“On it,” Willa said. She dug into Harper’s bag and got Archie’s towel out, then helped get the dogs back onto the boat. She immediately went to work drying Archie off with his towel. “Scout, you’re next.”
“Thanks,” Harper said. “You’re like the big sister Archie never knew he needed.”
Willa laughed. “Anything to speed up lunch.”
“I hear that,” Frankie said. “My stomach is rumbling. How was the snorkeling?” She’d taken a towel from Lucas and started drying Scout.
“It was so cool. I found a pair of sunglasses and a key.”
“What?” Frankie laughed. “All we found was old bricks.”
Mitch nodded. “Doesn’t surprise me that you found stuff. This is a popular island to visit. I’m sure all kinds of things get lost out here.”
“The sunglasses are in pretty good shape,” Willa said. “And they’re Maui Jims, which I think is a moderately expensive brand. The key looks sort of generic. Maybe it’s old. I don’t know. I might put it on a necklace.”
Mitch called to Lucas. “Help me bring the food and drinks up?”
“Right behind you,” Lucas said.
As Lucas and Mitch went into the cabin, Harper took the towel from Willa. “I’ll finish drying him off. Show me the key.”
Willa went over to the padded bench where her stuff was. She came back with the sunglasses and the key. The sunglasses were in surprisingly good shape. The lenses weren’t even scratched. The key was far more interesting. It was an old skeleton type, weathered and patinaed with age and time in the water. The top looked like an ornate clover with three leaves.
“That is really neat,” Harper said. “I wonder if there’s any way to find out how old it really is.”
Frankie came over to see it. “It probably opens the treasure chest that holds the gold and diamonds.”
Willa’s brow furrowed. “There’s gold and diamonds?”
Harper laughed. “Your mom is teasing you. Mitch told us a made-up story about there being treasure on the island.”
“Oh.” Willa shrugged one shoulder but didn’t seem disappointed. “Well, I think it’s cool, so that’s all that matters. And it’s a nice souvenir of the day.”
Lucas and Mitch came back onto the main deck. Lucas had a tub filled with ice and drinks, Mitch had the soft-sided cooler with the food. He set the cooler down and started moving cushions. “I’m going to set up the main table so we can eat like proper humans.”
“Now you sound like Joyce,” Harper said. He’d really gotten into the whole boating adventure, and she was glad. It seemed like whatever concerns he’d had about doing this were no longer an issue. Maybe that was why he was throwing himself into the role of host. To keep himself distracted.
Whatever the reason, he was giving them a wonderful day.
She kissed Archie on the nose. “There you go, baby dog. Dry enough. The sun will do the rest.”
She went over to help. The table was already set up. “What can I do?”
Lucas opened his cooler. “I think we should just get everything out and let people fill their plates.”
“That works. I’ll grab the plates, utensils, and napkins. What do we have for drinks?”
Mitch gestured toward the tub. “Water, flavored and unflavored, cans of soda, and bottles of iced tea. What does everyone want?”
“Water,” Frankie said as she let Scout go. “I need to rehydrate.”
“Same,” Harper said.
“I want a Coke,” Willa called out.
The table was a pretty good size, but once it was covered with food, it didn’t seem nearly big enough. Thankfully, it was in the shade, as was the seating. It was nice to be out of the sun for a bit.
They all settled in, except for Mitch, who filled his plate and sat in the captain’s chair, which he’d turned around to face them.
