Summer by the Tides

by Denise Hunter

  “And a couple years later they went for one more,” Lexie said.

  “Because I was so delightful,” Tara added.

  “Well, it’s nice to meet you both.” She addressed Lexie. “You used to manage this place? Are you responsible for the menu? It’s quite nice. I was pleasantly surprised.”

  “That was mostly Cheryl’s doing, but I did hire the chef who created those brilliant dishes.”

  “And she fixed the place up,” Tara said. “It was a real shack when Connor bought it. Then she ditched him to get her degree, and she’s currently mooching off me.”

  “Excuse me.” She addressed Maddy. “I’m her resident babysitter.”

  “I’m just teasing,” Tara said. “She’s putting in her time.”

  Tara.

  Maddy suddenly remembered the name in cursive letters on a package, accented with hearts. She wanted to plant her palm in the middle of her forehead.

  “You’re from Charlotte?” Tara asked Maddy. “You manage a restaurant there, I hear.”

  Connor had obviously shared some things with his sisters. Four eyes peered at her with curiosity. “Yes. I’m just here temporarily, getting the family beach cottage in order.”

  “We’ve met your grandmother,” Lexie said. “She’s so cute.”

  “She’s in Boise at the moment, visiting friends.”

  “Good for her,” Lexie said. “She seems like quite the character.”

  “Oh, she is,” Maddy said.

  “Well, I’m glad we got to meet you,” Tara said. “We just wanted to pop in and see how things were going while we’re in town.”

  “You don’t live in Seahaven?” Maddy asked, forgetting for a moment the address on the package.

  “No, Whiteville. Lexie and I came in for the night and are headed back after we eat.”

  “We didn’t want Connor to be alone last night.” Lexie bit her lip, her gaze drifting away.

  Maddy had no idea what that meant, so she just nodded vaguely.

  “It was really nice of you to help him out with the restaurant,” Tara said. “He was running himself into the ground.”

  “Well, he needed a stand-in manager, and I had some time on my hands. I’m glad it worked out for both of us.”

  “Are you single, Maddy?” Lexie asked.

  “Lexie.” Tara nudged her sister and addressed Maddy. “Sorry. She’s the impetuous one.”

  “Well, it was your idea to come check her out.”

  A thump sounded under the table and Lexie jumped. “What? It was.”

  Heat flooded Maddy’s face. “Connor’s just a friend. Hardly even that. I don’t think he likes me much, to tell you the truth. And that’s just fine since I’ll be headed back to Charlotte shortly.”

  The hostess sat a couple at the table next to them before Maddy could mention that the server was on break. Oh well, now was a good time to get back to work.

  Chapter 14

  Every year after June twelfth passed it felt as if a weight lifted off Connor’s shoulders. Then, day by day, little by little, the weight returned. And by the time the day rolled around again it was just as difficult as it had been the year before.

  Connor ran the caulk down the length of the window seam, then smoothed it out with his index finger. The sun was low in the sky, and a breeze blew across his deck, cooling his skin. A sea gull landed on the railing, studying him with marble-black eyes.

  “No food for you. Get on with you, now.”

  The bird cocked its head.

  Connor wiped the caulk on his old T-shirt and continued the bead line. He was just smoothing it out when he heard a car pull up, followed by the sounds of car doors shutting and a young voice.

  “Around back!” he called, but his voice was swallowed up by the wind and the crash of surf.

  Lexie found him a moment later, niece on her hip and four-year-old nephew in tow. Logan caught sight of Connor and dashed ahead of Lexie, brown curls bouncing adorably.

  “Uncle Connor, we’re here! We’re here!” The boy threw himself at Connor’s legs.

  The sea gull took flight.

  Connor set down the caulk gun and ruffled Logan’s hair with his clean hand. “I see that. How’s my favorite nephew?”

  “I brought my new dune buggy!” He held up the toy Connor had gotten him for his birthday, then dashed down the deck steps to the beach, his little legs working fast. “I’m gonna make a race track!”

  “Don’t you go past the dunes!” Lexie called.

  “I won’t!”

  “He loves that thing.” Lexie made herself at home on one of his Adirondack chairs, propping little Lily in the cradle of her elbow. The six-month-old held her own bottle and eyed Connor over her pudgy feet.

  “Hi, baby girl. How ya been?” he asked.

  Lily smiled at him around her bottle and continued drinking, her eyes steadfast on him.

  Connor gave Lexie a wry look. “Babysitting tonight?”

  “Thought I’d bring the munchkins over to keep you company.”

  His sisters had descended on his house only a couple days ago. He was still a little testy from that invasion.

  “You guys ever think of calling?” He finished smoothing the line of caulk, feeling a prick of guilt for being cranky with her.

  “What, am I interrupting your big Friday-night plans? Have you even eaten supper yet?”

  “As a matter of fact, I have. I warmed up Tara’s stew.”

  She gave him a sideways look. “Any left?”

  He rolled his eyes, going back to his caulking. “Help yourself.”

  But instead of going into the house she settled back in the chair, watching him.

  He fixed a bump in the caulk and continued smoothing it, wiping his finger on his shirt when he was done.

  “We stopped by the restaurant yesterday and met your friend Maddy.”

  He made a noncommittal sound, focused on his task.

  “She’s nice—and very pretty.”

  Connor pressed his lips together. “Don’t you be getting any ideas. She doesn’t even like me.”

  “Funny . . . She said the same thing about you.”

  He gave her a long look. “What’d you say to her? If you screw up this restaurant thing I’m not going to be happy. She’s been a godsend, and if I have to go back to running it, I’m putting you in charge.”

  “Relax, we were just checking her out. You’d mentioned her a few times—”

  “My first mistake.”

  “—so we thought we’d see what all the fuss was about.”

  “There’s no fuss. She works for me. Not interested. Period.”

  Lexie studied him until he felt heat crawling up his neck. A small part of him admitted that maybe that wasn’t entirely true. Maybe she did intrigue him a little. But that was all.

  “If you say so,” Lexie said.

  “I do.” He grabbed the putty knife and scraped off a white flake of old paint he’d missed.

  “Okay, so you’re ‘not interested’ in Maddy”—she air-quoted the ‘not interested’ part. “That brings us back to my friend—the one with all the verys,” she clarified before he could feign confusion. “I can give you her number, and I happen to know she’s free this weekend and very eager to meet you.”

  He winced. Why had he agreed to go out with the woman? Maybe he could put it off yet again. He hated the thought of a blind date. So awkward.

  “Don’t try and get out of it,” Lexie said. “I already told her you agreed to a date, and you’ll hurt her feelings if you back out now. She’s a very nice woman, and she doesn’t deserve that.”

  Doggone it. Lexie was right. Anyway, wasn’t he just thinking he needed to get on with his life?

  Sometimes when his sisters were annoying, like now, he thought there were more than enough women in his life. Other times he remembered Annie and felt a hollow space inside he despaired of ever filling.

  He wasn’t a happy man—could hardly remember the last time he’d really lau
ghed. He’d gotten accustomed to this gray existence. He’d been settling for a lesser life. But what if there was something better for him? What if it was out there just waiting for him to wake up and reach for it?

  An image of Maddy rose to his mind. The way she’d been a couple nights ago, darting around the restaurant, leading by example. Stopping to help a busboy when he got overwhelmed. When she’d caught sight of Connor at a table, her back stiffened a little. She gave him a tight smile and a little wave, but he was close enough he could see her eyes spark with irritation. No doubt she’d thought he was checking up on her. But he’d only been there for supper.

  Those eyes hadn’t been sparking on Tuesday when she’d stopped by the marina. They’d been soft and searching, and for the first time he’d noticed intriguing flecks of gold and green in them. He had the feeling there was much more about Maddy that he hadn’t yet noticed.

  He pushed away the thought. The woman didn’t even like him. It bummed him out a little, but it was a fact. She wasn’t his type anyway. Where Annie had been warm and carefree, Maddy was guarded and judgmental. He doubted he could find two more different women.

  Lily babbled loudly, breaking into his thoughts.

  “So will you call her?” Lexie said. “I kind of told her you might.”

  He let loose of a sigh that seemed to come from his toes. “Sure, I guess.” He had to start somewhere.

  Chapter 15

  Maddy spied Connor the next afternoon at the marina. She’d avoided this conversation for three days already and couldn’t justify putting it off any longer. She worked her way down the boardwalk to the pier he was hosing off.

  The afternoon sun blazed overhead from a clear blue sky, and a warm breeze toyed with her hair. She pushed it behind her ears.

  There was the usual activity at the marina: a small boat coming in off the ocean, a dockhand gassing up another vessel. Working dockside, she’d become familiar with the sounds—the squeak of boats rubbing against the pier, the metal hardware pinging against masts, the distant hum of a motor. When she closed her eyes at night she still heard the sounds.

  Connor was backing down the pier, waving the hose wand back and forth across the planks as he went. He wore a T-shirt that carried the marina logo, plus a pair of khaki shorts. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, a few strands having come loose. A pair of tennis shoes completed the look.

  She’d never been very good at eating crow. But lately, every time she thought of Connor, that feeling of regret and shame welled up inside.

  “Hey there,” she said when she’d drawn near.

  Connor spun around, shutting off the flow of water. He pushed his sunglasses on top of his head. “Hey. How’s it going? Everything okay at the restaurant?”

  “Everything’s fine. Running like clockwork, in fact.”

  She held out her peace offering—iced tea in a to-go cup that was already wet with condensation. “For you.”

  His brows rose and he gave her a brief puzzled look before taking the drink. He took a long sip through the straw. “Thanks. That hits the spot.”

  “It’s a hot one today,” she said inanely.

  “It is. Darren take care of the plumbing issue?”

  Maddy stuck her hands in her shorts pockets. “Yeah, he was great. Very fast and reasonably priced.”

  “Good, good.” He nodded, and an awkward pause ensued. The hose dripped, water puddling at his feet. But he didn’t seem to notice or care.

  “I, uh, met your sisters the other day. They dropped by the restaurant.”

  “So I heard. A pair of busybodies, those girls.”

  Maddy thought about Lexie asking if she was single. It embarrassed her to think they might’ve also quizzed Connor about her. Especially given the way she’d treated him. He probably wanted to steer a wide path around her. If not for his crisis at the restaurant he would have done just that, no doubt.

  “Listen, Connor . . . you have a minute? I hate to bother you at work, but our schedules kind of conflict.”

  Curiosity flashed in his eyes. “Sure. I have to move a boat down the bay. Come along?”

  “Oh.” She checked her watch. “How far is it?”

  “Just down there.” He pointed to the houses on the far end of the bay, maybe a half mile away. “We can walk back. Unless you need to be at the restaurant early today.”

  “No, that’s fine.” This would give them some privacy and ensure they weren’t interrupted.

  He wrapped up the hose, then she followed him to a small sailboat and he ushered her on board. She sat on the nearest bench. It was a nice vessel, shiny blue on the outside, crisp white on the inside. Comfortable, but not yacht-sized or as luxurious as a lot of the boats at the marina.

  He set the tea in a cup holder and loosened the ties from the cleats. The boat dipped as he came on board. He took a seat several feet away in the captain’s chair and turned over the engine. The boat vibrated beneath her, and the steady hum of the engine filled her ears. He began moving it from its slip.

  “The owners just got a new pier,” he said over the wind as he navigated slowly into the empty bay. The boat rose and dipped on the small waves.

  It had been a while since she’d been on the water. She hadn’t realized she missed it until this very moment. “She’s a beauty. I’ve never sailed before.”

  He tossed her a look, his escaped hair blowing across his face. “Is that right? I thought you’d be an old pro, coming in the summers like you did.”

  She lifted her shoulders. “No one in my family knew how. We only had a little fishing boat and a kayak. I took the kayak out a lot.”

  “We have kayaks at the marina. Come anytime and borrow one. But I’ll have to take you sailing sometime—everyone should go at least once. There’s nothing like it.”

  He was being much nicer than she deserved. Guilt pricked hard. “That’s awfully nice of you. Especially given the way I’ve treated you.”

  He turned a curious look on her, holding her gaze for a long, intense moment.

  “Listen, Connor.” Maddy felt heat rising into her face as the words she needed to say thickened her throat. “I’m afraid we got off on the wrong foot, and that’s my fault. I—I think I prejudged you. I know you didn’t bring my sisters and me here under false pretenses. It seems I’m not terribly discerning when it comes to reading people. Men. I thought you were—” She pressed her lips together. If she wasn’t careful she’d make it worse.

  “You thought I was . . . ?”

  She sighed. “Well, you look . . . That is, I made some unfair assumptions based on your whole . . . beachboy vibe, I guess.”

  He quirked a brow. “Beachboy vibe?”

  “And I noticed you coming home at all hours of the night, and then of course there were all the women.”

  He laughed. “All the women?”

  She ran her sweaty palms down her shorts as her face went hot. “Your sisters. I didn’t realize who they were until—”

  “They showed up at the restaurant.” He shook his head, still chuckling.

  It was a nice deep laugh, the smile lighting up his whole face. He took a sip of tea.

  “You can stop laughing now,” she said, only partly teasing.

  “All the women . . . ,” he repeated. “If you only knew how long it’s been since I’ve even been on a date. Years, Maddy. Years.”

  He turned forward, navigating around an incoming boat, the remnants of that laugh lingering around his mouth.

  She tried to get a better read on him, but he’d put his sunglasses back down. She let him focus on his driving until the boat had passed and he’d settled back in the seat.

  “Thing is,” she continued, “I recently had a bad experience with a man, and it’s thrown me a little off my game. I guess you got painted with the same brush, and that wasn’t fair of me. So I’m sorry.”

  He studied her thoughtfully as the boat sliced slowly through the open waters. “I think the judgment might’ve gone both ways, Maddy.
I’m sorry as well. I was a little tough on you.”

  His lips tipped in a grin as a strand of hair blew across his face, and she couldn’t help but smile back.

  It was only a few more minutes before they were pulling alongside a pier that jutted out into the grassy shallows. He maneuvered the boat expertly into the boat lift and cut the engine.

  When he helped her out onto the pier, his hand was warm and rough around hers. She stood off to the side holding his drink as he spun the metal wheel. It clicked and clanked as it turned, lifting the boat from the water.

  “Okay, that should do it,” he said.

  “Do you have to stop in and let them know it’s here?”

  “No, they’re not home right now.”

  He led her up the grassy slope of their yard and out to the quiet road that ran along the shore. They began walking toward the marina at a brisk pace. Tall trees cast long shadows over the pavement, offering a welcome reprieve from the hot sun.

  “So . . .” He tossed a look her way. “A bad experience with some guy, huh?” He’d perched his sunglasses on his head again. His eyes looked silver in the shadows.

  “You could say that. It’s over now, but it was hard, and I’m still a little spooked.”

  “How long did you date?”

  “About six months. We worked together at the restaurant.”

  “That can be a recipe for disaster—no pun intended. Do you still work together?”

  She could brush off his question or she could be forthright. She hadn’t even told her sisters, but somehow she felt she could tell Connor. Felt he’d understand in some way that her sisters wouldn’t. Although now that she knew what Emma was going through with Ethan, she might have to rethink that.

  “Didn’t mean to pry. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

  “It’s all right. I managed the front of the house at Pirouette. Nick was the beverage manager. Our general manager was set to retire, and I was up for the promotion. Honestly, it was just kind of assumed—by everyone, I think, not just me—that I’d get the job. I worked hard. That place was my entire life.”