I don’t wait for him to elaborate, just get up and limp my way into the cabin.
“You look lost,” Weston calls out.
“I’m looking for Nina’s Bait Shop?” A man laughs. “I was told to check it out, and I’m afraid I didn’t listen to the directions very well.”
“Back toward the entrance,” Weston replies, pointing to the left. “Hers is the first boat you pass. There’s a faded sign in front of it. Pretty impossible to miss.”
“Great, thanks so much. I think I’m just so in awe of how gorgeous everything out here is. I didn’t remember.”
“Yeah. Well. Pay better attention next time.”
The man laughs. “You’re not wrong there. Have a great day.”
Even as the man’s bootsteps fade in the distance, Weston keeps his attention straight ahead.
“Is everything okay?” I ask after a few minutes have passed.
“He went inside Nina’s,” Weston replies, then returns his attention to his book. Minutes tick by as I remain inside the cabin, staring out the window toward the ocean.
I’d always loved being out here on the boat. Zane and I spent nearly all of our free time out here. Even if we remained in the marina, I’d pretend we were sailing far away from this place and all the darkness that waited for me whenever I went home.
“Hey there, Cap, good outing?”
My heart jumps when Zane comes into view. He shakes Weston’s hand. “Yeah. Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
Zane turns to me, and our gazes hold. I can still feel his arms around me. The warmth of his body battling the cold in mine.
“I’ll check in later. Have some ranch errands to take care of.”
“Great. See you then.”
Weston offers me a nod, which is technically progress when I compare it to the cold shoulder he offered me the last time he left, so I raise my hand in a slight wave, and he steps off the boat.
Zane comes inside and sets a bag down. “I need to run to my mom’s and help her with some stuff. I’d like you to come with me.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
“I think it’s a great idea. You can’t be happy sitting on this boat constantly.”
“Weston made me get back inside because some guy was coming toward the boat, looking for Nina’s. Do you really think I should?—”
“Someone asked for Nina’s Bait Shop?”
I nod.
“What did he look like?”
“I don’t know; I was inside. Weston said he went inside, though.”
Zane relaxes slightly.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Probably nothing. He was inside Anastasia’s place and was asking about where to rent a boat. I pointed him to Nina’s. If it was the same guy, at least.”
“That’s good then, right? He was looking for Nina’s and just walked past it.”
