AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How long do you think it’ll take me and Liem to find a good place?” she asked from the passenger seat as we crossed the twin bridges.
“I’m not sure. I got lucky with Paul’s boat. He listed it the same day I started looking.”
“Really?”
I smiled. “Really. The day after Liem’s birthday.”
I let the words hang in the air, glancing over to find Bree studying my face, a furrow in her brow, almost like she didn’t believe me. I shifted up a gear and then moved my hand to her jean-clad thigh.
I was doing my best to ease her into my adoration, the delicate dance not much different than the coordinated effort of pressing the clutch and shifting gears to someone who was new to driving a manual transmission.
“You can stay with me for as long as it takes. You won’t find me complaining.”
She blew out a breath. “Okay, but if that changes, I think I could stay with Cody’s dad.”
I smiled to myself. It would never change.
That’s the kind of thought I’d keep to myself. For now.
The rest of the drive passed quickly, and we were soon crunching over the gravel in the Ari’s lot.
Mom met us at the lot, greeting us as I helped Bree out of the car. “Good morning, you two.”
“Good morning,” we said back in unison.
Bree glanced around, searching.
“Dad and Liem here this morning?” I asked, knowing that’s what she was after.
Mom smiled widely. “Liem’s already inside, but not your dad. He tried to get up this morning, but it was clear he needed a recovery day. He argued with me, but I made him stay home and rest.”
Bree frowned at us, looking confused at our expressions, so I made a mental note to explain to her later that the happy, sociable Monny Lott she’d gotten to know over the last two days was one we’d had only small glimpses of in months.
“I’m planning on mixing up that peppermint-oil ointment today. Can I drop it by later?” she asked Mom as we walked up the ramp together.
Mom smiled fondly. “Of course. He would love to see you.”
Bree smiled back, and I suspected that Mom would be ordering her a customized stun gun by Christmas.
The morning passed quickly, the Saturday-morning mixture of regulars and tourists keeping us busy, and more than one customer asked Bree if she had prepared any specials today, making my heart squeeze.
Again, the loyalty she inspired. She’d get it one day, and I couldn’t wait to see it.
At around 9:00 a.m., Bree took off my apron—which she had folded down into a half apron for the morning of serving and order taking—and handed it to me. “You’re still okay with me taking your car to Fortuna? I feel silly that I didn’t remember to drive separately this morning.”
I handed her the keys in answer. “And are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”
She sighed. “No. I need to do this today while I still have the nerve. Everyone I’ll need to speak to should be in by now, and I’d rather just get it over with.” She messed with her bandana that held her hair back—one of her nervous tells, I’d learned—and blew out a breath. “I think… I’d be more nervous with you there, weirdly. But I can see you after?”
“Just call me when you’re done. I’ll catch a ride back to the houseboat if it ends up being after we’ve closed.”
“Oh God, I hope it’s not that long. Either way, I’ll probably need to get my stuff from the trailer as soon as it’s over. I wouldn’t be surprised if Grandmother had the thing repossessed by the end of the day.”
I frowned, pulling her into a hug. “We’ll take care of it as soon as we can. Liem and I will both go with you.”
She nodded into my chest and looped her arms around my waist, squeezing tightly. “Okay.”
I leaned over, picking up the umbrella and handing it to her. “We’ll be here when you’re done. The rain has picked up some, so take it slow. I’d walk you out, but….” I gestured to the new batch of customers coming in from the rain.
