Going Overboard (7 page)

“Let’s hope the stock market isn’t closing when we need to use it,” Bowie said.

Chance gave him a lazy smile in response. “Have I increased your personal investments in the last six months or haven’t I?”

“Yeah, but I’m a little worried about that ticker tape that’s started coming out of your ear every morning.” Bowie’s smile was just as lazy, but there was an edge to it.

“I’m surprised you noticed. The laugh track that runs constantly in your brain must drown out everything else.”

“Boys, boys.” Feeling like a dorm mother, Andi stepped between them. Her father would have suggested these two put on the gloves and go a few rounds to work out their frustrations with each other. He’d even tried that technique a couple of times when she and Nicole had been bickering, until their mother had protested that he was raising a couple of brawlers. “Come on, Bowie. I’ll teach you the salute to the sun.”

“What sun? It’s cloudy.”

“So maybe we’ll coax it out.” She gave him a steely stare. “And do not
ever
question the master, grasshopper. Always remember, you are but a speck of bug dung on the windshield of humanity.”

“You’re not the first person to offer that opinion.”

Andi had been kidding, but she wished she could pull
the joke back. No doubt when his father had told him something similar, he’d been deadly serious. And Chance wasn’t improving Bowie’s self-esteem. She really needed to knock him off his almighty perch. Nobody ever deserved it more.

C
HANCE WASN’T PREPARED
for the sight of Andi demonstrating yoga moves in the bathing suit that had made him dump coffee on his keyboard.

He tried not to watch. The sink was at right angles to the deck, and if he faced straight ahead while he washed dishes, he only caught flickers of the activity out of the corner of his eye. But, sure as the world, before long he’d be standing like an idiot, his hands motionless in the soapy water while he stared outside at Andi executing her salute to the sun.

She and Bowie faced east, which made a great deal of sense if you were saluting the sun, but that meant presenting her cute little backside to Chance, and that was not helpful, not helpful at all. Several of the moves involved bending over, which gave him a heart-stopping view of her firm and very inviting behind. When she placed both her feet and her palms on the deck and lifted her hips high in the air, he nearly broke a glass as it slipped from his fingers and clattered into the sink.

His only relief from surges of sexual arousal came from watching Bowie, who was definitely yoga-challenged. Chance didn’t kid himself that he’d be any better at it than Bowie, but still, his brother’s uncoordinated efforts made him chuckle. He was a little surprised that Andi didn’t kid Bowie about his performance.

He regretted the exchange he’d just had with Bowie, but after the effort he put into making sure all the family investments stayed solid, it rankled to have Bowie accuse
him of being preoccupied with money. As if he kept track of the stock market for his own benefit. He had little use for money, but his mother needed a strong retirement account, and Bowie needed funds for the baby’s security. Everybody expected him to take care of that.

He continued to watch Andi work with Bowie, and his admiration grew. Bowie’s request for a lesson had been sincere, and Andi was doing her earnest best to teach him. Good teachers didn’t ridicule their students, and Andi was obviously a very good teacher. Maybe she’d finally found her niche. From what Nicole had said, Andi had been searching for the right career for years. Chance wondered if she realized just how talented an instructor she was, and if she was capitalizing on that talent.

Then, suddenly, the lesson was over, and as they turned to come back inside, Chance started washing furiously to make up for lost time.

“That was great,” Bowie said. “Let’s do that every morning. I’ve always wanted to be more flexible, and this beats ballet lessons.”

“You were going to take ballet?” Chance asked. He risked looking up, and realized he shouldn’t have. The exertion had left Andi’s face flushed and her hair a little mussed, just as it might be if she’d been making love. God, how he ached.

“They say it’s great for flexibility and rhythm, both of which I ain’t got,” Bowie said.

“Yoga won’t be much help with rhythm,” Andi said, “but you don’t have a problem with that, judging from the way you danced last night.”

“I’ve practiced a lot. Chance here picked it up naturally. Played drums in a garage band during high school.”

“Really?” She gave Chance one of those looks that
fried his circuits. “I’ve heard drummers are the craziest members of the band.”

“I was the exception.” Chance returned his attention to the dishes.

“Don’t believe him,” Bowie said. “He had the makings of a wild man, but Dad convinced him of the error of his ways and brought him into line. I guess Dad decided I was hopeless and left me alone. Unfortunately, I had absolutely no talent for drums, so the band folded.”

“I see.” Andi walked over to the counter and took a dish towel off the rack. “You’re not very far along on this chore, drummer boy. I’ll dry.”

“That’s okay. You helped cook. I’ll do it.” The close-up scent of her brought back those heady moments from the night before, and he was having trouble breathing normally.

“I feel as if I ought to do something,” she said, grabbing a dish from the strainer.

Put on more clothes,
Chance thought. “I guess we should pick up everything from the beach, if we’re going to leave.”

“I’ll do that,” Bowie said. “You guys finish up the dishes.” In a flash he was out the door, leaving them standing alone together at the sink.

Chance searched for something to say. He cleared his throat. “Thanks for covering for me with Nicole.” He set a glass in the strainer and miraculously didn’t break it in the process. His hands were shaking.

“I said I would. She may know more than she’s saying, though.”

“They both do.” He took a deep breath and leaned both hands on the edge of the sink to steady himself. “Andi, if you-have any compassion in your soul, you’ll
put on something extremely shapeless and ugly over that suit.”

“Bothers you, huh?”

He didn’t look at her. Didn’t dare. “Yeah.”

“Bowie thinks you need to have your chain rattled.”

Chance bowed his head. “Bowie’s clueless about the kind of pressures I’m under. He has no idea what would happen to Jefferson Sporting Goods if I threw caution to the wind, like he does.”

“Or maybe he cares more about you than about that precious business.”

He stared at her.

“New concept, isn’t it? Bowie watching out for you for a change. Well, drummer boy, I’m not covering up. Just remember, it’s for your own good. I think I’ll go check on Nicole.” She ran a fingernail down his backbone and sauntered toward the hallway. Just before she turned the corner, she looked back at him, raised her hand to her lips and blew him a kiss.

He groaned and closed his eyes.

“That’s done,” Bowie said, coming in through the front sliding door. “Aren’t you finished with those dishes yet? You are the slowest dishwasher in the world, bro. Where’s Andi?”

Under my skin.
“Checking on Nicole.”

“Good. Think I’ll do the same. And by the way, you’re working too hard at that dishwashing job.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been scrubbing that same plate since I walked in the door, and it looked clean when you picked it up.” He headed down the hallway in the same direction Andi had gone.

A
S CHANCE WAS
finally rinsing the last dish, Bowie and Andi came back.

“She’s got a slight backache,” Bowie said. “And of course she’s not supposed to take painkillers or anything. We forgot to bring the thing she uses for it, one of those gel packs you heat in the microwave. She thinks this is a stupid idea, but I’d like to go back to the marina and see if the general store has anything like that.”

“Let’s do it,” Chance said. His pulse quickened. Oh, God, he’d have a chance to buy—no, he wouldn’t think about that now. He had to concentrate on Nicole. “You’re sure she’s okay?”

“She seems fine,” Andi said, “but those microwaveable packs are great. I recommend them to my yoga students all the time. If the general store doesn’t have any, there’s a little town not too far down the road. I’ll volunteer to go. Then we’ll have the heat pack for the whole trip. I’ll bet she’d sleep better with it, too.”

“Great,” Bowie said. “Come on, Chance, let’s get those stakes pulled up and take this sucker back in.”

Chance followed his brother out to the front deck, battling his thoughts the entire time. All the reasons for not getting involved with Andi still existed. Without birth control he might be able to avoid making a stupid mistake. Not buying it would serve as a built-in brake to his runaway libido. So why was he even considering it? Because
he was going insane, that’s why. His famous discipline was crumbling in the face of temptation. He couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t grab her in a moment of lust and say to hell with precautions. It had almost happened the night before. He wished he’d receive some sort of sign, some indication of what he should do.

“Chance?” Andi called after him.

“Yeah?” He turned around just before he was ready to leap to the sand.

“Want me to bring in the laptop?”

The laptop.
It had been the furthest thing from his mind. Had it stayed balanced on the deck chair, which it would have if she hadn’t reminded him, one good roll of the boat in the choppy water could have sent it into the lake. “Thanks,” he said, gazing at her.

“You’re welcome.” She smiled at him, without a trace of sarcasm. “I know how much it means to you.”

As signs went, it wasn’t much. But it was a small indication that she understood the demons that plagued him, that he might, just might, be able to trust her. That when he lost his head, she might keep hers. That she wasn’t trying to ambush him. Hell, he’d known all along what he wanted to do when he got to that general store. He would have taken just about anything as a sign to do it.

A
LL THINGS CONSIDERED
, Andi thought Chance did an admirable job of docking the houseboat. True, he brought it in a little fast and banged the prow against the dock, causing the cupboards to fly open and a few things to topple out, but nothing broke. The wind made it difficult to stay the boat’s course, and he’d needed the greater speed to avoid drifting into one of the other boats as he came in.

He and Bowie headed off to the general store to try
their luck, with Nicole protesting all the while that the effort was totally unnecessary.

“Let them pamper you,” Andi said as they sat on the foredeck and watched the marina activities around them. “They love it. It’s not every day they get to take care of a pregnant lady.”

“They do seem to be getting a kick out of this. On the plane ride out here, Chance told me about the time he and a fraternity friend helped deliver a baby when a couple got stuck in a snowstorm on the way to the hospital. I could tell it made a huge impression on him. He’s pretty awed by the whole process.”

“No kidding! I’m sure we’d all remember something like that. The poor woman must have been panicstricken.”

“I’m sure. I’m glad this baby will be born before the snow hits Chicago.” Nicole arched her back and put her hand to the base of her spine.

“Boy, am I out of it,” Andi said, getting up. “I have the perfect exercise to help you with your backache, and I haven’t even shown you.” She pushed aside her chair and lay down on the deck. “Come on down here beside me.”

Nicole laughed. “Shouldn’t we go inside and do this?”

“No, the deck floor is warmer. It’ll feel good. Come on.”

“You are the most uninhibited person I know. Okay, but I refuse to do that inverted vee thing where you stick your butt in the air.”

“You won’t have to.” Andi waited until her sister was lying beside her on the deck. “Now, bring your knees up as far as your tummy will allow, and wrap your arms around them as best you can.”

“Which isn’t much.”

“That’s good enough. Now just gently rock back and forth on the small of your back, like this.”

Nicole followed her directions. “Oh, Andi, that does feel good. It’s like giving myself a massage.”

“Told you.” Andi rocked in a synchronized motion with her sister. “Close your eyes. That’ll focus you on the massage and it’ll feel even better.”

“Oh, God, yes. That’s it.”

Bowie’s voice came from somewhere above them. “I swear, Chance, we can’t leave these women alone for a minute. Now they’re in the fetal position having a religious experience on the deck.”

“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, Bowie Jefferson,” Nicole said.

Andi opened her eyes and looked up at the two men standing over them. Bowie held a plastic bag that probably contained Nicole’s gel pack. Chance had something smaller wrapped in concealing plastic clutched in his large hand. Her pulse rate picked up. The purchase she’d hoped Chance might make would come in a package about that size. She wondered if Bowie had any idea what his brother had bought at the general store.

“We were in luck, sweetheart,” Bowie said. “Got just what we needed, right, Chance?”

“Right.” With his aviator shades on, it was nearly impossible to read his expression, but he seemed to be looking at her. “Everybody ready to set sail?”

Andi got to her feet as Bowie helped Nicole up. Andi had the feeling Chance had been thoroughly enjoying the view of her lying on her back, knees pulled to her chest, in her revealing black suit. The game had become a little less playful and a lot more erotic. There wouldn’t be burros on the beach every night. She swallowed. “Sure. Let’s go for it.”

A
LTHOUGH
A
NDI
campaigned for Bowie to take the boat out of the slip this time, Chance ended up at the wheel, after all. Andi told herself that she just didn’t have enough leverage yet. Before the week was over, Chance would have new respect for his brother’s abilities, or her name wasn’t Andi Lombard.

“How about sailing down toward Hoover Dam?” she suggested as she heated the gel pack in the microwave. She’d noticed that the small package he’d had in his hand when he’d returned with Bowie had disappeared somewhere, and he’d never mentioned buying anything at the general store. Her certainty about the contents of the package grew.

“Sounds like a good idea,” Bowie said. “Nic, is that okay?”

“Just fine.”

“Try this on your back.” Andi brought the fabriccovered gel pack to where her sister sat.

Nicole placed it at the small of her back. “Heaven. I know it was a bother to go back for this thing, but I appreciate the effort, you guys.”

“Glad to do it,” Chance said.

“It was important,” Bowie agreed.

Andi tried to tell from their expressions if there was any double meaning to their comments. Andi had seen the general store. It wasn’t large. For Chance to buy the condoms without Bowie knowing would have been difficult. Yet there were no exchanged winks or clearing of throats to indicate the brothers were giving each other invisible nudges in the ribs. If they were colluding in this effort, they were better at it than she’d have given them credit for.

The prospect that Chance would be looking for an opportunity to make love to her totally changed the way she
viewed him. She became fascinated by the curve of his fingers on the wheel, the flex of his shoulders, the shift of his hips on the captain’s seat, the angle of his foot. Fascinated and aroused. She hoped to hell his little package wasn’t a couple of packs of chewing gum.

“Bowie, want to take the wheel for a while?” Chance asked.

“Sure,” Bowie said.

“Good. I’ve checked my laptop, and it seems to be working okay. I’ll go in the back, place some calls and make a few notes.”

So his mind wasn’t similarly occupied, she thought. He could plan a seduction, then efficiently continue going about his business. She was irritated that he wasn’t as focused on their relationship as she was. He had a lot to learn, and she was just the woman to wake him up. “Give my regards to Wall Street,” she said.

“Be glad to.” He gave her a totally bland look as he turned the captain’s chair over to Bowie.

Chewing gum, she thought. The jerk had probably bought himself a supply of tutti-frutti and had no intention of following through on last night’s impulse. Which would save her from making the mistake of getting involved with Mr. Business-Comes-First.

Chance picked up his laptop and walked down the hallway without giving Andi another glance.

“Hey, Nic, I’ll play you a game of gin,” Andi said, mentally sticking out her tongue at Chance’s retreating back.

Sometime later, the cards began sliding across the table of their own accord as the boat pitched from side to side. Nicole was looking a little green, and Andi turned to Bowie. “A little bumpy out there, huh, Captain?”

“Yeah.” He adjusted his visor. “We talked about pulling
into a sheltered cove and waiting it out if the wind picked up. What do you say we moor this tub, at least for lunch?”

“Good idea.” Andi got a nod of approval from Nicole, who had her hand over her mouth and wasn’t looking too chipper.

“I’m gonna have some of that canned chili, cut up some onions, maybe shred some cheese,” Bowie said. “How does that sound, Nic, honey?” He looked over at her. “A little woozy, babe?”

Nicole nodded.

He smiled. “Then you don’t have to fix my chili.”

“I just may fix your chili, buddy-boy.” Andi scowled at him as she stood and gazed at the shoreline. “Hey, up ahead, see that spot with outcroppings on both sides of the beach? We’ll slip in there, tie up and be protected from the wind. Are you ready for that, sis?”

Nicole nodded again.

“Okay, I’ll take us over there.” Bowie eased the boat to the right. “Man, can you feel the boat hydroplaning?”

Andi walked over to put a hand on his shoulder. “Maybe it’s time to have a silent cockpit.” She rolled her eyes in Nicole’s direction. “Want me to go get Chance?”

“If I know him, he’s on his way down the hall.”

“We’re bobbing around like a damn cork,” Chance said as he walked into the room.

“What’d I tell you?” Bowie said under his breath.

“Good thing we don’t have anybody who gets seasick in this group,” Chance said, setting his laptop on the table. “Rocking back and forth like this would sure bring on the upchucks if we did.”

Nicole bolted from her seat and rushed past him toward the bathroom.

He stared after her. “What’s the matter with Nicole?”

“Way to go, Einstein,” Andi said as she started down the hall.

“God, I’m sorry. I had no idea.” Chance sounded contrite.

“Nic hates people to pay attention to her when she gets like this,” Bowie called after Andi.

“I know,” Andi said, but she continued anyway. “Nic?” She tapped on the door. “Let me help you, hon.”

“I’m okay,” came a muffled response.

Andi stood there, unsure how much to push. Bowie was right—Nicole hated having anyone see her in embarrassing circumstances. “I’ll check back in a minute,” Andi said finally.

By the time she returned, Bowie was heading the boat into the inlet. Jagged, narrow rock walls rose on either side.

“Not much maneuverability in here,” Chance said.

“Yeah, but the rock walls on either side will protect us from the wind,” Bowie said.

“Still, I’m not—”

“No use debating. We have to moor,” Andi said. “Nicole needs to get off this boat for a little while and let her stomach settle down.”

“You’re right.” Chance stood behind Bowie. “Looks like there’s a channel there we can use to get in. There’s not a whole lot of clearance, but we can make it.”

“Andi,” Bowie said, “go back to the bathroom and warn Nic when we’re ready to hit the beach. I don’t want her losing any teeth.”

“Okay.” Andi started toward the bathroom.

“And brace yourself,” Chance said. “With this much wind, we need to really dig into that sand.”

“Right.” She looked into his eyes and drew comfort
from the confidence she saw there. A little wind on the lake wasn’t going to panic a man like Chance Jefferson. She held on to that thought as she went to the bathroom door. “Nic? Hold on, kid. We’re going up on the beach, and we’re going in fast and hard.”

“Okay,” came the weak response.

“Want me in there with you?”

“Nope.”

“Here we go,” called Chance from the front of the boat.

Andi grabbed the doorjamb and flexed her knees. Whomp! She nearly lost her grip as the force of the impact threw her forward. She recovered herself and pressed her ear to the bathroom door. “Nic?”

The door opened, and a pale Nicole stood patting a washcloth over her face. “Good thing you warned me,” she said with a little smile. “Otherwise I would have beaned myself on the toilet lid, and Lord knows how I would have explained that to my mother-in-law. She was very much against my coming on this trip. She thought Bowie and Chance should go alone. Which made me all the more determined to be here, of course.”

“Of course. That’s the Lombard spirit coming through. And the meddling battle-ax will never have to hear a thing about this.” Andi put her arm around Nicole. “How about a glass of water?”

“Fine.”

Andi walked her slowly into the kitchen, got her the water and waited while she sipped it.

“Ready to get off this tub for a while?”

“Sure.”

As they walked to the front of the boat, the ringing sound of sledgehammers against iron stakes told Andi that the brothers were already mooring the boat.