Booktree.ng_Forgotten-Witness

“A bad decision, if I may say so. Support is what you need,
and I am here to give it. Free of charge and happily.”
“And why would you do that?” Josie asked.
“I do it because island life makes you batty and something
as interesting as this is a wonderful diversion. I do it because
there’s a chance you might forget that man of yours and come
to me for comfort in the dead of the night. I do it because I
have a soft spot for an honorable quest. I do it because now
you are a Keoloko girl and no one messes with them.”
Stephen patted her knee and then threw open his door. He
came around to her. The door creaked a bit when he opened it.
Josie took his hand and stepped down. Even in flats she was
taller than he was but it didn’t seem that way to her. The
longer she knew him, the taller he stood. Stephen put his arm
around her waist and gave her a squeeze.
“All right, then. Come on. The water’s going to get choppy,
and I swear I cannot bear to be on that boat if there’s more
than a ripple. As soon as I drop the keys with the harbor
master, we’ll go home, pour a stiff toddy, and I’ll let you spend
the rest of the evening wailing and swearing and weeping
before I take you to your hotel if that’s what you want.”
“I don’t weep,” she assured him.
“May I suggest weeping is a more practical way to express
yourself than putting your fist through glass.” He gave her one
more squeeze then let her go as they walked toward the harbor
master’s office. He opened the door for her. “The girls are
dancing for an engineering convention. They won’t make
much off those cheap bastards. You can gnash your teeth while
they’re gone that way no one will ever know. Or, we’ll go to
the show tonight and watch the girls. You’ll be enchanted. I
guarantee it.”
Stephen dropped the keys, gave his thanks to the young man
at the counter, and they were at the boat a minute later. Josie
stepped from the dock to the deck while Stephen dealt with the
tether. She wandered to the stern while she dialed Archer. As