Romance on the Edge 01 - Hooked

words to the others she’d already spewed.
    “All right,” Wanda said. “While we give that a chance to numb the area, I’ll finish cleaning the rest of the cuts on your arm. They aren’t deep enough for stitches. You’ll have to take care to keep any fish slime from coming into contact with them. I don’t have to tell you what kind of trouble you’d be in if you contracted blood poisoning.”
    Sonya swore again. “Don’t tell me I can’t fish.”
    “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Wanda said. “Just be careful and make sure these cuts are covered up, and disinfect when you’re finished fishing for the day.”
    Garrett gauged what Wanda needed and handed it to her, soaking gauze pads with antiseptic. They worked well together cleaning Sonya’s cuts. To keep Sonya occupied, and her swearing at a minimum, Garrett began asking questions. “Tell me everything that happened, Sonya.”
    Her shoulders slumped as the events of the day seemed to catch up with her. “I was operating the hydraulics. We were pulling in the net—”
    “Where were you fishing?”
    “Not far off the line at the mouth of the river.”
    “Who was drifting around you?”
    She lifted her hand to rub at her forehead and then dropped it, obviously remembering the stitches. “Uh, let me think.” She closed her eyes and grimaced as Wanda’s hooked needle pierced the flesh of her shoulder. Garrett took her hand again and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “The Miss Julie II , the Mary Jane , the uhmm… Intrepid .” Her eyes flew open and met his. Fear flash in them just before anger flared. “And the Albatross .”
    Chuck Kendrick.
    His name sure came up a lot and it always seemed associated with trouble. Garrett nodded. “Okay, tell me what happened next?”
    “There was this loud crack and the window shattered. Glass went flying everywhere.”
    “Where exactly were you?”
    “At the wheel. I threw my hands over my head, but not in time to avoid all the glass.”
    She was damn lucky she wasn’t cut to shreds, or worse. “Then what?”
    “Gramps and the guys came running. We wrapped the worse of the cuts as best we could, and then Wes and Peter round-hauled in the net. Gramps and I piloted the boat to the cannery, while the boys picked the net.” Her gaze suddenly swung to his. “I need to get those fish tendered. They’re still sitting in the holds.”
    He could care less about the fish, but she cared and she’d worry until it was taken care of.
    “I’ll be right back.” He exited the exam room to find Judd writing in his notebook as he took statements. “Which one of you has the permit to sell the drift fish on?”
    “Sonya,” Gramps said. “The drift permit is in her name. She’s the only one who can sell to the tenders unless you let one of us do it.”
    He couldn’t bend the law, not even for Sonya. “How long have the fish been in the holds?” The longer the fish stayed onboard, the more chances they took with the tenders not willing to buy them.
    “About an hour, maybe an hour and a half.”
    “Okay, with the weather cold and overcast, there’s still time.” With the elements like they were today, the fish were basically refrigerated. He returned to the exam room to see Sonya looking exhausted. The ordeal was catching up to her. Dark circles formed crescent moons under her eyes, made more prominent with the white butterfly stitches placed so close. Wanda still sutured the gash in Sonya’s shoulder.
    “I have to be the one who sells the fish.” Sonya looked as though she was geared up for an argument, probably thinking he would insist she couldn’t leave, which was exactly what he wanted to do. She was in a tough spot. Fishing was a large part of her livelihood, and the fish wouldn’t stay fresh.
    “Sonya,” Wanda said. “You are in no condition to pilot a boat. You need rest, and pain killers wouldn’t be out of order.”
    “She doesn’t have to pilot the boat.” Garrett took Sonya’s uninjured hand. “She just has to be on the Double Dippin’ when they sell the fish.”
    Sonya met his gaze. Most of the fight had gone out of her. Pain and worry reflected in her deep brown eyes, making them almost black. She was crashing fast off an adrenaline high and it was taking its toll.
    “Better hurry and get her sewn up,” Garrett said to Wanda. “We have to make the tide and she’s about done.”
    “ She’s still sitting here,” Sonya pointed out with what little bluster she had left.