Sail Read Online Free Page A

definitely a very positive vibe.
    Jake’s sense of humor has really taken the edge off the kids—well, at least off Mark and Ernie. Carrie continues to look beyond miserable, and I’m worried about her.
    Jake’s so good with them, though. Why can’t I be better? I do love them more than anything.
    Give it time, Katherine. Be patient.
    I do notice something a little different about him, however. Jake, that is. Usually he’s Mr. Laid-Back, and for the most part he’s that way now. But there’s something else thrown into the mix, although I can’t quite put my finger on it. Maybe it has to do with this being Stuart’s boat.
    Whatever the reason, he does seem more focused. Or is it a different word I want?
Responsible,
perhaps?
    Of course, he
does
have the responsibility of being our captain, something he made clear the moment we left the marina. He gave the kids some time to settle in, unpack their gear, and get their sea legs. “Then we’ll go over the rules,” he told them.
    Rules?
    I didn’t think Jake Dunne knew the meaning of the word.
    This is the guy who’s never much followed anything except the wind. He’s never actually owned a car or a home, never voted in his life, and as far as I know never paid a dime of income tax. He owns only two things in this world: a duffel bag full of clothes and a vintage 1968 Harley-Davidson. He bought the motorcycle the day he decided not to return for his sophomore year at Dartmouth. Instead he took a job crewing on some millionaire’s sailboat.
    An “extended semester at sea,” he called it.
    His father called it something else.
The biggest fucking mistake you’ll ever make, Jake, mark my words. This is the beginning of the end for you.
    But Jake didn’t care. His parents already had Stuart, the golden boy, the firstborn, the one walking the straight and narrow down at Wharton. As roads went, Jake much preferred, in the words of another Dartmouth dropout, Robert Frost, the “one less traveled.”
    I allow myself a secret and forbidden thought:
No wonder I’ve always been attracted to him.
    “Hey, Katherine?” he calls out.
    It’s possible that he’s psychic. Wouldn’t surprise me one bit.
    I walk back to Jake, who’s at the wheel of the boat, his absolute favorite place on earth to stand. He told me that once, and only once, since Jake doesn’t repeat himself.
    “Can you gather up the kids?” he asks. “I want to go over those rules I mentioned. I know they don’t want to hear them, but too bad.”
    “Sure thing.” And then I mutter, “
Rules.
This should be interesting.”
    I duck belowdecks, where I immediately see Carrie and Ernie in the galley. Ernie’s snacking on double-center Oreos—no surprise—and Carrie’s looking at him as if he’s a big fat pig. Also no surprise.
    While Carrie’s still too thin, at least she’s not in the bathroom throwing up lunch—purging, as it’s called. I’ve noticed that her teeth aren’t stained and her hair is regaining its fullness—good signs. Both the school psychologist and her nutrition counselor at Yale said she’s making progress, so I shouldn’t nudge her about her eating.
    I won’t go there.
    But would it kill her to cheer up a bit?
Snap out of it, kid! You’re stuck on this beautiful boat with all of us, so get used to it! And I’m here for you, Carrie. I am.
    “Uncle Jake wants to have that talk now,” I announce. “Where’s Mark?”
    Carrie and Ernie both point toward the sleeping quarters. I head in that direction while the two of them climb up on deck, as if they’re about to be drawn and quartered by good old Uncle Jake.
    “Mark?” I call out.
    He doesn’t answer, which is his usual response. So I check each cabin and he’s nowhere to be found.
    “Mark?”
I call again.
    And finally he answers. “Busy here. I’m in the head,” he says. “One minute.”
    I’m about to tell him to come up and join us when he’s done. Then I hear it, that incriminating