in the sun, his fur shown a dark red. He had big round yellow eyes that seemed to say “I know something that you don’t.”

  “Oscar’s coming with us, silly. I couldn’t weave him at home by hisself.” She cuddled Oscar close to her face. He rewarded her with a loud purr and a lick. “Could I snookums?”

  Her baby talk to the cat was disgusting.

  Dios mió, Ted thought as Meagan removed an astonishing assortment of curling irons, brushes, combs, lotions and creams from her bag.

  “Whatcha gonna do with all that stuff?” After all the trips back and forth to the parking lot, Ted was in the mood to pick a fight. “We’re goin’ on a boat trip, not a beauty pageant.”

  “A girl’s gotta look good, right Candace?” Meagan turned to the older woman. “We’re going to be gone two months.”

  Candace wisely stayed out of the conversation.

  “Man, if I knew I was carrying all that shit down from the car, I’d a dumped it in the bay.”

  “Who died and made you the baggage police?” Meagan snarled.

  “Hey, back off bro. Leave the lady alone.” Chris put an arm around Meagan’s waist and planted a little peck on her lips. Then he turned and put his arm around Ted’s shoulder.

  “I think I’ll head home now,” Candace picked up her purse. “Your dad said to give you a big hug and wish you well. He has court in the morning and can’t come down to see you off.”

  “Whatever,” Chris said.

  Candace hugged Meagan and Ted. Ted felt her breasts firm against his chest and never wanted to let go.

  When she turned to Chris, he turned away and went into the forward cabin.

  “Oh well, you guys have a good trip. And stay in touch.” Candace climbed out of the cabin and jumped down from the boat.

  After she was gone, Chris returned to the main cabin.

  “You can take the quarter berth, Ted.” Chris pointed towards the large berth that extended back under the cockpit. “Stow your stuff in the lockers under the mattress and on that shelf over your head. Meagan and I’ll take the forward cabin.”

  Ted shook his head in disgust and started to unpack his duffle. After he stowed his stuff, he carefully placed the computer bag with his laptop in the locker under the navigation station seat. I hope this is gonna be okay on a boat. I’ll really be pissed if it gets damaged.

  Finally finished, he sat on his berth and just breathed. Man, it’s been a long day. We must a brought hundreds of pounds of junk aboard.

  Chapter 11

  Shileshole Bay, Seattle

  Somehow, Ted had managed to survive four years of living with Chris in college. Chris was an early riser. Ted hated his energy in the morning. When Ted finally managed to drag his sorry ass out of bed, Chris wanted to talk. Football, politics, girls, school, the news. Jesus, couldn’t he just let a man wake up before being so damned perky?

  As usual it was too damned early in the morning when Ted heard Chris rummaging around in the galley. He turned over and pulled a pillow over his head. Was it going to be like this all summer? The galley was less than four feet from Ted’s bunk. He could just imagine Chris making his damned coffee every morning at oh-dark-thirty.

  Thankfully, Chris took the coffee and climbed up the companionway ladder to the cockpit. Ted stretched and went back to sleep.

  Sometime later, he was aware of Chris climbing back down into the cabin. He detected the distinct odor of burning propane when Chris lit the oven. In a few minutes, the fragrance of cinnamon rolls filled the cabin. Now, that was worth getting up for.

  Ted swung his feet over the side of his berth and hit the cold cabin floor. This was the first time he had awakened on a boat. By the time he went to bed last night, he was so wiped out he didn’t have the energy to think about it.

  The C&C 40 was a large, roomy boat. Just aft of the forward cabin was the head on the left hand side (Okay, Chris would call it port) and a large hanging locker (closet to land lubbers) to starboard (In the real world, that was right). Further aft in the main saloon, a large teak table folded down to allow walking room, with settees on either side of the cabin.

  Above and behind
the settees were narrow beds Chris called pilot berths. They reminded Ted of coffins. Chris said that these were his favorite bunks when he was growing up, but they only accommodated one person each. Since they only needed two berths for this trip the pilot berths were a convenient storage area. They were also Oscar’s favorite hiding spots.

  “C’m’re little fella.” Chris picked Oscar up and rolled him onto his back.

  Don’t tell me he’s gonna get all mushy about the cat too.

  Chris rubbed the cat under the chin and Oscar’s bones dissolved as he broke into a loud purr. “You’re going to make a great ship’s cat.” Chris returned Oscar to the pilot berth.

  Not only would Ted have to tolerate Chris’ girlfriend on this trip, he’d have to put up with Chris going ape-shit over a damned cat too.

  ****

  The strong coffee and fresh cinnamon rolls helped make the early morning hour tolerable.

  “OK, guys,” Chris was in one of his bossy moods this morning. “We need to stow everything. As soon as we start sailing anything that’s loose is going to go flying.”

  “Sí, mi capitán.” Ted saluted.

  “I hope you don’t plan to get started this early every day,” Meagan griped.

  Chris ignored her comment. “I’ll fire up the engine while you get the dishes stowed.”

  “Hey, big boy, don’t get the idea that I’m going to be the galley slave just because I’m a woman.” Meagan carried the dishes to the galley sink.

  Chris removed the companionway steps and exposed the engine. He lifted the floorboards in front of the engine and began his morning checklist.

  Ted’s Tio Ernesto always taught him “A place for everything and everything in its place.” It was good to see the organized way that Chris began the cruise.

  After completing his checklist below decks, Chris replaced the stairs and climbed to the cockpit. Ted followed to take in the procedure.