“Please join us,”she added to her mother’s invite. Hey, if her mother wanted to invite some man to go with them, more power to her. Maybe she was just being neighborly, but maybe not. There was a bit of sparkle to her eyes when she spoke to Barry. Interesting…
“Great. Then I’d love to go.”He gave her mother a warm smile. Averywarm smile.
“Meet us at my dock at nine on Saturday. I’m packing us all a picnic.”
“Can I bring anything?”
“Nope, I’ve got it all under control. We’ll see you then.”Her mother hurried off to help a group of customers entering the shop.
Hm…this turn of events was certainly different. She’d have to keep an eye on her mother. See if there was anything going on between her and this Barry guy. Not that she minded if there was. Her mother rarely dated. She’d dated Stan Winkleman off and on years ago. Like lots of years ago. Stan had fallen by the wayside about the time Emily was born. Her mother had been so busy with the shop and helping raise Emily. She guessed Stan had gotten tired of too many no-I’m-busys back then.
Saturday was looking like it would be an interesting trip. She smiled to herself as she went to wait on another customer.
Chapter 7
Donna checked the boat on Saturday morning to make sure everything was set for their outing. She’d packed a large rolling cooler with their picnic. The weather was warm for a winter’s day, but she still wore a light jacket. People always imagined that southern Florida had hot summery days all year long, but in the winter she did have to occasionally wear jeans and sweaters. She should have thought to tell Barry to bring a jacket. It got kind of breezy this time of year on the bay.
And whyhadshe invited Barry? She hardly knew him. She’d tried hard to convince herself that she was just being neighborly. That was all this was. She’dalmostconvinced herself. Almost.
She glanced up as she heard laughter and saw Olivia, Emily, and Heather approaching the dock. Barry trailed not far behind them.
“Hey, Heather, this is Barry. Mom’s neighbor for a bit,”Olivia said.“And, Barry, have you met my daughter, Emily?”
“Not formally. Saw her at Parker’s, though. Nice to meet both of you.”He turned to Donna.“I brought a jacket. Figured it might get chilly on the boat ride.”
“It might.”She nodded.“All of you come aboard. Let’s get this outing started.”
She hugged Heather as she climbed aboard.“So glad you’re home for a bit and could join us. We’ve missed you.”
“I missed you all, too. Can’t wait to get out on the beach.”Heather hugged her back, then headed to the bow.
The girls all grabbed seats near the bow. Barry came back by the captain’s seat…which was really a bench. A small bench, but big enough for two if they sat close. Very close.
“Mind if I join you here?”He nodded at the seat.
“Yes. I mean, no.”She shook her head at her foolishness. Why was she suddenly so nervous?“Yes, join me.”There, that was better.
He slid onto the bench beside her and she smelled the fresh scent of a woodsy aftershave. His arm bumped against hers and she tucked hers close to her side.
She maneuvered them away from the dock, and they wandered through the canal system at a slow speed. She turned to Barry.“Minimum wake through the waterways to prevent damage to the seawalls, and it helps protect the manatees, too. We’re about twenty minutes from the inlet that leads to the bay at this speed.”
“This is just fascinating to me. I’ve never been somewhere like this.”He looked all around as they slid past expensive mansions with tiny original homes tucked between them.
Almost all were well kept and each beautiful in its own way. Many had pool cages over their pools to protect from the bugs. This time of year she loved to have all her sliders opened to the caged area. It made the house feel so expansive.
“Years ago, they dug out the land and made the canal system. The original part is up near the bay, near the downtown area. Then they added this part, also years ago—my grandparents built the house I live in—and the town kept expanding into new areas. South of us there’s a brand new area that’s booming with new homes and a smattering of condos, but I really like this older area the best.”
“I’d never find my way back to your house through the canals with all the twists and turns we’ve made.”
She smiled.“I grew up here so it’s all imprinted on my brain. It takes a bit to learn the ways out to the bay for newcomers, I’m sure.”
They slid through the waterways until they reached the outlet to the bay. As they got past the channel markers, she increased their speed and they slipped across the waters toward the small islands that dotted the entrance to the bay and lined the gulf near Moonbeam.
She’d heard all the arguments that they weren’t really on the ocean, or technically not on the sea. Moonbeam Bay was on the Gulf of Mexico. But it didn’t matter to her. It was ocean as far as she was concerned.
She steered them out across the bay, ignoring the fact that Barry sat right against her, leaning close to ask questions over the noise of the motor and the wind. She pulled up to a dock on the bay side of the island and Olivia scampered out to tie them up.
“In the summer, we usually just anchor on the beach side and wade ashore. But it’s a bit chilly for that now. So, we’ll take the boardwalk across the island, it’s not far,”she explained to Barry.
