Going Overboard by Vicki Lewis Thompson Read Free Book Online

that longing look on your face, and that usually means you’re about to try something crazy. I know this baby stuff looks like fun, but you don’t have a steady income, and raising a kid alone would be hard enough if you had a lot of money, so—”
    “Time out, Nic!” Andi braced her pole between her thighs and made a T with her hands. “The thought never crossed my mind.”
    “Never?”
    “Well, okay, one time after we’d talked on the phone, and you were so excited about what color to paint the baby’s room, and you’d just bought her first teddy bear, I fleetingly considered the possibility.”
    “Aha!”
    “But I came to the same conclusions you just listed. I have to put my life together before I can think about bringing another life into the world. And I’d like to find a nice guy, too. Easier on me, easier on the kid.” She smiled triumphantly at Nicole. “So there. Do I get points for that?”
    Nicole wet her finger and drew three stripes on Andi’s shoulder. “Well done, soldier.”
    “God, I remember how Dad used to do that. Remember when he started awarding us ranks?”
    “Yeah, and you hated it because I usually outranked you.”
    “I think when he started assigning us ranks, I decided never to be that regimented. But…there comes a time… Don’t laugh, but I’m thinking of expanding on yoga instruction and opening a school of my own, Nic.”
    “I’m not laughing. Would it take much capital?”
    Andi gazed at her. “Spoken like the Nicole I know. Not what a terrific idea, but would it take much capital? ”
    “Isn’t that why you’re asking me, so I’ll point out these things?”
    Andi sighed. “I guess. And no, it wouldn’t take much capital. I could build slowly, use creative ways to advertise. This is scary, but I’m actually thinking about a career, an honest-to-goodness vocation.”
    “My first reaction is that it sounds perfect for you. You’re definitely the self-employment type.”
    “Thanks. I think so, too.”
    “And Mom will be très relieved to know you’re not headed for the sperm bank.”
    “Mom thought I was about to get inseminated, too?”
    Nicole adjusted her souvenir visor and looked at her. “She has some idea that you like to horn in on what I’m doing.”
    “I do not horn in.”
    “Remember the guppies?”
    “The guppies weren’t my fault!”
    “Ha! Who dumped Jaws into the tank when I wasn’t home? Maybe he was the hit man who wiped out Myrtle, Harry, Genevieve and Bernie, but you hired him.”
    “I thought an angel fish was a lot prettier than those dumb guppies. I just thought he’d show them up a little. I didn’t know he’d eat them.”
    “Speaking of eating fish, I’m hoping to do that on this trip,” Bowie said, plopping into the chair next to Nicole. “And I’m hoping we can catch something bigger than a guppy. So which one of you wants to help me try my new lure?” He held up two iridescent clusters of feathers and beads.
    Nicole glanced at him. “Oh, Bowie, don’t use those. Ipromise to wear them really soon. They just take some getting used to.”
    Andi gazed at the dazzle of colors. “Those are earrings? Fantastic!”
    Bowie shrugged. “It was just an idea I had, so I made a pair for Nicole, but she really doesn’t like them. She’s more the pearl-and-diamond type.”
    “Not me,” Andi said. “I think they’re perfect, and you’ll put them in the water over my dead body. Give them here.”
    Bowie handed them across Nicole with a smile of delight. “They’re all yours.”
    Andi took out the red hoops in her ears and replaced them with the lure earrings. “What do you think?”
    “They’re you,” Nicole said.
    “Do you mean that in a good way or a bad way?”
    “A good way.” Nicole squeezed her knee. “After all, I trundled all the way out here just to get my Andi fix. The phone’s okay, but I wanted a face-to-face.”
    “You miss not having Mom and Dad around, huh?”
    Nicole nodded, and her eyes grew