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into the vase and set them on the counter. “We should get going.”
    Rigsby gave a sharp bark, and Beckett ran fresh water into his dish, his heart still thudding hard at the memory. He’d tried to salvage Jade’s feelings, but in the end he’d done just the opposite. And he was sure, lessons or no, Madison wasn’t about to let him forget it.

CHAPTER FOUR
    M ADISON STOOD ON THE DOCK AT PRECISELY ONE O ’ CLOCK , looking everywhere but at the mile-wide stretch of the Ohio River. Kentucky was far away on the other side, its tree-covered hills bright green in the afternoon sun. Between her and the distant shoreline sprawled hundreds of feet of deep, murky water.
    She shivered at the thought and swallowed, even though her throat was dry as flour. She searched her bag for her water bottle. Great. She’d left it on the counter. Stifling a yawn, she retrieved her bag of coffee beans and popped two into her mouth, savoring the chocolate coating before crunching into the bean.
    Nearby, water lapped at the bottoms of the boats in the harbor’s slips. Metal hardware pinged against poles, and loose material fluttered in the wind.
    She checked her watch. Where was Evan? She hated tardiness, and it didn’t help that her nerves were strung tight as guitar strings.
    “Ready?”
    She turned at the gruff tone. Beckett O’Reilly seemed in a hurry as he passed, heading down a narrow dock as though he had a hundred things to do.
    “What are you doing here?”
    He barely spared her a glance. “Giving you a sailing lesson.”
    She opened her mouth and found it empty of words. Her heart raced toward an invisible finish line.
    “Where’s Evan?”
    “I take it you didn’t check your voice mail.” He stopped at a boat. “Hop in. He was called into work.”
    She crossed her arms. “No thank you. I’ll wait till next week.”
    He turned and gave that little smirk of his. She wanted to smack it off his face. “Up to you. But he’s going to be working a lot of Saturdays, and he asked me to fill in as needed. If you’re a beginner like he said, you’ll need all the help you can get.”
    “You’re filling in?”
    “As needed.”
    This couldn’t be happening. She looked away, over the rippling river. The whole water thing was bad enough, without the prospect of hours alone with Beckett. He’d always set her on edge, even before the incident with Jade. Through high school he’d gone out of his way to ignore her, as if she carried some rare disease. And then after that night in her sophomore year, things had become even more strained.
    He crossed his arms. “What’s it going to be?”
    His back was up. Maybe from her phone call a couple weeks ago. Maybe from her reluctance today. Maybe both. Still, he was right about one thing. It was going to take all summer to get ready for the regatta. And she would be ready for the regatta.
    “Fine.” She eyed the boat. It was bigger than she’d expected. “Are you sure this is the right boat?”
    “What kind did you expect?”
    “I—I don’t know. Is learning to sail one boat just like any other?”
    “Not exactly. There are single rigs, divided rigs, different types of boats in each category.”
    “Rigs . . .”
    He looked skyward in a move just short of an eye roll. “What are you looking to sail, exactly?”
    “I have a twenty-five-foot Folkboat.”
    “Where is it?”
    “I—it’s not ready yet.”
    “Then this sloop will work fine.”
    She hated to admit it, but one sailboat looked just like another to her. She’d have to take his word. He was a capable sailor, after all, perfectly qualified. He’d even won the regatta several years back.
    He tilted his head and gestured her aboard.
    She gave a mock salute. Aye, aye, Cap’n .
    The boat rocked under her feet. She sat and gripped the warm railing. Her heart beat like a drum, pounding out a syncopated rhythm.
    He showed her how to untie the ropes, then stepped aboard and tossed her a life vest, which she caught against