by Harley Tate
“No. I can handle oatmeal just fine. Go tour the boat. It’s tricky if you don’t know how to sail.”
Midge and Danny followed Jack out the back door and across the yard. Bethel and Beatrice stood near the garden, tugging off bits of herbs and chomping them down. At the sight of Midge and Danny Bethel swished her tail and flicked her ears. Midge tried not to notice. She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving the horses behind.
As Jack took the lead down the stairs, Danny eased closer to Midge. “Are you sure about all this? Leaving the kids and the horses and taking the boat?”
She nodded. “It’s the right call. We should be thankful.”
He reached out and wrapped a hand around her arm. “If you want to stay, I’m sure your mother would understand.”
“As much as I want to, I have to find her.” She looked up, fear erasing the last of her doubts. “I have to know my mother made it out of the city.”
Danny let her go. “Okay.”
“You—” Midge’s throat constricted. “You don’t have to come. If you’d rather stay here—”
“Don’t even think it. I’m coming with you. I told you I would help you find your mom and that’s what I’m going to do.” He nudged her and his face brightened into a smile. “Besides, I’ve never been to Canada.”
Before Midge could respond, they reached the coastline and Jack pointed out a massive white boat sitting in the water. Midge looked past it for the catamaran. “Where’s yours?”
Jack shook his head in confusion. “That’s her. A Gemini Freestyle 37. One of the best catamarans money can buy.”
Midge looked at Danny in alarm. The thing had couches and a table with chairs and prep sink and—her mouth fell open. “That’s your boat?”
“Yep. Ain’t she a beauty? We knew we’d have to give her up when the baby came along. Not enough room for little ones on board.”
Midge clamped her mouth shut. Fifteen people could fit on the boat easy, and Jack thought a baby would take up too much room? She swallowed. How were they going to drive something like that?
He motioned for them to climb aboard and Midge trailed Danny onto the boat. Jack opened a compartment and twin engines sat inside. “Here’s the engine compartment. Lots of storage back behind there, too. If anything goes wrong, look in here first. It’s pretty easy to change the oil or the water pump; you don’t even need to climb down in there to do it.”
While Midge stood there dumfounded, Jack turned around and opened a door. “Down here’s the berth. Sleeps two, albeit a bit tight, but totally manageable.” He shut the door and opened another. “And this is the head. Pretty self-explanatory.” He pointed toward the front of the boat. “More seating up there, and then of course, back there’s the wheel and the controls.”
He showed them how to unfurl the sails and stow them again, the basics on the steering and how to start the engines. By the time he finished, Midge was overwhelmed. “I don’t know if we can do this.”
“Of course we can.” Danny’s eyes sparked with excitement.
Nausea roiled Midge’s stomach. “We don’t even know how to navigate. What if we end up lost in the middle of the lake and head back to Chicago?”
“The lake’s deep enough that you can stay within sight of land at all times. Just keep it on your right-hand side until you pass North Manitou Island and then hook a right into the bay. Suttons Bay is on the right-hand side, north of Traverse City.”
Danny stuck out his hand. “Thanks for everything.”
Jack shook it warmly. “No problem. Let’s get you packed up and on your way.”
By the time they reached the backyard again, Ginny, Graham, and Cassandra were on the back porch, waiting. Disposable plastic grocery bags were loaded up with food and Midge’s laptop bag sat on the table. Cassandra held out a pair of windbreakers. “It gets cold on the water.”
Midge took them with tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”
Cassandra reached out and enveloped Midge in a warm hug. “Thank you. If it weren’t for you and Danny, we’d be dead. We owe you our lives.” She pulled back, tears slipping down her cheeks. “If you need anything, you know where to find us.”
Midge nodded and wiped at her own face as she pulled away. Ginny rushed up next and wrapped her bony arms around Midge’s middle. “Do you have to go?”
“I need to find my mom. She’s out there somewhere and she could be sick.”
“Like Momma?”
Midge nodded. “Just like that.”
“Will you come back?”
Midge pressed her lips together to fight off a fresh wave of tears. “I don’t know. Maybe once everything calms down and the power comes back on. But—” She knelt to come eye level with Ginny. “Don’t wait for me, okay? You just keep on growing and living and getting to know Jack and Cassandra. They’re good people and they’ll take care of you.” She held onto Ginny’s shoulder. “And look out for your little brother. He might drive you crazy sometimes, but he loves you.”
Midge thought about all the times she fought with Lainey. All the times they said horrible things to each other. She hoped she’d get the chance to tell her it meant nothing. That she loved her and missed her and wanted her to be safe.
“They don’t do this in the fairy tales.” Ginny frowned at the grass. “After everyone is happy, they just cut to the credits.”
Midge laughed through her sadness. “You’re right. They always end just when real life starts.” She turned to stare out at the horses. Bethel gave her the side-eye. She already knew. They always did. Midge picked her way over through the grass already chewed here and there before stopping beside the magnificent animal. “Thank you.”
She laid her forehead on Bethel’s neck and closed her eyes. “Thank you for getting us out of the city. I hope you enjoy it here with all this grass and no more carriage to weigh you down.” She snuffed back her tears. “Max would be proud of you.”
Standing in the grass, with her hand on Bethel’s neck, Midge couldn’t help but mourn. Not just for the loss of the animals or of her new companions, but for everything she thought she knew and everything she’d thought mattered. All of it was gone and in its place only survival.
She cleaned her face and turned around. Danny stood by Beatrice, nose red and eyes watery. She made her way over. “Ready?”
He nodded. “I never thought leaving a horse would be so hard.”
“You’re telling me. I don’t even like animals.”
Danny laughed and took her hand. “I don’t think that’s true anymore.” Hand in hand, they waved goodbye to the Grandes and their new charges and walked down the steps to the water.
The catamaran bobbed against the gentle waves and Midge sucked in a breath. You sure we can do this?”
“Only one way to find out.” Danny climbed aboard and Midge followed.
A few minutes later, the anchor had been reeled up and secured, the engine started, and there was nothing left to do but hold on as Danny pushed the lever and took the wheel.
Chapter Twenty-Four
MIDGE
Friday, 3:00 pm CST
Waters of Lake Michigan
“We’re lucky the water’s so calm.” Danny stood at the ship’s wheel looking every bit the seasoned sailor. It had taken him a few hours to get the hang of the levers and the steering, but by about noon, he’d settled into a groove. The coastline sped by, intermittent towns cropping up here and there, followed by stretches of quiet beaches and sandy dunes.
Midge clutched the side of the boat, alternating bouts of nausea and terror washing over her. Boating was not her thing. She fought down a wave of vertigo. “Where do you think we are?”
Danny shrugged. “No idea. I just hope we come across that island Jack mentioned before the sun goes down. Otherwise, we’ll have to drop anchor and sleep on the boat for the night.”
The thought of squishing down into the little berth and trying to sleep while the lake tossed the catamaran back and forth sent another bu
rst of bile up Midge’s throat. “Maybe you should go a little faster.”
Danny laughed. “Come on, this is great. We’ve got the lake practically to ourselves, there’s barely any breeze, and the cover keeps the sun out of our eyes. You should enjoy it.”
“I’ll enjoy being on dry land, thank you very much.” Midge wrapped an arm around her middle as the beginnings of another harbor came into view. Rocky outcroppings ran in thin lines around what appeared to be a harbor or a small bay with buoys stationed at each opening.
As they neared, Midge squinted to read the sign. “Ludington Municipal Marina.” She leaned back. The name was familiar somehow. “I think there’s a ferry that runs out of here. My mom mentioned it a while back the last time she visited Dottie.”
“We won’t be needing one of those anytime soon.” Danny steered on past the marina and on along the coast, still heading north toward Suttons Bay.
A few minutes later, movement caught Midge’s eye. A group of five or six people stood on the shore waving a flag in their direction. One of the men pointed up and a bright red ball of flame shot into the sky.
“What is that?”
Danny slowed the boat. “I think it’s a flare.”
Midge leaned closer to the edge and peered out at the group. They’d stopped waving and instead were messing with something in a large box on the ground. The sight made her uneasy and she shivered. “Hit the gas.”
“Why? They might need help.”
Two men who’d been bent over the box stood up. Midge reared back in alarm. “No. They don’t.” She waved at him. “Speed up. Hurry.”
Midge rushed to the back of the boat and grabbed her laptop bag. She slung it over her shoulder as one of the men propped a giant olive green tube on his shoulder. The other fed something long and cylindrical into it.
“What are they doing?”
“You’re not going to believe me. I don’t know if I believe me.” Midge tried to swallow, but her spit clung to the roof of her mouth. She turned to Danny. “I think they’ve got a rocket launcher.”
Danny’s eyes went wide and he pushed the lever to accelerate all the way toward the max. The engines sputtered. “It’s not getting any faster.”
“Try turning the wheel. Maybe we can dodge it.” Midge pulled her gun from the holster. They were way too far away to take a shot. From that distance she couldn’t hit the side of a barn.
Danny cranked the wheel, but thanks to the boat’s size and shape, it didn’t turn quickly. “It’s no good. We’re sitting ducks.”
Midge spun around just as a giant whooshing sound erupted from the land. The man holding the tube fell to the ground. “Get down!” Midge lunged for Danny and dragged him down to the bottom of the boat as the projectile made impact. It clipped the rear stairs, ripping through fiberglass and metal before exploding somewhere beneath the waves.
The force of the explosion rocked the catamaran hard to the side and Max’s gun flew from Midge’s hand. Water rushed over her legs and she slipped as she tried to stand.
Shouts erupted from the coast.
“We’re taking on too much water.” Danny sloshed through the waves and grabbed the side rail before yanking himself up toward the wheel. He tried to accelerate. “Something’s wrong. We’re not moving.”
Midge dragged herself over to the side and wrapped an arm around the metal. Water lapped at her knees. They would sink in minutes. She turned toward the coast. No more than fifty yards away, two men paddled toward them in a small aluminum boat. Oh, no. “Danny! We’ve got bigger problems.”
Danny spun around and stared in horror at the men. He yanked his gun from his holster and shoved it at Midge. “Take it. I’ll try to get the engines started.” He splashed through the water toward the engine compartment. He tugged on the door but the pressure of the water held it shut. “I can’t get it open!”
Midge dove to help, wading through the water now almost to her waist. She held the gun in one hand and bent down to help Danny with the other. The water sloshed over her bag. It was no use. “We can’t get it. We need to swim.”
Voices caught Midge off-guard.
“...shouldn’t have sunk the darn boat, Ted.”
“I was just trying to help!”
“Now it’s useless, you moron.”
Midge twisted around, Danny’s gun tight in her hand. She came face-to-face with the wrong end of a shotgun.
“There’ll be none of that now.” A large man with a steady grip stood in a boat no more than five feet away. He motioned for her to come forward.
Midge didn’t move. She’d rather drown as the boat sank than walk toward a group who shot a rocket launcher at them.
“Don’t make me come git you.” He motioned again.
“I’ll shoot you right now.” As soon as the words left her mouth, the catamaran lurched and Midge lost her balance. She landed hard on the side of the boat, pain lancing her hip. Her head slammed against the rail and the gun flew from her hand. Water sloshed over her face as she slipped beneath the waves.
A strong grip hauled her out of the water as she sputtered and kicked. “Let me go.”
“Quit kickin’ up such a fuss or so help me God I’ll shoot your boyfriend straight through the chest.” The oversized man stood with the shotgun pointed straight at Danny’s chest.
“Do what he says.” Danny held his hands up, barely able to balance in the sinking ship.
“You should listen to that boyfriend of yours, sweetheart. He’s got some sense.”
“Not enough to come ashore and help us out.” Ted stood in the raft, one arm gripping the sinking boat to keep it steady. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see the flare.”
“Seeing as you shot our boat, I’d say that was a good call.”
He scowled at her. “We wouldna shot your boat if you’d come ashore.”
The first man reached over and cuffed Ted upside the head. “I told you not to do it, you moron. Now look at us. They’re in water up to their pits and still givin’ us heck.”
“I was just trying to help, Bubba. I didn’t mean to sink it.”
“But ya did and now we’ve got no boat.”
“You didn’t have a boat to begin with,” Midge pointed out, but the two of them ignored her.
Ted puffed up his chest. “I’m the one who thought of scavenging from the Guard, so you might want to stop callin’ me a moron all the time.”
“Lotta good all that National Guard trainin’ did ya. You can’t aim for shit.” Bubba turned back to Midge. “So you want me to shoot this boy or what?”
Midge relented and Ted hauled her into the boat. Danny followed, climbing over the side of the catamaran as it sank further into the lake. Bubba kept the gun trained on them both as they climbed on board and Ted pushed off. Midge watched the catamaran sink beneath the waterline as Ted rowed them into shore.
The second her feet touched the sandy shore, Bubba reached out a hand. “Give me the bag.”
Midge clutched it to her chest. “No.”
He hoisted his board shorts up and tugged his shirt down over his belly. “I don’t think you heard me right.” He took the gun in both hands and pointed it at Danny. “Give me the bag or your boyfriend’s about to have a hole in his head the size of Lake Michigan.”
Midge pulled her bag over her head and handed it over. “Now that you’ve ruined the boat, all of our things are at the bottom of the lake, and you’ve got my bag, how about you just let us go? We don’t have anything else you could use.”
Bubba eyed her up and down. Her clothes stuck to her skin and Midge wished she’d opted for a Stay-Puft marshmallow suit instead of a hoodie and jeans.
“I don’t think so,” he said at last. “You’re going to be our little guests for a while, just until we decide if you’re of any value.” He signaled at one of the other men on the shore. “Get them zip-tied and to the chairs. They can be our guests at the barbecue tonight.”
The two men came forward, fists full of plast
ic ties and Midge didn’t bother to fight back. Even if she took off, from the looks of the bruiser yanking her arms behind her back, she’d make it ten feet before he tackled her and knocked out her front teeth. When her arms were secure, he led her away from the shore and over to the clearing where a collection of folding chairs sat around a fire pit.
He shoved her down into the nearest chair and the other man did the same with Danny. Once their feet were secure, the two men marched back the way they’d come, leaving Midge and Danny to shiver in the afternoon sun alone.
As soon as they were out of ear shot, Midge leaned over. “I still think we could have swum for it.”
“Maybe you were right. I thought all they wanted was the boat.”
“They never only want the boat.” Midge twisted her wrists in the ties and the plastic dug into her skin. “I don’t suppose you know how to get out of a zip tie?”
“I wish I did.” Danny wriggled beside her, trying and failing to work himself free. “You think we can make a run for it with the chairs attached?”
“Hey! No talking over there!” Bubba stalked over, the shotgun still in his hand. He pointed at one of the men. “Dwayne, sit here and keep them company. One of them starts talking, shoot them with this.” He handed over the gun and lumbered back toward the rest of the group.
Midge scowled at their babysitter. A real beefcake of a guy, with a bushy beard and calves the size of tree trunks, Midge didn’t doubt he’d relish the prospect of playing shoot-out with their heads. She closed her eyes and pretended to dose off, all while shimmying her wrists back and forth. There had to be a way out of the plastic, if she could only figure it out. She remembered reading about how someone had broken their own wrist to get out of handcuffs, but she shuddered thinking about doing it herself.
No way.
Her mind still raced when she heard gravel crunching behind her. The sound of a massive engine drowned out her thoughts. Midge twisted as best she could in the chair, almost tipping herself into the sand at the sight. She didn’t know what its official name could be, but the thing looked like a Humvee on steroids, complete with a gun turret and massive lugged tires that could drive over anything. A man hopped down from the driver’s side and his head barely cleared the wheel well.
