I turned to him with disbelief, "You too!" I exclaimed.
He shrugged and smiled briefly. Everyone it seemed had made it their mission to hook me up with a hot date.
I stepped away to the side and was lashed in the face by kicked up sea spray as I stared at the obstacle course that still lay ahead of us. We weren't out of the rough yet by any means.
I glanced at Keturah in anger and was arrested by the sight of the trail of a crystalline teardrop making its way down her smooth cheek. My anger died at the sight of the tear.
I glanced at Jim and he nodded his head strongly indicating I needed to do something. I stepped closer and brushed the moisture from off her cheek. Her eyes came to mine and she mumbled out, "I'm sorry!" before hurriedly looking back ahead to the fast approaching reefs.
I nodded and said, "Pride gets the best of even the finest of sailors at some point."
Her eyes reflected relief at my tolerant tone and I realized at that moment that I had the ability to crush this girl with just my words alone. I didn't want to do that.
"I think she'd maneuver better with a little less sail." I said, as I caught several strands of beaded hair that had fallen across her eyes and brushed them off to the side with my fingers.
"Okay with you?" I asked.
She quickly nodded, "Whatever you think best."
I headed forward and Jim followed and together we took down a little sail, which did help us make a way through the patches of coral a little easier.
Keturah was a lot like my oldest daughter had been I realized as I worked on the sail. To yell at her when she'd done something wrong did little good. Instead she would freeze up emotionally and not hear a word of instruction. I would need to refrain from yelling at her if at all possible, as it would do more harm than good.
I shook my head at my own thoughts. Why was I even worrying about such things as her emotions?
About fifteen minutes later we pulled free of the last of the coral reefs none the worse for wear. Ahead of us lay a series of twenty to thirty islands.
Keturah had been right. The islands were tiny. More fascinating than that were the floating wood platforms here and there that constituted a floating village upon the crystal clear water of the lagoon surrounding the islands.
Keturah been right about something else too. The water of the lagoon was bubbling. Out of curiosity I leaned over the side and tasted it. The water was literally sweet to the taste.