Page 92 of Meet Me on Lilac Lane

His dad met his eyes. Then started chuckling. Pretty soon the both of them were laughing together.

“My sides hurt.” Cody wiped at his eyes. “I needed that.”

“Me too. Things were getting a little too touchy feely there for a minute.” His dad smiled, all his teeth showing. He breathed deeply, his shoulders rising and lowering. “Listen. The truth is I’ve lost the taste for fishing. Some part of me wishes you had as well.”

“Oh.” Cody started to say more, but his dad held up a hand to stop him.

“But I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, and your mother keeps after me about it.” His dad raised an eyebrow. They both knew how stubborn Cody’s mom could be when she set her mind to something. “Just because I’ve given up that life doesn’t mean you have to.”

Cody lost a breath for a moment. “What are you saying?”

“I will give you the license and sell you the rest of the equipment. No timeline. You can start using it whenever that boat of yours is seaworthy, and you can pay me some with every catch.” His dad handed him the fishing rod from his first catch. “The business is yours if you still want it.”

Cody whooped and hugged his dad. “Thank you!” A thousand fireworks were going off in his stomach. He grinned so wide he thought his face would split in two. His dad grinned right back at him.

A few minutes later, he stood in the yard blinking at the bright sunshine. Were his feet touching the ground? Everything in him ached to run to Mia. He clenched his hand.

A bittersweet day.

Time to get back to work on that boat engine. He’d need it soon now.

He started walking back to his shop. At the junction of Partridge Lane and Main Street, he spotted Dani walking down Jonathon Lane.

“Hey, Dani.” He waved at the blonde.

She startled. “Hey, Cody.”

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt your thoughts.”

“I was just imagining all the new people who will be moving on island over the next couple of weeks. It’s an exciting time.” Dani blew a hair off her face.

“You don’t look excited.”

“I just can’t keep myself from worrying about Mia.”

His heart stopped. “Mia? Why? Is there something wrong?”

“Didn’t she tell you? She didn’t meet her quota, so the council can’t honor her one-dollar mortgage.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Something like a growl worked its way up in his throat. They wouldn’t seriously turn a widowed woman and two small children out of their home, would they?

Dani shrugged, palms up. A grimace passed over her face. “I tried to talk to them, but they stood firm. The Kelleys said that I shouldn’t get a vote because I’m biased. And Uncle Seb wasn’t at the meeting. She signed the contract, so they feel justified. She told me yesterday that she’s moving home.” Dani frowned at him. “I thought Mia would have told you all this.”

Right. So sometimes news didn’t travel fast on Jonathon Island. “Mia and I broke up. Or whatever you call it when two people went out on one date and are developing feelings for each other and one of them calls it off.”

Dani swatted him in the chest. “Why did you break up with her?”

“Me? No, she broke it off with me.”

“And you just let her?”

“I—”

“Is there something wrong with my cousin? Is she not good enough for you?” Dani put her hands on her hips.

“No, she’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t want to lose her.” The realization wrapped around him. He straightened his spine. The promise he’d made to her about waiting a hundred years still held. He loved Mia, and he wasn’t going to let that good thing go.

“Well, get her back, you idiot!” Dani propped her hands on her hips. “Why are you still talking to me? Go, fight for the girl. But go slow with her, she is scared to love again.”

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