Sail Read Free Page A

thinner to him.
Too
thin. Well, hopefully they would remedy that soon.
    Carrie plopped a hand on her bony hip. “I gave up an entire summer by the Seine in Paris for this family bonding nightmare. How do you think I’m doing?” she huffed. “Paris, the family Dunne. Paris, the family Dunne. Which would you pick, Uncle?”
    “Good to see you too, sweetheart,” said Jake, unfazed. “And I already picked the family Dunne for my summer.”
    Next he turned and banged fists with Mark. “What about you, good buddy? What did you give up for this trip?”
    “Valerie D’Alexander,” Mark answered, running a hand through his disheveled long brown hair, which hadn’t seen a barber, or maybe even a comb, in months.
    “Vaaaal-ler-rieeee!”
squealed Ernie. “That’s his hot and heavy girlfriend from Exeter. Well, actually, she’s not heavy. They’re having premarital sex!”
    “Sorry I asked,” said Jake. “Did I ask?”
    Ernie shrugged his chubby shoulders. His baby fat continued to be a stubborn holdout on his body. “Actually, Uncle Jake, I think I’m the only Dunne kid who wants to be here,” he said. “In fact, I know that’s true.”
    “I suppose one’s better than none.”
    “Yeah, I read in one of Mom’s medical journals that a change of scenery is considered essential for kids who are raised in a predominantly urban environment.”
    Jake chuckled in disbelief. Whatever happened to kids reading comic books? “How old are you again, Ernie?” he asked. “Nineteen, right?”
    “Ten. But in Manhattan years, that makes me about sixteen. Plus I have a twelfth-grade vocabulary.”
    “Duly noted. Now where’s your mom?”
    “Back with Mr. Hot-Shot Lawyer and the gear,” answered Carrie.
    “Mr. Hot-Shot Lawyer, huh? Do I still detect a touch of hostility toward your new stepfather?” asked Jake. “Never mind. What about the gear? Don’t they at least need a hand?”
    “
Duh.
What do you think the limo driver from the airport is for?” said Mark.
    Jake blinked a couple of times in disbelief. Did the kid really just say that?
    Yeah, he did.
    As the fog around the marina began to lift, something clicked for Jake. He still wasn’t totally clear on how this little boating adventure was going to play out, but one thing he was suddenly sure of.
Doesn’t Katherine see what the problem is? The real problem? These brats are spoiled. Rotten. They’re getting love all right, but the wrong kind.
    It was nothing he couldn’t fix, Jake figured. Two months on
The Family Dunne
would be ample time, he thought. Rigging, raising, trimming the sails. Cranking the jib. Scrubbing the deck. Come hell or high water, he was going to work these kids’ spoiled asses right back to normal.
    Chapter 5
    “KAT, ARE YOU
SURE
you don’t want me to come along?” asked Peter. “I will, you know.”
    “Hmmm, let’s see,” said Katherine, playfully scratching her chin. “You’ve got a big, important trial just about to start back in Manhattan, your plane is waiting for you at the airport with the engine practically still running, and you don’t have a single change of clothes with you. Sure, honey, come aboard!”
    The two stood in the parking lot of the Labrador Island Marina as the limo driver, a burly Italian man with thick arms and an even thicker accent, labored with the huge pile of luggage. Not that the limo guy minded. He knew a big tipper when he drove one, and this Peter Carlyle fellow fit the bill in every way, beginning with the fact that he owned and piloted his own Cessna Skyhawk.
We’re talking serious denaro here!
Plus Mista Carlyle was polite and not the self-centered bossy type. A pleasure in every way.
    Katherine reached for Peter’s hand and played with his platinum wedding band, which still looked shiny and new. “I appreciate your flying us all up here,” she said. “It means a lot to me—to all of us, sweetheart.”
    “Really, it’s the least I could do. Oh jeez, I’m going to miss you so