Death Echo

foot waves with some wind chop on top. A little snotty, but hardly noticeable on a boat the size of Blackbird. ”
    â€œSo what happened between here and Nanaimo. Just the wind?”
    â€œPartly wind, partly the water itself, and a good bit that we’re heading right into it,” Mac said. “The tide is pushing to the north and the wind is shoving to the south. Irresistible force meets immovable object, and we’re caught between.”
    She reached for crackers, braced herself against an unexpected motion, and waited. The next motion was equally unexpected.
    â€œThere’s no rhythm to the waves,” she said.
    â€œWe’re in the strait, not out on the ocean. The period between waves is shorter in the strait, less rhythmic. Unreliable. Makes for a spine-hammering ride if you’re in a small boat.”
    Carefully she stacked crackers, cheese, celery, and sliced sausage on a plate with a rim around the top and a rubber ring on the bottom. Then she looked through the windows at a world of water, wind, and sky.
    â€œYou don’t think of Blackbird as small?” she asked.
    â€œCompared to a ferry or a containership, yes. Compared to most of the pleasure craft on the water, no. We’re big enough that we’re officially allowed to decide if we want to play in gale force winds, which would make these winds look like a baby’s breath.”
    â€œPass,” she muttered.
    â€œMe, too.”
    She looked at him, surprised. “It wouldn’t be safe?”
    â€œSafe ain’t the same as fun,” he said. “I’d rather be tied up snug in port listening to rigging lines slap and sing than out hammering my spine through a storm. On my own time I’m a pleasure boater, not a masochist.”
    A few of the waves that broke against the bow sprayed over the decks and dotted the windshield with saltwater. Emma was aware of a change in motion, but she didn’t feel any need to hang on to things when she moved around the galley.
    Yet.
    â€œWill it get rougher?” she asked.
    â€œIf the wind doesn’t drop, yes. It’s supposed to fall off as we go to the north. That’s why we’re running for Campbell River.”
    â€œWhat if it gets worse?”
    â€œDepends,” he said.
    â€œThat’s an all-around, universally unsatisfactory answer. You want tea?”
    He gave her a sideways glance. “Depends.”
    â€œI’ll take that as a no.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œYes to the no?”
    â€œNo.”
    Laughing quietly, she put a bottle of iced tea in a holder near the wheel and gave him the food.
    â€œHave you eaten?” he asked.
    Watching the water, she shook her head.
    â€œYou work on this plate,” he said, handing over the wheel. “I’ll make more after I take a bio break.”
    â€œUm…”
    Before Emma could think of an excuse, she was left with the wheel and her doubts about steering Blackbird in anything but calm water.
    â€œPut it on auto if you want,” Mac called over his shoulder as he disappeared below with a handheld VHF radio. “Just make sure you stay well outside those rocks and islands.”
    â€œWhat rocks and islands?”
    â€œZoom out on the chart. You’ll see what I mean.”
    She zoomed out on the computer screen, saw what he meant, andfrowned. Going around the various small islands would take longer. But then, going aground would waste even more time.
    Mac’s voice floated up from below. “If you’re nervous, I can keep an eye on things while I pee off the stern.”
    â€œGreat, I’m stuck on a boat with a flasher.”
    â€œFlashers are used with downriggers. For trolling. Wanna see how it’s done?”
    â€œMacKenzie, just pee!”
    Laughter, then she was alone with Blackbird and frisky water. She thought about putting the controls on auto, then decided to try learning the rhythms—if any—of boat and water.
    With her hands on the wheel, Blackbird became a living presence caught between external forces and its own nature. The balance between vessel and water shifted continually. At the edges of her concentration she heard the sounds of the head flushing and the static of a VHF radio. Mac was talking to someone.
    She was too busy to wonder who or why. She oversteered a few waves, overthought a few more, and was surprised by several. The waves seemed steeper than they had been.
    At least some of them