The Rest of the Story(79)

“BAILEY!”

At the sound of my voice, she turned her head, scanning the lake, then put a hand over her eyes.

“OVER HERE!” I yelled. “HELP!”

“Emma,” my dad said sternly. “You never yell that on a boat unless it’s an emergency.”

“Matthew,” Tracy said delicately, “there is quite a bit of water here.”

She was right. What I’d thought had only been a bit splashing around my toes was now up to my ankles. And we had a broken centerboard. But sure, yes, let’s take our time asking for a hand.

Bailey was still looking in our direction, although clearly not sure what we needed. So I put my hands over my head, waving them wildly, the international sign for WE NEED RESCUING. She jumped into the boat, Gordon climbing in after her, and started the outboard.

“This is ridiculous,” my dad said, kicking around the water at his feet as he went back to the rudder. “Who puts a useless knob right where it will catch the mainsheet?”

“Someone,” Tracy said, still so calm. I don’t know what we would have done without her. “I’m going to call the Club.”

“You don’t have to,” I said. “Bailey’s coming.”

“Who?” my dad asked.

I pointed to where she was right then pulling away from the dock, already coming toward us. Gordon was in the bow.

“What happened?” she yelled once closer. Gordon waved excitedly.

“Just took in a little water,” my dad replied.

“And broke the centerboard,” Tracy added.

“Everyone have a life jacket?” Bailey asked, circling now to come up our other side. I gave her a thumbs-up. “Good. You want a tow back to the Club?”

“Just to that raft,” Tracy replied as my dad grumbled something. “If you don’t mind.”

“Sure,” she said. “Saylor. Throw me that.”

She did another pass, coming up close, and I tossed her the line. Quickly, she tied it to the back of her motorboat, tugging to make sure it was tight.

“If you can pull up the centerboard, do it,” she hollered as she took the motor again. “Less resistance. It’ll be slow no matter what, though.”

Personally, I didn’t care. We could have been barely moving at all and it still would have been an improvement on the outing so far. My dad, however, looked glum as she started to the raft, tugging us slowly behind.

“We really could have just bailed out the boat on our own,” he told Tracy. “We were fine.”

“I know.” She reached out, patting his leg. “But Emma was scared. This is better.”

“I’m going to try to get you as close as I can!” Bailey yelled then from the motorboat. “Then I’ll untie you so you can drift up alongside.”

“Great,” Tracy said. “Thank you!”

Bailey nodded, then turned back to face forward as we approached the raft. She and Gordon went just a bit past it, then cut the engine. A moment later, we floated right up. Tracy grabbed hold, jumping out, as Bailey undid our line, throwing it to her. Within seconds she had us tied up to a post, safe now. Scrambling down off the bow, I was never happier to feel deck planks beneath my feet. My dad, however, stayed on the boat, beginning to bail with a scoop he’d found in the cargo hold.

“Whew,” Tracy said as Bailey came back around, pulling up to the other side. “That was exciting.”

“That’s one word for it,” I said.

As soon as she could, Gordon hopped out as well, running over to give me a hug. I could feel her glasses poking my stomach.

“Hey,” I said, smoothing a hand over her head. “How are you?”

“Good,” she replied, into my shirt. “When are you coming back to Mimi’s?”

This I didn’t answer, although I saw Tracy heard it as well. Bailey, having tied up her own boat, now joined us. “What happened out there?”

“Combination of factors,” Tracy told her. “You are a godsend, by the way. I’m Tracy.”

“My stepmother,” I said to Bailey. “Tracy, this is Bailey. And that’s my dad.”

“Hi,” Bailey called out.

My dad lifted a hand in a wave, nodding at her. He looked sheepish, almost embarrassed, and I found myself both angry and sorry for him at the same time. God, I hated sailing.

“So,” Bailey said as Tracy went over to join my dad. “Now you have to go to that party with me, right?”

“Because you gave us a tow?”

“Because I saved you. You owe me your life now.” I just looked at her. “What? That’s how this works!”

“I subscribe to none of these boat rules,” I told her. “That said, I do thank you for the help. But I’d say that we’re actually even. You owed me, and now you paid up.”

“I owed you? How do you figure?”

“Because you didn’t even care I was leaving!” I said. “It was all about Colin this, and Colin that, and how you could use me to get to him. You didn’t even say goodbye.”

“You snuck out before the sun was even up!”

“Not true,” I said flatly, and she sighed, rolling her eyes. “You could have found me. We’re supposed to be friends.”