He waited as she looked out the window, then back at him. “This is incredible, Ben. You’ve got the working operations right outside and the product on their plate.”
It was exactly what his brother, Jonah, had said when he first showed the place to Ben, trying to convince him that they could use the farm for more than just farming. “I know it’s pretty rustic, but I hope it’s intimate, too. I want guests to feel like they’re part of the story here.”
Holly glanced around appreciatively. “They will. I’m so glad I got out of the inn and came by.” It was the best compliment he’d heard so far.
“You haven’t seen all of it.”
He steered the boat away from the dock and out toward the nursery. It was high tide so the oyster racks and cages were submerged, but he could still take Holly out to the FLUPSY deck. With the motor of the boat purring, there was no need to talk. The sun was bright and high. Gulls circled overhead. When Ben glanced back at her, Holly’s eyes were closed and her head tipped back. For a moment it was like old times.
As they approached the nursery, he slowed and idled the motor. “Hang here a second,” he said, hopping out of the boat and onto the platform. Quickly, he tied off and extended a hand.
“What is this thing?” she asked, climbing onto the platform.
“The shellfish nursery. It’s where we grow the young oysters from seeds. C’mere, I’ll show you.”
They walked up and down the platform as Ben lifted the lids and showed her the silos where the oysters were submerged in water. He was impressed when Holly rolled up her pants and kneeled on the deck beside him. “Look at you.”
“What?” she asked, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
“Nothing.” Fearless, he thought happily. So unlike the little girl he’d first met on the beach years ago.
He watched as Holly mimicked him, reaching deep into the bucket and running her hands through the water, scooping up a handful of young oysters. “They’re so tiny! And yet perfectly formed.” She looked up. “Nature is astounding, isn’t it?”
Holly’s eyes were already so blue, but they nearly sparkled when she grew excited. “Astounding,” he agreed.
“What happens when they grow to full size?”
“You can’t believe how fast they grow, especially in summer. Jonah’s crew is out here daily, sorting them so the big ones don’t crowd out the little guys.” He nodded to the flats out a ways off. “When they’re big enough, we move them to the underwater cages.”
“How will you get to them under there?”
“Low tide.” Ben could see her mind working, imagining it. “You’ll have to come back and see it sometime,” he said, hoping she would.
“Do I have to come back to sample the product?”
Her interest pleased him to no end. “Do you think I’d skip the best part? Come on, last stop of the tour.”
“Cover your ears, little guys,” Holly said, looking into the silo one last time. “It’s tasting time.”
Back at the dock he reached down to help Holly out of the boat, but she swatted his hand away. “I’ve been on boats before, you know. In fact, I used to know a guy.”
“Used to?” She was teasing now, and it lifted the lip of formality they’d been treating each other with since that first day he’d delivered to the inn. This was the old Holly, the one who raced into the waves to grab the bow of his boat and help guide it to her shore when he rowed across the cove.
He stopped in the processing room and scooped a dozen oysters into a bucket. Back up in the tasting room he shucked two and passed her the larger. Ben watched as she tipped it back without hesitation.
“Well?”
Holly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I think I need another, you know, to be sure.”
Delighted, he got busy shucking the rest as she watched.
“Seriously,” she told him, “it’s salty but sweet, and perfectly plump. You don’t even miss the cocktail sauce.”
“Bull’s-eye.” He winked. “That’s the aim for our East Coast oyster.”
They devoured the rest in silence, except for the slurping. “Sorry,” Holly said, smiling self-consciously. “They’re just so good.” He didn’t dare point out that she’d eaten eight to his four. What he really wanted to do was pull down a crisp bottle of rosé, too. But Holly was on the clock. “Oh man, I’ve got to run,” she said, as if reading his mind. Ben could feel the boat ride and the tour already washing off of her, the business hat going back on. “Thanks for the tour, though. I can see why the wedding party loved it here.”
“But you haven’t even heard my idea yet.” He should’ve shared it when they were on the water, but their time together had flown.
