Cassidy peeled off her gloves and wrapped her hands around a cup of hot cocoa. The receptionist at the Coast Guard station looked very sharp in her pressed white uniform. Though her face said she was maybe twenty, she had enough stripes on her sleeve that Cassidy felt a little stupid being served by her. However, the woman appeared glad for the company on a windy day, enjoying the chance to serve cocoa to a windblown tourist.
Cassidy was warm, except perhaps her cheeks and nose. She’d stood out in the howling wind and, oddly enough, not hated it. She was becoming quite the outdoorsy type, something she’d done her best to leave on Bainbridge Island along with her youth.
She’d stood out there for an hour, thrilled by the power of it all, and then, right on cue, her sailboat had appeared. O
