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“Numbers might be down, but we don’t have a vaccine.”
Finally, someone here gets it. “Yeah, I know. But I think we will soon.”
She lifted her face, enough to reveal her sky-blue eyes, but her mouth was still covered by her knees. “You think?”
He shrugged. “I mean, hey, I’m not an expert. But they’re saying that a vaccine has gone through preclinical testing and they might start trials soon.”
“You sound like my mom.”
His chest warmed at the thought of Molly. “How is she?”
“Too busy saving the world to have me home.” Tea shook her head and stuffed her face back in her knees. “Sorry, forget I said that.”
His chest fell. “You wish you weren’t here?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you implied it.”
She looked back up at him. “Why? Do you wish I weren’t here?”
He pinched his brow. “Hey, I didn’t say that either.”
“But…do you?”
Archer shook his head, then slumped down into the chair next to her. It was a good four feet from hers, and if he leaned back, they were still at a respectable distance. He eyed her. She was watching him with rapt intensity. She’d handed him the moment that could make or break their entire summer, and if he was being honest with himself, he did not want to deal with this unpleasantness between them for a second longer.
“No, Tea. I’m glad you’re here. It’s good to see you again.”
She lifted all of her face, including her pale pink lips. Now that he was much closer to her, with no screen doors or matriarchs between them, he could make out the four freckles that were still dotted across her top lip. His gut twisted at the sight of them.
You just told her you’re glad she’s here. Get it together.
“Yeah?” she answered with that familiar soft, timid voice. Like she had to make sure he was being serious with her. It was…so Tea. She was the gentle and calming one, the perfect contrast to the rest of their group that used to be loud and rambunctious. But when it was only the two of them, he settled into her gentleness like a warm blanket, and it soothed him.
He nodded and leaned back into his chair. They remained quiet for a long moment, watching as boats made their way back to their docks, finishing up their attempts at finding the loons.
She broke the silence. “Apparently no one found them,” she started. “Which I kind of figured would happen. They don’t like noise.”
He lifted a mocking brow. “Learn that from your book over there?”
She smiled, teeth and all, and it felt like a gut punch. He tapped his fingers against the chair’s armrest to calm himself.
“Maybe.” She lifted the book in her hands. “It says here that loons are easily disturbed, but especially so when they are nesting with new families. Sometimes they get so scared they’ll abandon their nests, eggs and all. Luckily the baby was already born, but there’s no way the family would have been found today.”
“Looks like someone is invested.”
She closed the book. “It’s keeping my mind preoccupied.”
“You bored?”
She groaned. “Don’t tell Nan, it would crush her. But yes. I really wish I had an internship or…something. I feel like I’m wasting my time this summer.”
“You’ll have plenty of time to work, trust me,” he grumbled.
“Says the guy who actually has a job.”
“Why, you want it?”
