“Do you prefer teaching the advanced swimmers or the beginners?”
“Definitely the advanced. Having the swim team back home is what gets me through my day job.”
She talked about teaching sometimes, but she’d never really admitted that. “Teaching isn’t what you thought it would be?”
She propped her chin on her hand. “Oh, I don’t know. I guess it’s actually more than I thought it would be. I like the actual teaching part. But it’s almost impossible to get parental support. A lot of high school students still need monitoring with their schoolwork, and some parents aren’t able or simply won’t give them the help they need to be successful. And then, of course, it falls to the teacher.”
“That’s a lot of students to monitor.”
“Then there’s discipline in the classroom, which has become complicated if not impossible. Also, pressure from administration to teach to the tests is frustrating. And don’t even get me started on school politics.” She took a sip of her tea. “Sorry you asked?”
“Not at all. I’ve heard other teachers say the same things.”
“It’s the students who keep us coming back. I see one of them grasp a new concept or discover a passion for writing or reading, and I forget all about the frustrations.”
He tilted his lips. “I’ll bet you’re a great teacher.”
“I try my best.”
“I’ll bet you have a dozen high school boys with massive crushes on you.”
Her laughter rang out over the lively country tune. “They’re more likely to be scheming up ways to get even with me. I’m a stickler for the rules. And what about you? Is captaining your own boat everything you dreamed it would be?”
“No regrets there. I get to spend my days on the water and be my own boss—not that that doesn’t come with a few headaches. But overall I’ve been blessed with a healthy share of business and a good crew. I can’t complain.”
“You’re lucky to have found your calling so young. You’ve wanted to be a captain like your uncle Clyde since I can remember.”
“Good ol’ Uncle Clyde.” He’d passed away almost twenty years ago, but all those boat rides had made an impact on Josh. “I think my dad wanted to throttle him. But then Ethan decided to be a doctor and he eased up on me.”
Maggie gave a wan smile and glanced down.
Maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned his brother. Josh wished she didn’t feel weird about dating him. “Should we talk about him? About Ethan?”
She took her elbows off the table and offered a real smile. “Not necessary.”
A woman passed their table. Darcy Stuart. He started to avert his face but was too late.
She did a double take and backed up, beaming. “Well, hey, Josh. How you been?”
“Doing all right, Darcy. This is Maggie. Maggie, Darcy.”
Maggie offered a polite smile. “Nice to meet you.”
The woman barely spared Maggie a glance. “Haven’t seen you in ages. We’ve missed you around here.”
He’d met Darcy through a mutual friend and gone out with her once. She’d spent the whole night talking about herself. “Been busy, I guess.”
Darcy glanced back at a table where someone was motioning for her. “Well, I’m being summoned. It was good to see you, Josh. Don’t be a stranger. Nice meeting you, Maggie.”
“Same.” She regarded Josh with a lifted brow. “Old girlfriend?”
“Just a blind date gone awry.”
Her lips twitched. “I see. Well, not to change the subject, but...”
“Please, feel free to change the subject.”
She chuckled. “I wanted to ask about something that involves our investigation into Will, but I wasn’t sure if you wanted to talk about that tonight.”
