“Christ on a bike,” I groan.
Someone knocks on the door.
“Just a minute,” I call out.
I wash my hands again for good measure, because phones are gross, and then I take a deep breath and leave the bathroom, slightly chagrined to see a long line to the bathroom has formed
I turn the corner and find myself face to face with Caleb and Gunner.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he says then plants a huge kiss on my forehead.
A couple of people I’ve known my whole life give us curious and delighted looks at that public display of affection, and Gunner yips.
“Are you ready to go check out your store and assess if there’s any damage?” he says. He holds up the latte. “I also had Pike put this in a to-go cup for you.”
“You’re the best,” I say, slightly relieved and leaning against him.
I really should care that everybody’s staring at us, but in this moment I don’t. I need him and I need his steadiness.
“Is everything okay?” Caleb asks.
“I don’t know,” I tell him honestly. “What you said, it made me feel… I don’t know,” I say, shaking my head. “It made me feel something that I don’t… I don’t know.”
“What I said about what?” he asks, completely perplexed.
I tug at his hand and then take a long sip from the still-hot latte cup. I’m gonna need an extreme amount of caffeine to make it through the day.
“Let’s go. I can tell you on the way.”
“Ah, good idea,” he says.
It doesn’t take us long to make our way back through the front of the diner, and we give Pike another wave as he catches our eye before leaving. Then we’re outside on the boardwalk.
Surprisingly, the storm missed most of the boardwalk.
“It’s weird how it’s not flooded out here,” I say.
“Yeah,” Caleb says, pointing to the beach. “You can see the debris washed up, though. This was flooded last night for sure. It’s just built to withstand it.”
I nod, because that’s true. Saltline’s on stilts. The boardwalk’s on stilts. It’s made to withstand the rise and fall of the tide.
“So tell me, Ivy,” Caleb says, looping my arm around his like an old-fashioned Regency gentleman. “What is it that has you all freaked out right now? Is it me?”
“No,” I tell him, and squeeze his bicep maybe a little too long, but it’s a really nice bicep. “No,” I say. “It’s what you said about calling the corners.”
“I don’t even know what that means,” Caleb says.
“I don’t either,” I tell him. “I know it’s some kind of a spell, and it’s not like I haven’t seen it in movies, but… it doesn’t feel like fiction when you say it. It makes me feel uncomfortable.”
“What does that mean?” Caleb says.
“I don’t know,” I tell him. “I’m not used to feeling uncomfortable, especially with random statements like that.”
“All right. Do your sisters know anything about it?”
“I want to call my grandma.”
“Well, that doesn’t seem like a bad idea,” Caleb says.
