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mother’s life. His mom had married Bill on the bow of the boat. Mikey smiled, remembering that perfect blue-sky day. What a great idea, anchoring off Lahaina with skiffs full of friends watching. Mikey’d never in his life seen his mom so happy, so serene and at peace.
    Three weeks after that, everything they owned was packed and stowed all over the Crystal-C. Heading out of Lahaina harbor, they looked like the Swiss Family Robinson.
    The sun rose as they set out for the island of Hawaii. Mikey’d gone up on the bow and let his face lead, the wind soothing his skin. He was in heaven.
    But oh, man, had his mom gotten seasick. So bad she could barely speak. Not him, though. Not even a hint of it. He was made for the sea.
    Maybe it was because of the water bed he used to have. His mom had bought it at a garage sale back on Maui. It was just like sleeping on a boat, rocking and rolling. The only problem was the bed had a hole in it. An inch-long stab wound with a glued-on bicycle-tire patch that usually kept the water inside. But sometimes it leaked, and in the mornings when Mikey found his sheet damp, he had to smell it to see if the bed had leaked or if he had.
    He smiled, remembering that. He’d never in his life wet his bed. When they left Maui, Mikey gave the water bed to his friend Elroy, whose mother cut it up and made a tent out of it for them. They set it up in the backyard and with white poster paint drew a star and U.S. ARMY on the side. The paint washed away in the first rain, but it was still a good tent.
    Now Mikey slept on a real bed that didn’t leak. But it didn’t feel like a boat, either.
    “What you thinking about?” Alison said.
    Mikey snapped back. “What? Oh, nothing really.”
    “Come on.”
    Mikey grinned and looked out over the wake. No way he was telling her about the leaky water bed.
    They trolled south, the island passing by off the port beam, the long, flat empty sea to starboard. He thought about Alison, still wondering why she acted so weird to her dad.
    “When you went in the water?” she said.
    “Yeah.”
    “What was it like? I mean, was it eerie?”
    “It wasn’t any fun.”
    “Were you scared?”
    “Not really . . .”
    He stopped. “Yes,” he admitted. “I was very scared. My thumb was bleeding, you know? And I thought I saw something. But when I looked there was nothing there.”
    “Spooky.”
    “And then some.”
    Alison studied him, smiling with her eyes.
    “How’s the cut?”
    “Okay.”
    “Aren’t you going to put a Band-Aid on it?”
    “No. Better to just let it dry out.”
    Alison kept watching him.
    Mikey crossed his arms. Then uncrossed them. He jumped up and went over to the cooler and got two strawberry sodas and popped the tabs. He brought them back.
    Alison took one, still looking at him. She took a quick sip and grimaced at the carbonation. “Bites,” she said.
    Mikey nodded. “I like it when it’s ice cold like this, don’t you?”
    Alison smiled. Those pale blue eyes. “Yeah.”

CHAPTER 10

    THE CRYSTAL-C RUMBLED ON.
    Alison took her sketchbook and climbed back up onto the flying bridge. Mikey went in and sat in the seat across from Bill. He gazed out over the ocean as they crossed, and crossed again, the great Hawaiian marlin grounds, the seas of massive yellowfin tuna and monster swordfish that some called the best game fish in the world. One of which was lost by Mikey Donovan.
    Mikey frowned.
    Bill glanced over and winked at him.
    Ernie blew his nose, a loud honk. Mikey turned to see him wiping his nostrils with a crumpled handkerchief, pushing his nose to its limits. Mikey turned away.
    “Hey, Billyboy,” Ernie said, stuffing the handkerchief back into his pocket.
    Bill looked his way.
    “How do you make a blonde laugh on Monday morning?”
    Bill grinned and looked back toward the sea.
    “Tell him, Cal,” Ernie said.
    Cal turned around, big grin on his face. “Tell her a joke on Friday.” They both laughed.
    Bill shook his