Going Overboard

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  They decided to have a picnic on the beach. Although gusts of wind blew sand into their food during the meal, nobody suggested going back on the boat. At least two-thirds of the hull remained in the water, and there was too much motion to consider moving the picnic inside and risking a relapse for Nicole. Chance kept an eye on the stakes, which seemed to be holding.

  After lunch, Bowie and Nicole walked to the edge of the water to rinse the dishes. Chance pretended to doze on a beach towel, but he soon became completely absorbed watching Andi throw potato chips to a pair of ravens. Bigger and glossier than the crows he’d seen in the Midwest, they would glide down from the rock ledges where they apparently lived, seize the morsels she threw and retreat again.

  Andi’s blond hair danced and became tangled in the wind, making her look like a wild thing herself as she called to the birds, coaxing them nearer. His eyes hidden behind shades, he was able to study the lace-covered strips of bare skin revealed by her black suit, and how the lace shifted as she leaned down to get more chips and toss them gracefully to the birds.

  He allowed himself to imagine kissing his way down those lace strips before he slowly peeled them away. Much as he loved his brother and sister-in-law, he wished they could beam themselves somewhere else for about two hours. Knowing they’d trudge back up the beach any minute, he turned over on his stomach to hide the evidence of his thoughts. The warm sand shifted a little beneath his erection, but it wasn’t nearly the sensation he had in mind.

  The potato-chip bag was within reach. He pulled it over just as Andi turned and came back for more chips.

  She walked toward him and dropped to her knees in front of him. “You have my chips.”

  He propped his head on one hand and looked up at her. “Want some?”

  She held out her hand.

  He reached into the bag, took out one chip and put it in her outstretched hand.

  Her gray-green eyes were covered by sunglasses, but the corners of her full mouth tilted up. “You’re flirting with me, right?”

  “Right.” “So, did you go shopping this morning, too?” she asked.

  “Would it make any difference to you if I did?”

  “Possibly.”

  “Then it’s possible I went shopping.”

  “Oh my God!” Bowie shouted. “Chance! The stakes!”

  Chance surged to his feet at the sound of Bowie’s shout. One set of stakes had pulled out, and the huge boat was blowing sideways. If somebody didn’t turn the craft, it would wedge itself on the beach, the motors out of the water. They’d be marooned.

  8

  CHANCE SPLASHED into the water and grabbed the mooring stakes just as Bowie leaped in beside him and took hold of the ropes. Pulling together they battled the wind that pushed relentlessly against the side of the houseboat.

  Andi joined them, latching on to a section of rope. “Problem?”

  “Hell, no,” Chance said. “We’re just showing off.”

  “Glad to hear it. I hate problems.” She started pulling with him.

  Nicole appeared beside Bowie and put her hands on the taut rope.

  “No, Nicole!” Bowie said, his voice a stern command.

  “But—”

  “You might hurt yourself. No.”

  Chance had never heard his usually laid-back brother take such charge of a situation. He was impressed. “Nic, go stand on the beach and guide us,” he said, breathing heavily. “Andi, climb in the boat and turn on the motors. If we get it headed in straight again, gun it.” He prayed this highly independent woman wouldn’t question him.

  She didn’t. “Right.” She started running toward the prow of the boat. Then she turned. “What if the stakes on the other side pull out, too?”

  Chance managed a grim smile. “Don’t leave without us.”

  “Right.” She took off.

  Bowie strained at the ropes. “Maybe we’ll rent something a little smaller next time?”

  Chance gritted his teeth and planted his feet. His arms began to ache. “A canoe.”

  “A boogie board.”

  Chance snorted. “Nic, are we moving it at all?”

  “A little.”

  The engines roared to life.

  “Now,” Bowie said, “if we can just pull it around so it’s straight, Andi can ram it back up on the beach.”

  “Yep.” Chance gasped for breath as he renewed his efforts. Unfortunately the wind seemed to do the same, blowing harder than ever. “Just straighten it out No problem.”

  Bowie pulled until the muscles bulged in his arms, but he staggered farther into the water as the boat continued to swing in the wrong direction. “Anytime, Chance.”

  “I was waiting for you.” Chance felt the water lick the bottom of his shorts, and the sandy bottom had given way to slippery rocks. “Didn’t want to show you up in front of Nicole.”

  “You’re losing ground!” Nicole called.

  “You know, I didn’t notice,” Bowie muttered breathlessly to Chance. He stood up to his waist in water. “Did you notice?”

  “I can’t get my footing on these damn rocks.” Rocks. “Nic, how much clearance does Andi have for the propellers?” he yelled.

  “I’ll see!”

  Almost immediately came the sound of giant ice cubes being crushed in a blender the size of…the houseboat. Then the motors stopped.

  “Not much clearance,” Nicole said. “In fact, I think she hit ‘em.”

  Chance gazed at Bowie. “Gee, do you think?”

  “Could be. Plus, my shoulder’s about to be dislocated.”

  “Mine, too,” Chance said tightly.

  “Ever moved a houseboat that’s stuck sideways on the beach?”

  “Bet it would be easier once the wind’s died down.”

  “Let ‘er go, Chance. This houseboat’s bigger than both of us.”

  “This houseboat’s bigger than Detroit.”

  “We’re letting go!” Bowie called to Andi and Nicole. “The boat will just drift sideways up on the beach.”

  “Won’t that be a problem?” Nicole called back.

  “Nothing we can’t handle!” Chance shouted.

  Bowie laughed. “And if they believe that, we’ve been playing our cards way too close to our chest.”

  “On three,” Chance said. “One, two, three.”

  The brothers released the stakes and ropes. Slowly the boat turned until it was broadside to the buffeting wind. Then it edged toward the shore until the side crunched into the sand. Wedged tight.

  Once the inevitable had happened, the adrenaline rush subsided and Chance had time for remorse. “This is my fault,” he said as they waded out of the water. “I knew the sand wasn’t stable enough. I should have paid more attention.”

  “I knew it wasn’t stable, too. Why isn’t it my fault?”

  “Because I’m—”

  “Older? Wiser? The biggest martyr the world has ever known? Come on, look on the bright side,” Bowie said. “From this angle we’ll be able to get a premiere view of those completely uninsured propellers.”

  Chance grimaced. “Don’t remind me. That’s the other thing I should have thought of. I knew we didn’t have much clearance.”

  “Oh, lighten up. Stuff happens.”

  “That’s pretty much your attitude about life, isn’t it? I hate to think what would happen if I started thinking like that.”

  “You might start acting like a normal human being instead of a superhero.”

  Chance’s jaw tightened. “I can’t afford mistakes.”

  “I’ll tell you what you can’t afford, man.” Bowie paused to face him. “You can’t afford this need to be perfect.”

  “I don’t need to be perfect!”

  “The hell you don’t! You’re so petrified of making a mistake that you work night and day, supposedly for the good of the ones you care about. But what kind of caring is that, when you never spend any time with us because you’re so damn busy?” A flush spread across Bowie’s face and he look
ed away. But he didn’t retract a word.

  Chance stared at him, his heart thudding painfully in his chest. “That’s what you used to say about Dad.”

  “Yeah, well, he would have been real proud of you. You’ve turned out just like he expected. And so have I.” Bowie glanced at him. “For a minute there, when we were working together to get this boat straightened out, I had the feeling we were a team. We’d worked as a team to screw things up, and we’d take the blame together and try to work it out together. But apparently you want all the blame, and when the time comes, all the glory. Well, take it away, bro. It’s all yours.” He continued toward the beach.

  ANDI COULD HEAR Chance and Bowie arguing as they came out of the water together. This was no time for dissension in the ranks. She walked out on the deck. “Hey, guys!”

  They both looked up at her.

  “Is it time to use Chance’s cell phone to call the Coast Guard?”

  “The Coast Guard?” Bowie said.

  “Yeah. Somebody who knows something about getting boats unstuck.”

  Bowie turned to Chance, as if waiting for whatever command would come next.

  Chance cleared his throat. “We let it get stuck on purpose,” he said. “That was the plan.”

  Bowie stared at him for a few seconds. “Exactly,” he said at last. “For a windbreak. You women need some protection from the wind.”

  “I see.” She glanced at Nicole, who’d walked down to meet the guys. “They say they did this on purpose, for a windbreak.”

  Nicole looked doubtful. “Really.”

  Andi folded her arms. “And how did you two geniuses plan to get us unstuck again, wait for the tide to come in?”

  “Well, we—” Bowie turned to Chance. “Tell the women the plan, Chance.”

  “Why don’t you tell it?” Chance said, gazing at his brother.

  “Okay. We, uh, we figured when the wind dies down, we can pull on the ropes from one side, and push from the other side, and—”

  “I’m calling 911,” Andi said. “You two don’t have a clue, but like typical males, you’d rather sit here forever wedged into the sand than ask for backup and look stupid.” She turned around.

  “Wait!” Chance called. “Let’s not rush into this.”

  “Do they even have a Coast Guard station around here?” Bowie asked Chance in a tone so low Andi almost missed the comment.

  She turned back in time to see Chance shrug. Clueless, both of them. “How long do you want me to wait?” she asked.

  “Just a little while,” Chance said. “See if the wind dies down. I’m sure Bowie and I can use leverage on this puppy as long as we’re not fighting the wind.”

  “What about the propellers?” Nicole asked.

  Bowie clasped his hands in front of him. “Well, by golly, we were just on our way to take a look, weren’t we, Chance?”

  “We were, as a matter of fact.”

  “Before you head around that way, would one of you gentlemen help me down?” Andi asked. “There seems to be a lake where the sand used to be.”

  “Oh. Right.” Chance turned toward Bowie and Nicole. “You guys go ahead. We’ll be along.”

  Chance waded out to the back of the boat. “Just hold on to my shoulders and I’ll lift you down.”

  “Are you and Bowie having a problem?” she asked in a low voice.

  “Nothing that a miracle couldn’t fix.”

  “Chance—”

  “Never mind. Bowie’s had his say and I have some thinking to do. Come on down and we’ll go see what shape the propeller’s in.”

  She got to her knees at the opening in the railing and followed his directions. Touching his smooth, sweatdampened skin started to blur her thinking, right when she needed to keep her mind clear to evaluate the situation.

  “That’s it. Just lean into me,” he said. He reached up and placed his hands firmly around her waist.

  If touching him was disorienting, having him touch her was worse, setting loose disturbing little tremors throughout her body. “I think we need to call for help, Chance,” she said. “I think that would be the wise thing to do.”

  “You may be right, but I’d like to avoid it if we can.” He started lifting her down.

  “To preserve your pride? Because—”

  “It’s a little more complicated than that.”

  “Well, I just want you to know that I—” She lost her place in the sentence as he eased her down, causing her to slide against him in the process.

  “That you what?” He set her gently into the shallow water, but he didn’t take his hands from her waist.

  She looked up at him. For some reason her hands still rested on his shoulders, and she was reluctant to move them. In fact, she’d begun unconsciously kneading the muscles beneath her fingers, and her heartbeat just kept getting faster. “That I…”

  He reached up to take off his sunglasses. “Yeah, me, too,” he murmured as he lowered his head.

  Her eyes drifted closed as he took unquestioning possession of her mouth. She was lost. If she ever wrote out a pros and cons list for Chance, the pro side would have several entries about his kiss. She’d list how he managed to exert the most exquisite pressure, urgent but never bruising, that brought about her complete surrender. As he wrapped his arms tightly around her, she molded herself to him with a soft moan of pleasure.

  He lifted his mouth a fraction from hers, but he continued to hold her very close. “I don’t want anybody towing us out of this cove and back to the marina if we can help it,” he said softly as his lips brushed hers. “For several reasons. This is just one of them.”

  She had trouble getting her breath. “I’m beginning…to understand.”

  “Good.” He deepened the kiss, and his tongue boldly claimed her in a way that left no doubt as to his intentions. Then he slowly released her. “But no matter what I want or don’t want,” he said, his voice husky, “we have to find out how Nicole’s doing and make a decision based on that.”

  She took a long, steadying breath. “Of course.”

  “If she’s not feeling well, then we’ll call for help and if necessary, get towed out of here and back to the marina.”

  “Right.”

  “But if she’s feeling okay, we’ll get the boat unstuck when the wind dies down, which might not be until morning.” His gaze moved over her, as if he was anticipating what might happen between them before dawn.

  “Yes.”

  Passion flared in his eyes. Then he put his sunglasses back on. “Let’s go look at those propellers and talk to Nicole.”

  She gazed up at him in dreamy contentment. “I’m sure at least one set is mangled beyond belief.”

  “I’m sure you’re right.” He smiled down at her. “Funny, but I don’t seem to give a damn.”

  THAT WAS A GOOD THING, Andi thought a little later as she looked at the mess that she’d help create by running the motors as the boat swung into a bed of rocks.

  “I’m guessing what we have now,” Bowie said, “is a single screw.”

  “On a boat designed for a twin-screw,” Chance added, wading out in the water to examine the bent propeller. “But airplanes can fly with an engine out, so I’m sure this boat can do fine, once it’s not battling a killer wind.” He turned to Nicole. “But there are no guarantees. How are you feeling, Nicole?”

  “Fine, now that I’m not rocking and rolling on that boat.”

  “The wind might keep up until tomorrow, and we’d be stuck on this beach until then. If we call somebody now, we can get towed out of here.”

  “Towed?” Bowie grimaced. “Aw, Chance.”

  Nicole smiled at her husband. “Poor manly man. Don’t worry, sweetheart. As long as it’s still windy, I have no desire to get on the boat, whether we’re under our own steam or being towed. In fact, if it’s windy for the rest of the week, this might be right where I’d vote to stay.”

  “Then I guess—” Chance paused and glanced at Bowie. “What do you think?�
��

  “I think we should wait for the wind to die down and see what we can do with this barn. We have plenty of supplies, so that’s not a problem.”

  Chance turned to Andi. “What’s your vote?”

  “If Nicole wants to stay, that’s fine with me.”

  “Then it’s settled,” Chance said. “Anybody for a swim?”

  “You all go ahead,” Nicole said. “I want to. park a deck chair in the shade of this windbreak you’ve created and read a romance novel.”

  “I’ll sit beside you and feed you grapes,” Bowie said, putting his arm around her.

  “You just want to read the juicy parts over my shoulder,” Nicole said.

  Andi could see where this was heading. The couples were dividing up. Then she remembered she had yet to see Chance in a bathing suit. “I’ll swim with you,” she said.

  “Great.” He waded out of the water and headed toward the back of the boat. “I’ll go put on my suit.”

  Andi thought offering to help him might be a little obvious. “Toss down a few deck chairs and we’ll get Nicole set up. She needs an extra one for her feet, too.”

  “Sure.” Chance heaved himself out of the shallow water and onto the deck.

  “Oh, and maybe you should warm up that microwave thing for her back,” Bowie said. “And her book’s on the shelf above our bed, if you could get that, too.”

  “Hey, guys,” Nicole said. “Don’t treat me like an invalid. I barfed. I had a slight backache. No big deal. I came on this trip to have fun with all of you and enjoy my last few weeks of freedom, but I didn’t come to be fussed over.”

  Chance leaned over the railing and smiled down at her. “In that case, would you mind straightening this boat out? It seems to be stuck and none of us can do a damn thing about it.”

  “And after that, you can give me a rubdown and a beer,” Bowie said.

  “And gather firewood and rocks for a fire circle,” Andi added. “Oh, and if you could—”

  “Hey, all right! I get the point! Fussing’s good. I like fussing.”

  “That’s better,” Chance said. “Deck chairs, coming down.”

  Nicole glanced up at him. “And a bowl of ice cream?”