Baby on Board

by Lisa Ruff

  “Where are you taking me?” she asked.

  “I need to check on a boat. Do you mind?”

  “I thought we were going for a ride.” It was just like Patrick to plan one thing, then change his mind midstream.

  “We are. This is just a slight detour.” Patrick turned off the road and into a gravel parking lot.

  “What marina is this?”

  “It belongs to my parents,” he said, pulling into a parking spot next to another car. “You’ve never been here, have you? I was going to bring you once.”

  “That was in March. It was too cold, blowing like crazy and raining sideways.”

  “Today’s the perfect day then. Come with me. You have to see this boat.” Patrick opened the door and jumped out of the truck.

  “I’d rather wait here.”

  “Come on, Kate.” He coaxed her with a smile. “It’s too hot to stay in the truck.”

  Kate couldn’t think of a reason to say no, not without revealing her fears. Boats of any kind made her nervous. It wasn’t the boats that worried her, really. It was all the water around them. She had successfully avoided getting on one with Patrick so far, but her luck had apparently run out.

  When he got out of the truck and came around to her side, she slid out and let him take her hand to lead her to the docks. Down the ramp, Kate could feel the slight give of the wood surface as it absorbed their steps. She swallowed. Her hand involuntarily tightened on Patrick’s. He looked over and smiled at her, curling his fingers around hers. She couldn’t even bring herself to pull away, as she knew she ought to. His hand was a lifeline she wasn’t willing to let go.

  Kate nearly laughed aloud as they walked farther and farther out over the water. Of course, she thought, the boat would be all the way at the end of the dock. She had feared she would freeze in terror when she was out on the pier, with the water all around, but she surprised herself. It wasn’t so bad. The floats moved a bit underfoot, but they felt stable, not likely to suddenly tilt and dump her in the creek.

  Without Patrick pointing it out to her, Kate knew immediately which sailboat he meant to show her. She knew next to nothing about boats, but she knew fast when she saw it. This one was sleek and low to the water. Its blue hull reflected the ripples around it and the new stainless steel fittings sparkled in the sun. Blue Magic was emblazoned across the stern. The wood railings gleamed, layered with a golden varnish as smooth as freshly blown Pyrex.

  Patrick toed his shoes off on the dock beside the boat, swung aboard and turned to extend his hand to Kate. She took a step back. There was no way she was getting on that thing, no matter how nice it looked.

  “Come aboard. I’ll give you a tour.”

  “No, thanks,” Kate said, shaking her head. “I can see it from here.”

  “Jump on, Kate,” Patrick urged. “This boat is amazing. It’s a Hainesworth. You have to see it to believe it.”

  “I can believe it just fine from here.”

  “Come on. It’s a rich man’s toy. They don’t make many like her.”

  Kate struggled for a minute before letting curiosity take over. She did wonder what a boat like this would look like inside. From the outside, it was a beautiful, sleek machine. As long as it stayed tied to the dock, she would be fine.

  She slipped off her sandals, reached out and took Patrick’s hand. As she stepped aboard, the boat gave slightly, though not much more than the docks had. Once she was on deck, Patrick released her and Kate felt a moment of panic. She watched him walk to the cockpit with casual grace. She set her jaw. I can do this, she told herself. It’s safe. Perfectly safe.

  Moving cautiously, holding her hands out for balance, Kate followed Patrick’s path. The boat felt solid, and though it sloped toward the water, the bare teak deck under her feet was rough enough to keep her from slipping. Kate found natural handholds, too: a wire, a rope, a railing on top of the cabin. When she reached the cockpit, Patrick took her hand again as she stepped down into it.

  “You made it,” he teased with a grin.

  Kate merely smiled back nervously. “I’m walking for two now, you know.”

  “Welcome aboard.” He bowed with a flourish and kissed her hand. “To both of you.”

  They stood on a wooden grate inset into the floor of the open cockpit. Behind her was a large wheel on a white pedestal. On either side, seats stretched the length of the well, topped with navy-and-cream-striped cushions.

  “Wow. Very nice.”

  “Wait until you see below.” Patrick pushed open a sliding hatch opposite the wheel and lifted another hatch board out of the entrance down to the cabin. “The companionway stairs are steep, so turn around and treat them like a ladder.”

  Kate followed his instructions and cautiously made her way down the steps. She was glad she was barefoot. The wood was varnished and felt slippery, even with the ridges carved into each step for traction. Once down below, she turned around and gasped. “It’s so short.”

  Patrick laughed, his hands resting on his knees as he bent over in the low-ceilinged cabin. “It’s a day-sailer. No one’s expected to spend too much time down here.”

  She looked around. Despite the low headroom, the boat looked like someone’s living room—a very wealthy, very short, someone’s living room. Everywhere she looked, varnished teak gleamed golden warmth. Matching sofas ran along either side of the cabin. The cushions were covered in pale cream leather, plump and inviting. Behind the settees were built-in cabinets, each with a louvered door and gold-plated knob. Patrick flipped a switch on a panel next to the steps and recessed lighting brought the interior to life.

  “Some toy,” Kate murmured.

  Patrick chuckled. “It’s only used for afternoons on the Bay, maybe evening sails. If you go somewhere overnight, you get a hotel. Though it has a cozy V-berth in the bow.”

  “But it’s such a big boat.”

  “Forty-two feet of glorious perfection.” At her look of incredulity, he shrugged. “Fitzgerald was right. The rich are different than you and I.”

  “Different meaning they’re crazier.”

  “Something like that. I know the owner. He’s a good guy. He’s just got more money than sense.”

  “So what are you doing with it?”

  “It’s new and he wants all the systems checked over before he takes her out.”

  Kate frowned. “But, if it’s new, shouldn’t it be ready to go?”

  Patrick snorted. “That’ll be the day. A boat like this usually has a fathom-long punch list of things that don’t work. And that’s better than most. I’ve seen some boats that practically had to be rebuilt after they left the factory.”

  “So you test things, sail it, then fix what’s wrong?”

  Patrick nodded. “Let’s go up topside.” He gestured her to precede him, and turned the lights off.

  Once back in the sunshine, Kate slipped on her sunglasses. Patrick joined her and sat down on the bench in the cockpit. He seemed in no hurry to leave.

  “Don’t you need to do something here?”

  “I did it when we first went down below. I checked the hydraulic fluid, made sure it wasn’t leaking.”

  “So, we can go?”

  “Or we can talk here. It’s a nice morning for enjoying the water.”

  Kate sighed and sat opposite him. Nestled in the protection of the comfortable cockpit, she felt less afraid of the water all around her. She opened her mouth to speak and the boat shifted, startling her.

  “Hey, Patty,” Ian said as he stepped onto the cushion beside Kate and sat down next to her. “And hello, Kate,” he added, dropping a kiss on her cheek.

  Kate smiled at Ian, happy to see him. She had liked him from the moment Patrick had introduced them. The brothers were vastly different—Ian reserved where Patrick was gregarious—and they balanced each other out. Patrick always surging ahead, Ian, more cautious and thoughtful, keeping him in check. It was a pleasure to be with these men who were friends as much as brothers.

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nbsp; “What are you doing here?” Patrick seemed surprised by the intrusion.

  “I thought you might need a hand,” Ian said. “Unless you’ve changed your mind. Not that it’s ever happened before.”

  “If it’s a good idea, why change it?” Patrick asked. He sounded annoyed.

  Ian cocked his head as he looked at his brother. “Because your track record stinks?”

  “Don’t you have some chunk of wood that needs to be cut or drilled?”

  “I think I can be more useful here.”

  Kate looked back and forth between the two men. She felt as if she were at a tennis match, but she didn’t know who was ahead. “Is something wrong?”

  “Not yet,” Ian said with a shrug and stood up.

  The boat shifted again. Kate turned to see Evan McKenzie climb aboard. She was less than happy to see him. As much as she liked Ian, she and Evan were like sandpaper and silk: they could rub each other threadbare. Evan was almost like Patrick, but with some key ingredients missing that left him too arrogant, cocky and sometimes just rude.

  “About time you showed up,” Patrick said by way of a greeting.

  “I had to close a deal. This guy wanted to buy a Hummer,” Evan countered with a sly grin. “Who am I to refuse his money? Hey, Kate,” he greeted her. His tone was polite but cool. “Ready for the fun?”

  Kate smiled slightly. “What fun would that be?”

  “Ah, that’s the surprise.” Evan went forward on the boat and began pulling lines at the mast.

  “Just sit tight and I’ll explain in a minute,” Patrick said.

  “But, what—”

  Before she could complete her sentence, Ian stepped out of the cockpit, avoiding her eyes as he went. Patrick disappeared down below. When he climbed back up into the cockpit, he slid behind the wheel, opening a small door built into the side of the boat. Kate was surprised to see a panel of buttons and instruments appear from what looked like a solid piece of wood. He fiddled with the instruments for a second and Kate felt a faint vibration. A hiss and splash of water sounded at the stern of the boat. She felt an instant of worry that quickly grew to fear.

  “Ready when you are,” Patrick called to Ian and Evan.

  To Kate’s horror, she saw the two men untie the lines holding the boat to the dock. Ian took a long pole and pushed the bow away from the pilings. Patrick manipulated a chrome handle on the wheel pedestal and Kate found herself in a boat leaving the safety of land.

  “What are you doing?” She kept a tight rein on her fear and tried to pretend that they had not actually left the dock. “The boat’s not tested yet, is it?”

  “You’re going to love this,” Patrick said, grinning widely. His eyes were on the water around them as he maneuvered the boat.

  “Love what?” Kate gulped down her terror. “Patrick, I want to go back to the dock.”

  “Hoist the mains’l,” Patrick called to Evan, then turned to her. “It’s a gorgeous day on the Chesapeake. I said I’d take you sailing sometime and I thought today would be the perfect day.”

  As he spoke, a large sail rose over Kate’s head. The brilliant white cloth fluttered and flapped in the wind. Kate’s hands were white-knuckled, clinging to the edge of her seat. The shore was getting farther away. It was all she could do to keep herself from screaming.

  “Patrick! We have to go back. Please, turn this boat around.”

  At the same time the sail went up, the boat entered open water. Ian came back to the cockpit, yanked on a rope and the sail at the front of the boat—whatever it was called—unrolled like a window shade pulled out sideways. Evan dropped into the cockpit and pulled on yet another rope on the cabintop.

  The boat was skating over the waves now. Patrick pushed the chrome handle again, then leaned over to push another button. The faint vibration she had felt disappeared as did the instrument panel. He had turned the engine off, she realized. Kate swallowed hard. She tried not to look around. She was on a boat completely surrounded by water.

  Deep water.

  She turned. Land already seemed very far away. The boat not only looked fast and felt fast, it was fast. Evan pulled on a smaller rope at the front of the cockpit and Ian started turning a crank on one of the big chrome drums across the cockpit from where she sat.

  “Round her up, skipper,” Evan called back to Patrick. “Let’s see what this baby can do!”

  At his words, Patrick spun the wheel over. Ian kept cranking, while Evan grabbed the end of the rope and pulled. Wind whipped across the sails and through Kate’s hair, sending tendrils flying around her head wildly. The bow plunged into a wave and seemed to almost bury itself into the water. Then salt spray flew back into Kate’s face. If she had thought they were going fast before, they were flying now. She braced herself and squeezed her eyes shut. The wind seemed to catch the boat and pick it up, tipping it over.

  And over.

  And over.

  She opened her eyes and saw water. She was looking down at the water. The boat was about to tip all the way over. Too late to tell Patrick that she couldn’t swim. She was going to die. Her baby, too. Terror bubbled up and over. She couldn’t control it any longer. Tears welled in her eyes and spilled over as her fingers bit deeply into the fabric of the cushions. In total, mindless panic, she screamed.

  Chapter Four

  The moment Kate shrieked in terror, Patrick sprang into action. “Ian, take the helm!”

  Ian lunged and grabbed the wheel as Patrick dove for Kate. He snatched her into his arms and pressed her to him, feeling the frenetic beat of her heart. Pulling away slightly to see her face, he removed her sunglasses. Her paper-white skin, dilated pupils, and the tears streaming down her cheeks made the bottom drop out of his stomach. He pulled her tightly against him once more.

  “Katie, what’s wrong? Is it the baby?”

  She was shaking like a leaf, clinging to him like a limpet. He felt her fingernails pierce his skin through his shirt.

  Evan knelt beside them. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know.” Kate still had her face buried in Patrick’s neck. He tried to pull her away slightly, so he could see her face again, but she wouldn’t let go. “Please, sweetheart, tell me what’s wrong.”

  “We’re going to drown.” Kate was crying into his shoulder.

  “What?” Patrick didn’t think he had heard her right. “What do you mean?”

  “The boat’s going to tip over.” Her words came out in staccato between gulping sobs.

  A light dawned in Patrick’s head. His own fear subsided. “No, it won’t, Katie.” He ran a hand over her back, trying to soothe her. “It’s supposed to tip like this. We’re perfectly safe.”

  “Especially with a scream that loud.” Evan snorted a laugh, shaking his head. “The Coast Guard station in Baltimore must have already heard it and sent out a rescue boat.”

  “Shut up, will you, McKenzie.” Patrick glared at Evan. This was not the time for smart remarks. He pulled Kate tighter to him.

  Evan rolled his eyes. “Relax, Kate,” he said impatiently. “This is great sailing. Enjoy it.”

  Kate shuddered again as the wind gusted and the sailboat heeled over a bit farther. Patrick felt more tears soak his shirt.

  “Make it stop!” she moaned.

  “Katie, I—”

  “I’ll drown if we tip over, Patrick.” Kate finally lifted her head so he could see her face. Her brown eyes shone nearly black with panic. “Please don’t let my baby die.”

  “We’re not tipping over and you’re not going to drown, I promise you.” He kissed her mouth and cheek. “Trust me. You and the baby are safe.”

  The boat shivered in the wind and she dove into the shelter of his arms again. “I can’t swim,” she wailed.

  Patrick realized there was nothing he could say that would calm her. She was too frightened to understand that the boat was designed to sail on a heel. He looked over at Evan, still kneeling next to them.

  “Drop the sails.”
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  “What? We just got out here. The wind’s—”

  “Drop them,” Patrick ordered. “We’re going back.”

  “But—”

  “Bring her up into the wind,” Patrick called out to his brother. “We’re going to drop the sails, turn on the engine and go back.”

  “Is Kate okay?” Ian asked.

  “She’s scared when the boat tips. She’s afraid of the water. If we head back under power, she’ll be fine.”

  Ian immediately turned the boat and brought it dead into the wind. Evan pulled on the furler lines for the jib and it rolled up into a neat cylinder on the head-stay. Minutes later, he had the mains’l rolled into the boom and stowed. Patrick held Kate in his arms, stroking her back and murmuring soothing things into her ear. As soon as the boat leveled out, he felt a slight easing in her grip. The tremors that shook her subsided to random shivers.

  He ignored Ian and Evan at first, concentrating on Kate. Then his brother caught his attention. Ian worked the throttle lever with one hand while pushing the start button with the other. From the look on his face, Patrick knew there was trouble.

  What’s wrong? He mouthed the question.

  Ian shrugged. “Engine turns over fine, but won’t start.”

  Kate raised her head. “We’re stuck out here?” Her voice carried a note of renewed panic.

  Patrick swore to himself, then forced a smile to his face as he looked down at her. He dropped a kiss to her cheek and smoothed a hand over her hair again. “It’s all right, sweetheart. Don’t worry, we’ll get it fixed.” He turned to Ian. “Stub said there was an air bubble in the fuel line the other day that he had to bleed. He said he fixed it when they changed the filters, but maybe there’s a leak somewhere.”

  Ian nodded and went below. Patrick turned to Evan. “Can you take the helm?”

  “Sure, for all the good it will do.” Evan looked over the side. “We’re pretty much dead in the water.”

  “Dead!” Kate’s voice rose in alarm.

  “Don’t worry, Kate.” Patrick glared at Evan. “We’re safe. We’ll get this fixed and get underway.”

  Evan sat behind the wheel and acted like he was steering the boat. They both knew there was nothing much he could do without propulsion. They were adrift, but Patrick didn’t want Kate to know it. She needed all the illusion of safety they could give her.