Page 1 of In Step

CHAPTERONE

Late August

Kane

I scootedto the far end of the bench seat under the wide veranda, leaving Hannah plenty of room to perch alongside. She shuffled her hips back until she was comfortable and hung her canes off the side, while I perused the tiny main street of Painted Bay and tried to pretend I hadn’t noticed the wince in her expression, or the moment of silence that followed as she waited for the pain in her arthritic joints to settle.

“So, Kane.” Hannah swung a foot gently back and forth and considered the slate-grey sky hanging heavy over the tiny township—the air as close and still as a sullen teen and just as moody.

A storm was coming.

“So, Hannah.” I slipped a hand into my bag of groceries and ferreted around for the one thing that hadn’t been on my list.

“Looks like it might rain,” she added, pointedly avoiding my eyes.

I snorted. “But it’s warm for August, don’t you think?” I elbowed her gently and opened my hand to reveal a Moro bar, her favourite. “Oh my. Look what fell into my bag.”

She grinned and stole a quick look over her shoulder into the general store that her father owned, her blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders.

I leaned close. “Is the coast clear?”

She nodded and quickly grabbed the caramel-and-nougat chocolate bar, licking her lips. “Dad’s still serving a customer. They’ll ear bash each other for ages. Thanks.” She ripped off the wrapping and took a big bite, groaning with pleasure.

“You’re welcome.” We bumped fists and I settled back to enjoy my own guilty pleasure—a bag of sour snakes. We ate in silence. This was our thing, Hannah and me. Whenever I did my weekly shop, we sat out front afterward and shared a treat—sometimes chocolate, sometimes ice-cream. It didn’t seem to matter much to Hannah. It was the sneakiness which floated her boat, and I was happy to play along.

“Just as well you guys finished up early on the boat.” Hannah wiped some chocolate from the corner of her mouth. “That’s lightning.” She nodded east toward the cliffs at the end of the main street.

I cast a glance at the inky clouds mushrooming on the horizon. An occasional flash pierced their interior, lighting up the slate-grey ocean at their feet. “Yeah, I can’t say I’m a fan of being on the boat when those things hit, unlike Fox and Leroy, who love nothing better than a good storm.”

“Dad says they’re crazy.” Hannah went back to swinging her feet. “He says too many years mussel farming has done funny things to Leroy’s brain.”

I chuckled and shoved another sour snake in my mouth. “He could be right. But what excuse does that give Fox?”

Hannah thought about that for a moment. “He lived on Stewart Island. That’s like just north of Antarctica. He must’ve been crazy before he even got here.”

I barked out a laugh. “I’m gonna tell him you said that.”

She shrugged, adding a small smile. “I think I’ll be okay.”

I chuckled because she was right. Everyone in town had a soft spot for Terry’s ten-year-old daughter.

Hannah took another bite of the caramel chocolate goodness and spoke around the mouthful. “Dad said you used to be a farmer.”

I blinked. “He’s right. Although it was my father’s farm, not far from here, actually.”

“Why did you leave?” She sucked on the end of the Moro bar.

Out of the mouths of babes. How the fuck did I answer that? I took a breath. “It was time to do something on my own,” I said, working the truth just a little.

Hannah didn’t seem to notice. “Do you like working on the mussel farm?”

I fired her a smile. “Is this twenty questions?”

“Maybe.” She smirked. “I like knowing about you.” She handed me the scrunched Moro wrapper evidence to stow in my bag.

“Okay. Do I like working on the mussel farm?”I blew out a sigh. Six months back when Cora had found me sleeping in my car after I’d finally found my balls and got the hell off my father’s farm—better late than never—I’d just been grateful for the job,anyjob. But now? “Yeah, I do,” I replied, surprising even myself at the truth of the words. Twelve-hour working days, plus most Saturday mornings, hadn’t given me much time to think about it. “I’m not sure it’s what I want to do forever, but Leroy and Fox and Patrick are kind of fun to work with.”And wasn’t that a fucking miracle?

Hannah nodded enthusiastically. “They’re the best.”

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