Deep Betrayal

her head back to catch the sun. Jules handed Calder a muffin.
    “You missed breakfast,” she said. “This was all that was left.”
    Calder smiled one of those knee-weakening smiles, and Rob scowled. He repositioned himself next to Jules and threw an arm around her shoulders. His territorial behavior reminded me of a show I’d watched on Animal Planet.
    Calder started the motor and let it idle. He untied the boat from the cleats, walking it away from the dock and then jumping on as the stern cleared the end. Rob and Zach leaned to their sides to give him room to step down and find his place behind the wheel. I had a sense of pride in how comfortable he was on a boat. I wondered when he’d mastered it. Why take a boat when you can swim? It remindedme how little I really knew about him, his past, the people he’d known, the girls.…
    Calder reached out for me and took my hand. He pulled me close and had me stand in front of him, my hands on the wheel, his hands over mine. I wanted to turn around and face him, but he had me virtually pinned in position. It didn’t help that his breath was gently grazing across the back of my neck and down my bare shoulder. It had to be intentional; it was almost cruel. I could imagine the smug expression on his face.
    Seagulls sprang off the rocks, and although I was sure they were making an awful racket, it was impossible to hear them over the engines. It felt weird to be up so high. My view of the islands had always been at the water level—or below. With so much distance between our bodies and the water, the islands felt distant and impersonal. I barely recognized them.
    The boat was fast. In no time, we rounded the northern tip of Madeline, and Calder pointed to a small strip of land to the Northeast. “Michigan Island,” Calder said, yelling over the motor. Zach was the only one who really cared about the name. He was bent over a chart of the islands, and he put his thumb on the finger-shaped image.
    Scott opened the cooler and threw a Coke to Phillip. Rob held up a finger and Scott handed him one, too. Calder cranked the wheel, sending Rob off balance and his hand plunging into the cooler ice. I would have lost my balance, too, but Calder held me in place. Rob pulled out his hand and shook off the cold.
    He shot Calder an accusatory look, but Calder laughed itoff. “You’ll need to get used to the cold if you plan on swimming,” he yelled over his shoulder. “It’s probably only about sixty degrees.”
    “Sixty?” Phillip yelled.
    Calder laughed again.
    Zach shook his head. “Say goodbye to your balls, boys.”
    Phillip tried to smile but looked out over the water with newfound concern.
    “I thought we were supposed to keep them happy,” I said so that only Calder could hear.
    “Oh, they will be. That’s Stockton Island,” Calder said, back to playing tour guide. “Lots of bears. Good hiking.”
    “Where’s a good place to picnic?” Jules yelled.
    “We just ate,” Colleen said. “God, girl, it’s always food with you.”
    “I like to know where we’re headed,” Jules said.
    Calder pointed to the channel between Stockton on our right and Hermit Island on our left. “Head for that split,” he said to me, and he left me alone at the wheel. I glanced over my shoulder as Jules and Colleen separated so Calder could sit between them.
    Make them happy. That shouldn’t be too hard . Calder took the chart from Zach and showed the girls our route. He dragged his finger across the chart, indicating our intended anchorage—the eastern shore off Oak Island. I’d never been to Oak before. Did he think his sisters were this far north? I guess with all the scouting he and Dad had done, he’d ruled out everything to the south.
    Jules and Colleen hunched over the chart with Calder, their three heads close together. I sighed. I knew it was allpart of his plan, but it was hard to watch him working his charm on them. Even if he wasn’t getting anything out of it (there was no tingle of electricity in the air), I knew what Jules and Colleen were feeling. Their boyfriends were only inches away, but Calder could be a powerful force of amnesia when he wanted to be. I wondered what images he was pushing on them. The need to take a refreshingly cold swim, no doubt. The sun was hot. That idea shouldn’t take too much persuasion. Maybe images of happiness: puppies, chocolate, kisses. Army surplus stores?
    Oh. That last one was for me. “Very funny,” I said, and I