Hunter's Beach

By Christine Ashton

Shelley hadn't wanted her stepfather's son, who she'd never met, to live with them. He didn't want to live with the father he always believed didn't care about him. But out sailing with Shelley's mother they find an unconscious hunter on an isolated beach, and both teenagers are changed by their efforts to save him. Shelley learns that she can be stronger than she ever thought. Rick learns that there can be two sides to any story. And they both learn that first assumptions about other people can be wrong.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jun 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781483555096

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

‘What is it with adults, Nita? Just when things seem to be going along nicely they go and wreck everything.’

While she grumbled to her friend, Shelley manoeuvred her sailing dinghy on to its beach trolley and dragged it clear of the water. Then she turned to help Anita, whose trolley had dug into a soft patch of sand on the steep lakeshore. Working together they were able to pull both boats right up onto the grass.

‘So,’ asked Anita, ‘what’s up? Your mum hasn’t fallen out with Joe, has she?’

‘Get real. They’re rock solid. No, it’s not that. Joe’s son is coming to live with us.’

‘Didn’t know he had one.’

‘Yeah. He’s been married before. It was a long time ago.’

‘So what’s the problem? You’re hardly going to have to share a room with him.’ Looking up, Anita caught the usually cheerful Shelley with a really long face. ‘Oh, I see. Kid brother stuff. I suppose having to babysit could be a real pain.’

‘Worse than that. He’s older than me. He’ll probably try to boss me around.’

As she spoke, Shelley lifted the mast out of its socket and laid it on the ground.

‘Older? How much older? What’s he like?’ Anita was beginning to sound more interested.

Shelley gave her a look that could blister the paint on their boats. ‘He’s nearly sixteen. And who wants an older brother? Especially one you didn’t even grow up with?’

Anita already had her sail off the mast. Shelley helped her to fold it up and slip it into its storage bag. Then they did the same with Shelley’s.

‘You might like him. You like Joe, don’t you?’

‘That’s different. I mean I had time to get to know Joe. Mum even asked me how I’d feel about it before she married him.’

‘What’s this boy’s name then?’

‘Cedric.’ Shelley snorted. ‘What sort of a name is Cedric?’

‘Hmmm. See what you mean. A geek.’

‘Probably a spotty geek.’

‘With thick glasses.’ Anita grinned. ‘And skinny.’

‘A skinny spotty geek with thick glasses. Just what I need.’

‘Maybe we shouldn’t judge the guy by his name.’ Anita looked more thoughtful. ‘People don’t choose their own names.’

‘Suppose not. But you can’t help expecting a nerd with a name like that, can you?’

‘No, but why’s he coming?’

Shelley frowned. ‘Not sure. Sounds like he can’t live with his mother any more.’

‘When’s he turning up?’

‘Today sometime. He’s arriving on the afternoon flight. Mum and Joe are picking him up.’

‘How come you didn’t go with them?’

Shelley shrugged. ‘Didn’t want to. I’ll see him soon enough anyway.’

Shelley had expected an argument when she told her mum and Joe she wanted to race rather than go with them to meet Cedric off the plane. But to her surprise they hadn’t minded at all.

‘We realise it’s going to be difficult for you, bringing another person into the family. But he is Joe’s son.’

‘I know, Mum. I just don’t want to miss this first race. You know how it is. If you start the series with maximum points against you it’s awfully hard to get back into the running.’

‘Fair enough,’ Joe had said. ‘It’s probably for the best anyway. He hasn’t seen me for years, and he’s never met your mum. That’ll be enough for him for starters.’

Shelley gave him a grateful look. ‘Thanks, Joe. I’ll see you all when you get back.’

‘We may call in at the yacht club and see if you’re still there. Otherwise we’ll see you at home.’

‘Hey, wake up, Shel.’ Anita’s voice broke into her thoughts. ‘You were miles away.’

With a start, Shelley realised they’d finished packing up their boats.

‘Sorry, Nita. Just daydreaming.’ She got in behind Anita’s boat and with Anita pulling the trolley and Shelley pushing from behind they moved it further up the grassy slope. Anita’s parents would come later with the car and trailer and take it home.

Then Anita helped Shelley drag the club dinghy up the concrete ramp to the boat storage area under the yacht club.

Brown haired, hazel-eyed Shelley and blond blue-eyed Anita were the best of friends – had been for years – but that didn’t stop them being fierce rivals on the water.

Shelley had beaten Anita today, but she knew it would be much more difficult on days when the winds were stronger. Anita had grown quite a bit taller over the winter. And developed a nice figure too, thought Shelley. She knew no one seeing them together would believe there were only two weeks difference in their ages.

Shelley felt as though her own growth had been put on hold. She was beginning to despair of ever having anything you could call a figure. Her mum told her not to worry; she’d been a late developer too. But knowing that didn’t really help Shelley. If anything it made it worse. She felt there was little hope that she’d suddenly catch up with Anita.

The club championship was a points competition based on races sailed regularly throughout the season. Anita had won it two years ago. Last year Shelley had beaten her, but Brett Fairburn had beaten both of them. Shelley had never won it and was determined this was going to be her year. She was sick of coming second.

She wasn’t expecting her mother and Joe back until well after the racing ended, so having packed up their boats she and Anita went for a hot shower. By the time they were dressed the race places should have been worked out.

When they went upstairs there were still no results on the board so Anita made her way over to the canteen.

‘We might as well have a drink while we wait. What do you fancy, Shel? A hot drink or a chocolate milk?’

‘Milk, please. And I could murder a Moro. I’m starving. Hope someone’s going to do fish and chips tonight.’

‘I might.’ The mother of one of the other juniors appeared from the kitchen. ‘We’ll see if anyone else wants to eat here.’

The younger kids were still in the showers and the trailer yachts hadn’t finished racing. Shelley stood at the window watching them.

She said, ‘I reckon they’ll be lucky to finish the way this wind’s dying away.’

Anita brought the drinks over and joined her at the big window overlooking the bay where most of the club races were held. The breeze had been flukey in the later part of the afternoon, though there’d been some quite strong gusts earlier. But it had become much lighter since the dinghies finished and was now almost gone. A couple of the boats were completely becalmed. Others were still moving, but very slowly. Large holes had developed where the water looked glassily calm. One of these was near the finish line, and was growing rapidly, threatening to engulf it.

‘If the trailer yachts don’t get a result from today it won’t matter that your mum and Joe missed this race,’ said Anita. ‘That’s if they’re going to race this year. Are they?’

‘They hope to but Joe’s work gets in the way. That’s the trouble with hotel maintenance. Problems can crop up any time. So they’re always going to miss some races.’

‘Joe’s in charge, isn’t he? Can’t he arrange the hotel duty rosters to suit the racing?’

‘He’ll try. But it only needs someone to go off sick and the system falls to bits,’ Shelley said.

‘When will they have Windsong back in the water?’

‘She’s ready now.’ Shelley felt suddenly resentful. ‘We were going to launch her this weekend, if it hadn’t been for Cedric coming.’ She sighed. ‘We’ve been working on her for so long it’s hard to believe she’s really ready.’

‘You’re so lucky Joe likes sailing too.’

‘I know. When Mum took him crewing the first time, for Brett’s dad, she thought he might find it boring. He’d always been used to powerboats. But he loved it.’

‘I wish we had a trailer yacht. Dinghies are choice for racing, but I’d love to be able to go cruising up the lake like your family.’

‘Mum and Joe say that once we can afford a VHF radio they’ll