I should know his marital status, since we’ve inherited a boat together, don’t you?”
Ed sighed. “All right. He hasn’t remarried.”
So he was single. The rumor she’d heard a couple of years ago hadn’t been true. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her jangled nerves. “Maybe I should just give him my share of the boat. It’s not like I will have any use for this place after this weekend.”
“Now, that would be foolish.” He spread his hands. “Look around you. Abraham Steele wanted you to have a share in all of this. As your brother and your lawyer, I can’t let you give it away. Especially if the only reason you’re doing it is to avoid a confrontation with your ex-husband.”
“I’m not,” she fibbed. “I just don’t want the hassle of dealing with this right now.”
“You get bequeathed a boat we used to call the floating palace and you don’t want it.” He shook his head in disbelief.
She looked about the place in bewilderment. “What would I do with something like this?”
Ed shrugged. “Take off on a river adventure?”
“No, thank you. I’d probably get seasick. Remember that time Dad took us out on Lake Michigan when we were kids?”
“Everyone was a little queasy on that trip because the waters were rough. You won’t have to worry about any motion sickness tonight. You’re docked. This boat isn’t going anywhere.” He pulled open the door to the built-in refrigerator. “This is on, but it looks like there’s nothing inside but a few cans of mineral water. Should I take you to a convenience store so you can pick up a few things?”
She shook her head. “It’s all right. As long as there’s mineral water, I’ll be fine. Besides, if I have food here, you might forget to come get me.”
“I won’t forget,” he assured her. “Do you need a tour of the boat, or do you remember where everything is from all those parties the River Rats had here?”
“I didn’t party with the River Rats, or have you forgotten?”
“Ah, yes. You were always afraid we were going to get caught sneaking onto the boat, weren’t you?”
“I wasn’t officially a River Rat.”
“No one was officially a River Rat, Beth. You lived in the neighborhood and you hung out with the rest of us.” A faraway look came into his eyes. “Gosh, we had some great parties on this boat. Do you suppose Abraham knew what went on when he was out of town?”
“Probably.”
“Jacob never got into any trouble—at least none he told us about.”
The image of a fair-haired boy popped into Beth’s head. Jacob Steele had been the unofficial leader of the River Rats, the golden boy of Riverbend. Even though he was Abraham’s son, he wasn’t allowed to bring any friends onto the boat that Abraham considered his private retreat. That hadn’t stopped the River Rats from using it when he was out of town.
“That’s another thing that bothers me about this bequest,” she told him. “Besides the fact that we’ve been divorced for fifteen years and shouldn’t be sharing anything, Charlie and I shouldn’t get the boat. It should go to Jacob. He was Abraham’s son.”
“A son who didn’t even come home for his father’s funeral,” Ed reminded her.
“Whatever happened between him and his father must have hurt him deeply. Jacob’s not the kind of guy to turn his back on his family without good cause.”
“None of the River Rats are, Beth. Sure, we got into a few scrapes when we were growing up, but we were all pretty good kids.”
“Abraham must have thought we were special. He included all of us in his will,” she said, running a finger along the shiny countertop.
He chuckled. “Yes, I now have a vintage 1957 Chev and you have half a houseboat.”
“At least your gift will fit in your garage. I don’t have a lake or a river for mine.”
“Then it’s a good thing you’re spending the rest of the summer here.” He waved a hand at her. “Come. I’ll show you a few things.”
She followed him around the cabin and listened as he explained the water system and electrical circuits. “If you get too warm and don’t want to open the windows, you can turn on the air-conditioning. The control’s next to the instrument panel,” he said, slipping into the captain’s seat to point out the various gauges.
“For someone with no experience of houseboating, you sure seem to know an awful lot.” She eyed him suspiciously.
He gave her a sheepish look. “I have a little experience,” he admitted. “I was here with Charlie one day recently and we took a ride on the river.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Without asking me?”
“I only went because I wanted to protect your interest. It was my duty as your legal representative.”
Beth thought it was more likely that he went along because he wanted to spend time with Charlie. She didn’t tell him that, however. She might not be able to stop her brother from remaining friends with her ex-husband, but she certainly didn’t have to hear the details of their friendship.
“The master bedroom’s in here,” Ed told her, opening a door on the other side of the bathroom.
“It’s all right. You don’t have to show me.” The last thing she wanted was to look inside the room where she and Charlie had made love—even if it had been remodeled since.
“Where are you going to sleep?”
“Aren’t there beds below?”
He led her down a small flight of steps to the lower cabin, which had two bunks, both covered by brightly patterned quilts in a kaleidoscope of colors. There was also a small cedar chest and a built-in wardrobe.
“This isn’t quite as fancy as the master bedroom,” Ed commented as she opened a narrow closet.
“No, but it’s cozier.” She sat down on one of the beds to test its firmness. “I think I’ll feel less like an intruder down here.”
“You have every right to be here, Beth,” Ed stated firmly.
“So you keep telling me, but for whatever reason, I still feel like I’m sneaking onto a houseboat that’s off-limits.” She stretched her arms over her head, then sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m just tired. What time should I expect you in the morning?”
“How about if you give me a call when you wake up? That way if you want to sleep in a bit later than usual, it won’t matter. You have your cell phone, right?”
She nodded. “It’s in my purse.”
“Good. Now lock the door behind me and get a good night’s sleep.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek, said good-night, then headed back to his Jeep.
After twelve hours in the car and with a headache throbbing in her temples, Beth wanted to follow her brother’s orders, but ever since she’d stepped on the boat, she hadn’t been able to shake the uneasiness that lingered from her past. Even though remodeling had made the Queen Mary barely recognizable, it was still the place where she’d made what had turned out to be the biggest mistake of her life.
She squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to give in to the temptation to remember that night fifteen years ago. She was tired, she needed sleep, and she would not let the past haunt her. Not now. Not here.
Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and put an Enya CD in the stereo system, allowing the soothing sounds to flow around her. And just in case Enya failed to lull her to sleep, she pulled a bottle of pain-relief tablets from her purse. When she opened the refrigerator to get a can of mineral water,