“Well, that’s good.” Deena slipped her arm through Sam’s, excitement evident on her face. “Because Chuck and I have a little surprise that’s going to extend the day, and we think you guys are really going to like it.”
CHAPTER16
Gina had left the town celebration while it was in midswing. She wandered along Main Street, making a point to go past the vacant bakery on her way to her car. The shop was still empty, and she lingered at the window, imagining the tables and chairs set up and filled with happy pie-eating customers.
The bakery cases looked almost new and she pictured those filled with various pies. The blackboard behind the counter would have the specials written in colorful chalk. She’d already come up with some unique items like small individual-sized pies and pies filled with savory ingredients for lunch.
She still had no word on Hugh. How long should she wait? Nick had sounded upbeat about her getting a loan. Maddie, Jules, and she were taking only a small salary from the Beachcomber motel profits, choosing to put everything back into the motel, and she didn’t have anything saved up. Maybe she should just forget about Hugh and apply. Avoiding debt was the best course of action, though, so she would wait a little longer.
When she got back to the Beachcomber, it was quiet. Everyone was at the town celebration. She was cleaning up the last-minute pie-baking mess in the motel kitchen when she heard a strange noise out by the porch.
It sounded like something big. Could it be the animal that had been nibbling her pie crusts?
If it was, then she wanted to discourage it from coming around. She scuttled out the kitchen door and started cautiously toward the front of the motel.
She heard more noise, possibly coming from the crawl space under the porch. It was covered with lattice, but the hinge on the little door was broken, and she supposed an animal could have pushed it open.
Hmm, maybe she should get some sort of weapon in case it came at her. She grabbed a piece of driftwood they’d placed as a decoration in the garden and tiptoed toward the front.
She had no intention of going in there after it, but maybe she could scare it out. She didn’t want it thinking the area under the porch was a good place to make a nest or den.
She paused when she got to the front. Something was definitely in there, rummaging around. Maybe she should call the police. They were all at the celebration, though, and this thing might do some damage before they could get here.
She raised the driftwood over her head. “Scat! Get out! Shoo!”
Something backed out the door.
Gina dropped the driftwood, frozen in shock.
“Hugh, is that you?”
CHAPTER17
The sailboat was an old classic with crisp white paint and polished teak trim. It was different from the one Cole and his parents had had when he was younger, but it still brought a flood of childhood memories.
The look of pride on his father’s face as he explained how he’d restored the boat was worth the trip to see it. The sunset cruise was a bonus that Cole hadn’t expected.
Deena and Sam had proven to be worthy sailors, and the four of them had worked as a team to get the boat offshore. Now, they were sailing through the choppy waters with the wind in their hair and smiles on their faces, like old friends or maybe even… family.
“I guess a sailor never forgets his tricks,” Chuck said as they perched on the windward side of the boat. He reached into a small cooler and pulled out a six-pack of beer and offered them each one. To his surprise, both Deena and Sam seemed delighted. He would have pegged them for wine drinkers.
“That’s true.” Deena snugged down her baseball cap. “Though the first few times we took this out were a little nerve-racking.”
“How many times have you been out?” Sam shaded her eyes as she squinted into the setting sun to look at her mother.
“Just a couple of times. Chuck only finished it last month.” Deena beamed at Chuck proudly.
Cole realized his dad had been living a whole other life here, and it included more than just making chocolates. He seemed happy.
Chuck tore his gaze from Deena and held his beer can up. “Well, here’s to teamwork.” He tipped his beer forward, and they all clinked.
Cole’s eyes met Sam’s and lingered. Yesterday, he would’ve laughed if you’d said that he and Sam had been part of the same team, but today, it seemed totally natural. And he felt the bond that had loosely formed during the cornhole game tighten just a little bit.
* * *
Sam laughed as a cold blast of sea spray hit her in the face. It was exhilarating to be out sailing again.
To the west, the sun kissed the ocean, lighting the sky with hues of gold and pink. The breeze whipped her hair, and she felt freer than she had in years.
