"Anchors aweigh," he chuckled, and cast off the last line. Cooper paused to squint up at the sun, then fished out the lotion and rubbed a little into his exposed arms and around his face.<br/><br/>"You might want to put some of this on," he said, setting the squeeze bottle beside Sarah. "Out on the water the sunlight reflects up off the waves. You get burned in places you never thought possible."<br/><br/>Satisfied that Sarah was comfortably settled, he turned to the wheel and hit the engine starter. The single outboard came to life with a lion's purr and Coop gave a small sigh of gear lust. Smooth, strong, responsive - somebody loved this boat. He was going to have to take care of her. His left hand rested easily on the wheel, the right on the gleaming chrome throttle. The barest nudge was enough to get them under way, backing out of the slip. Cooper eased the wheel through a turn to get them facing out to sea, then tipped it forward.<br/><br/>Once clear of the last of the boats in the marina he increased their speed, but only a little. There was no sense in subjecting Sarah to the sort of pounding a fast motorboat trip over even a calm sea could inflict. Besides, whose schedule did they need to keep? He settled into a relaxed stance at the wheel, whistling as they went, steady as if he were just standing at the sink doing the breakfast dishes.