Page 44 of A Ferry Merry Christmas
“It shouldn’t be that hard,” he argued.
“I don’t mean to be rude,” Avery returned with growing impatience. “I’m tired and cranky and the last thing I want to do is play nice with some guy I’ve never met. All I can think about is getting off this blasted ferry, eating dinner, and then taking a long, hot bubble bath.”
Kellie stood close enough to Reed for her to overhear the conversation. “Reed, hold up a minute.”
Avery kept arguing, but his attention was on Kellie.
“Avery is right. Harrison should be the one to find her. I’ll have him look for her.”
Avery’s chatter stopped abruptly. “What was that?” she demanded.
“That was Kellie. She said she’d call her brother and have him locate you.”
“Yes, yes, I got that part. What did she say his name was?”
“Harrison. Why?”
To his surprise, Avery started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“You won’t believe this.”
“Believe what?”
“Harrison is sitting next to me. We’ve been talking . . .”
“You mean to say you’ve already met Harrison? Maybe there’s more than one.” It seemed too much of a coincidence that his sister and Kellie’s brother had found each other all on their own.
“Ask Kellie if her brother is in the Navy and was recently stationed at Bangor?”
Reed didn’t need to ask, he already knew the answer. “You’ve got to be kidding me . . .”
“I’m not,” she said, clearly amused.
“Then you won’t mind having dinner with me, Kellie, and Harrison?”
She hesitated now. “Harrison is in the Navy, and you know how I feel about . . . Never mind. I’m being ridiculous. Of course I don’t object to us joining you and Kellie for dinner.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“What was that about?” Harrison asked.
She returned her phone to her purse. “You won’t believe this. Our siblings met up at the ferry terminal and spent the day together. As we speak, Kellie is cooking us dinner at my brother’s condo.”
Harrison appeared as surprised and amazed as Avery was. “You’re joking. You mean to say as we were getting to know each other, they were, too?”
“You got it. But listen, this dinner isn’t me saying I agree to date you, understand?” She needed to make that clear.
“I’m here, baby, I’m here,” James cried out, interrupting the conversation. His grip on the phone was so tight his knuckles had gone pale.
Avery diverted her attention to the expectant father. “What’s happening?” she asked, noticing how tense James was. The latest information was that James’s neighbor had driven Lilly to the hospital after her water broke.
With a desperation that bordered on panic, he turned to Avery. “I only have five percent battery left on my phone. Do you have a charger?”
“Not with me.” She would do whatever she could to help. “Here, take my phone and call your wife with it. Surely someone on board has a charger. I’ll find one for you.”
“Thank you, thank you.”
