Page 31 of Until Then

When she’s done with the water, she fetches a towel from her bag of wonders and dabs carefully at my eyes, then urges me to open them slowly.

“They’re a little red,” she explains, biting her lip as she assesses me in concern. “But I think you’ll survive.”

“Thanks,” I mumble, saying a silent prayer that she never brings up this incident again.

She moves away, blessedly giving me space. Not that there’s much of it. It isn’t like my boat is huge.

Once she’s settled on the bench again, she repositions her book. But a moment after she plucks her bookmark out, she slides it back in and closes it. “What are the odds of seeing any whales today?”

My instinct is to rub at my eyes again, because the amount of skin on display is driving me mad, but I resist the urge. “Your odds are about the same any day, but we’ll come out again if we don’t see any.”

Her eyes light up in a way that has my stomach twisting. “Really?”

“Yeah. You’ve gotta see your whales, right?”

Her answering smile feels like a kick to the gut. It’s bright and pure and genuine.

“Right.”

Hours later,I’m tired and my stomach is growling in protest. Izzy offered to share her snacks with me, but I can’t in good conscience eat her food.

Once we dock and the boat is secured, we head back up to the driveway. We’ve just reached the truck when Brooks pulls in.

“Hey, man,” I call out as he hauls himself out of his truck.

Brooks owns the local plumbing company, and he’s one of my go-to subcontractors, so we work together often.

“Hey. Took the boat out? How was it?”

“Yeah.” I thumb over my shoulder at Izzy, who’s getting settled in the passenger seat. “Izzy was hoping to see whales. No luck today.”

Brooks arches a brow and peers around me. “Izzy? You got a girlfriend I haven’t heard about?”

With a bark of laughter, I shake my head. “No, she’s my daughter’s friend. Kind of her boss, I guess. She needed a place to stay while she’s in town.” I open the vehicle door and step to one side. “Izzy, this is Brooks.”

She’s frowning at her phone, but when she looks up, she forces a pleasant smile. “Hi,” she says. “Nice to meet you.”

He dips his chin and waves, and after I’ve closed the door again, he lets out a whistle. “She’s pretty.”

“And young,” I growl.

He smirks, his chest shaking with barely contained laughter. “Oh, Derrick.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.”

For years my friends have been urging me to move on. To date. Fall in love. Get married again.

But it’s easier said than done. I lost the person I loved once. What’s to say it won’t happen again?

Not wanting to get into it with him, I open the back door and toss my hat in, then grasp the handle of the driver’s door and throw an “I’ll see you soon” over my shoulder.

“Mhm,” he says, his tone far too smug for my liking. “Bye.”

By the time I’m buckled in and the engine is running, Izzy has tucked her phone away. The happiness she emanated earlier has vanished, and there’s a heaviness to her posture.

I hesitate to ask, but I can’t just ignore the sadness rolling off her. “What’s wrong?”

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