Page 33 of Kraken the Seal

He guided her around us and Dale. As he passed the teenager, he paused.

“If you see anything, you call me first. You don’t reprimand someone, you don’t jump in, you don’t do anything except call me. Got it?” His voice was surprisingly harsh, making Dale wilt.

“Yes, sir,” he mumbled. “Sorry, Sheriff."

Archer nodded and continued to lead Abby away. I clearly saw the resentful look Dale gave her as they passed. It made me want to send Dale away, but as long as he was leading us around, he wasn’t harassing any other women.

“Let’s finish shopping,” I said.

Delmar nodded, but when we walked back into the shop, we didn’t bother looking at all the cute crafts at the front. We picked up the few items we needed and left.

We had Dale take us back to the boat and the moment we were alone, Delmar grabbed me with both his arms and tentacles.

“I don’t like it here,” he whispered.

“Same,” I said. “But we only have to hold out for three days. That’s it.”

“Two days if we consider this one as day one,” he said.

I chuckled. “Yes, you’re right. Today was day one. All we have to do is get through tonight, tomorrow, and the next day.”

He held me a little tighter. “I need to swim. My beast needs to get out.”

The moment he said that, my inner seal made herself known. “My seal thinks that’s a great idea.”

Chapter 12

Delmar

After telling an anxious Dale that we were going to sail for a while and we’d be back in plenty of time for dinner, we headed out.

We didn’t even make it out of the small harbor before two other boats were following us. One was a small sailboat, and the other was a large fishing boat with a sturdy inflatable Zodiac Nautic strapped to the back.

“They better not get close,” Nina grumbled as I worked the sails.

“If they bother us, I can give their boats the same treatment I gave Zak’s,” I said. The wind was perfect, and it was easy to travel southwest until we were in a nice spot of open ocean.

“Are you saying that you’re the reason Zak’s boat sank?” Nina asked with a fake gasp. One of my tentacles slipped free and waved, as if taking responsibility. Nina grinned and grabbed the tentacle with one hand and petted it with the other. “You did so good making that bad man’s boat sink. Yes you did!”

Pleasure at her touch zinged up my tentacle and punched me in the gut.

“Uh, Nina, please let go,” I said, trying hard to keep my voice steady.

She pulled her hands back. “Sorry, that was probably distracting. You sail, I’ll sit here and look pretty.”

I grinned. “You do that very well.”

We lapsed into silence for a little while, then she tapped the rail of the boat. “I should probably learn how to sail.”

I loved the idea of teaching her. “That’s a great suggestion. Let’s start with the basics.” I pointed. “This boat is considered a sloop because we only have one mast.”

“A mast is the sail?” Nina asked.

“No, it’s the pole, that sail is called the mainsail,” I said.

She shook her head. "There's a lot of ropes and pulleys going on here. I can’t imagine how much more complicated it would be if there were more masts.”

“It’s really not as complicated as it seems,” I said. “And I don’t give tests, so there’s no pressure.”