The Memory of You (Sanctuary Sound #1)(56)

“I took your advice and meddled.” He swigged some beer. “Now if I could get Emmy to be excited about that . . .”

Steffi recalled her conversation with Emmy. “She’s afraid to make friends because she doesn’t want to say goodbye again.”

He lowered his beer to his side, frowning. “Why do you think that?”

“Something she said.”

“Well, that sucks, but at least it’s something we can fix.” He leaned against the counter. “I was starting to worry that she was depressed.”

Had he noticed he’d said “we” instead of “I”? And did “we” mean Ryan’s family, or did he mean to include Steffi, too? “Before you get too concerned about depression, let’s see what Sunday brings.”

“I’m counting on it changing everything.” He sighed and swigged the rest of his beer.

Steffi nodded in sympathy. Me too, Ryan. For all of us.



As soon as Ryan pulled into the marina parking lot, he spotted Steffi’s van. Like an old movie, countless memories of summer evenings spent together on his boat unspooled. For horny teens discovering sex, his boat had provided the perfect cover—a place where they could be alone for hours, their bodies rocking together in time with the water. Even now, his libido responded with Pavlovian instinct.

“Daddy?” Emmy unbuckled herself.

He swallowed his nostalgia. “All set?”

“Yes!” She flung her door open and jumped out into the sunlight.

“Have you been on a boat before, Lisa?” he asked as he hauled the cooler out of the trunk. Emmy’s teacher had mentioned that the Crawfords had recently moved to town from central Pennsylvania, so he doubted she had.

“Only rowboats,” she answered matter-of-factly. On the surface, she didn’t appear to have much in common with his daughter. No pink clothes. A sober personality. But she’d been polite and confident, and they were both newcomers looking to fit in.

He set down the picnic basket of fried chicken, carrot sticks and hummus, and cookies that his mother had prepared, and closed the trunk.

“Good morning, everyone. You must be Lisa.” Steffi smiled and shook Lisa’s hand. Steffi’s running shorts, water shoes, and ponytail made her look eighteen again. One glimpse of her rosy cheeks and smile worked like balm to his soul. She tugged at Emmy’s hair. “Aren’t we three lucky ladies? Sunshine. Light wind. An awesome captain. It doesn’t get any better.”

A gull’s cry pierced the air, punctuating her pronouncement.

“What’s in the backpack?” He gestured toward the small red pack slung over her shoulder.

“A few fleece jackets in case it gets a little chilly on the way back.”

“Good thought.” Ryan felt Emmy at his side, which meant she still wasn’t comfortable with Lisa. “Honey, grab the bag of beach towels from the front seat. Then you and Lisa can also carry this picnic basket.”

Emmy hefted the bag of towels over her shoulder, and she and Lisa took hold of the picnic basket’s handles.

“Steffi, I’ll run ahead and check the engine, oil, uncover the sails and stuff. Can you manage the cooler and make a pit stop in the marina store to grab some ice and whatever else we might need? Maybe a tube of sunscreen?”

Emmy giggled. “Dad, we won’t need sunscreen. It’s not that hot.”

“You can still get sunburn on a fall day from the reflection of sunlight off the water.” Her dubious expression told him she didn’t buy that argument.

“One time I got sunburn while skiing,” Steffi added. “Sun reflects off the snow, too.”

Emmy and Lisa looked at each other and rolled their eyes, the first link of a bond forming through mutual disdain for the grown-ups’ concerns. Well, at least that was something.

“Come on, girls. Let’s raid the store.” Steffi raised the cooler’s roller bar and strolled ahead, calling over her shoulder, “It used to have the best selection of candy in town.”

By the time the ladies made their way to his slip, he’d just about prepared everything. It seemed right—being back on Knot So Fast. The captain of his ship. It’d been tough to get excited about much lately, but standing there finding his balance against the boat’s gentle rocking, he couldn’t stop smiling.

After helping the girls aboard and securing the cooler and other items in the lockers below deck, he came back up, eager to introduce Emmy to one of his favorite pastimes.

Steffi finished fastening the girls’ life vests, then whipped a bandanna from her back pocket and used it to secure her hair from blowing around her face. In a blink, it was 2006 again, and his heart swelled like the water around them. The fact that she was there with him sharing Emmy’s maiden voyage made it more remarkable.

“I assume I’ll be on point with all my old jobs?” Steffi asked.

“Please.” He nodded.

She jumped onto the dock to untie the lines as the engine hummed to life. The rumbling engine, the faint odor of gas and fish, the light breeze on his face . . . everything rushed back, awakening the carefree spirit he hadn’t revisited in years.

Steffi leaped back onto the boat, and they began the slow journey out of the marina.

“I thought we were sailing.” Emmy frowned, her gaze moving from the top of the masthead to the outboard engine.