forty-seven
Peyton dropped anchor and helped Lisa with the children. Everybody was ready for a snack and a break.
“I never seen one o’ these before,” Bonnie said as she examined the MoonPie that Lisa handed her.
“I’d bet a Coke you’re gonna love it,” Peyton said as he unwrapped it for her while Lisa helped Jasper with his. “It’s kind of a cookie and kind of a cake with marshmallow in the middle and chocolate all around. Take a bite and see what you think.”
Bonnie bit into the MoonPie and wiped some stray chocolate off her mouth. “That’s good,” she said as she chewed.
“How ’bout you, Jasper—what do you think?” Peyton said.
Jasper only nodded, his cheeks puffy with all the MoonPie he had stuffed into his mouth.
Peyton looked out at the water, which was slightly choppy now. “Feels like the wind is picking up a little bit,” he said to Lisa as a cloud passed over the sun.
“You’re right,” she said. “It’s getting cooler too.”
Peyton could see the sky growing darker as the children finished their snack. “Bonnie,” he said, “I need you to take Jasper down below. Let Lisa put both of your life jackets on since it’s a little stormy today. Can you do that?”
“Sure,” Bonnie said, tugging at her brother’s hand till he followed her.
Peyton hurried to the captain’s seat, raised the anchor, and started the boat, traveling slowly through shallower water till he reached a suitable depth to open the throttle and let the Skidaddle fly.
Now clouds had completely blocked the sun, and the water was white-capping. As Lisa joined him at the helm, the storm moved in quickly, its winds growing stronger, with daunting waves beginning to form.
“I think you oughta go down below,” he said to Lisa.
“No,” she said. “I’m staying with you—unless I’m in your way.”
“You could never be in my way,” Peyton said. “How about grabbing a couple o’ life jackets for us.”
They had just fastened their jackets when Peyton saw a wave coming at them. He throttled back and aimed the bow of the Skidaddle into it, approaching on a diagonal as Finn had taught him. The boat rode up the wall of water and smoothly down the other side.
“Ha! How ’bout that!” he said to Lisa, who had covered her face with her hands.
When she looked up and realized they had cleared the wave, she jumped out of her seat, clapped her hands together, and threw her arms around Peyton. “We didn’t die!” she exclaimed.
“Not yet anyway.” Peyton pointed to another wave coming at them, smaller than the first but still formidable. He fought hard to remember every scrap of instruction Finn had given him and again rode a diagonal path to the crest of the wave, then glided down the other side.
Lisa braced herself as they pitched in the waves, climbing and descending one after another. Now and again, a big one would spray them both, leaving them soaked with salt water.
“Oh my gosh, Peyton, look!”
He immediately saw it, an enormous wall of water that was cresting just a few yards away. Peyton had a sudden vision of Will and the number 10 car barely missing a wave half this size. He knew he’d never be able to ride it to the crest. His only hope was to outrun it. He pulled the throttle back and, like a surfer inside the curl, ripped through the water with the wave rising overhead. He gave the Skidaddle all the power it had, shooting through a tube that seemed like miles and miles of blue water. Peyton could feel the spray from the wave crashing just behind them as the boat broke out of it.
More would be coming, but nothing like that one. Peyton could finally turn his attention away from the water long enough to see how Lisa was doing.
She looked stunned. Her eyes were wide, her face slightly pale, and she was gripping anything she could get her hands on to steady herself. “Did we just do that?”
“I think we did. You okay?”
“I’m not sure.” She shook her head and her wet auburn hair as if to shake off the danger they had just come through. “I’m still thinking about all that water over our heads and what might’ve happened if—”
“C’mere.” Peyton kept one hand on the steering wheel, reaching for Lisa with the other. She came to him, putting her arms around him and resting her face against his shoulder as he held her with his free arm.
“I think the worst is over,” he said, pressing his cheek against hers.
She tightened her arms around him. “Even if it’s not, we’ll be okay. You’ll make sure of it.”
Peyton steered them through a series of smaller waves until finally the wind died down and they had nothing but pouring rain to contend with. He and Lisa were both soaked.
“Why don’t you go below and check on Bonnie and Jasper—get some dry clothes on so you don’t catch cold?” he said as he felt her shiver against him.
“What about you?”
“Oh, I’m an old salt,” he said with a grin. “Throw anything at me—mosquitoes, crazy artists, crazy aunts—I can take it. I’m covered.” He tapped the St. Christopher medal hanging around his neck.
Lisa kissed his cheek. “I’ll be back.”
Below deck, Lisa found the children on a cot together, with Bonnie’s arms around her little brother. Jasper had fallen asleep, but she was wide awake.
Lisa sat down beside them and ran her hand across Bonnie’s forehead. “It’s alright, sweetheart,” she said. “The storm’s over.”
“You’re all wet,” Bonnie said.
“I know, honey. There’s an awful lot o’ water out there.”
“Is Peyton okay?”
“He’s fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I’m going to carry a blanket up to keep some of the rain off of him. Will you and Jasper be alright till we can dock somewhere?”
“We’ll be alright. But are you sure Peyton’s okay? Are you really, really sure about him?”
Lisa kissed Bonnie’s forehead. “Yes, sweetie. I am really, really sure about him.”