“What a day!” the dad, Drake, exclaimed several hours later, his face ruddy with sun and excitement as he landed a feisty jack crevalle. He tossed it in the ice cooler. They’d caught as many fish as they could handle and learned the importance of returning the ones they didn’t plan to have the restaurant cook for them. “You run a tight ship. Best charter we’ve been on in years.”
I just nodded with a slight smile, accepting the compliment with my usual economy of expression. It wasn’t about running a tight ship. It was about respect for the process, for the environment. You read the water, you found the fish. Simple. Clean.
As I guidedLine Dancerinto her spot at the SunsetSiesta dock, the familiar resort spread out before me, a sprawling collection of buildings that had been the backdrop to my entire life. More history than hotel, as my sister Harper often joked, though it was currently undergoing its own metamorphosis.
An hour later, hosing down the deck where the scent of salt and fish created a familiar, almost comforting perfume, Harper stepped onto the boat. Even six months pregnant with twins—God help her and her husband, Chase—she moved with a brisk, purposeful energy. Her chestnut hair was pulled back in a practical ponytail, but wisps had escaped to frame a face that looked both tired and determined. A file folder was tucked under her arm.
“Good trip, Austin?” She paused at the edge of the slip, her hand resting on her prominent belly.
“Yeah. Ohio folks. They were happy.” I turned off the hose. “How are you? You’re looking more… uh… expanded.”
Smooth, Coleridge. Real smooth.
A weary smile touched her lips. “Feeling like I’m smuggling a pair of particularly active bowling balls. But otherwise, yes, expanded is the word.”
“Expanded? Harper, you look like you’re about to launch your own little fleet.” Braden’s cheerful voice preceded him as he sauntered up and hopped on board. Our youngest brother was all easy grins and restless ambition, his light-brown hair already escaping the baseball cap he wore. He ran Tidal Hops, the brewpub at the resort, and had an opinion or a joke ready for any occasion. Though we were very different personalities, he was the sibling I tended to gravitate to.
He bent over and peered at Harper’s belly. “Seriously, sis, are you sure there are only two in there?”
She laughed. “Pretty sure, little brother, unless Chasemanaged to sneak in a third when I wasn’t looking. And perish that thought. He’s currently designing Nursery Wing Alpha and Bravo.” She turned back to me. “And yes, Austin, I’m on light duty, which apparently means juggling seventeen crises instead of twenty. Chase and I should finish moving into Mom’s place this week.”
“Good timing,” Braden chimed in, leaning against the rail. “That guest cottage was getting a bit snug for Team Bowling Ball, I imagine. Mom’s got to be thrilled to have an excuse to extend herEat, Pray, Loveworld tour.”
I smiled. Braden could lighten even my moods, and Mom deserved her escape. She’d come up with the idea of moving into the two-bedroom guest cottage Harper and her young son, Finn, had occupied for years, letting the growing family have the house we had all grown up in. Then she’d announced she was off on an extended holiday, giving them plenty of time for the big move.
“She sent a postcard from Juneau,” Harper added, dropping onto the padded bench seat. “Apparently, she’s an expert on glacier calving now and is off to Italy next. Says she’ll be back after the twins arrive, then who knows where she’ll jet off to.”
“Good for her,” I said. “And the main house has more room for… all that.” I gestured vaguely at her midsection.
“Tell me about it.” Harper’s gaze swept over the resort grounds, a familiar worry line creasing her brow. “The resort reno is chugging along without too much drama at the moment. Lobby demo starts next week, which is going to be fun.”
Braden winced. “Maybe not so much for the guests trying to check in alongside a cloud of hundred-year-old plaster dust. But hey, progress, right?” He nodded toward the end of the beach where four bungalows stretched along the sand. “Those things have been a hit.”
“The bungalows are an absolute gold mine,” Harper agreed, her eyes lighting up. “Booked solid for months. Chase, for all his occasionally terrifying focus on minute design details, knows his stuff.”
“He usually does,” I agreed.
Chase was a good man, and I was glad Harper had him. She’d earned some peace and reliability in her life. As she talked about spending more time off her feet, I was the familiar observer to all this forward momentum washing over me. It wasn’t a bad feeling. Just… separate. The thought of more little humans running around, more noise, more chaos, brought a faint, strange pang. More noise, I told myself. That’s all it was. Couldn’t be envy.
Braden’s face had soured. “Yuck. Too damn much domesticity going on around here.”
“Well, you’re safe. What I have isn’t contagious.” Harper patted the folder. “Thanks for the break, but I’d better get back to it. Just wanted to give you a heads-up about the lobby demolition traffic, Austin.”
“Noted.”
Braden pushed off the rail. “And I’ve got a new shipment of hops calling my name. Don’t work too hard, you two.” He gave us a wave and headed toward Tidal Hops.
As I gave Harper a hand up, she gave me a look with a familiar flicker of sisterly concern in her eyes. “Heron House still sounding like a war zone?”
The question brought the morning’s irritation roaring back. I rubbed my dark scruff. “You have no idea. It’s a violation of the Geneva Convention on noise pollution.”
She smiled and winced sympathetically. “Oof. Good luck with that. And try to get some actual rest. You look like you’re running on fumes and black coffee.”
“I’ll try.”
Then she was walking away, her focus already on thenext item on her to-do list. She was right. I was tired. Tired of the noise, the disruption, and this low-grade, simmering anticipation for a confrontation with a woman I hadn’t even officially met.
I finished securingLine Dancer. On the other side of the pier, the resort dive boat,Sunset Diver, was tied up. As I walked the length of the wooden structure toward my truck, the thought of my tranquil house and the crumbling mansion next door loomed like a gathering squall.
