Permission to Come Aboard (The Great Outdoors Book 2) Read online

  Permission to

  Come Aboard

  The Great Outdoors Series

  Shayne McClendon

  Permission to Come Aboard by Shayne McClendon

  The Great Outdoors Series

  Original Copyright© 2013 Shayne McClendon

  Updated Edition: July 29, 2016

  Published by Always the Good Girl LLC

  www.alwaysthegoodgirl.com

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Also by Shayne McClendon

  Choice of Subjects (The Barter System Prequel)

  The Barter System – Book 1

  Hudson – Book 2

  Pushing the Envelope – Book 3

  Backstage – Book 4

  Liberation – Book 5

  Radiance – Book 6

  Yes to Everything

  Love of the Game – The Complete Collection

  Completely Wrecked

  The Hermit

  Break Down Here

  Roadside Assistance

  Dedication

  These stories make me happy.

  Gunner is a great guy but Dakota is damn amazing. I love writing about fighters. People who refuse to submit physically, emotionally, or mentally. Characters who push themselves to the breaking point to deny their pain or weakness.

  Enjoy this story set in Key West, Florida (one of my favorite places). Watch for Easter eggs, darlings. There are more than a few.

  Much love,

  Shayne

  Table of Contents

  About the Story

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  About Shayne McClendon

  About the Story

  Loving a woman includes embracing her power.

  When Gunner Cain books a fishing charter for his company of security professionals, he never expects to become smitten with their beautiful and capable captain.

  She’s everything he never knew he wanted and a hard core badass to boot. He quickly understands that piercing her armor is going to mean patience and giving the fighter plenty of room to breathe.

  Dakota Harding didn’t give up on a normal life. She never believed such a thing existed. She doesn’t have much use for men in general outside of her brothers so when Gunner comes walking down the dock to her boat, she reins in her unexpected attraction with an iron will.

  He walks through the world confident in his masculinity and doesn’t make her apologize for her skills or strength. His steady patience and powerful personality don’t box her in. In fact, it might be the first time she’s truly able to feel free.

  Prologue

  2000

  “We need a break. Fuck if we don’t,” Shawn Clay said tiredly. His best friend, along with the rest of their team, pulled ten straight days on duty with little sleep and inadequate meals. “We’ve been doing this shit way too long.”

  “No doubt. Sixteen years in this line of work is too much,” Gunner Cain agreed. “Any word yet from New York?”

  Shawn shook his head. “They’ll be on lock-down for a few weeks. Waiting for that viper to strike again.”

  “At least we got the kid out.”

  It seemed the internet was connecting the worst aspects of humanity around the globe. While depravity and evil had always existed, the ease of emerging technology made too convenient for the sewer dwellers to find each other.

  Gunner was mentally and physically exhausted. He was tired of watching people commit atrocious acts and sick of the aftermath of broken bodies and destroyed lives.

  “Let’s make an exit strategy.”

  Shawn’s brows lifted. “Meaning?”

  “We served our country. We can keep our fingers on the pulse of what’s happening without being surrounded, suffocated, by it day after day.”

  “Retirement?”

  “Not exactly. Let’s use the skills we’ve learned and turn it into a business. It’s time we start building lives. We deserve lives, Shawn. We’ve given enough. We’ve seen enough.”

  For almost a minute, the man he’d known since he was fourteen stared through the safe house window to the brick wall beyond.

  “We could do it. Keep our hands in when we’re needed.” Gunner didn’t reply, knowing Shawn needed to talk it through. “We have the knowledge and skills for a high-end security agency. Set it up and get some babysitting jobs. Somewhere we could start fresh.”

  Shrugging, Gunner said firmly, “I’m sure as hell not going back to Kentucky.”

  Their eyes met and they grinned. At the same time, they said, “Florida.”

  Laughing, Shawn said, “Dude, you just want to fish.”

  “It’s a bonus and you know you like the dating prospects.” They bumped fists. “Two years to pull back from death while we set it up. We take the team with us.”

  “He’ll understand.” Shawn rubbed his hands over his face. “No way can I handle this level of horror much longer.”

  “I’ll call him and explain. He’s been recruiting several teams like ours to work independently as needed. As long as we answer when he calls, I know he’ll get it.”

  With a nod, his friend turned for the door to the safe house’s single small bedroom. “I’ll check on the kid.”

  When Shawn disappeared, Gunner picked up the satellite phone. Dialing a number he’d memorized a few weeks after leaving the Navy, he waited as it worked to connect.

  “Eklund.”

  “Gunner.”

  “How’s the boy?”

  Exhaling slowly, he replied, “He saw his mother tortured and killed in front of him and almost ended up in her murderer’s custody. He’s silent right now and filled with rage.”

  “I’m in discussions with his grandparents. I don’t want him killed the moment we let him out of our sight.”

  “We have him covered. Be sure he’ll be protected.” Gunner paused. “My team needs to pull back, Elijah.”

  “I know.”

  “How?”

  “Too many years of wet work. When?”

  “Two years. We’ll still be available if you need us.”

  “You know I’ll call.”

  “Yes. I need a chance to breathe and pretend to live a normal life. My men need it.”

  “I don’t know what normal is but I don’t blame you.”

  “Thank you.” The relief Gunner felt knowing his current life wasn’t all there would be was a tangible thing. “Let me know when you’re ready to move the kid.”

  “I will. Excellent work by your team as always.”

  “I’m glad we got him out.”

  “There are many who never escape.” There was murmuring in the background. “I’ll call soon, Gunner.”

  The line went dead.

  Gunner spent ten hard years as a deployed Navy SEAL and six more in black ops scenarios that would likely h
aunt him forever.

  At this point, he honestly wondered if he’d know what to do with a normal life if he tripped over it.

  Chapter One

  March 2004

  Over three days of fishing, Gunner Cain subtly observed Captain Dakota Harding pilot The Sweetest Thing with precision and competence.

  They stayed at their hotel each night and returned to deep-sea fishing during the day.

  In and out of marinas up and down the Keys for food and gas, the woman handled the boat with confidence.

  Every spot she chose for them to fish was a winner. As a result, the large deck coolers filled daily with Mahi, grouper, and red snapper. The first two days, they sold the haul to restaurants along the coast. On their last day, all of them would get their pick of the catch.

  Currently thirty miles off the string of islands’ eastern edge, the boat moved slowly through a large school of mackerel.

  She didn’t interact with her passengers. The two males on board took care of their group of six, fitting them with gear and assisting on the main deck.

  A young boy around ten-years-old moved quickly through the rods and reels removing fish they caught and restringing lines. They called him Bubba.

  If someone finished a drink, the kid dropped the bottle in the recycling bin and brought more.

  Harding Charters stocked the vessel with food and drinks for them, pretty much offering anything and everything they could want.

  Behind his dark shades, he watched the other member of the minimal staff move around the boat.

  Chaz looked a lot like Dakota in features and coloring. He was six-two with a leanly sculpted build. Both of them were tanned from hours spent on the water. He wore form-fitting board shorts and a tank top.

  Gunner wondered if they were siblings. He hoped they were.

  The little boy was harder to tell. Capable and obviously smart, he could be her kid but she didn’t look old enough to have a child his age. He estimated she was in her mid-twenties.

  Anything was possible, of course.

  All day on the water, the woman sat on the high deck. Talking and laughing with her crew, she deliberately avoided the men who booked her services.

  Only her head and shoulders were visible from her seat.

  Bubba appeared at his side with a grin. He had a crooked canine that gave him character. “You guys in the mood for some music?”

  “Absolutely. Rock, country, whatever.”

  “Got it.” He ran up the steps to the deck and talked quietly with the captain. She booted up a mix of hard rock and kick-ass country on an iPod and the speaker system thumped it out on the deck.

  Dakota sang along to the music but Gunner couldn’t hear her. The inability bothered him.

  Chaz stood on the dive platform with binoculars. From his peripheral vision, he noticed Shawn’s attention on the younger man as well.

  “Kota! There’s a commercial boat at nine o’clock. Slip into the wake.” Glancing at their group, he added, “There are going to be a lot of sports fish chasing whatever that boat is after. You don’t want to miss it.”

  He jumped nimbly to the deck and made his way to the stairs leading to the captain’s space. Holding out the binoculars, Dakota reached for them as Bubba joined them on the steps for a better view.

  The three of them stared in the same direction and Gunner thought they looked like models for one of those hip, young clothing outlets at malls.

  Dakota handed Chaz the binoculars and gave direction to the two males before altering course.

  The youngest member of the crew moved quickly. He removed additional gear from storage compartments, handing each of the fishermen harnesses.

  He went man to man and attached a thick safety line to the harness and clipped them to ring bolts on the deck.

  “She really doesn’t want us going overboard,” he told the boy with a smile.

  “We try to keep losses to once a quarter,” he shot back deadpan before meeting his gaze with a grin. “The kind of fish following that boat are going to be heavier than what you’ve been catching. Bracing you helps.”

  Chaz called out distance as he raced to the back of the boat to dump a bucket of chum.

  Dakota pulled into the mild wake of the commercial fisher and slowed her speed. Then she stood, moving from behind the tinted glass of the captain’s station with binoculars to get her own bearings.

  Whoa.

  Getting his first full body glimpse made Gunner lightheaded. All his blood rushed south.

  She wore a white tank top and khaki capris, both hugging a fit figure. Modest breasts and slightly rounded hips, a small waist, and long legs. He figured she was about five-eight in her bare feet.

  Her hair was piled up on her head in riotous curls. Dark sunglasses still hid her eyes but when her brother walked up the steps to take a tube of anti-glare cream, she grinned before sitting back down.

  My lord, what a gorgeous smile, Gunner thought hazily.

  A few beers and some sun obviously made him loopy. With that body he was impressed with her smile?

  As Chaz returned to stand among them, he pushed his sunglasses on top of his head and traced two lines of thick sunblock below his eyes. They were a startling aqua-blue that seemed to glow from his tanned face.

  “These aren’t the same kinds of fish you’ve been catching. They move fast and they’re stronger than you think. Plant your feet and keep your hands on the rod. Don’t touch the line. If you get a bite, I’ll help. You need to let me help.”

  The six of them nodded and Bubba came around with ice cold bottles of water that he placed in metal rings affixed to the side.

  “Keep drinking. You get one and it could take a long time to get it in the boat.”

  As he said it, Lance’s line went taut and yanked him forward, slamming him into the railing. Chaz nimbly leapt over Gunner’s rod and pulled him back to a standing position.

  “Shit. Thanks, man.”

  “No problem. Plant your feet. That’s it. Brace the rod in the harness. It helps to use your center body mass.”

  Lance followed direction and focused intently on his line disappearing in the water. A few minutes later, a sleek sailfish arced from the water and all of them cheered.

  Opening a storage bench, Chaz removed heavy weight gloves and what looked like a grappling hook. He talked Lance through the catch, adding additional strength to the rod each time his team member pulled back to reel in.

  More of the huge fish were beginning to pop from the water and the two males ran back and forth between them.

  Gunner’s line and then Shawn’s responded to the weight and strength of the fish fighting on the other end.

  All of them were talking and laughing. There were more than a few curse words before they belatedly apologized to Bubba.

  The kid snorted. “You don’t have to censor your language. Just have fun.”

  He brought more water and periodically called out distance of each fish from the boat. Lance’s came in first and Chaz assisted him in getting it over the rail to the deck. His biceps bulged with the weight of a fish that topped a hundred pounds.

  When it was secured in the ice hold, Lance shook his hand. “That was awesome.”

  “It never gets old either. Congratulations.”

  Gunner’s came in next and Shawn almost lost his own fish watching Chaz help him secure it.

  “Hold it steady just like that. I’ll get it in the boat. What a beauty.” He dead-lifted the tail-end and barked instructions to Bubba. The boy held the cooler door wide as Chaz dragged it over and dropped it in.

  Snipping the line, he slapped Gunner on the back. “That’s a gorgeous fish. Well done.” Glancing passed him, he called to Shawn, “Brace it, brace it, let me help.”

  Watching his best friend attempt to keep his cool as the younger man helped him land the catch was something Gunner would never let him live down.

  As Chaz leaned over the boat railing to grab the enormous fish, there was a twitch i
n Shawn’s cheek. He assessed the younger man’s physique with appreciation. Realizing he’d been caught looking, he shrugged with a small smile.

  Gunner asked innocently, “You need help?”

  “He’s got it. Let the man work.” Despite the shades, there was no doubt his friend glared at him.

  Chaz’s entire body was coiled tight as he wrestled the sailfish over the rail to the deck. Bubba held the door with a huge smile as it was added to the others.

  “Three in one day!” The boy seemed as excited as the rest of them.

  Holding out his hand, Chaz said, “Great job. It’s a beautiful catch. The biggest of the three. I estimate about one-forty.”

  Shawn shook his hand firmly and nodded. “Thanks.”

  The crewman called up to Dakota, “You see these guys?”

  Gunner met her gaze and she gave them a sharp salute. Out of habit, he returned it.

  “Well done, gentlemen! An excellent catch for your last day.”

  She struck him as a woman accustomed to having her voice carry and he admitted it was unexpected given her appearance.

  The six of them fished for a little longer hoping the other three guys would make a similar catch. They were satisfied with a few larger fish.

  Chaz announced, “You guys take a break below deck. Get some air and drink more water. You’ve lost more fluids than you think.” He held the door to the cabin space and nodded as they descended the steps.

  The air conditioning was heaven.

  Chapter Two

  The fishing schooner was the height of luxury. During the course of the charter, they’d been below deck to use the restroom or cool off.

  All of them sitting together in the well-appointed living room space drove home the size of the boat. None of them were small men but there was room for all of them.

  Bubba joined them with a tray of lunchmeats and another of sandwich fixings. Every day, they’d been fed well and waited on hand and foot by the small crew.

  Gunner was curious. “Do you do a lot of these charters, Bubba?”