"Redemption's Run": Chapter 5 continues

A Star Tribune serialized novel by Jane Fredericksen

Chapter 5

The story so far: Thea hovers around Kacie but won't tell her anything about the mysterious man.

Pete pulled his head away from the Mainlander engine. Kacie waited impatiently, as he wiped down a ratchet handle with a rag. The old captain could be frustratingly deliberate at times.

"Name's Kinney," Pete said, finally. "Jack McKinney, but most people called him Kinney. Lived here a long time ago, but last I heard, he was skipping charters in Canada." He held out a hand to Kacie. "Plug socket."

Kacie grabbed the socket from an open toolbox and slapped it into his hand. "He has a boat?"

Pete fitted the socket to the ratchet handle. "Sails O.P.B."

"You know — Other People's Boats. Surprised he came back." Pete removed a spark plug from the engine.

Kacie studied the captain's face. "Thea said he beat some guys up. Blood everywhere."

"I heard about some fight." Pete set the old plug down and picked up a new one. "I wasn't there, so I can't comment."

Kacie tried another angle. "Did you know him well?"

Pete put a drop of oil on the new plug and screwed it into the engine, using his fingers. "Not many did. But he was a good sailor. Decent kid."

"He was still a teenager when he left Bayfield." Pete tightened the plug slightly with the ratchet.

Kacie did not take her eyes from his face. "Did he know my mom?"

Pete hesitated, his hand over the engine. When he answered, his voice was unusually quiet. "Yes."

"And he left about the time I was born."

Pete glanced at her sharply. "Kacie, I see where you're going with this. But don't jump to conclusions."

Pete scowled. "Not in sailing. If the wind shifts, it's time to tack. What landlubber taught you how to sail?"

Kacie grinned. She sat beside him, cross-legged. "You did," she reminded him. "On the True Wind."

"Oh," Pete acted surprised, though Kacie knew he wasn't. His eyes narrowed. "So tell me this: What's the difference between true wind and apparent wind?"

Kacie pondered a moment before answering. "True wind is when you stay still. Apparent wind is when you move. It's not real."

Pete pointed the old spark plug at her. "It's real, but it's not true. You can't trust it, because you make it by your own actions. Now … stay still a minute."

Pete tilted his captain's hat and scratched his head. Glancing at the engine, he sighed. "Sometimes I think I should refit this old gas engine with diesel. It'd be safer. No messing with spark plugs or wires."

"So why don't you?"

Pete shrugged. "Old boats have old engines. I'm an old sailor. We understand each other."

He began to pack away the tools.

Kacie held up the plug. "So these little things make the boat go."

He wiped his hands on the rag. "Let that be a lesson to you before you start firing accusations."

Kacie said nothing.

She pocketed the plug.