Page 50 of As a Last Resort
“You own the general store on the island, right?”Sam asked, raising a brow.“Seems to me, more ferry runs would only bring more people through your door.”
A few people around the room murmured in agreement, and Bob took the opportunity to slam his hand lightly on the wobblytable.“Extended ferry hours approved.Wrap it up by ten p.m., Capt’n.”
Ricky sank back into his seat with a grumble.“Guess I’ll just have to stay open till midnight, then.”
Rita leaned over and whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, “I’ll leave the lights on for you, boo.”
Sam sat down gracefully, the corners of her mouth tugging into a smile.
I chuckled, low and appreciative.“That was impressive.”
She gave a playful shrug.“It’s just good business.Someone has to know the rules.”
For a moment, I just stared at her.Sam was smart, sharp, and a step ahead of everyone else.And damn, if it wasn’t attractive.
“Alright, moving on,” Bob sighed, shuffling his notes as the room dissolved back into bickering.
I grabbed Sam’s hand and we made for a quick exit.As we walked outside, I was still in awe of how effortlessly she’d stepped in and shut Ricky down, and how she made it look so easy.
Maybe this girl from my past wasn’t just someone to catch up with.Maybe she was someone to keep up with.
16
AUSTIN
Her text dinged as I pulled in from a midday run the next day.When I looked, the memory of her legs poking out from under a Scuttle’s Ferry T-shirt took over my brain.
SAM:Busy?
Heat raced down the back of my neck, even though the thermometer outside already read eighty-nine degrees.
I ignored it, telling myself I was putting a little distance between us.It had been a long time since a woman had taken up so much real estate in my mind.Her face seemed to be hovering over every single thing I looked at.But when her name popped up on my phone as an actualcall, I picked up.People like Sam don’t call other people unless someone died or something was on fire.
“So, quick question for you.”Her voice was an octave higher than normal when I answered.
“Oh-oh, what happened?”
“Let’s just say, hypothetically speaking, a washing machine was producing a voluminous amount of foam and won’t stop.”
“Okay.”
“What would be something you could try to get said washing machine to stop decorating your floor with bubbles?”
“Did you turn it off?”I asked.
“Hypothetically speaking, yes.”
“And it’s still spinning?”
“Violently.”
I could hear a whirring sound in the background reminiscent of a tornado.“Can you get to the wall outlet to unplug it?”
“I tried and it’s really heavy.I don’t think this thing has been moved in about thirty years.It’s stuck to the floor.”
“I’ll be right over.”I didn’t think twice about it.Maybe seeing her would help kick her out of my mind.Like when you have a song stuck in your head all day, you’re supposed to listen to it and it works its way out of your system.Maybe I just needed to work her face out of my system.
I hung up and Patrick side-eyed me.“Not a peep out of you.”
