How to Keep a Secret

“I don’t need—”

“Wear it.”

“Orange isn’t really my color—” Her voice tailed off as she caught his eye. “Right. Orange is good. Yay orange. Totally my favorite. I wish everything in my life was orange.” She put the life jacket on and he leaned forward to secure the straps.

At least he didn’t intend to let her drown. That was a start.

“Sit in the middle and don’t move around.”

“Aye aye, Cap’n.” She laughed as the dog jumped into the boat, wagging its tail. “Not you. The other captain.” She saluted and watched as Scott sprang onto the dock and did something with the ropes.

Someone shouted something to him and he raised a hand in acknowledgment and then they were motoring out through the harbor toward the sea.

The weather had been gray and murky all week but now, finally, the sun peeped through the clouds. The water sparkled as they bounced over the surface and Mack gasped as seawater showered her face.

She realized she was laughing for the first time in months, and she was still laughing when he brought the boat alongside the yacht.

“That was so cool. Can I steer next time?”

“No.” He killed the engine.

She waited for him to warn her to be careful climbing into the boat, but he said nothing, simply held the boat steady and waited while she clambered up the ladder and dropped down onto the deck. The wind blew her hair across her face and she felt a sudden lightness. The only sounds were the slap of the sea against the hull, the clink of the mast and the plaintive call of a seagull. The darkness that had engulfed her lifted. The ache in her chest had gone. Here on the boat she felt far away from everything. Grief. Her home. School. Herself.

For the first time in a long while she had a feeling that everything was going to be all right. Not right away, but maybe one day.

Grateful for the reprieve, she wiped her face with her palm and then twisted her soaked hair into a tail and secured it under her hat.

“Mack—” He called her name and she walked back to the side of the boat and took the packages he handed her.

“Where do you want me to put these?”

“In the main cabin.” He gestured for her to go below and she bounced down the steps into the cabin.

She handed the bags back to him and watched as he stowed the contents. “I’d rather live here than in a house. It’s fun.”

“It’s not much fun in winter.”

“Is that why you wanted to buy The Captain’s House? I can’t imagine why you’d want a place like that when you can have this. But you don’t have to talk about it,” she said quickly. “There’s nothing worse than people wanting you to talk about stuff you don’t want to talk about. I get that. It happens to me all the time right now. Mom wants me to talk and I know I’m supposed to say what she wants to hear, but I can’t do that so I’ve been spending too long in my room playing with electronic devices.”

He unzipped his jacket. “You seem to be talking plenty.”

“You’re easy to talk to. You listen.” She studied the navigational charts secured to the wall. “Have you sailed all over the world? I’d love to travel. I’d like to go to California because that’s where so many of the tech companies are. Have you been to California?”

“Yes.”

“It’s great that you can sail off like that. You don’t have any ties? No one? I mean, until your long-lost daughter showed up.” She tried to see his expression but he had his back to her.

“Do you like hot chocolate?”

“I prefer vodka.” Her flippant response earned her one of his steady looks and she sighed, wondering what it was about him that put the brakes on her need to be outrageous. “Is there anyone alive who doesn’t like hot chocolate? That would be great, thanks.” The spray from the short boat ride had penetrated her coat and she realized she was cold.

Scott opened a cupboard, pulled out a clean dry towel and threw it across to her. “Take your coat off. Dry your hair. I’ll fetch you a sweater.”

“I’m fine.”

“When you’re on board this boat, you’ll do as I say.” He disappeared through a door and emerged a moment later with a soft sweater that looked as if it had been washed a thousand times.

Grateful for the warmth, she slipped it on without argument. The sleeves fell past the ends of her fingers and she pushed them back and took the hot chocolate he handed her.