“I thought you made that up so I wouldn’t get mad at you for trespassing.”
“Ask anyone. Ask Aria.” He pointed to the teenager behind the counter. “Aria, do you know who Ed is?”
“The moose? He’s practically a celebrity around here.”
Jenna shook her head, unable to keep in her laughter as she struggled to finish the last of her sandwich. “No wonder my grandpa loved this place. Makes me wonder if he wrote any movie scripts featuring a famous local moose.”
Cody slid the list closer to him, reading off the next item. “Halibut tacos at Warren’s Sea Shack. Of course, Eddie.” When Jenna looked at him curiously, he explained, “Your grandpa owesmehalibut tacos. I helped him haul a heavy desk up to the loft of that cabin. He thought the ocean view from up there would inspire him.”
“You’ve been inside the cabin?” Jenna’s smile faded as emotion filled her eyes.
“Yeah. Couple of times. You’ll love it.” The urge to slide out of his booth and into hers so he could drape an arm over her shoulders tugged at him with startling intensity. But Cody kept himself rooted to his spot, uncertain how Jenna might react. They were practically strangers who’d only spent one day together. That didn’t qualify him to go around offering her hugs.
“I’ve only been able to peek in the windows,” she admitted, spinning the list on the table with her index fingers and refusing to look up at him. “With all those heavy drapes, I can’t see much.”
“Blackout curtains.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Some people use them in the summer when it doesn’t get that dark.” Cody stopped the list from spinning and read the next item. “Seven: watch Jenna read one of her picture books at the local children’s story hour.” He looked up in surprise. “You’re an author?”
Jenna seemed unsettled by the item, yanking the list away from Cody to read the words for herself. “I’m not doing this one,” she muttered. “Grandpa knows I don’t—knew.” She squeezed her eyes shut, inhaling deeply. “I’ll talk to Jenkins in the morning. I can’t do this one.”
“Are you published?” Cody asked, genuinely curious.
“Yes.” Jenna let out her deep breath. “Moving on. Number eight says we need to spot more than eight eagles in one day.”
With each added item, Cody felt the truth seeping in. There was no way they could complete this list before he left town.Unless I change my flight. “Eagles are the only birds who don’t let the rain stop them from hunting prey,” he explained. “But they do hover above the rain clouds making it pretty hard to see them flying around.”
“And this matters because?”
“Because it’s supposed to rain all day tomorrow. Doubtful we’ll see any.”
Cody wondered how upset his booking agent would be if he told Holden he’d be late getting to Maui. The deposit on the beachfront home was already paid in full. The property management company wouldn’t care if he came a couple days later than planned. The check for the first month’s rent would be for the same amount. He’d miss out on a stunt crew dinner, but he could introduce himself on his own.
“Guessing tomorrow would be a pretty crappy day to go—” She held the list closer to her eyes. “Bear Glacier kayaking?”
“Yeah, that’s a day-long activity by itself.” Cody already knew the truth, but it was impossible to deny any longer. He didn’t have a choice but to push out his flight to Maui. The contract didn’t require him to be there until next Monday morning. He’d be pushing things close, but he couldn’t leave Jenna with a half-finished list and no cabin.
“What do we do, then?” She looked at him apologetically, though it wasn’t her fault Eddie put them in this predicament. “I don’t have anywhere to—” She cleared her throat. “Cody, I can’t wait three years for this cabin.”
Tomorrow, he’d call Holden and get his schedule adjusted. The chewing out that came with rearranging plans last-minute was a necessary evil in order for him to do the right thing. “Don’t worry.” He covered Jenna’s hand with his own so briefly the zing of electricity at the contactalmostdidn’t affect him. “I’ll stick around town a few more days. We’ll get the list done before I leave.”
ChapterFour
Jenna
A string of rapid-fire pings caused Jenna to jolt up in her bed. Her phone lit up in the dark room, vibrating its way dangerously close to the edge of the nightstand. She snatched the pesky device half a second before it was destined to crash to the floor.
From the edge of the bed, Graham groaned his displeasure at being disturbed so early.
“Believe me, buddy. I wouldn’t be sad if it broke, either.” She dragged her index finger along the screen, unsurprised that Whitney’s name was attached to every notification except one. The girls in the office had yet to remove her from the group text about a last-minute happy hour tonight. They would shortly after Jenna sent in her two-week notice and word got around that she wasn’t coming back from this vacation.
Jenna flipped on the light, and Graham groaned again.
“My grumpy old man dog,” she teased, rubbing his belly when he rolled onto his back and lifted all fours in the air.
She wasn’t ready to skim her older sister’s texts. No doubt it was about the wedding. Never mind that Jenna had made it clear she wasn’t attending. Or maybe Whitney was crabbing about the state that Jenna left the basement when she moved out all her belongings. Jenna purposefully forgot to vacuum her former bedroom and didn’t wipe out the bathroom sink. She knew what gripes her sister would have.
