It seemed like she’d known him forever.
Of course, being around Sothards in some form or another for most of her life—remembering Vincent’s mother, slipping into Buck’s orbit a time or two each month when Lace managed a moment with Bobbie—made Vince feel even more familiar.
And soon she’d be living with him.
Dang. Exciting.
Especially if things progressed in the manner they seemed to be headed.
Although…
Lace still had doubts that Vince knew what he was getting into with the whole breast cancer, then lifelong-cancer-patient classification she’d have even after remission. She’d need to make sure he knew all the facts before he did any kind of committing.
Lace put that on her mental list of “things to talk to your new roommate about”, and crossed her fingers. She hoped that nothing she said would be a game changer.
Dreaming about having not only Vince, but possibly little Inez in her house—Oh.Anda dog—made her future seem brighter than it had appeared in a very long time.
Refreshed, Lace made her way back belowdecks, avoiding the other, older and gruffer crewmembers, to sit with her two young buddies.
“So what are you guys going to do with your rare afternoon off?” she asked.
“I’m going to see my mother,” Zach offered up. “She really misses me this time of year.” His face fell, and he turned to look right into her eyes. “My… My dad actually had cancer, too, and passed away ten months ago, so all Mom has is me and my little sister.”
Lace had pretty much figured, by Zach’s original reaction to her reveal, that he’d had some kind of experience with cancer-hell.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” she told him sincerely.
“Yeah. Me too,” he acknowledged.
“How long have you been working on this boat?” she asked, changing the subject so he didn’t get sucked down into a mind-fuck.
“Just this summer,” he told her. His eyes got a far-away look in them. “Last year I was on a trawler in Alaska catching pollock, and the summer before that—right after I finished high school—I went south and did the longline thing in North Carolina, hooking Mahi-Mahi,” he finished.
He sighed.
Clearly, he’d taken this job closer to home so he could be around for his mother.
Sweet boy.
“I’m going right to my girlfriend’s house,” Ryan didn’t hesitate to share, once Zach had wound down, taking the spotlight off his friend. “We just started dating last winter. She’s not thrilled with how much I work, but the money’s good, so she’s not complaining too much.”
Lace knew that the amount the young men earned was based on the size of the catch, and the fact that they were part of a six-member crew—the other four being older, seasoned hands,plusthe captain—the money probably wasn’t all that great.
But youth…
Anypaycheck—Lace remembered—when you first started out, tended to make you feel rich.
“What areyougoing to do with your free afternoon?” Ryan asked her.
“I’m…”
Lace thought about it for a second, then decided to share. They’d been open with her. She could return the favor.
“I’m going to call this new guy I just started seeing.” The tips of her ears, she knew, were turning red, but her cap was on, so they wouldn’t notice.
“Oooh,” Zach teased, the information lightening his mood. “Has Lace got a boyfriend?”
She grinned. “Maybe.”