“Forgive me,” Owen apologized, pulling it out and glancing at the screen. “I have to take this. It is one of the suppliers.” He turned to Linda and Maggie. “Lovely to see you both. Linda, give my best to George. Isabel, Penny, it has been a pleasure to meet you. I hope I’ll see you both around the bay this summer.”
“I’m sure you will,” Penny answered with a small smile.
Owen lifted his phone and walked away toward the marina office, already deep in conversation.
“What a kind man,” Isabel commented quietly.
“He really is,” Linda agreed. “Owen is one of the best people in this town. He is also extremely intelligent.” She bit her lip thoughtfully. “We’ll keep our eyes open for a manager for him. The right person is out there somewhere.”
They walked on. Maggie won a stuffed dolphin at the ring toss and presented it to Toby with great ceremony. Linda watched Sophia and Emma share a sticky shaved ice from a single paper cup and laugh themselves silly. Jake spent ten minutes convinced he could win the duck pond game and emerged with a small plastic ring he claimed was the real prize.
They had begun making their way slowly back toward the parking lot when a tall man, head bent over his phone, walked straight into Penny.
Penny didn’t stumble as she managed to catch herself. She drew herself up to her full height and gave the man a look that would have peeled paint.
“Excuse me,” Penny snapped, “but do you not know that texting while you walk is just as dangerous as doing it while you drive?”
The man looked up.
Linda’s eyebrows shot up.
“Martin,” Linda exclaimed. “You’re back.”
“Hello, Linda,” Martin greeted her with a warm smile, then turned his attention back to Penny. “As you didn’t have a phone in your hand, I would have expected you to be watching where you were going and to step aside as I approached. By my reckoning, you are just as much to blame for our collision. At least I had the excuse of being distracted. You appear to have simply been negligent.”
Penny’s mouth opened. She closed it again.
Linda watched, fascinated. She had not seen anyone leave Penny without a comeback once in their entire afternoon together.
“I...” Penny began.
“Martin Hale,” Martin said briskly, extending a hand to her. “I’m sorry to have walked into you. I hope you are not hurt.”
“Penny Rawlings,” Penny replied, recovering and shaking his hand. “And no, I am not. Though my dignity might be.”
“This is Isabel,” Linda introduced her. “Penny and Isabel are staying at the Bay View Beach House for the summer.”
“It’s nice to meet you both,” Martin said before turning back to Linda. “I’ll speak to you back at the hotel. We have much to discuss.”
“Of course, Martin.” Linda nodded. “I’ll be back within an hour.”
“No rush, we can talk tomorrow morning.” Martin then gave Linda a brief warm smile, nodded once to Maggie and Isabel, did not look at Penny again, and walked off into the crowd.
There was a beat of silence.
“Well,” Penny declared, recovering herself. “Isn’t he a delight?”
“Actually, he is a wonderful man,” Maggie chuckled. “He just lives in his head most of the time. He is a numbers man, after all.”
“Oh, let me guess. A stockbroker,” Penny drawled.
“Something like that,” Linda confirmed mildly. She glanced at her wristwatch. “Right. I think that’s enough festival for one day.”
“I have to agree. I am exhausted,” Isabel admitted, smiling.
“Me too,” Maggie agreed.
They rounded up the four children, who protested vehemently. Maggie bribed them with ice cream on the way home. The protests stopped immediately. They piled back into the two cars and drove off the marina grounds in slow procession.
