Chapter 10. This Is Me Being Less Frightening

“We can't refund what you paid to reserve the unloading slot.”

“So to get my money's worth, I'm supposed to take the man too.”

Dane ordered only the necessary cargo transferred. When the broker tried to follow, Marco blocked his way this time. Evelyn watched from behind the unloading platform.

“Pay the crew everything they're owed. Hold the broker's commission.”

The crewmen dispersed from the broker's side. Dane pointed out the empty gangway to the captain. The man admitted he'd taken someone aboard who wasn't on the list.

Dane started recording on his phone.

“Who told you to take a passenger too?”

“Mr. Andrea... It came from the elder's people.”

He saved the answer and ordered the boat away. He told Marco to remove it from their options for the next shipment. A member of staff had been about to consolidate another booking onto this boat. Dane told him to keep them separate, even if it meant paying the unloading fees again. Faced with losing the next shipment too, the broker called to the boss before the captain did for the first time.

The bag containing the clothes Evelyn had requested came down with the other boxes. As she took its handle, the man glanced her way. Dane stepped in front of him.

“You've got no business looking over there.”

The gaze withdrew at once. Evelyn set her bag upright and called to Dane.

“Mr. Blackwell. I have my things.”

Dane turned only after the boat had pulled away from the gangway. Evelyn was waiting on the stairs. He withdrew the hand he had reached out for her bag and went up ahead to clear the way.

As they climbed, Evelyn asked,

“You're just giving up money you could get back?”

“Let someone else set the price of opening my door, and it'll cost me more.”

“I wish you'd think about the cost of opening other people's doors too. My hospital's, for instance.”

Evelyn went up first. Her arm hurt when she reached for the rail, and she changed hands with her bag. From one step below, Dane supported its base. She didn't give him the handle.

“Only this far.”

With his help, she lifted the bag onto the landing, then dragged it into the corridor herself. The broker called again from below, but Dane waited until she had left the passage before coming up. As he passed the boy's door, he lowered his voice.

Outside the corridor's treatment area, Evelyn pointed to the back of his hand.

“The tape's coming loose.”

“Must have happened while I was moving things.”

Dane asked the nurse whether she could replace it. Stepping aside at the doorway, Evelyn saw him turn his hand to make it easier to remove the dressing. When he had first been bitten, there hadn't been time to notice even that.

While the nurse took out the supplies, Evelyn sat beside his chair. She supported the back of his hand on the side that wouldn't press against her injured arm. Up close, his face seemed even more unfamiliar than it had across from her.

Dane's thumb stopped near her wrist. Where the rope had left its mark. Evelyn didn't pull away; she only changed the angle of her supporting hand.

“Pressure there still hurts.”

She held his hand while the nurse applied the fresh tape.

“Are your hands always this cold?”

“I was out in the wind at the dock.”

“That's why I wanted to ask. Why didn't you just come back up?”

He opened his palm a little farther. Evelyn glanced toward the nurse before answering.

“Ask me now, and I'm not answering.”

Dane laughed. Even when she turned her head, his voice was close.

“Tell me if it hurts.”

The nurse spoke. Dane said he was fine.

When Evelyn tried to draw her hand away, his fingers curved slightly.

“At first, you wouldn't even let me touch you.”

He spoke quietly.

“I'm the one holding your hand now.”

As the nurse pressed down the last strip of tape, Evelyn withdrew the hand supporting his. His fingertips followed for a moment. When she raised her eyes, he was already looking at his own hand.

When the dressing was finished, Evelyn stood first. Dane followed her out and called her name.

“Why did you stay after you got your things?”

She passed beneath his arm where it rested against the doorframe.

“If you're that curious, try asking in a less frightening way next time.”

Dane looked at her without smiling. Evelyn didn't turn away immediately either. From downstairs came the broker's voice asking for him. Only then did he lower his hand.

“This is me being less frightening.”

Instead of answering, Evelyn went to her room. Even after she closed the door, she could still feel his warmth where she had supported his hand. Over it came the image of that same hand making a man back away at the dock.