An Unexpected Father Read online

  “How’s it going there, runt?” Ian asked as he looked up to check the sails.

  “Great! I’m keeping the wind right where you said it should be.”

  “You’re doing a fine job.” Ian stood and looked around the water, then at the chart. “We’re getting a little close to that shoal, so let’s jibe.”

  A flurry of activity followed. Mimi took the helm again. Ian dropped the whisker pole and moved it to the other side of the boat. Jack and Mimi let one side of the sail out and drew the other in, setting it on the opposite side. After a few flaps and snaps of fabric as the boat settled into the new point of sail, they were once more coasting along in the water.

  “I want to drive some more. Can I?” Jack asked as soon as the spinnaker was drawing the boat on a new course.

  Ian shrugged. “Fine by me, but let us know when you get tired.”

  Mimi again surrendered her post to her son. The afternoon was steamy. Sitting down, she pushed her hair back from her forehead, feeling the sweat bead on her skin. She raised her face to catch a bit of the breeze. Ian took his place opposite her, picking up his can of soda and taking a long drink. He leaned back against the coaming and stretched out, his leg sliding against hers.

  For a moment, they stayed that way, then Ian shifted away. A wave of heat washed over Mimi that had nothing to do with the sun or the warm day. They hadn’t touched since that long-ago night, and this light contact was unbearably tantalizing. His face was unreadable, but his jaw was tense. Perhaps he was remembering the same thing. When he turned his head and scanned the water ahead of them, she let out the breath she hadn’t known she was holding.

  “I can’t imagine being alone on the ocean, sailing like this,” she said, trying to remember that he was leaving all too soon.

  “It’s the most awe-inspiring, beautiful experience. I don’t know how to describe it.”

  “You’re going to have a fantastic time,” she said, trying to be supportive. She could give him that, at least. “Do you have a route mapped out?”

  “Sort of. I’m going south, then west,” he said with a laugh.

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “No, it’s no plan at all and that’s the point. I don’t care where I go or how long it takes me to get there.” He shrugged. “I’m just going to go west until it’s east again.”

  Mimi cocked her head. “Where does west become east?”

  Ian smiled a little. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll find out.”

  “I wanna go, too, but Mom says I can’t,” Jack said.

  “I’m going to be thousands of miles away by the time summer rolls around next year.”

  Jack frowned as he absorbed this information. “Next summer? You mean a whole year away?”

  The spinnaker snapped as the fabric crumpled in on itself. Ian grabbed the wheel and turned it a bit more to port. “Watch it there, runt. We don’t want to wrap the sail around the forestay.”

  “But you’re coming back,” Jack said, his tone urgent. Mimi glanced sharply at him, sensing something was amiss.

  “Of course. Eventually,” Ian said. “But it’ll be a couple of years. Three or four, if I can stretch it.”

  Jack’s eyes were glued to Ian’s face. His hands, knuckles white, gripped the wheel. “You said you were going to sail around the world. You never said you were going away forever.”

  “It’s not forever, runt.” Ian pushed his sunglasses up on top of his head. His brows furrowed and his eyes held a wealth of concern mixed with confusion.

  Mimi scooted closer to Jack, perching herself on the top of the coaming, and put a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong, Jacky?”

  “You said you were my friend,” Jack said shrilly, ignoring his mother. “I am.” Ian looked first at Jack then to Mimi for help.

  “You are not!” Jack shouted, turning the wheel as hard as he could. Minerva spun to windward. With a soft whoosh, the sail slewed first to one side, then to the other, before collapsing into a shapeless wad, twisting in on itself, onto the forestay.

  “Jack, wait a minute!”

  Ignoring Mimi’s cry, he pushed past his mother and darted down the companionway steps, disappearing into the cabin. Ian pulled on one line while turning the boat back downwind. He muttered a soft curse as the spinnaker remained twisted into an hourglass shape.

  “It’s wrapped,” he said with a sigh. “I’ll have to try to undo it before it gets worse.”

  “I’ll go talk to Jack,” Mimi said, turning for the hatch.

  Ian stopped her with a touch of his hand. “What the hell just happened?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, just as puzzled. “He knew you were leaving.”

  Ian’s brow wrinkled. “Yeah. We talked about it a couple of times. He’s asked me questions about it, too.”

  “Can you handle the boat by yourself?”

  “Sure. But I just don’t get it.”

  “Let me go talk to him, okay?”

  Mimi went down into the cabin. Pulling off her sunglasses, she let her eyes adjust to the dim interior for a minute. Jack was not in the main saloon. Poking aft into the quarter berth, she saw only stacked sails and a couple of life jackets. Mimi found him in the forepeak, as far forward as he could get, his back to the anchor locker, knees drawn up to his chest and his head bowed. At the foot of the bed, the overhead was only two feet above the cushions.

  He didn’t look up as she crawled into the berth with him. Propped on one elbow, she laid a hand on his leg and slowly stroked from ankle to knee for a few minutes. She could hear Ian’s footsteps above her head as he struggled with the spinnaker on the foredeck. “You knew Ian was leaving, Jack,” she finally said, keeping her tone gentle.

  “Not forever.” He had buried his face in his arms. His voice was muffled and hard to hear.

  “Oh, sweetheart, he isn’t going forever.” Mimi’s heart broke for him as she realized that Jack had not grasped how far Ian’s dreams would take him from them.

  “He won’t come back,” Jack said, his voice stronger now.

  “Yes, he will.” She squeezed his leg. “You can keep in touch by e-mail and phone calls. Maybe we can meet him someplace,” she added, not knowing if it was possible or even probable.

  “I want him to stay.”

  She stroked his leg again. “So do I, honey, but this is something that Ian has to do. He’s dreamed about this journey for so long that it’s become a part of who he is. Does that make any sense?”

  Mimi waited patiently for a reply. Jack refused to look at her or say more. Finally, she heard him sniff. He uncoiled from his ball and Mimi caught a glimpse of his red, tear-filled eyes before he launched himself into her arms. She fell back on the bed, hugging him tightly as she felt the sobs shake his thin body.

  “I hate him,” Jack said, his words muffled in her shoulder.

  “Oh, Jacky,” she said, her heart hurting for him. “No, you don’t.”

  “I do so,” he said fiercely.

  His weeping increased and tears soaked her shirt. Mimi knew that reasoning with him was hopeless. She held him close as she rubbed a hand in circles on his back. Tears filled her eyes as she held tight to her son, but she didn’t let them fall. Jack was crying enough for both of them.

  AFTER SETTING THE AUTOPILOT, Ian went forward to free the spinnaker. With a few careful tugs, he gradually coaxed the thin nylon from the forestay. Once free it billowed like a balloon and began pulling Minerva forward again. The joy in sailing was gone now and he decided to take the sail down. As he lowered and bagged the spinnaker, Ian’s mind turned one question over and over: how had such a sweet day turned so sour?

  As usual, it had been a joy to teach Jack and watch him learn. Having Mimi aboard more than doubled the pleasure, especially finding out that she knew how to sail. The sight of her behind Minerva’s wheel had taken Ian’s breath away. She was perfect for him, in ways he was only beginning to fathom. The fit between the three of them had been seamless, until Jack had gotten so
upset. Ian couldn’t understand why. The boy knew he was leaving; they had talked about it. Why had Jack suddenly come unhinged?

  Sails down, the boat drifted with the current. Ian poked his head down below. He saw no one in the saloon, but he heard something that sounded like crying. Heart pounding, he followed the sound forward. He found Mimi in the v-berth, her eyes closed as she rubbed Jack’s back. The boy was cuddled against her, his face hidden. As Ian took a step forward, Mimi’s eyes opened and met his. The sadness in them made his muscles clench. Ian reached out a hand to console Jack, but Mimi shook her head. Swallowing hard, he pulled back slowly, turned around and retraced his steps.

  In the cockpit, Ian sat for a long while. His head spun and his stomach tangled in knots. Something had gone very wrong today, but he didn’t know how to fix it. Finally, he forced himself to work. The wind had died completely and the afternoon heat was stifling. Starting the diesel engine, he steered the boat toward the marina. Neither Mimi nor Jack joined him in the cockpit.

  Minerva slid into her slip gracefully. Ian jumped on the dock to secure the mooring lines and then reboarded the boat to turn off the engine. As he was securing the canvas cover over the mainsail, mother and son climbed out of the cabin. Jack’s head was down and he didn’t look at Ian.

  Ian came to the side deck and put a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. For whatever I said that hurt you.”

  Jack shrugged it off and kept his face averted. He climbed off the boat in silence, his back to Ian.

  “We’ll be okay,” Mimi said. She looked as if she had been crying, but slipped on her sunglasses before he could be certain.

  Ian touched her on the arm, wanting to soothe her tears as he had once before. She smiled at him, a twist of her lips that held no happiness.

  “I’ll walk you back,” Ian offered.

  “You don’t have to.”

  “Please. I want to,” Ian said. He moved past her and jumped off the boat. Turning, he reached to help her down the boarding steps. She took his hand for a moment, steadying herself, then dropped it. Silently, they walked up the dock, Jack a few paces ahead of them.

  “Jack, will you forgive me?” Ian asked, without knowing exactly what he had done wrong. When they reached land, Jack had still not turned or acknowledged Ian. “Come on, runt,” he said. “We’re friends. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  No answer. Ian shot a glance at Mimi, who shrugged her shoulders a little. Ian felt frustration rise. He could not mend what Jack kept hidden.

  When they reached the main gate, Jack finally turned his head and glared up at Ian. It had been a long time since Ian had seen that glower of insolence on the boy’s face. It surprised him.

  “I don’t want to be your friend,” Jack said angrily. “I hate you!” With that, he took off running down the street toward the Laughing Gull and home.

  “What the hell is this about?” Ian asked, more bewildered than angry. He turned to Mimi. “What did I do?”

  Mimi bit her lip. “He doesn’t mean it, Ian. He’s just hurt.”

  “Because I’m leaving in a couple of months? But he knew that.”

  Mimi pulled off her sunglasses and looked at him with sad eyes. “No, he didn’t. Not really. Maybe he didn’t want to understand. I don’t know.” She sighed. “Anyway, he gets it now and it hurts. He feels betrayed.”

  “But we talked about my plans, all the places I want to see and how big the Pacific Ocean is,” he said urgently, wanting her to believe him.

  Mimi nodded. “I know you didn’t deceive him. It’s just—” She stopped and bit her lip. Ian saw her blink rapidly, as if she was holding back tears.

  “What?”

  “You’re his best friend,” she said softly. “His only friend, really. Now he’s going to lose you.”

  “I thought he knew,” Ian said on a sigh of regret. “Damn.”

  “I know.” They were both silent, looking up the street. She turned back to face him. “He wouldn’t say much to me. I’ll see if I can get him to talk about it tonight.”

  “If there’s any way I can make it up to him, I’ll do it,” Ian said. He ran a hand over his head, raking his hair back. “I am sorry, Mimi. I would never hurt Jack.”

  “I know,” she repeated. “Give him some time. He’s only nine, even though I forget that sometimes.” Her lips curved in a wry smile. “He’ll come around.”

  Ian stuck his hands in his pockets. “I hope you’re right.”

  “Thanks for the sail.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said with a shrug. “I guess.”

  “I’ll see you later, then.”

  Ian watched her walk away. When she was out of sight, he turned and went back to Minerva. Sitting in the cockpit, he dropped his head into his hands. He had tried so hard to be fair to everyone, but he had still wounded Jack. Maybe Mimi was right: the kid hadn’t wanted to believe the truth. He heard what he wanted and ignored the rest until it smacked him in the face.

  As Ian thought it over, he realized that something had smacked him, too. He had been congratulating himself for handling Jack so well, seeing things in the boy that even his mother had missed. He had befriended the boy, taught him to sail, to respect his mother’s wishes, even to excel in school. He relished the bond he and Jack had forged.

  On top of that, he had fallen in love with Jack’s mother. He stole whatever time he could with Mimi, kissed her, touched her, desired her in ways he had never desired a woman before. Did he really think that he could be Jack’s buddy and Mimi’s lover one day and just sail off into the blue the next? They would stand on the dock waving him a fond farewell, a painless departure for all, even for himself?

  No. He had deceived himself just as much as Jack had.

  Ian rubbed his hands over his face, then took a long, loving look at the boat he had made with his own two hands. Her strong hull and stout rig could carry him and all his worldly belongings across the oceans of the world. He had built her to handle all of his hopes and dreams, as well. Almost all, anyway. He had not foreseen that a surly young boy and a beautiful woman would invade his dreams, changing them so that they would no longer fit so neatly in one thirty-six-foot package. Gazing at Minerva and all her details that he had so carefully crafted, Ian knew he would not be going anywhere for a long time. He would stay in Crab Creek. The truth was all too clear. He could not ignore it any more than Jack could. He knew how to fix Jack’s broken heart. Jack needed him. Maybe Mimi did, too. Mostly though, Ian needed them. He might regret staying, but right now he knew he would regret leaving even more.

  Chapter Thirteen

  As she walked home, Mimi felt Ian’s eyes on her every step of the way. When she reached the Laughing Gull, she considered stopping and telling her father about Jack’s heartbreak and hearing his advice. She could see that the bar was packed, though. The Orioles were playing today; the Gull usually had a crowd on game days. She continued to the house and entered through the kitchen door. From the refrigerator, she took out a pitcher of iced tea and poured herself a large glass. As she took the first sip, Claire came in from the hall.

  “What’s wrong with Jack?” her mother asked. “He slammed through here like a scalded cat. When I followed him upstairs to see what was wrong, he refused to talk to me.”

  “He’s upset with Ian,” Mimi said with a sigh.

  “With Ian?” Claire blinked in astonishment. “That’s impossible!”

  Mimi closed her eyes and ran the cool glass over her forehead. “He just found out how long Ian will be gone on his sailing adventure.”

  “He knows that.” Claire frowned. “Everyone knows that.”

  Shaking her head, Mimi related all that had happened that afternoon as she slid into a chair at the table. Claire sat down across from her. Putting a hand over her mouth, the older woman slowly shook her head in dismay.

  “Oh, my. No wonder he’s upset.”

  “Yeah.” Mimi took a long drink from her glass. Setting it down, she rose. “I’d better go talk
to him.”

  “Good luck, dear.”

  Upstairs, Mimi knocked softly on Jack’s door. Getting no response, she turned the knob and eased it open. At least it wasn’t locked. She expected to see Jack curled up on the bed crying. He was on the bed, but he was thumbing the buttons on a handheld video game, his eyes intent on some electronic battle.

  “Hey,” Mimi said. “Can we talk?”

  Jack flashed a glance at her, then back to his game. He shook his head. Mimi walked over and sat on the end of the bed anyway. She toyed with the laces of his shoes.

  “Ian’s really sorry, Jack. He didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” She watched his face. His lips pursed at the mention of Ian’s name, but he kept punching buttons at the same frenetic pace. “Come on,” she said, wiggling his foot. “What’s going on in there?”

  Jack put the game down, but remained silent. Mimi waited for a while, then she shook his foot again. “Jack?”

  “You said it would be different.” He picked at some loose thread on the bedspread, keeping his lashes lowered. “What would be different?”

  His eyes met hers, fiercely blue and accusing. “You said if we came to Crab Creek I’d make friends and I’d have them for the rest of my life.”

  “Oh, Jacky.” Mimi swiveled, drawing one leg up under her. “I didn’t say that exactly.”

  “You lied!”

  “No, I didn’t. You will make friends here, ones that you’ll know for a long, long time.”

  “Ian’s leaving in October. That’s not a long time.”

  So he was furious with her now, as well as Ian. All his pain had transferred itself into anger, unleashed on the nearest target. Mimi could tell by the way his lower lip stuck out that Jack was done listening. There would be no reasoning with him. He would have a counterargument for everything she said. Yes, she had promised him a permanent home, with friends he didn’t have to leave after a few months. How could she have known his best friend would leave him? She sighed.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t lie to you, even though you don’t want to believe that.”

  Jack shrugged and looked away across the room.