Free Knockdown by Brenda Beem Page B

Tears of frustration spilled down my cheeks.
    Dylan glared at me.
    I’d had enough. “I’m going below to change.” I ignored Dylan and threw a couple of towels at Takumi, Jervis, and Nick. “I’ll find you something of Dad’s to change into.”
    Angelina was at the radio and Makala was still asleep when I climbed below. Angelina smiled encouragingly at me. “It will be okay.”
    Obviously , she’d heard what happened on top. I wiped my eyes and I hurried to Dylan’s cabin. Zoë was on the bed with her arm over her eyes. I began to rifle through Dad’s closet. She didn’t move.
    Dad had a drawer full of tees, two pairs of old jeans, three pairs of sweats, and a surprising number of lightweight jackets with names of companies on them. There was even a size-XL Seahawk sweatshirt from a football friend of Dad’s. It was the best bet for Jervis. I knew none of Dad’s pants would fit him, but I managed to find a pair of flannel drawstring pajama bottoms. I hoped they’d work. I didn’t find any boxer shorts, but there was a drawer full of socks.
    Dylan and Cole probably had underwear in the packs that Mom and Dad left this morning, but they would kill me if I touched their stuff.
    Jervis , Takumi, and Nick came down and stood, dripping in the main salon. I threw the pile of Dad’s clothes onto one of the couches and went to get some towels.
    “Remember the color of your towel. Who knows when we will be able to do laundry? And find a place to hang stuff to dry. Throw your wet clothes up top for now. I’ll hang them up in the bathroom when I’m done with my shower.”
    “Shower?” Zoë sat up on the bed. “You said we couldn’t take a shower.”
    “I filled the sun shower, remember? You can share it with me if you want. We need to use it soon. When the sun goes down, the water gets cold.”
    Zoë moved fast for a sick girl and stood beside me. “How does it work?”
    I hung the nozzle end from the sun shower bag over the real shower head. “Push this nozzle back and you’ll get warm water. Spray yourself down and then shut off the water. Soap up, then rinse off. There isn’t enough water for you to wash your hair. If you’re careful, we should be able to get at least three short uses out of the bag.”
    I glanced at Angelina and she smiled.
    “This is salt water, right?” Zoë scrunched her nose.
    “Yeah, but I promise it will feel good. If you dry off quickly, y ou won’t get salty skin. And Mom has lots of lotions on board.”
    “Okay. Maybe a shower will make me feel better.”
    I handed her a towel and brought out our collection of shower gels and soaps. They wouldn’t last long, but we might as well enjoy them for now. “Your towel is burgundy. Remember that. I’ll find you some dry clothes to change into. Yell when you’re done and I’ll bring them to you.”
    I slid the bathroom door closed.
    The guys were taking turns changing in the bow cabin. The jeans and tees were too big for Takumi. Nick’s tee fit, but the pants were too short. We waited for Jervis to come out of the bedroom.
    “What do you think?” He pretended to strut like a model, but Whistler hit a wave and he had to grab hold. The blue and green Seahawks sweatshirt covered only half his stomach. The Christmas plaid pajama pants fit only if he shoved them below his waist.
    He was embarrassed, but hamming it up to save face. He looked silly, but there was nothing else on board for him to wear. And that wasn’t funny at all.
    Angelina was thoughtful. “The tape. We could make the end of the sweatshirt longer with—”
    “Duct tape!” I grinned.
    Takumi handed me the end of a roll we had left over from wrapping the sails. I cut a strip off a thick blue sheet. Angelina attached the material to the bottom of the football shirt with duct tape. Soon Jervis had a top that came down past his thighs. The gray tape and blue material almost matched the Seahawks colors.
    Jervis grinned, mostly at Angelina. He really liked her.
    If