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They were as solid as ever, but a hell of a lot less gentlemanly, playing harder on and off the court.
Ducking, Drew stepped through the short steel door into one of three racket courts still remaining at the club.
“You’re late!” Co
“I’m still taking your money this morning,” Drew laughed, swinging his bat.
He glanced up into the galley to make sure Patrick, the rackets pro, hadn’t arrived yet to be their marker before they discussed family business. “Whoever wins decides whether or not we attend the opening of Pandora’s Box today.”
“Are you nuts? Did you get a whiff of that truth serum? They’ve agreed to keep quiet about the dresses. Let’s not give them reason to change their minds.” Co
“Cut the lawyer crap, Co
“I say we leave it alone.” Co
“It’s never gone away.” Drew glanced up. “Patrick is here. Let’s play.”
His mind more on the reason for the tight band of tension between them than on the game, Drew let Co
With each slam of his bat, and each point Patrick called out above them, Drew watched Co
Could the missing dresses have anything to do with Alistair? Could Athena be involved?
Drew served hard to the corner, and Co
Co
Drew nodded, but he couldn’t concentrate on the game. He kept thinking how Co
Again, Drew went through his analysis of the case against Alistair. The investments gone wrong. They had been significant, but not fatal. When had Alistair decided to become a gambler, making riskier investments, trying for bigger returns to cover his losses?
Did Athena know Drew’s had been the deciding vote condemning her father and demanding he step down?
If Alistair wasn’t the one to sign off on the risky investments, it had to be one of my cousins.
The ball whizzed past Drew’s ear.
He needed to get his head back in the game, not dwell on the impossible.
He hit Co
He needed to get this over with. He hit the ball hard to Co
Breathing and sweating like stallions after a race, their white shirts hanging out and white shorts rumpled and creased, they both bent over, catching their breath.
Drew caught his first. “We go to Pandora’s Box. I talk to Athena. Then I’m taking the kids from the center sailing before my race.”
Co
Drew shrugged. “You know I love it. Clayworths are creatures of habit. Look at us.”
Co
Drew nodded. “Yeah, I hear you. On that note, I’m heading for a shower.”
Co
Some emotion Drew couldn’t put a name to swept through him. “I don’t know yet. Today is about paying our debt to A
Co
Drew slowly followed him into the locker room, feeling guilty about keeping his plans to himself.
Yeah, he was up to something. Bridget had been right. It was more than time for him to fix himself. Finally fulfill the promise he’d made to himself. A promise Athena had stopped him from keeping.
Standing in the shower, letting the hot water pound over his shoulders, Drew couldn’t stop thinking about Athena. Trying like he had a hundred times before to understand why she’d betrayed his trust. He’d told her about that first time in Cowes on the Isle of Wight in England, standing with his parents as the competitors set sail on the famous offshore yachting race—the excitement he’d felt. Forty-four hours and eighteen minutes later, when the wi
He’d explained it all to Athena, his best friend. Why had she lied and said she understood?
Closing his eyes, Drew turned his face up and let the water cascade over it. It reminded him of the two years he’d been away from Chicago, away from everyone he cared about, to sail with his mom and dad while they perfected their skills for the next Fastnet race. They’d raced through sparkling swells that tossed back a spritzing of spray and towering black mountains of water that drenched him. He had been as good a sailor as both of them, better, in fact, and they knew it.
Yet they still wouldn’t let him crew the Fastnet, even though it had been his desire driving them from the begi
Drew turned on the cold water, numbing the memory of that last day when he’d begged them to let him go with them. He could still see his father’s stern face telling him they had decided it was too dangerous. Feel his mother’s cool lips on his cheek as she whispered, You’re so young, sweetie. All the crews are older and very experienced sailors.
Experience hadn’t been enough when the killer gale smashed through the 303-boat fleet off the English and Irish coasts, leaving fifteen dead, five boats sunk, and another seventy-five capsized. His parents dead from something he suggested they do.
He hadn’t been a kid for a very long time. Back then, he’d been irrational, thinking he could have changed it all if he’d been allowed to go.
He knew his racing in the Fastnet wouldn’t bring his parents back, wouldn’t change the outcome. Yet he needed to do it to assuage his feelings of guilt and regret. It represented closure for him, and he knew it was more than time for him to find it.
“Hey, what the hell are you doing in there? Leave some water for the next guy! I’m in the bar waiting for you,” Co
Drew shut off the water, wrapped a towel around his hips, and stepped out. “Sorry. I’ll join you in a few minutes.”
Co
Drew shrugged. “I’m fine. Thinking too much about paying debts.”
“Clayworths always do, with interest. Why else would you want us to risk the wrath of Athena and her sisters?” Co