CHAPTER SIXTEEN

You’d think what I’d remember most about falling overboard would be the shock of the freezing water or the briny taste of the saltwater that left me spluttering for air. But no. What I remember most was my mother’s blood-curdling scream.

I’d always thought it was silly that Dad made me wear a life jacket even though I could swim, but as the waves towered over me, I understood why. Swimming in the cove was a lot different from trying to stay afloat at sea. My heart pounded in my chest and I fought back panic as I was lifted up and plunged down.

I’m okay. The life jacket is keeping me up.

I repeated the words like a mantra, watching as The Clam slowed down and turned back toward me. Dad will save me, I thought. I know he will.

Then someone dove overboard, but it wasn’t Dad.

It was Erik.

Erik landed with a splash a little ways from me. I could see his bright orange life vest bobbing on the water and heard him gasping for air.

“Hang on, Jane!” he spluttered. “I’m coming!”

I kept treading water, my whole body thrumming with adrenaline. Dad threw a life ring in my direction, but I couldn’t reach it.

“Swim, sprite!” Dad hollered.

I forced my shocked limbs into motion, swimming as hard as I could against the waves. Ana had slowed the engine to a crawl and she angled The Clam toward me. Close enough to reach me, but not too close in case we collided.

Finally, I grabbed the ring, holding on tight to the cold, hard plastic, and Dad pulled me over to the boat. I could hear his deep voice, calm and reassuring, calling out to Ana.

“Steady now. Steady.”

Then his strong hands gripped my arms and hauled me up and over, onto the deck. I landed in a wet, shaking mess on the boat’s floor. Mom ran over and hugged me so hard I thought my ribs might crack.

“Don’t lose sight of Erik,” Dad called to Ana.

Elle and Devon pointed in the distance.

“There he is!”

“Over there!”

Ana kept the boat moving forward until Erik was close by, and then Dad tossed the life ring once, twice . . . Erik rose and fell with every wave and my mother’s face was dead white.

Finally, Erik grabbed hold of the ring and Dad hauled him up. Once he was on board, Erik lay on his back next to me and my mother fell over him, sobbing. Then, so quick that none of us saw it coming, she turned on my father and flew at him.

“They could have died!” she screamed, pummeling him with her fists. “You had to take everyone out on your stupid boat to do your stupid science, and . . . Jane could have died! You didn’t even jump in after her.”

“That wouldn’t have helped the situation,” Dad said. “Jane had on a life jacket, and what she needed was the life ring, not—”

Mom pounded on his chest. “No. No, no, no! For once, don’t think with your head. Our daughter was out there.” She jabbed her finger in the direction of the ocean with its dark, cresting waves.

“Calm down.”

“I won’t,” she hollered. “You’re always telling me to calm down.”

“Mom,” I said, “I wasn’t in any—”

“Stay out of it, Jane,” Mom snapped. She turned to Dad. “I can’t believe I ever left Jane with you! All you care about is this . . . this . . .” Mom sputtered, unable to come up with the right words. She made a sweeping gesture toward our water samples.

I wanted to holler back at her, but I was shivering so hard, I couldn’t make my jaw work. Elle found an old wool blanket in the cab and wrapped it around my shoulders as Devon hovered nearby.

“Susan,” Dad warned, “this isn’t the time or place for this discussion. Jane and Erik are fine. Erik never should’ve jumped in—”

Mom cut him off. “They’re not fine. What if they catch pneumonia?” She burst into tears. “This is all your fault, Emmett. Your. Fault.”

“Actually,” Elle said, “I’m the one who bumped into Ana while she was steering. The boat wouldn’t have lurched like that if I’d worn sensible shoes.”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Mom hollered, and I could tell that knocked Elle off her guard. “We wouldn’t be out here if it weren’t for him.”

“I’m the one who insisted he take us,” Erik mumbled, his teeth chattering as much as mine.

“I don’t care,” Mom growled. “This is the second time I could’ve lost my child. There will not be a third.”

“We’ll talk about this later, Susan,” Dad said. I could see the tension in his jaw as he leaned over me, rubbing my shoulders. “You okay, sprite?”

“I’m fine,” I said, even though I was super cold.

Dad nodded. “We’re going home.”

When he’d gone into the cab, I stood up and handed Erik the blanket. “Here. You can have it. Thanks for jumping in after me.”

Mom took off her sweatshirt and thrust it at me. “Put this on.”

It wasn’t worth arguing. I slipped the sweatshirt over my head and walked to the back of the boat. Devon slid up beside me.

“Are you really okay?” he asked.

I nodded. “Dad did the right thing, you know.” I don’t know why I felt the need to defend my father, but I did.

“I know,” Devon said. “Your mom’s pretty mad, though.”

That was the truth. I could feel the emotion radiating off her in waves. She was crying again, huddled beside Erik, sharing the wool blanket. Her scream still echoed in my ears. Dad always said that Mom cared about me, but this was the first time I’d felt like it was true.

I stared at Dad, Ana, and Elle, the three of them clumped together in The Clam’s cab as if they were trying to stay as far away from Mom and Erik as possible. Ana was rubbing Dad’s back and Elle still looked seasick.

“Does your father live in Wales?” The words slipped out before I could think them over. Devon startled, and at first I thought he wasn’t going to answer, but at last he shook his head.

“No. He took a job in London.” He paused. “I think he might have a girlfriend there.”

“Do you ever wish you were with him instead of your mom?”

Devon shrugged. “I did at first. But now . . . mostly, I wish things hadn’t changed in the first place. I miss Wales. Miss my friends. But I’m angry at both of my parents, not just Dad.”

I had the strangest urge to hold his hand. I couldn’t imagine leaving Whickett Harbor because my parents couldn’t work out their problems. Maybe Maine wasn’t the most glamorous place on earth, but it was my place.

Unfortunately, Devon was right: My mother was furious, and when Mom got mad, there was no telling what she’d do next.