Claire abandoned the walk at the shores for the pier. Her boat had been sitting there faithfully for eight months. Her paternal grandfather’s boat had been rusty and old, but she had renovated it and renamed it ’The Eclair.’
Looking at the name made her wince now, because it was a reminder that Apollo was the first and only person in the world to call her that. Why she had chosen to give her vessel that name was a puzzle, even to her.
The renovated boat was sleek and sturdy, with six rods mounted neatly along its sides like soldiers ready for battle. Paddy jumped aboard, tail wagging, nose twitching at the scent of the sea.
Claire untied the ropes, her hands trembling with anticipation and fear. This trip was to test the waters. Her first attempt at fishing for profit, not pastime. Her plan was to supply premium seafood to hotels and restaurants, carving out a niche for herself in this fishing town.
"Hey, you are Wilder’s granddaughter." A woman’s voice came from behind her.
Claire looked back, her eyes clashing with the clear green ones of a young man who seemed to think the buttons of his shirt had an optional purpose. His shirt was open, flying in the air, showing off his slightly hairy chest and toned belly.
Even though she was staring, Claire wondered if it was rude to do so when the owner of the body was flaunting it for everyone to admire.
"If you are anything like your grandmother, my answer is no." The young man pulled his shirt to cover his chest. "Wilder is always offering to shave my chest hair because she believes I won’t find a wife if I am as hairy as Paddy."
Claire was taken by surprise that she coughed a few times. "Yeah, sounds exactly like something my grandmother would say."
The young man offered his right hand for shaking. "I am Albert Graves. Not hairy Albert, just Albert."
"Let me guess, my grandmother calls you hairy Albert." Claire shook his hand with a smile on her face.
Albert sighed. "Your grandmother calls everyone in this town something. She is a bit of a celebrity around here. The only female six-time champion of the DeMarcos fishing cup. Around here, that’s a bigger deal than the Olympics."
Claire raised her brows. Her grandmother had not mentioned that she was famous! No wonder everyone here kept calling her Wilder’s granddaughter. Not Donna’s daughter, Victor’s daughter or Donovan’s granddaughter. Just Wilder’s granddaughter.
It seemed like her grandmother was both a legend and a menace in this town.
"There is a street named after your grandmother, and like.... thirty girls named Wilder, maybe more." Albert added.
Claire nearly gasped. "That many!"
Albert laughed. "There is a boom whenever she wins another trophy." He shook his head and gestured to the packet of rice sitting at his feet. "This is actually meant for you. I was supposed to deliver it to your house. My mother wanted me to bring it by and subtly inquire about the whole real heiress-fake heiress rumor and your relationship with Apollo Ashford."
Claire’s eyes flickered as disbelief crossed her face for a moment. She couldn’t help bursting into loud laughter. "Wow! How subtle of you?"
He raised his hands halfway, laughing along with her. "Hey, you kicked a man in the nuts. I am not messing with you by playing games." Albert backed away as if he was truly afraid of her. "That’s your rice. My family owns the only supermarket in this part of town. Come by and find my mother when you want to answer 99 questions about your private life."
Albert turned, while waving. Claire shouted thank you and climbed onto the boat, carrying the rice with her.
Paddy barked twice and looked back at her. It was like the dog was telling her to start the engine. Other serious fishermen had already gone ahead of them.
"Yes, Paddy, I know." She muttered, settling the rice near the lunch bag her grandmother had packed her.
Claire started the boat and the motor roared to life, slicing through the water. She steered confidently, the town shrinking behind her, and the conversation with Albert becoming a memory. For thirty minutes, she pushed farther and farther out, the rods gleaming in the sun, the sea stretching wide and endless. Paddy barked at gulls overhead, then curled at her feet, content.
She was about to turn on the radio when something happened. The pearl necklace around her neck began to shimmer. At first faintly, then with a brilliance that lit the deck. The air thickened, the waves shifted, and the boat jolted as though crossing a wall.
Paddy rose and barked nervously at the air, which made Claire so nervous that she considered turning back. When she looked up, the horizon was transformed. The air was not as warm as it had been when she set out. The sea remained, but she seemed closer to the shore than where she should have been.
Beyond the sea rose a structure that looked like an old castle from an earlier century!
Claire was so startled that she almost stepped on Paddy’s foot. She rubbed her eyes for a moment, thinking that she was hallucinating. But the view did not change! Hers was the only boat around, as far as she could see.
"Calm down...calm down." Claire whispered to herself. She reached for her phone only to discover that all the bars were missing. There was no network, so she couldn’t call for help.
Claire gripped the wheel, heart pounding. Paddy pressed closer to her legs, whining softly, ears flat.
The pearl burned hot, a sudden wave of heat that made Claire flinch. At the same moment, all six rods bent sharply, their lines taut against the sea. Paddy barked in alarm, paws scrambling at the deck as Claire stopped the boat and steadied herself.
She moved quickly, hands practiced from the few fishing trips she had experienced, cranking the reel of the first rod. A mechanical handle pulled the line back in with steady resistance.
Claire reeled it in, muscles straining, the boat rocking under the weight of her catch. The first catch broke the surface--a spiny lobster tangled in the netting. Its size made her gasp loudly. She left it tangled in the net and rushed to reel in the second rod. It had one wild abalone, 30 centimeters in diameter.
Blood rushed to her brain. As someone who had been involved in the food industry for eight years, she knew what this was. It was superior quality, the kind that was considered the king of abalone. But this was better!
"I am rich, I am rich," she squealed in joy.
The third rod brought in another abalone, as did the last three.
Paddy was so excited that the dog was running circles around the deck. Meanwhile, Claire was calculating the price of her catch. One abalone could easily sell for 2000 dollars if it was in pristine condition. This was ten thousand dollars.
A spiny lobster could easily sell for 500 to 700 dollars. From one fishing trip, she was going to make more than ten thousand dollars! If she made a trip every day, she could make seventy thousand dollars or more. In a month it would be more than two hundred thousand dollars!
That was more than she made monthly at the company! She was counting money in her mind and Claire failed to notice Paddy lunging forward and sinking his teeth into an abalone’s shell.
The sound of the crack brought Claire back to reality and she screamed in pain as if the bite had struck her own body.