“The offer holds. Any time.” Dino made a fist and punched the air.

If Cooper and his gang succeeded in taking her boat away from her, maybe she’d unleash Robert. The fantasy gave her little comfort as she loaded her modest grocery purchase into the back of her Isuzu Rodeo.

Once upon a time, she and Johnny had offered all-day cruises including a gourmet lunch with wine. Nowadays her customers got tasty snacks-fresh fruit, bagels and cream cheese, bakery cookies and soft drinks.

She made another stop at the Quicky Mart for ice and drinks. The convenience store didn’t offer her credit, so she had to pay cash from her dwindling reserves. She tried not to worry; she had several charters scheduled over the next couple of weeks, which would pull her fanny out of the fire.

She parked her Rodeo in her regular spot at the marina and grabbed the ice first, so she could get it to the ice chest where she would store drinks and snacks. The fishermen could help themselves that way. But as she made her way down the dock in her flip-flops toward the Dragonfly, she spotted Deputy Thom Casey leaning casually against a pylon near her slip, and her heart went into overdrive.

This wasn’t good. Not good at all.

Thom had asked her out once. She’d turned him down-not because he wasn’t a handsome or nice enough guy, but because he didn’t sail and she couldn’t afford the distraction of an actual social life.

She hoped he wouldn’t hold that against her.

He saw her coming and stood up straighter, looking decidedly uncomfortable. So this wasn’t a chance encounter.

“Hey, Thom, what’s up?” she asked, noticing that her voice quavered.

“Hey, Allie. Sorry to greet you first thing in the morning with bad news.”

“Bad news? Did someone die?” She didn’t have any family left, but she had a lot of friends in Port Clara.