“Shit,” I heard Connor breathe. “Shit—Olivia, I think the canoe’s leaking. Look at the floor.”
I dared myself to glance down, only to see rivulets of water running across the canoe’s belly. The bottom of my tote bag was already soaked through. How much water could we take on before trouble really hit us?
I cursed myself when I realized we didn’t have life vests.Howhad Connor and I forgotten life vests? Especially after I’d gotten mixed up in the Jaws Bridge channel!
“Let’s start paddling back to the house,” Connor said after I informed him that both of us were spectacular idiots. “It looks farther than it is. We can make it.”
“What if we don’t?” I asked.
“Then we’ll call for help.”
“Our phones don’t get service,” I reminded him. The only reason we could listen to Spotify was because Connor downloaded his playlists.
“I meant with our lungs.” Connor poised his oar. “Ready?”
We may have rowed thirty yards, or maybe fifteen. The house still looked so far, and now that we were aware the canoe was taking on water, it wasreallytaking on water. My oar kept slipping in my slick hands, blood thumping wildly in my ears.Come on, I thought, trying not to panic.Come on, come on, come on—
My pulse spiked, then it soared when I heard the putter of an engine. “Is everything okay?” I turned to see Charlie at the bow of the Carmichaels’ Boston Whaler and Luke at the wheel. Dripping wet, Sage stood next to him, cradling her water skis. “When we spotted you guys earlier, it looked like you were heading for the beach.”
“We were.” Connor’s voice was hoarse. “But our ride’s about to crap out.”
“We have a leak,” I translated, and from there, no time was wasted. The water was now up to our ankles, making the canoe tougher to row, but Luke was able to maneuver the Whaler so we could easily hand Charlie our stuff before bailing.
“You’re not wearing any life vests,” he commented once our heart rates had returned to normal. “Whereare your life vests?”
Our sheepish silence said everything.
Luke shook his head. “Connor, you’re a childcare professional.”
Connor, already bright red, went even redder.
Sage, wearing a life vest, fake-coughed. “And Olivia, you’re an Eldest Daughter!”
Point taken, but I let a smile slip out, the plethora of TikToks, Reels, and memes coming to mind. Eldest Daughters could rule the world, competent in all areas of life.
“Well, let this be a lesson learned,” Charlie said with an air of finality, then he flicked his eyes to his husband. They quickly warmed. “To the beach, Captain.”
Luke saluted him. “Aye-aye, C.”
Must we?I thought, embarrassment now seeping in. Someone had to tell Topper and Peggy that their old canoe was foundering in the middle of Oyster Pond.
I hoped they hadn’t hung on to it for all these years for sentimental reasons.
“I’ll explain everything to the Carmichaels,” Connor whispered in my ear after Luke cranked up the Whaler. “It was my idea.”
“And I thought it was a good one,” I whispered back. “We’ll explain together.”
Then I took his hand and squeezed it as we sped toward the shore.
* * *
Charlie recruited his dad and Nick to rescue the canoe on their grandparents’ behalf, and Nick was surprisingly pretty pissed about it. “Don’t give it another thought,” Topper told Connor and me once we came clean. “That leak has been there for years, and it’s our fault for not patching it.” He shook his head. “I’ve just never been able to tell where the damn thing is!”
“We’re so glad you’re both safe,” Peggy said, fanning herself with this month’s issue ofVanity Fair. “Youdidhave life vests, right?”
I gritted my teeth, never wanting to hear the wordlife vestagain, but my family had other ideas. Maisie and Bryce ran up to me after I’d showered and changed for dinner, grinning mischievously. “What’s that?” I asked, noticing that Maisie had something hidden behind her back.
“Dad says you have to wear this!” Bryce was giddy when our sister revealed a lime green life vest. “Until you go to sleep tonight!”
