Page 67 of Summer on Sunshine Bay

“I think he’s pretty great too,” she said without thinking, probably because she did.

“Best guy I know.” His gaze went to her hand on the steering wheel, the sparkling diamond ring on her finger. “He’s gone through a lot these past few years, wouldn’t want to see him hurt again.” He smiled as if he hadn’t just delivered a not-so-subtle warning. “Better get back to work. When you see Luke, tell him the guy he took out this afternoon placed an order for four more boards.”

“James Sinclair?”

“Yeah, you know him?”

“He’s my dad.”

Bodhi whistled. “Lucky lady. I hope I haven’t just ruined your surprise because I’m pretty sure one of the boards is for you.”

Lila was pretty sure it was too, and just as sure two were for her sisters. And she was afraid she knew whom the fourth board was for. “It’s okay. I hate surprises anyway.”

He laughed, and they said their goodbyes. As Lila backed out of the driveway, Bodhi’s warning about Luke sat heavy on her mind but probably not for the reason it should. She wanted to know who’d hurt him. She wondered if it had to do with the shadow she’d seen in his eyes when he talked about his friend’s baby.

She drove slowly along the road. Apart from Luke’s workshop, it was a residential street that backed onto the woods. Growing up, she’d had a friend who’d lived one street over. They’d played hide-and-seek in Whispering Woods, the locals’ name for the nature preserve. She remembered there was a pond nearby and wondered if Luke’s house was anywhere near it.

It looked as if she was about to find out. But as she approached the pretty marine-blue house with a covered porch, she noticed a car parked beside Luke’s pickup and didn’t want to intrude. The door opened just as she’d pulled into his driveway to turn the car around, and two little boys raced down the stairs with Admiral barreling after them. Then he spotted Lila and headed her way.

“No,” Lila cried, not sure if it was because of the dog bounding toward her or Heather kissing Luke on the cheek on the front porch.The dog, definitely the dog, Lila told herself when Admiral placed his big paws on the car and leaned in to lick her face.

Luke smiled and shook his head, coming down the stairs with an arm slung over Heather’s shoulders. “It’s official,” he said. “My dog’s in love with you.”

She managed a smile for Heather and Luke, which Admiral must’ve thought was for him, because he seemed to be smiling at her with his tongue lolling from his mouth as he backed away from the car.

“Admiral, no!” Luke yelled at the same time the dog took a running leap and tried to jump into the car with her. “Idiot dog,” he said as he half lifted, half dragged Admiral off the car, cringing at what sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

“Idiot dog!” the twins yelled through their laughter, running over to hug Admiral. “Oh, oh,” one of them said, pointing at the side of the car. “Idiot dog is in trouble now.”

Luke cursed under his breath and then pointed a finger at the twins. “Don’t repeat that.” He glanced over his shoulder at Heather, who’d walked over. “Sorry about that.”

Heather laughed. “You’ve heard my mother, aka Trucker Mouth, haven’t you? Don’t worry about it. Hey, Lila, how was the shower?”

“Great, really great,” she said with forced enthusiasm.

Luke looked at her and frowned. Then he turned to Heather, giving her a one-armed hug as he kept a firm grip on Admiral with his other arm. “Thanks again for the photos. You did an amazing job.”

“Photos?” Lila asked, looking from Luke to Heather.

“I do photography on the side. I got some great shots of Luke the other day, and I thought he might want to use them on his new website. That was a good idea, by the way,” she said to Lila. “This one doesn’t do enough to promote his talent.”

“Pot, kettle. You should see her photos, Lila. They’re incredible.”

“I’d love to. Can I see them?”

“Sure.” Heather held her camera out to Lila. “Do me a favor and don’t mention it to your mom. I don’t want her to worry I’m going to leave them in a lurch. It’s just a hobby.”

Lila scrolled through the photos, stopping at several of Luke on his paddleboard on the water with the sun setting behind him, one with Luke on the board with Admiral, his head tipped back laughing, and a couple of him with Heather’s boys on the board. “These are incredible. Don’t sell yourself short, Heather. You should be doing this for more than a hobby.”

Luke nudged her, and Heather shook her head, nudging him back. “I had great subject matter.”

She really did. “You also have a great eye. The lighting and composition are perfect.” She scrolled through the photos again. “A couple of these would work for the ad campaign I’m putting together for Luke as well as the website. But I’d also like some shots for the charter business and of inside the shop. Maybe we could set up a time to talk?”

“Sure, that’d be great.” She glanced at her boys, who were tackling Admiral on the lawn. “I’d better get these two home. Thanks for watching them, Luke.”

“Anytime.” He scooped up the protesting twins, tossing each of them over a shoulder. He walked them to Heather’s car and buckled them into their car seats. “Be good for your mom.” Lila couldn’t hear what they said, but Luke responded with, “Yeah, if you are, I’ll take you on the boat next week.”

“That should buy Heather a few hours’ peace,” he said, his fingers latched around Admiral’s collar as he returned the twins’ salutes.

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