Summer Secrets - Barbara Freethy [123]
"Probably trying to act macho in front of Tyler."
"Tyler has never been on a sailboat before. He doesn't know a thing about them. If Dad got into trouble, he wouldn't be able to help. He wouldn't be able to make his way back here."
Caroline didn't like the chill creeping up her spine. Her father was a seasoned sailor, a veteran of blue-water sailing. He could handle a storm like this. Couldn't he? Or was she still thinking of him as a hero instead of just a man, an older man, a man who was no longer fit and drank far too much. "What should we do?" she asked.
"I don't know. I talked to the coast guard. They've had two distress calls, but neither boat fit the description I gave them of Dad's boat. They said it was getting bad out there and some of the training runs had gone farther out to stay away from the racing and hadn't come back in yet."
"That's probably why Dad went farther out," Caroline said.
Kate put a hand to her stomach. "I feel sick inside. I know something is wrong. I just know it. The last time I felt like this was eight years ago."
Their eyes met, and Caroline knew that Kate had no more forgotten that night than she had. "We can pretend all we want that it's long behind us, but it isn't really," Caroline murmured. "It's always there, waiting, ready to burst out as soon as we open the door."
"I don't want to open that door."
"I think you already have."
Kate shook her head, but they both knew it was true.
"I was just thinking about the morning of the storm," Caroline continued. "We were all so confident in our racing ability, our weather forecasting, and our gut instincts. We thought we were invincible, every single one of us. Even Ashley. She wasn't afraid at the beginning. It wasn't until later, until we realized that it wasn't going to be just a storm. It was going to be a monster, and we would have to fight it to survive."
Kate looked out at the dark water. "At least we knew how to fight. Tyler doesn't have a clue. I don't want to lose him, Caroline. I'd rather have him walk away from me than have something terrible happen to him. I don't think I could stand it."
Caroline put her arm around Kate. "You won't lose him. Tyler may not know how to fight, but Dad does."
"I wish I could have as much confidence in Dad as you do."
"McKennas don't quit," Caroline said, repeating Duncan's favorite refrain. "Dad may be a lot of things, but he isn't a quitter."
"And neither am I," Kate said. "I'm going back to the harbormaster's office. If they haven't heard anything more, I'll find someone with a boat to take me out there."
"What?" Caroline asked in amazement. Was Kate really considering going out on the water?
"You heard me. I can't sit here and do nothing. And I can't just hope that the coast guard will find them. We both know there isn't always time to rescue everyone."
"You'll be hard-pressed to find anyone to take you out in this weather."
"Then I'll go myself."
Kate turned away and started down the dock. "Wait," Caroline called after her, making a quick decision. "I'll come with you."
Kate hesitated. "Maybe you should stay here, find Ashley. If anything should happen, she'll need you."
"Nothing will happen," Caroline said forcefully. "This is not going to be like the last time."
*
Ashley walked down the street, telling herself not to get worked up over the fact that the weather was changing again, the wind getting stronger with every breath she took, the thunder and lightning moving closer. She would not let the fear take her. She wouldn't go back to being the scared, neurotic woman of the last eight years. She couldn't. She didn't want to live like that anymore.
She stopped and took a deep breath, looking at the building in front of her. The Amberson and Sons Boat Works was housed in a large, barn-like building at the far end of the marina, the back door of the building leading to a ramp where they could launch their boats directly onto the