“Of course.”He’d wanted to take Blake fishing, but that could wait. It would be good for him to have a friend his age.
“‘K, I have to run home and put on my suit. I’ll swing by Jesse’s cottage and get you?”
“Sounds good.”Blake nodded.
Emily swept out of the cafe.
“She’s got a lot of energy,”Blake said as he watched her leave.
Jesse laughed.“That she does. Good luck keeping up with her on your shelling adventure.”
Emily hurried home and burst in the front door.“Mom, you home?”
“In the kitchen.”
Emily entered the room.“Hey, I met Blake.”
“You did?”Her mother paused from emptying the dishwasher, a plate in one hand and a cup in the other.
“Yeah, at the cafe. And I asked him if he wanted to go to the beach with me this afternoon.”
“That was nice of you.”
“Well, he doesn’t know anyone here. I just thought he might like to hang out for a while. Besides, it’s kind of cool that I have a…”She shrugged.“Some kind of cousin.”
“Second cousin, I think. But don’t quote me on that.”
“I never had a cousin, so I think it’s great.”Emily went off to change and called out as she was leaving.“Be home later.”
She hurried over to Jesse’s cottage and knocked. Blake answered. He was wearing swim trunks, a t-shirt, and a ball cap. She nodded in approval.“You ready?”
“All set.”
Jesse came up behind him.“You guys have fun.”
“We will.”She held up her favorite teal mesh shelling bag.“Hoping for a good haul today.”
They headed around the cottage to the beach and walked to the water’s edge.“It must be nice to live here where you can go to the beach all the time,”Blake said.
She shrugged.“I guess. I’ve never lived anywhere else. And I do love the beach. Oh, I should get Grams to take us out to Pelican Cay on the boat. It’s so cool there. Lots more shells there than here.”
“That would be fun. But like I said, I’m not sure how long I’ll be here.”
She paused.“That must be tough. Not knowing where you’re going to be and what’s going to happen.”
“If Jesse can help me become emancipated, then I won’t have to worry about other people controlling my life and where I live.”Determination flashed across his features.
She couldn’t imagine becoming emancipated. Not having her family to depend on. She couldn’t imagine just finding her real parents. She was a bit in awe of Blake and all that he’d done to try and change his life and make it better.“I’m sure Jesse will help in any way he can. He’s a nice guy. So, you live with your aunt now. That’s what my mom said.”
“Yeah, but she’s on this long cruise with her new boyfriend. This is like the fourth boyfriend she’s had since I moved in with her. He—”Blake sighed and glanced away.“He doesn’t like me much.”
“Then he’s a jerk. I’ve only known you for, what? A couple of hours? And I think you’re okay.”She bumped into him playfully.“And I’ve always wanted a cousin. Now I got one. Mom said we’re second cousins.”
“Really? That’s cool.”
“Come on, let’s look for shells. I like it when I can find some bigger ones that aren’t chipped. Oh, or pink shells. I love pink shells.”
They wandered along the shore, occasionally picking up a shell and rinsing it in the water. If she deemed it a keeper, it went into the bag. If not, they tossed it back into the sea.
