Page 15 of Beyond the Stroke

But before I can open my mouth, Darcy edges up to the table.

“Ah, another Covey enthusiast,” she comments, nodding toward the woman.

“You have no idea.” The man sighs. “It’s on her bucket list.”

“Where do y’all live?” Darcy asks.

“Denver.”

“I love Denver. I have a cousin who lives there. The Highlands neighborhood, I think?”

“We’re near City Park, on the east side of town.”

Jason opens a map of Coral Cove. On it, there are markings and dates.

“She’s been tracking where and when Coveys have been found to try and guess the next likely location.” He angles the screen toward me and Darcy.

“Wow.” Darcy drops her head to study it. “That’s pretty sophisticated.”

I can’t help it. A wave of pride rushes through me as I glance over the map on his screen.

“Okay, let me give you some advice,” Darcy says.

“We’ll take it.” Jason nods eagerly.

“You don’t find a Covey; a Covey finds you.”

“That’s your advice?” He sits back in his chair, clearly annoyed to have gained no information.

I point to the map. “Maybe near the library? One hasn’t been found in that area yet.”

Jason perks up. “Yeah? Okay. We’ll check it out.”

“Enjoy your meal,” I say, before following Darcy back inside the restaurant.

“It’s fun to mess with them,” she says.

“Yeah, I know.”

While Darcy heads toward the kitchen, I turn down the hallway to the restroom.

Inside, I fix my ponytail, then wash my hands, making sure to scrub off the paint on my arm, before I head back to work.

“Fish biting today, Cal?” I ask, kicking back on my skateboard to come to a stop in front of the elderly fisherman.

“No luck.” He shakes his head, then repositions his beat-up green hat on his head. “My bait’s dried out.”

“Sorry about that.” I reach in my backpack and pull out a brown bag. “Today’s special is a shrimp po’boy with coleslaw and pickle chips. And I even threw in one of those blondies you like.”

His eyes light up with appreciation. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know,” I say, as Paulie, one of my afternoon dogs, noses at his elbow. “But I wanted to.”

Cal gives Paulie a scratch behind the ears and her tongue lolls out the side of her mouth. Pearl and Mattie weave between my legs while Sunny sniffs at Cal’s tackle box.

“You’ve got good company today.”

“They put up with me for the snacks,” I say with a shrug, as I reach for my backpack.

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