to live with her mistakes had been stripped away. Instead of a responsible mature adult, she was once more a vulnerable teenager.
It didn’t help that he’d stood before her shirtless, his tanned flesh bulging with muscles strengthened by years of construction work.
As a kid he’d been lean. Even when the other guys who were River Rats had begun spending a lot of time after school in the weight room, Charlie hadn’t cared about building muscles.
And it hadn’t mattered to the girls of Riverbend, either. Charlie was cool. And fun to be with. His popularity had little to do with the size of his biceps. Every kid at Riverbend High knew that Charlie’s appeal was in his personality.
As Beth dressed, she tried not to think about the good times. She needed to remember that they had come with a price. But suddenly all the years she’d spent pretending she’d never been married evaporated as quickly as puddles in the sun.
Her marriage was no longer conveniently buried deep in the cellar of her mind. Its memories were right up front, pushing their way into her thoughts, begging her to remember that Charlie was her first love.
She took a deep breath and willed her body to be calm. She couldn’t think about the past. Not now. She needed to call Ed so she could get off this boat as soon as possible.
It was a good thing she’d brought her cell phone along, she thought, turning it on. In the right-hand corner, a light glowed, indicating the battery was low. She punched in Ed’s number, hoping there was enough of a charge left for her to complete the call, but she was out of luck.
With a frustrated sigh, she tossed the phone aside. She was stuck here with Charlie.
“Damn.”
If only she didn’t have to go back up on deck and see him. Time was supposed to heal all wounds, so why did seeing him again affect her this way? It had to be the shock, she told herself.
Theirs was an awkward situation, but she’d get through it. And as soon as she was back in Riverbend, she’d make sure their paths didn’t cross the remainder of her stay. No matter what Ed advised her, she would get rid of her share of the houseboat in the fastest way possible.
And as for those painful memories…she’d locked them away once before. She could do it again. She just needed to get away from Charlie Callahan.
BETH WASN’T GONE LONG, and judging by the frown on her face when she returned, she hadn’t gotten the answer she’d expected from her brother.
“Did you talk to Ed?” Charlie asked as she stepped outside into the sunshine. She’d changed into a pair of jean shorts and a yellow top that clung as closely to her curves as the pajamas had.
“My phone isn’t working,” she said, averting her eyes. “Battery’s low. So now what do we do?”
“I told you. We wait for a boat to come by.” With effort, Charlie tried not to notice how the fabric stretched across her breasts.
“Can’t you use the radio?”
“I’m not calling for someone to come give us gas when we’re in the middle of the river on a beautiful sunny day. This isn’t an emergency situation,” he told her.
“So how long do you plan to wait before you consider it an emergency?” she asked tartly.
“We have plenty of food to last until tomorrow if necessary,” he answered.
“Tomorrow?” Her brow wrinkled in a fierce frown. “You told me you’d take me back to Riverbend today.”
“And I will. You’re getting all worked up over nothing.”
“I’m not worked up,” she denied. “It’s just that I’m worried Ed’s going to wonder where I am. He’s expecting me to be at the marina, not in the middle of the river.”
“If that’s what’s worrying you, I’ll call him as soon as I get to shore,” he told her.
She shaded her eyes with her hand, then peered up and down the river. “There’s not a boat in sight.”
“Not yet, but there will be,” he stated confidently.
“And until then?”
“Until then I might as well make us some breakfast,” he said, getting up out of the chair. “Are you hungry?”
He could see the thought of eating wasn’t a tantalizing one. “No, actually I’m not.”
“Then you don’t want to join us?”
“No, I’ll pass.”
Charlie wasn’t sure she’d refused because her stomach was unsettled, or if she just didn’t like the idea of eating breakfast with her ex-husband.
“You go on inside. I’ll sit out here and keep an eye out for a boat,” she told him.
Charlie watched her lower her long slender legs into a lounge chair and thought it best that he did go inside. She was a distraction he didn’t need at the moment. Lucy was right about Beth having an effect on him. There was no point denying that he’d always been physically attracted to her.
But he was no longer a teenager. He only wished his hormones would listen to the message his brain was sending them. Beth was beautiful and smart, but she was not the woman for him. He knew it. She knew it. Everyone in town knew it.
So why did he still want her?
“THE PAN’S SMOKING.”
Charlie turned and saw that Nathan was right. He had set the skillet over the flame and forgotten about it. He switched off the gas.
“You’re not supposed to leave oil in a pan unattended,” Nathan told him.
“Who are you? Smokey the Bear?”
The teenager shrugged. “They taught us safety in the kitchen in ‘living skills’ at school.”
“Did they teach you how to cook?”
“Some stuff. Not bacon and eggs, though.”
Judging by the mess Charlie had made, it looked as if he didn’t know much about cooking breakfast, either. He’d already burned the bacon and over-heated the skillet.
“What about toast? Can you manage that?” he asked.
Nathan shrugged. “I guess.”
“The bread’s over there.” Charlie motioned to the loaf at the end of the counter.
With about as much speed as a turtle, Nathan ambled over to the counter and plugged in the toaster. He popped two slices of bread into the slots, then watched as Charlie cracked eggs into a bowl. All but one broke.
“I like my eggs runny,” Nathan informed him.
“Well, you’re getting them scrambled,” Charlie said, taking a fork to the eggs and whisking them.
“Maybe
