In-Laws and Outlaws (26 page)

I kicked off my shoes and pushed the board into the water—
hurry, hurry!
The water was so cold a shock ran through my system; I ignored it the best I could and pushed farther out. While I was struggling to uphaul the rig I could make out figures moving down the steps to the beach. I finally got the sail in position and tried to think what to do; if I could just make it to Vineyard Haven, I'd be safe. But my mind was blank; everything Joel had taught me was gone.

They were at the waterline now, calling to me to come back. I fought with the sail, trying to force it to catch enough wind to give me some control. It bellied full for a moment, just long enough to carry me a little farther out; the figures on the shore were tiny, their voices no longer audible.

The black water was choppy and chill. Soon I was thoroughly drenched and numb with the cold. The sea pitched me back and forth, laughing at my efforts to find a trench between the waves. I began thinking that if I were spilled into the water this time, I might never come up. What the hell was I doing? Out on the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the night, doing battle with a intractable sailboard in some harebrained, melodramatic attempt at flight? Insane, insane! A swell picked up the board and almost set it on end; I screamed as I felt my feet slipping out from under me. But the board righted itself just in time, and I narrowly escaped being dumped into the water. Thoroughly terrified, I let go the boom and squatted down, wrapping my arms around the mast and holding on for dear life.

By then I could no longer make out the figures on the shore. They could have come after me in the motorboat, I supposed, but maybe the water was too rough for even a powered craft. Or maybe they were hoping I would drown. That would solve their problem.

I was so afraid I would have screamed again if I'd had any voice, but it seemed to have deserted me. My legs and arms were cramping; the mast was slippery and I was having trouble holding on. I was so cold I lost my sense of touch. Every time I tried to breathe I got a mouthful of seawater. Eons passed.

Then, slowly, the wind and the water started pushing me back toward shore.

Forget about Vineyard Haven; I'd never have made it. There was no escape, and I should have known that. I was going back to the Deckers. The first voice I could make out was Joel's, yelling words of encouragement and something else about shifting my weight. The others were saying useless things like
Be careful
and
You can do it
. I did hear Tom calling
I knew you'd come back!

I wanted to shout
I'm coming back because I'm afraid
, but my teeth were chattering so from the cold I couldn't get a word out. Then all of them except Elinor were splashing out to grab the board and haul it—and me—ashore.

Elinor had her cardigan sweater off and wrapped around me before I even got off the board. I couldn't walk; someone was saying my feet were like ice and then someone else was rubbing them gently. They were all hugging me and patting me; I heard Oscar rumbling
Smart girl, smart girl
over and over again. I didn't know whether they honestly thought I'd come back of my own free will or whether they were pretending not to know I'd had no choice. Not that it mattered anymore. I was so tired.

“I'm glad you came back,” Rob told me with a big smile.

“And I'm glad you're safe,” one of the twins said. “You scared us, you know—taking off like that.”

“Whoo-
ee
, Aunt Gillian! Even I wouldn't go out on water like that in the dark!”

What amazed me was the fact that
they were not acting
. They were genuinely happy that I was all right, and they were equally pleased that I was back with them again. For I was back, there was no longer any question of that. With all its ugly secrets and its ruthless rules, this was my family, and I'd made my last attempt at running away from them.

But after the trouble I'd caused them, I couldn't understand their willingness to forgive and forget. “W-why?” I managed to stutter at last. “Why?”

A twin—Michelle, I think—put both her arms around me and smiled warmly. “Because you're
family
,” she said.

About the Author

Barbara Paul is the author of numerous short stories and novels in both the detective and science fiction genres. Born in Maysville, Kentucky, she went on to attend Bowling Green State University and the University of Pittsburgh, earning a PhD in theater history and criticism. She has been nominated for the Shamus Award for Best PI Short Story, and two of her novels,
In-Laws and Outlaws
and
Kill Fee
, have been adapted into television movies. After teaching at the University of Pittsburgh for a number of years, she retired to write full-time. Paul currently resides in Sacramento.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 1990 by Barbara Paul

Cover design by Jason Gabbert

ISBN: 978-1-5040-3249-0

This edition published in 2016 by
MysteriousPress.com
/Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

180 Maiden Lane

New York, NY 10038

www.openroadmedia.com

EBOOKS BY BARBARA PAUL

FROM
MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
AND OPEN ROAD MEDIA