Lucy was in the galley trying to figure out how to use all the kitchen's implements when Matt approached her.
"Hey Luce, I wanted to give you a few tips before we head out tomorrow."
Lucy gave him a smile and nodded for him to continue.
"I'm not really sure how many men you've been around, but we eat a lot more than a little thing like you ever could imagine. Also, we're fisherman, we eat even more than most men," he paused at her wide eyes, "Now that means that for breakfast you should plan on making at least three times what you yourself could eat for each man. Also, hot food is always the most appreciated. It gets fuckin' cold out there."
Lucy just nodded with huge eyes. She cleared her throat and began speaking in her tiny high pitched voice, "Uhm I was thinking about making spaghetti tonight…how much of that should I make?"
Matt chuckled, this tiny thing didn't even come up to his chest and everything about her screamed little doll, "Well darlin', we buy the noodles in bulk, so I'd say a handful of dry pasta per person, with two extra handfuls. Use a whole thing of the large hamburger and two of the big jars of sauce. If there's left-over's trust me they'll be eaten the next day between sets."
Matt could tell she seemed a bit overwhelmed, so he patter her on the top of her head with a smile before stumbling into his stateroom for an hour of shut eye. The back breaking work of readying the boat for launch was definitely tiring.
Lucy stood in the middle of the galley and tried not to get overwhelmed. She had never cooked for more than her mother and herself. With a huge sigh she pushed up her sleeves and began filling the huge pot with water. Once it was filled she realized she had a problem; she couldn't live the pot to the stove!
Lucy glared at the pot for a few minutes before wandering to the deck. She was on a mission to find Jake; she knew he'd help her. She definitely didn't want to have to ask any of the Hansen's, she didn't want to give them a reason to think that she couldn't cut it with them.
She found Jake re-stringing pots on the deck and looked around on the look out for her family. When she saw it was all clear she hurried over to him and placed a hand on his forearm.
Jake's eyes shot down to the tiny girl below him, she took his breath away every time. Seeing her looking up at him with her huge ice colored eyes made his mind drift to another scenario where she was on her knees with the same look. He mentally berated himself before leaning down like she gestured.
He noticed her shuffling her feet nervously and grinned at how adorable she was. She was playing with the hem of her tight red zip up sweatshirt and avoiding eye contact now.
"I need help," she barely whispered.
Jake frowned and jumped off the pot he was perched on. Immediately ready to help her with whatever she may need. She met his eyes before grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the galley.
Jake stared at their hands, marveling at how tiny and soft they were in his work roughened grasp. He shook those thoughts from his head once again, he had no urge to die today, and that was exactly what would happen if any Hansen was able to see into his head.
She led him to the sink and gestured to the pot. He looked at it in confusion; clearly no one had mentioned to her his lack of culinary skills. He'd do just about anything for her when she looked at him with those eyes, but he wasn't sure that poisoning the crew was one of them.
She heaved a sigh, "I uhm need you to lift it to the stove for me, it's too heavy with all the water in it."
Jake grinned in relief; she didn't expect him to cook. He easily maneuvered the pot to the stove and gave her a pat on the head before heading to the deck once more. He figured he'd return in a half an hour to drain it for her.
When he returned 45 minutes later he saw that the table was already set and Matt was draining the pasta for Lucy. He felt a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to be the one she came to for help, only him. He shook off his feelings and hurried to clean up before dinner.
When he returned everyone else was seated at the table and he slid into the end seat. Lucy was hovering near the table waiting to see if anyone needed anything. Everyone was dishing out the food and ribbing each other. If Jake hadn't been watching Lucy from the corner of his eye he would've missed how Norman lightly grabbed her arm and pulled her into the seat next to him and started putting food on a plate for her.
He looked to the side and saw that Edgar and Sig had also noticed. Sig had a concentrated stare on and Edgar had a grin. Lucy and Norman didn't say anything to each other, just continued eating. No one could deny their familial relationship. There were no two people that had mastered the strong silent type more than Norman and Lucy.
Nick and Edgar were laying praise on Lucy and the blush that stained her cheeks was enough to make Jake feel tight in his jeans. He immediately tried to picture Sig in women's panties to deflate his misbehaving cock. Thank God it worked.
When he looked up from his plate he saw that Lucy was staring at him, and he prayed he hadn't embarrassed himself by moaning out loud or something.
When they were half way through the meal they guys began questioning Lucy about her life before coming to them.
"So, what are you supposed to be doing about school? Isn't it the middle of the year?" Nick questioned her. All three Hansen brothers exchanged a worried glance; they hadn't even thought of that.
"I got my GED when my mom got sick. It was just the two of us, and she needed me more than I needed school," Lucy explained with a non-chalant shrug.
Nick gave her a pitying look, lucky for him she didn't see it, she hated the pity that went along with losing a parent.
"Are you planning on going to college or anything?" Edgar asked, looking at Norman, who paled slightly, clearly running figures in his head for tuition.
"Uh, maybe. I haven't really decided yet. I have some scholarships if I do decide to go though."
"So you're a smart cookie then?" Sig asked with a smile.
"I guess so. But that's not what the scholarships are from. It's really embarrassing, but when my mom and I lived in the south she entered me in all these beauty pageants. The prizes usually involved some sort of scholarship." Lucy explained with a painful blush on her cheeks.
Matt let out a large laugh, "leave it to Norman to have a Norwegian super model for a daughter." Both Norman and Lucy blushed and shared a quick look at that.
"Why the fuck are you surprised Bradley? All the Hansen's are supremely good looking." Sig boasted.
After that everyone began to disperse, the guys insisting they would take care of the dishes. Sig advised her to get some sleep as they would be setting sail at the crack of dawn tomorrow.
Lucy stood there awkwardly for a few moments before Edgar noticed her. He rolled his eyes and led her to his and Norman's stateroom.
"It's not the Ritz, but it'll have to do for now Kid. Norman and I will switch off staying in Sig's room when he's not sleeping, and you can stay in here."
Lucy nodded gratefully and climbed into what was normally Edgar's bed. She fell asleep almost immediately, both physically and emotionally exhausted.
Norman stood in the doorway to his room, leaning against the jam, just staring at the sleeping Lucy. He was in awe that this was his child. He never expected to have kids that was more Sig and Edgar's deal. Now that he had her, he found himself at war with his feelings.
On one hand, he instantly felt a bond to her, the need to protect her. On the other, she was already grown; it was disconcerting to overnight be the parent to a seventeen year old girl/woman.
At that thought, he realized it made him slightly uncomfortable to share a room with her. For the night he decided to sleep in the galley. In the morning he decided he would talk to Edgar about putting her in Sig's room. A girl her age needed her own space. It wasn't her fault that she was landed on a crab vessel and would be stuck in the middle of the Bering Sea for the majority of the year.
When Lucy awoke the next morning, she was surprised to find herself alone in the room. She hurriedly dressed, concerned that she had slept through breakfast and the guys didn't get to eat before they headed to sea.
She was surprised yet again to see Norman curled up on the galley bench and that dock was still visible from the porthole window. She was confused as to why Norman was on the bench, but she quickly put those thoughts aside to begin making breakfast.
Jake awoke to the smell of frying bacon, one of his favorite scents, and rolled off his high bunk. He hauled on a pair of sweats over his boxers and tugged a sweatshirt over his threadbare t-shirt. Though the living quarters were heated, they always seemed to be freezing first thing in the morning.
He ambled into the kitchen absently scratching his stomach and yawning. He smiled at the sight of Lucy beating eggs in a huge bowl. Periodically she would stop to shake out her arm. He smirked and strode over to her and ruffled her hair before grabbing a cup of coffee.
Lucy looked over her shoulder at Jake and sent him a smile through her lashes. He was fairly certain she didn't have any idea how appealing she looked at any time, but especially first thing in the morning. He mentally slapped himself when his mind wandered to what it would be like to wake up to her every morning.
"Quit staring at my niece Junior." Edgar grumbled with a smack to the back of his head on the way to grab a cup of coffee. Edgar let out a snort when he saw the twin blushes gracing Jake and Lucy's cheeks. He rolled his eyes, "kids."
Norman began to stir at the noise in the galley and sat up, instantly regretting the abrupt movement and placing a hand on his lower back.
"Not as young as you used to be aye, brother?" Edgar said with a jab to his shoulder. Norman simply glared before escaping to his stateroom for clean clothes and Advil.
Lucy stared after him with a guilty expression; she hoped he hadn't stayed out there because of her. Her thoughts were forgotten when Nick and Matt entered the galley, grabbing cups of coffee with pats to her head and kisses on the cheek. Nick smirked at her blush and pinched her cheek, which earned him a scowl.
"Don't mess with the one that prepares your food." Lucy muttered in his direction.
"She's got spunk. I like her; I think she should keep her." Nick said with a laugh before sitting at the table.
Everyone began eating and Lucy excused herself to bring Sig breakfast up in the wheelhouse. He smiled his thanks to her and gestured to the chair next to him.
"Wanna learn how to launch a boat kid?"
Lucy nodded eagerly and stood up to get a closer look at what he was doing.
"Relax kid; it's gonna be a half an hour yet." Sig said with a chuckle at her enthusiasm.
Lucy sat back in her chair and crossed her legs, trying to be patient. She knew that she would be bored stiff if she was stuck down below the whole trip. She was hoping that Sig would take to her and let her hang with him most of the days when the men were working on deck.
She was used to having to take care of other people, namely her mother, so she wasn't put off by the cooking and cleaning she would be tasked with. However, she was also very driven and had advanced herself through school at an accelerated rate, she wasn't used to just sitting on her ass all day.
She also thought there might be a better view of Jake from the wheelhouse windows. As much as she tried to ignore it, she felt herself developing a crush on him. She knew he was older and it was inappropriate for her to explore her feelings. The main reason was that she only had her uncle's and father to rely on, if they didn't approve and gave her the boot she would be on her own.
Also, she was fairly certain that they would literally kill Jake.
It wasn't long before they were leaving harbor and Lucy was enthralled by all the gauges that Sig was quizzing her on. She had always had excellent memory recall, which had helped her graduate early, and now was helping her to learn the boat.
While Edgar was her nurturer in the new family, Sig had the best stories. His gruff demeanor had been off putting at first, but as soon as they settled in and he began telling her the family history she was drawn to him as well.
Her father was another story. She had always known about him, something she was sure would surprise him. Her mother had never hid who he was from her, and had even offered to call him when she turned thirteen. But Lucy had never been ready, that is until fate made the decision for her.
She understood once meeting Norman her mother's decision to keep her from him. She had explained to Lucy when she was thirteen that her dad was gone ten months of the year on a death trap, and she couldn't handle the stress of that, let alone heap it on a child.