LITMIR.BIZ

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Patrick clunked his can against Evan’s in a toast. “Thanks for restocking the icebox.”

      Evan grinned. “Only seemed fair, since I drank what you left in there.”

      Patrick often thought that his friend looked like a used-car salesman when he smiled like that, sunglasses hiding his green eyes. In fact, he was a car salesman, albeit new ones, and very successful at it. It had something to do with the charm that oozed out of Evan’s pores. He could sell a monster pickup to an eighty-year-old grandmother with cataracts or a minivan to a teenager looking for a chick magnet. Patrick didn’t understand it. If he didn’t know Evan well, he wouldn’t trust him on a bet.

      “How’d the big race go?” Evan asked.

      “You didn’t check the site?”

      Evan tipped his glasses down to eye Patrick, then pushed them back up. “Please. I’ve got better things to do with my time than track your wake.”

      Patrick snorted his disgust. “We took second.”

      “Against Voltaic?” Evan whistled. “Not bad for a bunch of amateurs.”

      Patrick flipped him off good-naturedly and leaned back against the cockpit coaming.

      Evan eyed the swollen, bruised hand. “You get in a fight or something?”

      “Punched my truck.” Patrick flexed the fingers, again feeling a stab of pain. “Didn’t break anything. But I don’t think I’ll race tonight.”

      Evan shook his head and slid around to lean his back against the cabin, stretching his legs out along the seat. “Who pissed you off?”

      Patrick saw his brother coming down the dock and didn’t answer. Ian climbed on board.

      “Ian! You see your brother’s knuckles?”

      “Yep. That truck will never be the same.”

      “Any good reason?” Evan cocked his head. “Or just staying in practice?”

      Patrick ignored the joke and went below to get his brother a beer. He didn’t want to talk about Kate right now. Maybe not ever.

      “It has something to do with a woman.” Ian took the can Patrick handed him.

      “Naturally. Kate?” Evan asked.

      Ian nodded. “You’ll have to pry the details out of him yourself.”

      Evan swiveled his head to look at Patrick, one eyebrow raised above the edge of his sunglasses. “She dumped you!”

      Patrick sighed. “Look, can we talk about something else?”

      Evan and Ian looked at each other, then back at Patrick. “No,” they said in stereo.

      “He knocked her up,” Ian volunteered.

      Evan’s mouth dropped open and he looked at Patrick over the rim of his sunglasses again. Then he pushed them back up and started to laugh, loud and long. Patrick took a deep drink of his beer, emptying it. He went back down and got another. When he returned, Evan was still laughing, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. Patrick glared at Ian, who shrugged innocently.

      Finally, Evan got control of himself. “Damn, that’s perfect,” he said on a final gurgle. “Here’s to you, Dad,” he added, raising his drink.

      “That’s the tricky part—” Ian began.

      “Whose mess is this anyway?” Patrick interrupted.

      “Yours, Patty,” Ian said. “So, tell him.”

      Evan looked back and forth between them. “What rest? She’s knocked up. You get married, live happily ever after until you don’t. End of story.”

      “That’s the problem,” Patrick began reluctantly. “She doesn’t want to get married—”

      “That’s perfect!” Evan crowed.

      “She doesn’t want to get married to me.”

      “Why not?”

      “Kate doesn’t think Patrick is father material,” Ian said. “He’s gone too often racing.”

      Evan snorted. “What difference does it make if he’s here or not? He’s the father.”

      “Tell that to Kate.” Patrick popped the tab on his beer and took a long swallow.

      “She’s going to find a guy who’s more qualified for the position,” Ian elaborated when Patrick fell silent.

      “Wow!” Evan swore. “That’s hard-core.”

      “She wants me to give it up,” Patrick added grimly.

      “What? Racing?”

      Patrick nodded.

      “That’s ridiculous. You’re a world-class skipper!” Evan straightened from his slumped position. “She might as well ask you to stop breathing. What’s she got against sailors anyway?”

      Patrick shrugged. “Search me. She’s never even been sailing.”

      “Well, you can fix that easily enough.” Evan patted Aphrodite’s hull.

      “So what are you going to do?” Ian asked.

      “Somehow, I have to change her mind. I have to show her that I can be a good father.”

      “Hey, I know! Just borrow one of Jeannie’s kids for a few days to cart around with you. Kate’ll get the idea.” Evan chortled at his own joke.

      “Knock it off, Evan.” Patrick glared at his friend. “I’m serious.”

      “Oh, come on. It’s not like she has guys lined up to marry her,” Evan scoffed. “She’s pregnant.”

      “She has at least one,” Patrick countered. “She’s meeting him tomorrow.”

      Evan shook his head and took another swig of beer. “I don’t believe it.”

      “I do,” Ian said quietly.

      Evan looked at him.

      Ian shrugged. “She’s beautiful and vivacious. She’s an artist. Smart, too. And she runs her own business. The fact that she’s pregnant wouldn’t be that much of a deterrent for some guys.”

      “It would be for me.”

      “No one’s asking you to step up to the plate, McKenzie,” Patrick said.

      “Sounds like no one’s asking you to, either, Berzani,” he shot back.

      “Shut up, both of you,” Ian interjected. “So, how are you going to change her mind, Patty?”

      “Go see her tomorrow, before she meets this other guy. If I can talk to her, I think I can make her see it could work.”

      Ian nodded while Evan shook his head. “It’s going to take more than fancy talk.”

      “Maybe I should take your advice, then,” Patrick said slowly.

      “My advice?” Evan asked, surprised.

      “Yeah.” Patrick nodded as he thought through the idea. “I should take her sailing. She’ll understand everything then.”

      Evan grinned. “Brilliant!”

      “I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Patty,” Ian said, frowning. “She’s never sailed and—”

      “That’s why I should do it,” Patrick interrupted. “I’ll surprise her and show her how great it really is.”

      “But what if she hates it?” Ian asked.

      “Never happen,” Evan said. “I’ll go along to do the work and Patrick can play skipper.”

      “I

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