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Before she’s even finished talking, I’m getting up off the couch and walking across the living room, sliding open the door and stepping outside onto the large deck that leads to our lake-facing lawn and private dock.
I look out across the little bend in the lake, to the house that’s three football fields away—the house where Ken Bellows lives with his wife and two kids. My eyes focus on the little guesthouse they usually rent out during the summer that we’ve used once or twice when we couldn’t accommodate all of the Mitchell family in our own home.
“I’m thinking about walking into the little town and grabbing a bottle of wine and some cheese and grapes then maybe I’ll crack open a book or something. I’ve been reading this romance, and the idea of sitting out and looking at the lake while I dig into it makes—”
“Ruby,” I interrupt.
“Sorry, I was rambling again,” she says, and I hear the telltale sound of a screen door opening and closing.
Sure enough, I can see movement on the guesthouse porch at the Bellows’ house. We’re not close enough for me to make out her face. If we weren’t talking on the phone and I hadn’t put it together, I could never have guessed that the girl from the plane and the girl on that porch are one and the same.
“No, it’s not that,” I finally respond. “I actually have another idea for tonight. For you, I mean.”
“Oh really? You wanna help me make plans that are more fun than drinking wine and reading romance?”
“If you drink that wine, you’ll fall asleep ten minutes into your book,” I say, eliciting an unladylike snort from Ruby that has a shit-eating grin crossing my face.
“Touché. So what are these wonderful plans?”
I bite the inside of my cheek for a second, wondering what the hell I’m doing. I’m in town to see family, and the last thing I’m looking for is starting something up with anyone, let alone a girl I met on a plane.
But something inside of me has decided to sit up and take notice, and it’s hard for me to let something go once I’ve set my sights on it.
Without realizing it, I’ve set my sights on Ruby.
God, what are the chances? Not only that she’d be here, in Cedar Point, but also that she’d be right there, just a little ways away when there are dozens of guesthouses scattered around the lake.
I should be taking a nap, or connecting with my siblings, or even working, which is normally the first thing I do when I get to town.
But instead, I decide to allow myself this little distraction, and I say five words that I have a feeling are going to completely change this trip home.
“Have a drink with me.”
chapter six
Ruby
“Have a drink with me.”
I feel a little confused at his idea. Didn’t he just point out to me that having a drink tonight would make me conk out on the porch and get eaten alive by mosquitos?
“A non-alcoholic drink,” he amends.
“Like, over the phone? Do you want to FaceTime or something to keep me company?” I’m already shaking my head, though I know he can’t see me. “I don’t want to take up your time. You’re visiting your family and your mom probably has a million things planned for you to—”
“Ruby,” he says, interrupting me again. “Do you see the green house across from you? The one with the massive deck and the L-shaped dock?”
Something strange stutters its way through my body. My eyes flick up and across the little cove where Ken’s house is tucked away, instantly finding a massive green home, just like Boyd described.
“Uh huh,” I manage to say, though I can’t really seem to say anything else.
That’s when I see movement on the deck. A single body, a man, standing at the railing and lifting an arm to wave.
At me?
I stare straight ahead for a good ten seconds before all the pieces fall together and I suck in a massive breath.
“Is that you?” I ask, needing confirmation before I allow my excitement level to shoot up like a firework.
