Page 73 of Forbidden Kisses
Abby shook her head, ignoring Grace. “I swear, Sam shows up everywhere I go.”
Krista frowned. “Of course he does. This is the only decent coffee shop in Blushing Bay.” Her gaze lifted over Grace’s and Abby’s heads and bounced back to them. “Spotted,” she shrieked in a low whisper. “They’re coming toward us.”
“I think I’m going to puke,” Grace said, quietly.
Joey grinned. “Good. That’ll help your story.”
Two seconds later, the men were standing at their table.
“Morning, ladies,” Pete said, his pale blue eyes resting on Grace. “And Joey.”
They must’ve looked like an odd bunch sitting together.
“Good morning,” Sam said.
Abby turned her head away, effectively ignoring him.
“Shouldn’t you be out fishing?” Krista asked the two.
Pete smiled. “On our way now. Had to make sure the office was handled, seeing that Grace is sick today. Jack’s working the desk this morning,” he said.
Grace should’ve felt guilty about that fact, but instead it gave her a little thrill. He hated desk work.Good.Served him right for dumping her this close to the tournament.
“Hope you’ll be feeling better soon,” Pete told Grace.
“Thank you,” she said, shrinking in her chair. She offered up a little cough, which felt fake.Oh, God,she hoped this didn’t get her fired.
“Well, those fish won’t catch themselves.” Pete waved at the group. “See ya’ll later.”
Grace blew out a breath when they’d gone. She scooted back from the table. “I don’t want to get busted here by Jack or Noah. Let’s get started on that trial run.”
They all grabbed their coffees and stood. They’d shine up the boat, check that everything was in order, and take a ride to Joey’s secret spot. Then they’d test the rigs and account for any needed supplies or quick fixes once they returned to shore. It’d be a busy day, which Grace was thankful for. Too busy to think about whether Jack had implied anything else when he’d told her, “I’m done,”yesterday afternoon. Then he’d stormed out of the office and she hadn’t seen or spoken to him since.
Was he done with just the tournament? Or with her, too?
Chapter 19
TheLone Wolfwasn’t at all an appropriate name for the Nelson family commercial fishing boat that Grace found herself on after breakfast. She’d been a lone wolf herself until a month ago. But now she had her own pack of friends and…family—maybe.
After a thirty-minute boat ride on the water, Joey anchored theLone Wolfat his secret spot. The boat had run as smooth as the water was for them today.
“Fingers crossed the weather is like this tomorrow,” Abby said, lying back along one of the long seats at the front of the boat. She smiled up at the sun with her large brown sunglasses covering her eyes.
“I hate to break it to you, friend, but you won’t be sunbathing tomorrow,” Krista pointed out.
“And I won’t be drinking beer.” Joey popped the top of a Bud Light and tipped it back.
“Can we catch a fish today?” Grace asked hopefully.
Joey shrugged. “Sure. My philosophy is that there’s more than enough fish out there. If we catch the ‘big one’ today, there’ll be an even bigger one tomorrow.” He winked and motioned for Grace to follow him to the stern of theLone Wolf,while Krista and Abby stayed at the bow.
“So, this is an outrigger,” Grace said, walking up to a pair of long poles fitted to the side of the boat. “The outriggers allow multiple lines to be dropped into the water and thus simulate a school of fish. That helps us trick our big catch.” She grinned, proud of herself, then proceeded to label other parts of the fishing gear that Jack and Noah had taught her about, eager to show off her knowledge.
“I thought I was here to help. You seem to already know what you’re doing.”
Grace cocked her head. “Well, I’ve been out a few times in the last month preparing for this tournament. I never would’ve guessed a couple months ago that I’d be involved in a major fishing tournament.”
“Sometimes life surprises us.” Joey kept his gaze on the water. Grace guessed he was watching for something to jump. She’d seen Jack and Noah do the same thing. Or maybe there was some meditative quality about staring out onto the water. Maybe your deepest thoughts were out there waiting to reveal themselves if you were patient enough.
