Summer at Forsaken Lake (25 page)

“T
here’s Uncle Nick! And Charlie!” cried Hetty from
Goblin
’s foredeck, pointing at the dinghy inching toward them.

At the mention of Nick’s name, Pistol raced to
Goblin
’s bow, where he watched the slow approach of the inflatable boat, howling all the while.

“Do you think he’ll be mad, Nicholas?” Hayley asked.

“No, but we do have some explaining to do, I suppose. Maybe you should let me do the talking—especially since you two slept through most of it.”

“He’s going to be so relieved that you’re all safe and relatively dry that I don’t think you have to worry,” said Teddy.

As the distance between
Goblin
and the dinghy dwindled, Hetty leaned out over the rail and cupped her hands to her mouth.

“We didn’t mean to go to sea!” she shouted to Nick.

From his spot at the tiller, Nicholas scoffed. “You’ve been waiting all morning to say that, haven’t you, Het?”

Teddy looked puzzled. “Inside joke?”

Nicholas nodded. “From this book Nick gave us.” He turned
Goblin
into the wind, bringing her to a stop, and tapped Teddy on the shoulder. “Um, Teddy?”

“Yeah?”

“You see that girl in the dinghy? And remember when I told you that somebody was helping me figure out what happened with your old boat? Well, that’s her. That’s Charlie Brennan. Jimmy is her dad.”

“I’ll be darned. When you said the name Charlie before, it didn’t even cross my mind that it might be Charlie Brennan. I should have known. Haven’t seen her since she was yea high.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t say anything … you know, about what we talked about. I’ll tell her later. It might be kind of weird for her, in front of everybody.”

Teddy gestured zipping his lips shut and winked at Nicholas as Nick, who was rowing with his back to them, looked over his shoulder and got his second surprise of the day.

“We rescued a shipwrecked sailor!” Hayley announced.

“So I see,” said Nick, not giving away his feelings on the matter.

For a moment, Nicholas feared that Nick was upset, but those fears were laid to rest when Nick looked up at Teddy and smiled.

“How are you, Teddy?”

“Better than I was a few hours ago. Took a direct hit—lightning—and was heading for Davy Jones’s locker when this motley crew of yours came along. Just in the nick of time.”

“Shouldn’t that be the … 
Nicholas
of time?” Hayley asked.

“Ha! Very clever, Hayley,” said Teddy. “You have the brain of a writer, I think.”

Hayley beamed. “You really think so?”

“Absolutely,” Teddy answered, steadying the rope ladder and helping Nick and Charlie aboard. “These are some great kids, Nick. Handled
Goblin
like they’ve been doing it all their lives.” He stuck out his hand to Charlie. “Hi there. I doubt if you remember me, but we’re actually related. I’m Teddy Bradford.”

Charlie’s mouth dropped open. “No way.”

“Ah, so you know who I am,” Teddy said, grinning. “Let’s see, your dad is my cousin, so that makes us second cousins, or first cousins once removed—I never really understood all that family-tree stuff.”

Charlie’s eyes met Nicholas’s; he shrugged and smiled.
“It’s been a long, strange night. It seems like we were out in that storm for a week.”

“Well, take us home, Captain,” said Nick, patting Nicholas on the back. “There’s a nice breeze building, and it sounds like none of us got a decent night’s sleep. I spent the night at the hospital—Mr. Kuerner had emergency bypass surgery, but it looks like he’s going to be all right—and poor Charlie here milked a whole barnful of cows all by herself.”

Nicholas aimed
Goblin
’s bow in the general direction of Nick’s house. As her sails filled, she heeled a few degrees, and Nick, Charlie, and Teddy settled into the cockpit, trimming sails and sharing stories from their eventful night.

When they were alone in the cabin for a few minutes, Nicholas told Charlie about their near collision with the boat that he was certain he had seen once before, at 2:53 a.m. from his bedroom window.

“I can’t believe you never told me about
that
,” said Charlie. “What makes you so sure it was the same boat both times?”

“I’m not sure. I didn’t get a really good look either time, but there was just something about it.”

Charlie said nothing, but by the expression on her face, Nicholas knew she was skeptical.

“I know, I know,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense. I can’t explain it, but the more I think about it, the more sure I am.”

“So … assuming it was the same boat, who was it?”

Nicholas shrugged. “The
real
Seaweed Strangler, I guess.”

* * *

An hour later, a very excited Hayley and Hetty, who had been stretched out on a beach towel on the foredeck, suddenly leaped to their feet and ran toward the stern.

“You guys won’t believe this,” Hayley started, “but you know how they say twins’ brains are connected? Well, guess what—Hetty and I had the
exact
same dream last night.”

“You’re right,” said Nicholas. “We don’t believe you. In fact, I’m not sure I believe that you both even
have
brains.”

Hayley stuck her tongue out at him. “Stop being a brat, Nicholas. It’s true. And we think it was some kind of pre— … preno— … you know, when you see into the future.”

“Premonition?” said Charlie.

“Yes! That’s it,” said Hayley. “In both of our dreams, the morning after the storm we were sailing back to Uncle Nick’s—just like we’re doing right now—and when we got there, guess who was waiting on the dock?”

“Daddy!” cried Hetty. “He was wearing that old red sweater that Mom tried to throw out. Remember, he was
so
mad? We both saw him. He must be back from Africa.”

“He’s going to be there, I just know it,” said Hayley.

“Just because you had the same dream doesn’t mean
anything
,” said Nicholas. “Doesn’t that story sound a little familiar?”

“What are you talking about?” Hayley asked.

“We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea,”
said Nicholas. “Remember? When they got to Holland, their father was standing on the deck of a ship about to leave for England.”

Hetty waved off the coincidence. “That is
totally
different. Daddy’s going to be there. I’ll bet you anything.”

“You’re on,” said Nicholas. “If Dad is waiting for us on the dock, I’ll do the dinner dishes every night until we leave. If he’s not, you two do them.”

Hayley and Hetty scrunched up their faces, and moved back to the foredeck for a private discussion of the matter.

“One week,” said Hayley, her arms crossed defiantly.

Nicholas nodded. “Deal. Uncle Nick, you heard that, right?”

Without opening his eyes, an exhausted Nick gave Nicholas the “okay” sign and then put his finger to his lips, signaling to everyone his desire for some much-needed sleep.

* * *

Goblin
herself seemed eager to return to her mooring, and the rest of the journey down the length of the lake passed quickly, and quietly. As the sun rose higher and higher
in the sky, and the band of explorers and their rescued shipmate got closer and closer to home, Hayley and Hetty kept their sharp young eyes peeled for signs of their father.

Hayley was about to admit defeat—to Hetty, but certainly
not
to Nicholas—when something caught her eye: a man in a red sweater, standing and waving at them from the end of Nick’s dock.

“There he is!” Hayley yelled, leaping to her feet and raising Nick, Teddy, and poor Pistol from a deep sleep.

Nicholas squinted at the shoreline ahead. “No way.”

“I see him, too,” said Hetty. “And he’s wearing the red sweater!”

“Hey, you’re right—there
is
somebody there,” Charlie said, joining the twins near the bow. “Sorry, Nicholas, but it looks like you’ve got some dishes to wash.”

“I can’t believe he’s really here,” said Hayley, waving wildly.

Charlie, with her better-than-perfect vision, zoomed in again on the man. “Wait a minute. That’s not … Omigosh! That’s not
your
dad—it’s mine. What is
he
doing here?”

“Are you sure?” Hayley asked.

“Positive. Sorry, guys.”

“I’m afraid she’s right,” added Teddy. “That’s definitely Jimmy.”

Nicholas pumped his fist. “Yes! I knew it couldn’t be Dad. If he were back in the country, we would have heard from him—or Mom. Have fun washing those dishes!”

* * *

Jimmy Brennan waited patiently at the end of the dock as
Goblin
’s crew folded sails, coiled lines, and tidied up the sturdy little ship. Pistol, desperate to get ashore, started barking, so Nick gently lowered him into the water and let him dog-paddle in.

“How about lunch—and ice cream sundaes—at the diner? My treat,” said Nick, not taking his eyes off Pistol until all four paws were on solid ground.

“That sounds so good,” Charlie said, climbing into the dinghy. “I could really go for one of their cheeseburgers. And a big order of onion rings.”

“Well, you’re welcome to join us,” said Nick. He clambered down the rope ladder. “Your dad might have other plans, though. He’d probably like to spend some time with just you.”

Charlie shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

“You don’t sound very enthusiastic.”

Another shrug. “My dad … doesn’t always make it easy for me to get excited about seeing him. He’s not exactly … reliable, if you know what I mean. He’s always busy with his other kids.”

“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you, too. Give the man a chance, Charlie. It takes some people a little longer than others to figure out what’s important.” He pulled hard on the oars, propelling the dinghy toward the dock.

Jimmy reached out to take the bowline as they came to a stop.

Charlie refused the hand he offered her and pulled herself up and onto the dock under her own power before giving her father an indifferent hug. “Hey, Dad. What are you doing here?”

“Nice to see you, too, kiddo. Hiya, Nick. It’s been a while. I hope you were all anchored someplace quiet last night; that was some storm.”

“Not exactly,” said Nick. “But we all made it back. Even picked up a hitchhiker along the way. You recognize that guy standing in the cockpit?”

Jimmy shielded his eyes from the sun’s glare with his hand and gazed out at
Goblin
. “Holy mackerel—is that my cousin Teddy? I haven’t seen him in … years. You say you picked him up? What happened?”

“His boat got hit by lightning,” said Charlie. “I didn’t actually get to see it, but Nicholas said it sank like a stone. Pretty cool, huh?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess. Who’s Nicholas?”

“That’s him out there. And those are his sisters—they’re twins. You used to know their dad.”

“Oh yeah? Who’s that?”

“Will Mettleson.”

The color drained from Jimmy’s face as his gaze shifted from Charlie to Nick, and then to Nicholas, who stood at
Goblin
’s stern, about to dive in.

“Will,” he whispered.

“He’s a doctor now,” said Nick, climbing back into the dinghy to retrieve the twins. “He’s in Africa for the summer on a humanitarian mission, and the kids are spending some time with old Uncle Nick—just like Will used to do. Funny, isn’t it, how things work out in life.”

“It
is
strange, isn’t it?” Charlie pondered aloud. “I mean, you, Nicholas, me, Nick … this Teddy guy sinking
another
boat. Weird.”

“So you know about the other boat, huh?” Jimmy asked. “I guess that makes sense, you spending time with Nick and all.”

“I know
most
of the story. I do have a few questions for
you
, though.”

Jimmy eyed his daughter suspiciously. “There’s not much to tell. And it was a long time ago, so I doubt I remember many of the details. It was a shame about Will, though. I liked him.” Anxious to change the subject, he awkwardly mussed her hair. “But listen, kiddo, the reason I came by—I thought you might like to stay with us at the farm for a few days. I talked to your mom and it’s okay with her, but she says it’s up to you. What do you think?”

“Right … n-n-now?” Charlie stammered.

“Sure, why not? The kids barely know you, and they’re always asking about their big sister.”

“
Step
sister. And why do they want to know me?”

Jimmy laughed. “That’s a good question. I can’t
imagine. I think they just like the idea of having a big sister to talk to about, you know, girl stuff. Come on—it’ll be fun.”

Charlie knew it was wrong, but she really didn’t want to go. September, and Nicholas’s inevitable return to New York, loomed ahead, a threatening cloud on the horizon speeding toward her. There was so much to do before Labor Day weekend! As she watched Nicholas swimming toward the dock, her father followed her eyes.

“Are you and Nicholas … you know—”

“No! Dad! We’re just friends.”

“Okay, okay. Sorry. I just thought maybe that’s why you don’t want—”

“Well, that’s not it. Jeez. Hey, Nicholas, come on up here.”

After a summer of swimming and sailing together, Nicholas had gotten over most of his self-consciousness about going shirtless around Charlie, but at that moment he still wished for a T-shirt to magically appear. When that didn’t happen, he had no choice but to climb onto the dock, where he stood dripping, his arms folded across his chest.

After the introductions, Charlie pulled Nicholas aside and hit him with her news. “Dad wants me to come out to the farm with him for a few days.”

Nicholas’s heart sank; he, too, was all too aware of how fast the summer seemed to be zooming by. “A few
days
? Wow. Well, I guess that could be fun.” He didn’t really think so, but it seemed like the polite thing to say at that moment. “I’ve never seen an ostrich up close.”

“It’s no big deal, believe me,” said Charlie. “They’re like chickens, only bigger. I know I should
want
to go—he’s my dad and all—but I really don’t want to.”

“It’s only for a few days.”

“Yeah, but what about the movie? We still have a
lot
of work to do. I’ve never edited a movie before. I have no idea how long it’s going to take. And what if we have to—”