“Is it weird if I say I’m not sure, but it feels like I am?”
“No, actually that sounds exactly like how I’d feel if I were in your shoes.You want a tour?”
“That’d be great.”
Renn followed Wes’s lead as they walked back to his SUV.
“So, you found our pier.It usually pulls in a little profit after insurance since we rent it back to the city for public use, but last year it needed some overdue repairs, and the taxes were a killer.I’ve been working with a new CPA to see if we can’t figure out some other mechanisms to monetize it to at least cover the taxes.”
“Cool, and I take it the marina is located somewhere else?”
“Yup, just a short drive over toward the lighthouse, which is also where one of two graveyards in Sandy Point are.The one at the church is where our dad and my mom are buried.In case you wanted to know.”
“Got it.”
They each got in the car and were silent on the drive to the marina, but once they arrived Wes seemed to shake off the cloud that had settled over them at the mention of his parents’ grave.
“Do you sail?”
“No, I’ve never really liked the ocean much—it seems too volatile.”
“Ain’t that the truth.I think summer is my least favorite season due to all the near-drownings.The ocean is too unpredictable and people who come here on vacation don’t always know that.”
Wes parked near the entrance to the marina, which had to be at least the size of a football field, with dozens of boats docked, a stone jetty on one side and a bait shop halfway down the main dock.
“The Hart Marina has been leased for ten years to a local family that offers charter boats, rentals, and boat slips to rent seasonally or annually.”
“Business looks good.”
“Ya, and they got a heck of a deal from me because I had no idea what I was doing.But they never miss a payment, and we can get a boat anytime we want.”
Renn nodded.“You weren’t interested in taking over your dad’s business?”
“Honestly, I never really understood what our dad did until he died, and while he dabbled in some lucrative real estate like the marina, the family estate, and a few other pieces further out in the country.He mostly managed the family stock portfolio.”
Renn laughed.“Ya, me either.So, you decided to become the local sheriff to keep an eye on Dalton and Levi?”
“Sort of, it wasn’t my first choice at the time when Dad died, but it was a living, and I’ve come to really love it.I guess my calling found me.”
Wes pointed to a bench along the pier.“Let’s sit.”The view of the boats and water was hard to beat, and they both sat to enjoy the view.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t fight the idea of staying in this town permanently.I kept thinking it was temporary until I thought I might lose my job, and this local idiot thought he’d run for sheriff against me.”
“Maybe that’s how I should look at this quarterback opportunity; it’s not like the offers won’t expire after this season.If I don’t take the chance now, they’ll all forget about me.”
“I wouldn’t even pretend to know what kind of pressure that must feel like, or to assume that the goal was always to be the starting quarterback.But when you were in college, I assume you started?”
“Yep, two out of four years.But I wasn’t drafted.”
“Okay, so how’d you end up playing for the Aces?”
“I was a walk-on.They liked me and signed me as third string.”
“Then?”
“After a year I fleeted up to second string when the other guy took another job.”
“So, after college, instead of going into any other line of work you went through the grueling process of being a walk-on for an NFL team, who then fleeted you up to starting quarterback within six years, and you took that team to the AFC championships.”
