Chapter 93

Jack was the first to wake up and rolled out of bed. He walked around to where Tom was still sleeping, shook his shoulder and waited for him to open his eyes.

"What time is it?" Tom asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"Six, time to go fishing," Jack replied, keeping his voice low so he wouldn't wake Lisa and Megan.

Tom stretched, swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up. He glanced back at the two sleeping girls and shook his head. Tom stood up and looked for his boxers.

"It's too early, Jack. I feel like I didn't sleep at all."

"I know, but today is the last chance we have to go out and fish before we go home tomorrow. Go take your shower; I'll wake up Kim and Sally."

Tom groaned and headed for the bathroom. Jack left the room and went to the door of the room Kim was in. After tapping on the door, he opened the door and stuck his head in.

Kim was sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling a brush through her wet hair. Jack could hear the shower running and assumed it was Paul.

"Morning, Kim. I just came over to get you up. I'll go get Sally so we can get going," Jack said.

"Morning. Sally's in the shower, she slept in here last night. We'll be ready in a few minutes."

"Okay, I'm going to go get dressed. Tom and I will meet you in the dinning room."

Kim nodded and Jack left. He went back to his room and went inside. Lisa was still sound asleep, but Megan was sitting up. She had the sheet pulled up over her breasts and was grinning from ear to ear.

"Good morning, Jack, did you sleep well last night?" Megan asked.

"What little I got was good, just not enough of it."

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have kept you up so late."

"No, it's okay, Megan. I'm glad we got everything out in the open last night."

"Yeah, me too-I guess."

Jack looked at Megan and she dropped her head, diverting her eyes. Tom came out of the bathroom and told Jack it was his turn in the shower. Jack paused for a moment and then headed for the bathroom.

After taking a quick shower, Jack went out and dressed in jeans and a tee shirt. Megan was stretched out next to Lisa, her arm around the sleeping girl's waist. Jack didn't say anything as he finished dressing. Before leaving the room, Jack grabbed his duffle bag and then told Megan goodbye.

"Bye, Jack, have a good time today. I'll see you when you get back this afternoon." Megan lifted her head and smiled at Jack.

Kim and Sally came into the dinning room a few minutes after Jack and Tom had arrived. Rosa placed a platter of French toast and bacon on the table and asked the teens what they wanted to drink.

After telling Rosa what they wanted, the women left to get the orange juice they had all asked for.

Kim and Sally seemed giddy and giggled as they talked about going fishing. Jack and Tom were a little solemn, not saying much at all.

"I hope we can catch some fish today," Kim said. "I really like fishing down here."

"Yeah, me too, Kim," Jack said as he stared at his plate and picked at his food. "I think Jeri will be able to find fish for us again."

"Are you going to see if she'll let you guys drive the boat today?" Sally asked, looking across the table at her brother.

"I want to, Sally. Now that we're getting the yacht, I want to learn as much as I can," Jack told her.

The teens finished their breakfast, picked up their dishes and carried them into the kitchen. Rosa scolded them for doing her job, like she always did, but they just laughed and told her they didn't mind.

After gathering their things for the day, the teens left the house to go to the boat. Don and Marc were sitting on the patio having coffee and the group stopped to chat for a minute. Don told them to have a good time and they continued to the Viking.

"The skiff is gone," Jack said. "I wonder where Jeri went?"

"She went to get bait." Kim held up a note she found stuck on a piling. "We're supposed to just wait on the boat until she gets back."

They all climbed on board, stowed their duffle bags in the cabin and went up to the flying bridge to wait for Jeri.

Tom and Jack sat at the helm. Tom took the helmsman seat and Jack the seat next to him. Kim and Sally stood behind their brothers and began asking questions about the different things on the dash. Jack and Tom took turns answering the girls' questions, but didn't seem as enthused as they were.

"What's going on with you guys?" Kim asked. "Both of you seem like you're mad at the world."

Jack turned around and faced Kim and Sally. "Lisa and Megan kind of broke up with us last night. I guess they like each other better than they like us."

"What? What did they say?" Sally asked.

"Not much, just that they wanted to be together. They still want to be friends, but not like it has been," Jack said.

Tom twisted his seat around and the four siblings stared at one another. Sally shifted nervously from one foot to the other as she tried to think of something to say that would make her brother and cousin feel better. Glancing at Kim, the two girls shared a brief smile and moved closer to their brothers.

Kim put her arms around Jack's neck while Sally sat on Tom's lap. The two girls gave the boys hugs and just held them for a moment.

"Looks like it's the four of us again," Kim said. "Paul and I have agreed to be friends, but not boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Brad wants a boyfriend, not me," Sally added. "He said he still wants to fool around once in awhile, but not have a relationship."

Kim looked into her brother's eyes. "Are you going to be okay, Jack?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, eventually. It still kind of hurts right now. I never expected to be replaced by a girl."

Sally giggled, nodded and said, "Tell me about it! It sucks finding out your boyfriend would rather suck cock than have his sucked-at least by me."

Kim sat on her brother's lap, leaned against him and snuggled her body against his. Jack put his hands around her waist and held her close. Moving her mouth to his ear, Kim kissed Jack and then said, "I love you-you know that don't you?"

Jack tightened his grip on Kim and fought back the tears that welled in his eyes. Having Kim in his arms seemed perfect to him.

"I love you too, Tom. I'll be your girlfriend-if you want me," Sally told her brother.

"Thanks, Sally. I love you too. I love all of you guys. We're family and we have to stick together," Tom said.

Kim giggled and wiggled in Jack's lap. "I like that idea, being stuck together."

Jack, Tom, Sally and Kim all laughed. Once they clamed down, Kim put her lips against Jack's and kissed him. At first, the kiss was chaste, but it quickly grew in passion. Jack opened his mouth and Kim's tongue darted in. They held the kiss for several moments before separating.

When he glanced at Tom and Sally, Jack saw that they were kissing too.

The sound of an outboard caused the teens to look out across the water. They saw Jeri and April approaching in the skiff and got up to help them tie the boat up and carry the bait onto the Viking.

"Good morning," Jeri called out as she maneuvered the small skiff against the seawall.

"Hi, did you get the bait?" Tom replied as he caught the line April tossed to him.

"Yeah, we have plenty. It looks a little rough out there today; we may have to fish in the ditch until the ocean clams down a little." Jeri tossed Jack the bowline as she spoke.

"What ditch?" Kim asked.

Jeri chuckled and replied, "The ICW, they call it the ditch. We can find some jacks or permit there. It's not as much fun as fishing for billfish, but it's better than not fishing at all."

Jack and Tom tied the skiff to the seawall and helped Jeri and April with the cooler of baitfish. The two boys carried the bait to the Viking and poured the contents of the cooler into the live bait well. After filling the bait well, Jack turned on the pump that circulated water for the small fish.

Jeri told Jack and Tom to follow her and climbed down into the engine room to go over the checklist and get the boat ready. Kim and Sally helped April take care of the electrical and water connections before untying most of the lines that secured the Viking.

Once the engines were started and warmed up, Kim and Sally cast off the bow and stern lines so the group could leave. Tom listened to Jeri as she told him what to do to pull away from the seawall.

Tom maneuvered the boat out and into the canal. He eased the throttles forward and steered the boat toward the ICW. Kim and Sally came up to the flying bridge and watched as the boat cut through the water.

After a few minutes, April came up carrying two cups of coffee. She handed one to Jeri and sat on one of the bench seats.

"Jeri and I have been talking about a crew for Tomiko. We think we should start looking for crew members and gathering resumes," April said.

"That sounds good, April, but we kind of thought we would be the crew," Kim said.

"If you want to, you certainly can-it's your yacht. I just think we should have a crew that can take care of the charters when you guys can't make it or don't want to work," April replied.

"You're right, April," Sally said. "I guess we never thought about that. How many crew members do you think we should have?"

"Jeri and I think we should have at least two crew members we can count on. We'll develop a list of others that can be called if needed. We also need to find a chef. We know some people that may be interested in working for you," April said.

"Don't you mean working for you?" Jack said. "We hired you two to take care of the yacht and the crew. We know we own Tomiko, but you and Jeri are the captain and chief steward. We want you two to take care of things like that."

"Okay, no problem," Jeri said. "It's going to take some time for April and I to fully understand our roles. Most of the owners I've worked for wanted to be the boss and make all the decisions. I will also start talking to a few of the charter brokers so we can begin booking charters."

"What's a charter broker?" Sally asked.

"A charter broker is like a travel agent for yachts. They find clients and take care of booking the trips. If you want to get enough charters to pay for the yacht, we'll need a broker," Jeri said.

"How much do we have to pay them?" Jack asked.

"It all depends on how much you want them to do. The better brokers advertise in magazines and the like. They go to shows and try to find clients for you. The real good brokers will get up to ten percent of the charter fee for their services," Jeri replied. "I know it sounds like a lot of money, but it's worth it."

"I think we should get the best broker we can," Tom said. "I don't want our parents getting all bent out of shape because we aren't making any money."

"April and I will start talking to a few of the brokers we know. We can also ask Harry Shockley if he knows anyone." Jeri pointed to a cut and told Tom to head that way. "I have a list of things I think we should have done to the yacht. Maybe we can go over it today. Harry said he thinks he can have Tomiko ready to deliver in four months."

"Really? That would be great!" Kim said. "Maybe we could take it to Michigan for the summer and start chartering her in the fall."

Jeri nodded. "Taking her to Michigan would make for a good shake down and training cruise. If we had any trouble, we'd have to have Bowman's send someone to make the repairs. Once we returned to Florida, we can take the yacht to the boatyard and have her touched up and any minor repairs made."

"Okay, it's settled then. We'll take the yacht to Michigan as soon as we can. I think Mr. Stone wants to charter her for a couple of day trips up north," Jack said. "He said his law firm would take at least one charter."

Jeri turned around and began telling Tom where to steer the boat. Once she was where she wanted to be, Jeri had Tom put the boat in neutral and dropped the anchor. The group went down to the cockpit and Jeri began getting the fishing tackle ready.

Once the rods were setup and baited; Jeri told Jack, Kim, Tom and Sally how to fish for the smaller fish that swam in the ICW. They stood and jigged the bait in the water waiting for a bite.

"It's kind of cool today. I'm glad I wore my sweats," Kim said.

"It's winter and it gets cold down here some days," April said. "I guess you guys think this is warm compared to the weather in Michigan."

"Compared to Michigan, it's hot," Sally said. "I love it down here."

"It's okay this time of year, but it gets really hot in the summer. Being able to take the yacht north for the summer will be real nice, as long as we can get a few charters up there," April said. "I've heard about the Great Lakes, but I've never been there. Hell, I've never been north of the Carolinas."

Kim felt a tug on her line and began reeling against the fish that took her bait. Jack put his rod in a holder and moved closer to his sister in case she needed any help. After a brief fight, the fish came to the surface. Jack reached over the transom and gaffed the permit that was trying to get away.

"Are these good to eat?" Kim asked as Jack hoisted the fish onto the deck.

"Yes, they're very good, Kim. Rosa can bake it for you tonight if you want her to," April said.

"Cool, we need to catch a few more, there are a lot of people at the house," Kim replied.

The teens caught a few more of the fish and then decided they had enough for the evening meal. When Jeri asked what they wanted to do, Jack told her he wanted to learn more about operating the boat.

After stowing the fishing gear and cleaning the cockpit, they all went up to the flying bridge. Jack fired up the two engines and pulled the anchor. Once they were underway, Jeri gave him directions. They cruised along the waterway looking at the houses.

"Just think, we're going to have a house down here soon," Sally said. "I can't wait until we can spend the winters in the warm weather instead of the snow we get at home."

"What will you guys do about school?" April asked. "Go down here?"

"I don't know, our parents will think of something," Kim said and then she turned to Sally. "Want to go change? I'm getting warm."

"Okay," Sally said and got up.

Kim and Sally went below and took shorts and tank tops out of their duffle bags. They removed the sweatshirts and sweatpants they were wearing and put on the lighter clothes.

"Kim, how do you feel about what happened to Tom and Jack?" Sally asked as she folded her clothes and put them into the bag.

Kim thought for a moment. "To tell the truth, I'm kind of happy about it. I would never tell my brother, but now I don't have any competition."

Sally giggled and said, "You know what? I was thinking the same thing. Do you think they will want to have us as girlfriends?"

"Yes, I'm sure of it-at least they better want us," Kim said.

Sally moved in front of Kim, put her arms around her waist and pulled her close. When Kim put her hands on Sally's shoulders, Sally slid her hands to Kim's bottom. Their lips met in a quick kiss and then they giggled.

"Things are going to be different now, Kim. I want to make love to Tom and I know you want to do it with your brother." Kim nodded and smiled. "I want all of us to do some of the things we used to do-I want to fuck Jack and watch you fuck Tom."

Kim giggled again. "We are going to have so much fun, Sally! I can't wait until we come back down here-just the four of us." Kim kissed Sally's nose. "How about me, do you want to make love to me too?"

Sally moved back a little, put her hands on Kim's breasts and gave them a firm squeeze. Kim leaned into Sally's hands and moaned as her fingers began to massage the twin mounds. After a moment, Kim grabbed Sally's wrists and removed her hands.

"We better be careful, I don't think our brothers want to see us fooling around, not right now anyhow. I think they are hiding their feelings about what Megan and Lisa did to them."

April had come into the salon unnoticed by Kim and Sally. When she heard what Kim said, she walked over to the two girls.

"Megan and Lisa didn't do anything to your brothers, not on purpose. They just fell in love. Sometimes things happen that are out of our control. Jeri and I talked to Megan and Lisa. They told us they were in love, but were afraid of hurting Tom and Jack."

"Did you guys tell them to break up with our brothers?" Kim asked.

"No, we would never tell anyone what to do. Megan and Lisa really care about your brothers, they love them. You have to understand how they feel about one another too. If they didn't find out if their feelings were real for one another, they would spend the rest of their lives wondering. That wouldn't be good for anyone. Megan and Lisa could never completely love your brothers if they were always questioning their feelings," April said.

Kim and Sally nodded.

"I hope they're happy," Kim said. "I know that Jack and Tom will be okay."

April smiled and said, "I'm sure both of you will see to that. It's easy to see how much you two care for them."

Kim and Sally stood in shock. They both wondered how April knew and just how much she did know.

"Don't worry, one of the things you learn in the charter business is how to ignore things that are none of your business. What you guys do is none of Jeri's or my business." April moved closer and put her arms around the two younger girls. "Look, we are going to be spending a lot of time together and I think that if we keep secrets, it will cause big problems.

"Kim, Sally, I don't know anything about what you and your brothers do, but it's clear that the four of you are very close. Like I said, that's your business. I don't care what you do or who you do it with."

"Thanks, April," Sally said. "Kim and I do care about our brothers and you're right, we're very close. The same goes for you and Jeri. Whatever you do will be none of our business. I think we all want this to work."

"Good, I'm glad that's settled. I'm going to make lunch for us. Jeri is having Tom and Jack practice some docking and then we'll eat." April smiled and began making lunch.

Kim and Sally offered to help and April asked the girls to get out the plates and other things that would be needed to serve lunch. After setting the table the two young girls sat down to watch April. As she prepared the food, April told the girls what she was planning to do to the apartment. Several times, she told Kim and Sally how much she and Jeri appreciated everything the girls parents were doing for them.

Once lunch was prepared, April told the girls she was going to go out and tell the others it was time to eat. Kim offered to do it, got up and headed out to the cockpit. She called up to Jeri and let her know it was lunchtime. Jeri had Jack anchor the boat out of the way of other traffic and the group went below.

After washing their hands, everyone sat at the table while April served the salmon patties and brown rice she had prepared.

Kim glanced up at her brother and smiled. "How are you doing with learning to drive the boat?"

"He and Tom are doing very well," Jeri said. "They still have a lot to learn, but it won't take long-not if they get some practice."

"That's cool, maybe they will be able to operate Tomiko when she's finished," Sally said.

Jeri chuckled and shook her head. "That will take some time, Sally. Once they're comfortable with something this size, they can move up. There is a big difference between a fifty footer and a yacht the size of Tomiko."

April asked if anyone wanted more food and then asked, "When do you think you guys will be down here again?"

"In a couple of weeks," Tom replied. "Our dads said we should plan on coming down every two weeks while the yacht is being finished. Jeri, do you think the things you want to change will delay the delivery date?"

"No, not really, Tom. I talked to Harry and told him we wanted to make sure he assigned enough help to keep the project moving. The yacht hasn't been worked on for quite a while, but they seem to be catching up. I guess the new cabinetmaker had some issues with the way some of the joinery was done and is going to redo a lot of it. It may add a couple of weeks, but I'm sure it will be worth it."

Jeri took a bite of her lunch and waited until her mouth was empty before continuing. "I have a list of the electronics I'd like to change. There is new technology that wasn't available when the yacht was designed and ordered. Harry said there wouldn't be any trouble making the changes."

"I think we should start working on a budget for the things we'll need, you know towels, bedding, dishes and stuff like that," Sally said.

April chuckled and nodded. "I've already started on it, Sally. I should have it finished by the time you guys come back. A lot depends on what Joanne wants to do, but we can work on a price range. Have you guys thought about hiring a chef?"

Kim looked at her brother and cousins. "We thought that you would be the chef, April."

"No, I can cook, but I'm no chef. We need to find someone that can plan menus and take care of the purchasing. The chef will also need to know about wines and other things."

Kim nodded. "Do you know anyone?"

"I know a few chefs, but I think we should wait until we're closer to booking charters before we hire someone."

"April's right. We don't need to add any more expenses than we have to. Once the yacht is delivered and we have her ready, we can start looking for the crewmembers we'll need. We can talk about it as we get closer to the delivery date," Jeri said.

"What are the chances we'll be able to take Tomiko to Michigan this summer?" Tom asked.

Jeri shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure, but we should be able to. We probably won't be able to spend much time up north, but it would be a good way to shake down the yacht. We may want to hire one of Harry's engineers to go with us, at least part of the way."

Sally said, "Why would we need an engineer?"

"Just in case something happens, Sally. It would be better to have someone that's familiar with the yacht than a stranger," Jeri replied.

Kim got up and began clearing the table. April told her she didn't have to, but Kim didn't stop. Jeri, Jack and Tom went outside and up to the flying bridge to pull the anchor and get underway.

While Sally, Kim and April cleaned up the galley, Jeri taught Tom and Jack how to maneuver the boat in a current. Tom took the helm first and listened to Jeri as she told him how to use the engines and transmissions to back the boat into a makeshift slip. Jeri had put out two fenders, with weights to keep them in place, to simulate a narrow slip.

Once Tom got the hang of the maneuver, Jack took his turn at the helm. "It's different with the current, Jeri. You have to time things just right."

"That's right, Jack. It's really much easier with a boat that has bow thrusters. You can almost make it go sideways. Just remember to be aware of the current and the wind. When the wind is blowing in the opposite direction of the current, it's easy to let the boat get away from you."

Jack spent an hour both backing and pulling forward between the fenders. Each time he stopped the boat, Jeri would check its position. After retrieving the fenders, Jeri told Jack where she wanted to go next.

Kim and Sally went out on the foredeck to lie in the sun while Jack drove the boat to a marina. Once they were in the marina, Jeri had Jack practice pulling in and out of an empty slip.

Jack was able to back the boat into the slip the first time, stopping before hitting the pier. Jeri told him how well he did and then told him to pull in forward. After completing the exercise, Jack let Tom take the helm to practice.

While his cousin operated the boat, Jack looked around the marina at some of the other boats moored there. Most of the boats were about the same size as the one they were on, but some were larger. Jack spotted a sixty-foot Viking and pointed it out to Jeri.

Jack and Jeri chatted about the boat while she watched Tom. Jeri offered a couple of suggestions, but all in all, he did well.

It was almost four in the afternoon when they headed back to the house. Tom and Jack switched off with Jack docking the boat at the seawall. Kim and Sally helped with the lines and secured the boat. After washing the boat down, Jeri and April headed home and the teens went into the house.

Marge and Anne were sitting in the living room, talking about their afternoon shopping trip. Kim and Sally joined their mothers and asked what the women bought.

"We didn't buy anything today, Honey. We spent most of the time looking at furniture and things for the new house," Anne said. "Joanne has some wonderful ideas and a great eye for color."

"Cool, Mom. Will Mrs. Mitchell be coming down here to do the decorating?"

"Yes, Sally. Aunt Marge and I will be coming down with her. We really want to get the house finished as soon as we can. I think we may start spending winters in Florida."

"What are going to do about school? Will we go down here?" Kim asked.

Marge smiled. "We haven't really decided what we're going to do, Kim. Dianne said she could help by coming down during the winters, but that would interfere with the golf course. I'm sure we'll come up with a plan."

Kim turned to Sally. "Maybe we should just take the GED and forget about school. If we want to learn about something, we could take a class on that subject." Kim giggled. "I really don't need anymore physical education or some of the other dumb classes. We know how to do math, read and write, you know, the important stuff. What else do we need?"

Both Anne and Marge laughed. Marge looked at her daughter and said, "Are you telling me you want to be a high school dropout?"

"That's not fair, Mom. You and Dad already said we'd never have to worry about money. The only reason I can see to finishing high school is to go to college and I just don't see that happening. We already own a business and plan on making it successful. We all know the business is a tax write off for our families, but we want it to make money someday."

"Just how long have you girls been thinking about this?" Anne asked.

"We've all been talking about it, Aunt Anne. Jack, Tom, Sally and I think we'll do just fine without finishing high school." Kim grinned. "We plan on finishing this year, but we don't think we'll continue after that."

"We don't really have a lot of friends from school and now we don't even go there anymore. The friends we do have we can still see, even if were not in school. Now, you're talking about living in Florida in the winter and Michigan in the summer. If you think about it, we won't really have much time for friends with the yacht and all." Sally was getting animated as she spoke.

"Okay, take it easy, Sally. We understand what you're saying, but we'd still like to see you kids get your diplomas," Anne said.

"We will, but they will be GED diplomas, not regular high school diplomas. I'll bet there are a lot of kids that graduate from high school that aren't as smart as we are-or as smart as we could be," Kim said.

Marge and Anne became amused at their daughters and the things they were saying. While both women knew the girls were correct, they didn't want to seem too ready to let them quit school. The mothers wanted the girls to think things through and make the right decision, a decision that would be with them for life. In previous conversations between the parents, they all agreed the need for their children to finish high school was limited, but also decided they wouldn't push them into either direction.

Between the trust funds that had been set up by Sam Mitchell and the assets the families were acquiring, the teens would be financially set for life. Even if they lost all the wealth they had accumulated, the funds were designed to provide adequate incomes for the parents and the teens, an income that would best anything they could earn even with college educations.

Kim and Sally continued to state their case to their moms, trying to give them all the reasons they should be allowed to leave formal education and get an equivalency diploma. The girls were convincing in their arguments, but Anne and Marge weren't about to concede until Marc and Don could offer their opinions.

Marge finally said, "Listen, if you and your brothers want to talk to us about this when your fathers are here that's fine with me. Let's wait until we get home though. We have to get packed and ready to leave."

Kim and Sally agreed and left the room. They went to the bedrooms to find Tom and Jack so they could tell their brothers what their moms had said. After checking the room Jack was staying in and finding it empty, they went to Tom's room.

Jack and Tom were sitting on the bed talking about the things they learned about operating the boat. When the girls walked in, both of the boys looked up and said "hi" to them.