That Summer Thing

Charlie frowned. “And you’re one of them?”

“I want to be. And I was just getting to where they would accept me when you had to drag me here.”

“I didn’t drag you here,” Charlie refuted. “You were ordered here by the judge because of something you did, not because of what I did. And I really don’t think being in a gang is a good idea.”

“They’re not a gang, just some guys who hang around together. They’re my friends and they’d do anything for me. I can count on them.” The defensiveness in his tone made Charlie uneasy.

“You can count on me,” he said firmly.

Nathan gave a snort of disbelief. “That’s why you’re making me get up with the cows.”

“You mean chickens,” Charlie said, trying to inject a little humor into their discussion.

Again Nathan turned toward the door and tried to position his head against his makeshift pillow. Charlie gave him his space and kept quiet.

That didn’t stop him from thinking about the teenager. Had he made a mistake sticking his neck out to help the kid? When he’d left for West Lafayette yesterday morning, he hadn’t expected to be returning with the fourteen year old in tow. It was one thing to have Nathan spend two weeks with him; quite another to have him spend half the summer.

Ever since Nathan had gone to live with his grandparents, distance had prohibited them from spending much time together. Until yesterday Charlie had thought that they had a pretty good relationship. Now he could see that the two of them had grown apart, and it saddened him, because at one time they had been like father and son.

As the truck ate up the miles, Charlie thought back to those days. He had just turned thirty, and at his surprise birthday party he’d been warned by his friends that the big three-O could cause a man to change his entire way of thinking.

Charlie had laughed and told them how wrong they all were. The reason he was still single and doing all right was that he worked hard Monday through Friday and made the most of his weekend playtime. The latter had been accomplished mainly with women who weren’t looking for the house with the picket fence, two kids and a dog.

But shortly after his birthday he’d found himself reflecting on his life and came to the conclusion that something was missing. Although he wasn’t about to change his life-style, he did want to do something different. When one of his friends mentioned that the local Big Brothers program was having trouble finding volunteers, Charlie decided to answer the call.

He could still remember that first day he’d met Nathan. He’d expected that things would be awkward, that Nathan would be a bit reserved, maybe defensive about not having a father. He wasn’t. He was just like any other kid and reminded Charlie of himself at that age. So full of energy. So eager to learn everything he could about the world around him. Unlike Charlie, who’d had a great relationship with his father, Nathan had never known his dad.

They soon became best buddies, and before long, Nathan’s mother, Amy, joined them on their outings. They were the closest thing to a family that Nathan had ever known, and it wasn’t long before he was asking Charlie if he could call him Dad. Charlie saw no reason he couldn’t, for he truly did feel like a father to Nathan.

Charlie knew that Nathan harbored the hope that one day he would marry his mother and become his real father. For Charlie, who’d never expected to entertain such a thought, it had come as a shock when he’d realized Nathan’s idea wasn’t so outrageous. He had no reason not to believe that, in time, he and Amy might find happiness together.

But then one night Nathan called to tell him his mother was sick—real sick. Charlie went over to see what was wrong. It didn’t take a doctor to see that she was seriously ill. He rushed her to the hospital, where she died two days later from bacterial meningitis.

In the blink of an eye, everything changed. Nathan’s grandparents became his legal guardians and took him home with them to West Lafayette. Charlie knew that Amy’s folks were good people and would give Nathan the kind of family he needed—something he couldn’t do without Amy.

Charlie vowed to remain a part of Nathan’s life, acting as a father figure whenever he could. Which wasn’t often. Construction was booming in Riverbend, forcing everyone at Callahan Construction to work long hours.

No matter how hard Charlie tried to make his visits with Nathan special, he could feel the bond between them weakening. Nathan no longer had that childlike eagerness in his voice when they talked, and gone was his enthusiasm for “hanging out” in Riverbend.

Charlie glanced at the boy beside him and felt a wave of guilt. He hadn’t kept his promise to Amy. He’d let work and the fact they lived in different towns keep him from being the father figure he should have been. Maybe the judge’s ruling was exactly what they both needed to put their relationship back on track, to help them reestablish the bond that had allowed Nathan to call him Dad.

“We’re here,” Charlie announced as the truck came to a stop next to the pier where the Queen Mary was docked. Dawn was brightening the sky, changing it from darkness to deep purple, which was the precursor to a beautiful sunrise. Charlie hoped nature’s beauty would lighten Nathan’s mood.

It didn’t.

As the boy awoke from his nap, he said, “Why couldn’t we just stay home?”

Charlie had to bite his tongue. “What do you think of that sky?” He nodded toward the horizon. “Isn’t that a beaut?”

“‘Red sky in morning, sailors take warning,’” Nathan recited ominously.

Charlie said, “We’re not sailors. We’ll have a roof over our heads should it rain, and an engine to get us to shore.”

Nathan mumbled something under his breath as he fumbled with his seat belt.

“There she is. The Queen Mary,” Charlie boasted as they climbed out of the pickup. “How’s that for a floating palace?”

Nathan shrugged. “It’s all right, I guess.”

Charlie knew the boat was more than all right, no matter what the surly teenager thought. “Come on. The sooner we get this stuff onboard, the sooner we’ll be cruising on the river,” he said, lifting a duffel bag from the back of the truck.

Emptying the truck caused less grumbling than loading it had, giving Charlie hope that even a teenager wasn’t immune to the lure of the river. They left the fishing rods and tackle box on the deck, then carried their duffel bags and groceries into the main cabin. Nathan said nothing other than to heave a sigh when Charlie told him where to set the food.

Although the teenager tried to pretend he wasn’t impressed by the comforts on board the boat, Charlie didn’t miss the way Nathan eyed the entertainment center. “Not bad for a prison, eh?”

The teenager shrugged. “If you’d told me there was a TV, I would have brought my video games along.”

“We’re going to be too busy having fun. We won’t have time for TV.” Charlie didn’t mention that he’d already decided to rent a Nintendo and some other games after the weekend.

“Who listens to this crap?” Nathan asked, lifting a CD case from the entertainment center.

Charlie glanced at the Enya CD. “It’s not mine. Must have been Abraham Steele’s or one of his guests’. Now make yourself useful and put away those groceries, while I get the boat ready.”

Nathan wandered over to the captain’s console. He plunked himself down on the chair and examined the controls. “Am I going to be able to drive?”

“I may let you take the wheel once we’re away from the dock,” Charlie answered, pulling the cord that opened the blue draperies across the front of the boat.

“How far up the river are we going?”

“Here. I’ll show you.” Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “This is a marine map. Shows all the hazards on this section of the river. It’s important that we keep it handy at all times.”

He spread the map out on the console, noting the way Nathan studied it curiously. It was the first time the kid had actually shown any interest in their adventure. Maybe it would turn out to be a good weekend, after all, Charlie thought.

“We’re going to stop right about here,” he told Nathan, pointing to a hook in the river. “As soon as you’ve put away the groceries, I’ll give you a lesson in navigation, all right?”

Again the shoulders shifted, but the hostility was gone from the teenager’s face. “Can I use the bathroom, or do I have to wait until the engine’s running?”

“No, go ahead. Flush away,” Charlie told him, indicating the door to the head. While Nathan was inside, Charlie checked the fuel gauge and water supply.

He was on his knees connecting a wire that had come loose on the control panel when he heard Nathan say, “Your girlfriend left something in the bathroom.”

Charlie straightened. “I don’t have a girlfriend.” From the silly smile on Nathan’s face, he knew that it was something the teen found amusing.

He went to see for himself. A bright red bra hung on the doorknob. The first thought that crossed Charlie’s mind was that Mitch Sterling had had a woman onboard when he’d used the boat last week.

“Well, that sly old…” he began, then noticed Nathan’s rapt attention. “Must be from a previous guest,” Charlie said, snatching the bra from the doorknob and shoving it into the vanity drawer. “Follow me.”

He opened the door to the master bedroom and tossed his duffel bag onto the bed. “I’ll sleep here.”