Passion's Tide (21 page)

The most beautiful sight Amber
had
ever beheld was the Caribbean sun setting over the horizon
.
Not because the crystal water scattered the last rays of light, flickering magically as the sky darkened from a dusky pink into a rich blue, but because it meant her first day of work on board the
Imperial Shadow
had come to an official end.

Only her firm resolution could make her stand, her every muscle screaming in protest as she bent to retrieve her swab and bucket of dirty seawater
.
She had spent the entire day on her hands and knees
washing
the deck
, and her aching body was not in agreement with her stubborn decision
.
An intense pain shot down her back to remind her of her poor choice
.
Refusing to grimace, she dumped the excess water over the side of the ship, stored her supplies and followed the men down the stairs into the galley, where she stood at the end of the line for dinner
.
When it was her turn, Abe gave her a sympathetic smile and an extra biscuit, which she scarfed down before she even reached the orlop
, where the men ate and slept
.

An uncomfortable silence fell as she stood with her tin plate and mug in the doorway, the crew uncertain of her pl
ace among them, and how to act around her
.
At last, Pax cleared his throat and offered her the empty spot on the bench next to him
.

“Thank you,” she responded wearily as
she slid down with her food
.

“So what do you think?” Pax asked with a
s
mile
.

Amber looked up from her meat
.
“What do I think of what, the food? It’s fine.”

He laughed
.
“No, I mean what do you think about working on the ship
?
”

She was about to confess how tired she was when she sensed Logan’s presence behind her
.
There was no mistaking the musky masculine scent that followed him everywhere
.
“It’s invigorating,” she lied
.
“I find it quite enjoyable
.
Can’t wait until tomorrow!”  Pax shrugged and went back to eating, while Amber watched Logan’s distorted reflection in her mug
storm
from the room
.
S
he smiled and took a swig of grog
, which was strong enough to cover the bland taste of her food, but not quite strong enough to mask the low quality of
the
liquor
.

Deacon saw her face as she choked down the liquid
.
“Probably should have warned you
.
This isn’t the stuff you got in the Captain’s quarters, I bet.”  Noticing the melancholy look on Pax’s face as he stared into his cup, she forced herse
lf to take another sip, this time without wincing.

“It is
n’t bad at all!” she said through clenched teeth, Pax’s smile doing very little to
offset the burning path the grog
made down her throat
.

“You’re going to have to get used to a lot of things
down here, I reckon
.
Things are very different for the crew than for the Captain,” Deacon told her.

“Like what, for example?”

“Well for one, you ain
’
t got no cushy bed to sleep on!” Creed said with a toothy grin
.

“But hammocks are quite comfortable,” ad
ded Pax, not wanting to upset her
.
“They take some getting used to, but once you learn how to stay in them, you’ll probably sleep like an infant.”

Creed was determined to scare her, however, and leaned over the table
.
“And you don’t get to sleep in, either
.
It’s up before the sun, ready to work and no complaining or you don’t get any breakfast!”

“Get back over there, you mongrel,” Deacon reprimanded as he swatted Creed with his
hand.
“Miss Amber, he’s just telling tales
.
Well, not about the waking up early, that’s the truth I suppose
.
But he’s the biggest complainer of them all, and I think Abe gives him
extra
breakfast just to shut him up.”

“Anything else I need to know about?” Amber
asked
with a chuckle.

“Well, if Eli sees you’re not doing your job, he can threaten to dock your pay till you shape up,” declared Pax, “And if you don’t he can stick you on permanent swab or bilge duty.”

“Eli don’t beat you though,” came a quiet remark from Anton at the end of the table, who, Amber remembered, stepped forward during Lyle’s trial to reveal the lesions on his back from the
Lyle’s
whip
.
She reached a sympathetic hand out to cover his much larger, darker one, and his eyes lifted to meet hers.

“How are you doing, Anton? Is your back healing properly?”

Moved by her compassion, he
nodded
.
“The doc took a look at it and said
it was infected, and he had to clean it out, which stung something awful
.
But he patched it up, and when he checked it out today he said it was much better. He even sa
id I can get back to real work in
a few days, and stop taking it easy.”

“That’s wonderful!” she said, thankful that Lyle was far away.

“I know
.
The doc seemed pleased too
.
Hey Miss Amber, do you want my extra biscuit? Abe always gives me three, on account of me being so big and all, but I’m full
.
You can have it if you want it,” he said, extending it to her
.
She opened her mouth to turn him down, but instead she accepted the offered biscuit
.
“I can take these for you too,” he picked up her empty plate and mug, stacking them on top of his and ignoring her protests
.
“Don’t worry, I’m going back up there to help Abe with some things, and I don’t mind washin’ them, really.”  With that he lumbered off, leaving the rest of the
table
in astonished silence.

“Well Miss Amber, I think you just made yourself a new friend,” Deacon finally spoke
.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard more than four words out of his mouth at a time,” Pax added
.
“I had no idea he was capable of an entire conversation. I think he must have a crush on you,” he said with a wink
.

Amber smiled. “Shyness doesn’t equate to intelligence, boys
.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go enjoy the last bit of light up top before settling down to sleep
.
Have a good night!”

Amber dawdled for as long as she could on deck, trying to put off going below with a bunch of half-dressed, snoring men
.
As far as she knew, she didn’t even have a hammock
.
With a sigh, she stared at the foaming wake that trailed behind the ship, leaning over the railing and attempting to relax her tense muscles
.
It was quiet now
.
She had a brief run-in with the officers as the
y
left Logan’s cabin an hour before, but they had retired to their quarters and left her alone on deck with the boatswain
.
Just then he shouted, drawing her attention towards the water, where she saw silver shapes darting in and out of the waves
.
With a delighted start she realized they were porpoises, playing in the warm water and chattering happily to each other
.
She took it as a sign that everythin
g would work out, and climbed down into the orlop, steeling herself for what she would find.

The tables and benches had been removed and now hammocks filled the large room, covering almost every beam and crossbar possible
.
She was pleased to see that no one was completely naked, but she figured that she would have to get used to seeing grown men in their underwear
.
Hairy men
, she thought to herself with a shiver of repulsion as she caught sight of a particularly large pirate flopped over the side of his h
ammock
.
His loud grunts added to the cacophony of snores and murmurs that filled the air, and there was a pungent smell she could not quite identify
.

She gave up trying when she saw her hammock, however
.
All the way over
in the corner, near the door so she would receive some ventilation, someone had hung her new bed
.
There was even a blanket folded next to it in case she got cold
.
She eyed the thick ropes with hesitation before hoisting herself up into the swinging net and promptly falling over to the other side
.
After picking herself up and
noting
that no one had witnessed her accident, she tried again
.
This time she stayed put, and after a little wriggling and repositioning herself she was comfortable enough to drift
off
to sleep, rocked in her hammock like a baby in a cradle
.
Just like Pax said
.

What seemed like mere minutes after falling asleep, she awoke with a start and crashed to the floor
.
She glanced around to see if anyone had seen her
this
time, realizing with a shock that she was the only one in the room
.
Grumbling, she
pulled her sore body up and wiped off her pants
.
Then she folded up her hammock and stored it in the crates against the wall, and hurried up the narrow stairs to grab breakfast
.
The galley was empty except for Abe and Eli, who sat drinking
cups
of coffee
.
They both looked up when she entered.

“Morning,” she murmured as she reached for a pastry.

“How did you sleep?”  Abe asked
her, passing her a mug
.
She washed down her food with the coffee and shrugged
.

“Well enough, but I didn’t wake up on time
.
Logan is probably going to hold it over my head like the smug, pompous as—”

“He isn’t awake yet,” Eli cut her off with a grin
.
“He’s still sleeping off the rum from last night
.
He drank a bit too much and then passed out, sprawled on his bed with his boots on
.
When I checked on him ten minutes ago he hadn’t moved from that position
.
So I think you have a bit of time to relax before getting to work, if you’re goin
g to continue this silly game.”

She tilted her chin
.
“It isn’t a game, Elijah,” she told him as she wrapped another
biscuit
in a napkin for later
.
“But, assuming it was a game, I’d be winning!”  She winked at the two men and left to join the rest of the crew on deck
.