Summer Secrets - Barbara Freethy [150]
"He is, but he brought a lot of it on himself. He told Tyler quite a bit of it when they were on the boat together. I think in a way he was almost as relieved as we were to speak the truth... At any rate, I told him I didn't want him here today unless he was sober. We have to make some changes in our lives, starting now," Kate added, but since her father was nowhere in sight, she had a feeling he hadn't been able to do as she requested.
"That's a lot to ask."
"It's past time to be asking," Kate said. "It's bad enough, all the risks he took with us by his side, but I can't forgive him for endangering Tyler's life the way he did. We're not going to lie to one another anymore. We're not going to pretend things are right when they're wrong."
"He may not be capable of changing," Ashley said.
"I know. But I am capable of changing how I deal with him."
"Let's go, girls," Caroline said, waiting for them on deck with two other crew members whom Kate had met the day before. "It's time to get this show on the road."
Kate and Ashley climbed onto the boat, and within minutes they were in the familiar groove of race day preparations.
The starting line was crowded with boats. Kate felt a rush of excitement as the boats jockeyed for position. Then they were off. It was a tight race to the first buoy marker. The boats were neck and neck. There were barely inches between them at times.
The next two hours were exhilarating, exhausting, and renewing. Turn after turn, tack after tack, into the wind with speed and grace. Their lives had come full circle. As they turned and headed for home, the Moon Dancer falling behind them, Kate knew that the victory was theirs.
"Look, Ashley," she said with a wave of her hand. Standing on the bluff were the two most important men in their lives, Tyler and Sean. "They're waiting for us."
"I can't believe it," Ashley said, tears coming to her eyes.
"Me, either." Kate wished there was someone waiting for Caroline, too. But her sister wasn't looking at the bluff; she was concentrating on the finish line. For Caroline, it wasn't about love -- it was about the future. She also felt a bittersweet sadness that Duncan wasn't there, but perhaps he couldn't bear to see them race without him. Maybe it was better this way.
They'd finally cut the ties between father and daughters. They were on their own, for better or for worse.
"Stay focused," Caroline said. "We haven't crossed the finish line yet," she added as the Summer Seas and the Moon Dancer battled back and forth for position.
Kate adjusted the sails and ran the boat boldly and bravely into the wind, remembering who they'd once been and who they would be again.
Epilogue
Ship's log, Moon Dancer, July 14
Wind: 840 knots
Sea Conditions: calm, peaceful
Weather Forecast: clear skies
Kate McKenna picked up her pen with a smile. It had been eight years since she'd written in this log -- this weather-beaten, storm-battered log that had been stored in her attic until today. She was supposed to write down only the facts, but she couldn't help herself, not this time. She turned to the last empty page in the book.
I never thought I would write in this book again, but today the Moon Dancer will sail around Castleton Island, a proud victory sail for my sisters, my father, and myself. We have taken back our boat. We have taken back our lives. That terrible storm of eight years ago destroyed much, but it did not destroy us. We are stronger now. We have learned to let go, to forget and to forgive, but, most importantly, we have learned how to love again.
Kate set down the pen and closed the book. She took it up on the deck where her sisters were waiting, along with her father, Tyler, and Sean.
"What do you have there?" Tyler asked, a curious glint in his eyes.
"The ship's log. The history of our trip around the world. And the forecast for today's sail."
"Did you embellish?" her father asked with a slightly grumpy smile.
He'd