Making Waves by Lorna Seilstad Read Free Book Online Page B

mine.”
    “And as I am in mine.” His eyes sparkled, and he winked again.
    “That won’t get you out of this. Why did you let her go sailing, of all things?”
    “Her heart was so set on it.”
    “And of course you couldn’t tell her no.”
    “I didn’t feel I needed to.” He brought the back of her hand to his lips. “It was simply a boat trip around the lake.”
    “Edward, please try to understand. It’s imperative that Marguerite present herself as a suitable wife.”
    He released a long breath. “All right, my dear, I admit it’s difficult for me to disappoint her. Can you fault me if I like to make the women in my life happy?”
    “I suppose that’s true. So unless you want her to be an old maid, in the future perhaps you should defer to me in matters concerning Marguerite.”
    Lifting her fingers to his lips, he kissed them. “I place her in your capable hands, darling. Will you forgive me?”
    “I’ll think about it.”
    He placed another kiss in her palm. “Then perhaps you’ll allow me to persuade you.”

    Wearing his red Union-style bathing suit, Mark dove off the stern of the sunken steamer and resurfaced seconds later. Marguerite watched from her spot in the sand, trying to decide how to best approach the topic of Mark taking sailing lessons.
    Somehow she had to make her brother believe he’d come up with the idea on his own. If he thought she wanted him to do it, he’d never willingly participate. And while she had a sufficient pile of blackmail material for everyday use, she didn’t have enough to persuade him that far.
    “Come on in the water, Marguerite,” Mark called. “You can’t learn to swim on the beach.”
    She glanced at the cool water and pressed her hands to her sun-warmed cheeks. Mark jogged toward her, and at the last second he bent and sent a shower of water in her direction.
    Marguerite sputtered and wiped the water from her eyes. “Mark! Why did you do that?”
    “Now you’re already wet, so you don’t have no excuse not to come in.”
    “ Any excuse,” she corrected. As she stepped toward him, the water seeped through her wool stockings and her legs instantly felt weighted. Mark, possibly sensing her intention, moved farther into the lake. The desire to retaliate ran deep, and she moved farther into the water until it reached her waist.
    “Well, well, well, what are you going to do now, sis?” Mark darted around her.
    “You know exactly what I plan to do.” She lunged at him and water flew in the air.
    Mark easily sidestepped the barrage. “You were saying?”
    “Mark Westing, so help me – ”
    He made a perfect surface dive. Suddenly something gripped her ankle. She screamed.
    Mark popped up in front of her, laughing. “Gotcha!”
    “I’m going to ring your scrawny little neck, Mark Westing!”
    Half an hour later, they sat side by side on the beach, sopping wet. She still hadn’t managed to douse him, but she had been thoroughly initiated into Lake Manawa.
    “Isn’t this place grand?” Mark lay back in the sand and stretched his arms above his head.
    Marguerite, arms wrapped around her knees, saw an opening. “And there’s so much to do.”
    “And explore.”
    Perfect. Just the direction she wanted him to go. “What would you like to explore?”
    “Caves. Think there are any caves around here?”
    “There aren’t a lot of caves in Iowa, Mark. What else?”
    “Indian trails. There are lots of those. I already found two arrowheads. Do you want to see them? One was little but the other was a big one. Isaiah said it might have even been a spearhead. I’ll show them to you when we get back.”
    She smiled. “I’d like that. Is there anything else you’d like to do while you’re here at the lake?”
    “Not really.”
    Marguerite hit her head against her knees. Didn’t Mark see the whole exciting world stretched before him? She needed a new approach.
    “Mark, did I tell you what I was able to do this morning?”
    “What?” He stood