The Lightship – Part 3 of 11

THE LIGHTSHIP

Part 3

“You wanna closer look, little lady?”

Annie let out a short, shrill scream and wheeled around with her right hand clutching her chest. She hadn’t seen anyone on the dock, or heard any footsteps, so the deep, gravelly voice out of nowhere startled her.

“I’m…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be here,” she managed between gasps.

“Why do you say that?”

Annie was barely five feet tall, so the big man towered over her, staring down with piercing black eyes and a crooked grin. He wore a tattered khaki shirt with the sleeves torn off, dark green Carhartt dungarees smudged with grease, and a pair of thick-soled black boots. It was easy to tell why the inside of the office hadn’t smelled very good. Annie guessed he was about fifty, but it was hard to say for sure. With his square jaw and broad shoulders she found him oddly handsome, but the tangled mess of tattoos covering his well-muscled arms, sketchy five-day beard, jagged scar on his neck, and black stocking cap low on his brow unnerved her. She took a step back.