to worry.”
“What’s the message going to be?”
“I’ll wait to tell you that.”
“Why?”
“A little faith, please.”
I wanted to push him on it. It would help if I had more time to get the message firmly planted in my mind, to repeat it to myself over and over until I could think of nothing else. But I didn’t have time to argue, because there was an explosion of laughter, followed by Rob, Phillip, and Zach pushing each other in a race down the stairs. Jules and Colleen walked serenely behind them. Scott brought up the rear, tripping occasionally because an armful of striped beach towels blocked his vision. A bee circled his head and then flew off toward the trees.
Calder and I had already pulled the rain tarp off the boat and loaded the cooler and life jackets on board. Phillip had the key on a flotation ring. He pulled a thin instruction booklet from his back pocket and flipped through the pages nervously.
“If you want,” Calder said, “I can manage the boat.”
Phillip looked only too relieved. “Yeah, that sounds great, since you know where we’re going and all.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” said Calder diplomatically. “You can drive us home at the end of the day.”
Us, I thought again. Who would “us” be at the end of the day? Calder said to trust him. There was nothing else I could do. Well, yeah, I guess I could ix-nay this whole outing, but what explanation would I give at this point? Everyone had found their seat and kicked back. The guys were slathering on the sunscreen. Colleen dropped sunglasses over her eyes and tilted her head back to catch the sun. Jules handed Calder a muffin.
“You missed breakfast,” she said. “This was all that was left.”
Calder smiled one of those knee-weakening smiles, and Rob scowled. He repositioned himself next to Jules and threw an arm around her shoulders. His territorial behavior reminded me of a show I’d watched on Animal Planet.
Calder started the motor and let it idle. He untied the boat from the cleats, walking it away from the dock and then jumping on as the stern cleared the end. Rob and Zach leaned to their sides to give him room to step down and find his place behind the wheel. I had a sense of pride in how comfortable he was on a boat. I wondered when he’d mastered it. Why take a boat when you can swim? It reminded me how little I really knew about him, his past, the people he’d known, the girls.…
Calder reached out for me and took my hand. He pulled me close and had me stand in front of him, my hands on the wheel, his hands over mine. I wanted to turn around and face him, but he had me virtually pinned in position. It didn’t help that his breath was gently grazing across the back of my neck and down my bare shoulder. It had to be intentional; it was almost cruel. I could imagine the smug expression on his face.
Seagulls sprang off the rocks, and although I was sure they were making an awful racket, it was impossible to hear them over the engines. It felt weird to be up so high. My view of the islands had always been at the water level—or below. With so much distance between our bodies and the water, the islands felt distant and impersonal. I barely recognized them.
The boat was fast. In no time, we rounded the northern tip of Madeline, and Calder pointed to a small strip of land to the Northeast. “Michigan Island,” Calder said, yelling over the motor. Zach was the only one who really cared about the name. He was bent over a chart of the islands, and he put his thumb on the finger-shaped image.
Scott opened the cooler and threw a Coke to Phillip. Rob held up a finger and Scott handed him one, too. Calder cranked the wheel, sending Rob off balance and his hand plunging into the cooler ice. I would have lost my balance, too, but Calder held me in place. Rob pulled out his hand and shook off the cold.
He shot Calder an accusatory look, but Calder laughed it off. “You’ll need to get used to the cold if you plan on swimming,” he yelled over his shoulder. “It’s probably only about sixty degrees.”
“Sixty?” Phillip yelled.
Calder laughed again.
Zach shook his head. “Say goodbye to your balls, boys.”
Phillip tried to smile but looked out over the