Page 8 of Secrets Hidden In The Glass

Chapter Four

The sun warmed Callie’s shoulders and the gusty winds played with her ponytail as she kept a quick pace on her run along the coastal bike path. The waves rushed and roared, kissing the sand and receding back into the Atlantic as far out as she could see—a glorious backdrop for a little early afternoon exercise. Callie extended her strides, deciding that it was time to kick it up another notch in her attempt to make up for taking two days off. The burst of energy she’d relished Thursday morning had vanished without warning later that afternoon. Luckily, she’d made it into town for groceries, then to exchange the SUV for a bike, before she’d all but crashed, but that had been the extent of her productivity over the last forty-eight hours. To her surprise, she’d slept more than she’d done anything else—the persistent fatigue dragging her body down not giving her much of a choice. But today seemed to be going better.

This morning she’d explored the woods behind the cottage and had even taken a few test shots with her neglected Nikon. She’d considered it a positive sign when she actually had an appetite for breakfast and lunch, which was something that hadn’t happened in a while. As she ate up another mile on the smooth blacktop, she considered her vacation to be going rather well. The peace and quiet and breathtaking scenery were exactly what she’d needed. Now if she could stay awake long enough to enjoy her precious few days off, she’d consider her break from her suffocating reality a complete success.

She still craved to curl up on the couch and read, but that was something she was going to have to do later. For the rest of today, she planned to stay busy. Eventually, she would turn around and go home for a shower, have a quick snack, then head into town to tour the Carter Island Marine Hospital and Conservation Center. If she still felt good after that, maybe she’d head for the water and take a walk in the sand.

Callie slowed slightly when she heard sirens blazing somewhere in the distance. The sound grew louder, and moments later she watched Nate fly by at a breakneck speed, speaking into his radio while the blue lights blazed on the Tahoe. Within seconds, a cruiser and two fire trucks passed, moving just as quickly. “That can’t be good,” she panted out and picked up her pace, still listening as the beachfront grew quiet again.

Her mind wandered to Nate—as it had more often than not when she’d been conscious long enough to string two thoughts together. She rarely gave men more than a passing glance—even the cute ones. Her career didn’t afford her an opportunity to do much more. But she preferred it that way. She’d tried a couple of relationships over the years, but she wasn’t any good at them. Her time was better spent creating in her studio and gifting her art to the world. Yet she found herself smiling as she remembered their Tuesday morning conversation.

She didn’t mind chatting with Nate. He was fun to talk to. Over the next several weeks, they were bound to bump into each other from time to time. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that they might even become friends. But when a man looked like Nate Carter—was genuinely kind like Nate Carter—it was probably wise to proceed with caution.

~~~~

Nate sat on the beach in one of his parents’ oversized Adirondacks, sipping his lime-infused Corona while he stared at the blazing bonfire. Music played through the outdoor speakers and several of Sanderson’s businessmen and women conversed and laughed on the Carter House grounds. He lifted the bottle for another pull of damn good beer as his gaze wandered to the water. He sat up straighter when he caught sight of Callie walking in the sand a couple hundred feet in the distance. He raised his hand in a wave, not even sure if she could see him, but then she raised hers in return.

He set his half-empty drink by his chair and stood, deciding that saying hi wasn’t a bad idea. Settling his hands in his black gym shorts pockets, he kept his pace easy, watching the wind tossing her hair around her face and plastering the blue V-neck T-shirt to the curves of her slim, sexy body. He’d spotted her out running on his way to the Clarence emergency earlier this afternoon, but he’d been going eighty-five at the time—hardly an opportunity to appreciate her excellent legs the way he could now. Strong calves and long, well-toned thighs in cutoff shorts. He smiled as she changed directions to meet him.

“Hey,” he said as he got closer, just barely able to see her eyes through the dark tint of her sunglasses.

She grabbed her hair with one hand, taming the majority of it, as she smiled back. “Hi.”

He stopped in front of her. “Nice night for a walk.”

“Mmm, it is. I thought I’d try sneaking one in before it got too dark.”

He looked to the horizon, where the setting sun had started painting the sky different shades of pink and purple. “Enjoy this while it lasts. Summer won’t stick around much longer.”

“That’s the plan,” she said as she tucked what she could of her long golden strands to one side and behind her ear.

“Do you mind a joiner?”

“No, not at all.”

They started moving along the firmer sand closer to the water. “So, how’s vacation life treating you?”

“Pretty good. I went to the Carter Island Marine Hospital and Conservation Center today.”

“Yeah? What did you think?”

“I think I want to take the baby gray seals home with me.”

He smiled. “They’re pretty cute. How’s the Nikon working out?”

“I actually took it with me today—tried a few shots in the forest back behind the cottage.” Her arm brushed against his as their steps on the uneven terrain brought them closer together. “I saw you this afternoon when I was out for my run.”

“I thought that was you,” he fibbed a little, but he figured it might sound weird and slightly stalker-ish if he mentioned that he’d known it was her on the bike path simply by the way she’d moved—that he probably wouldn’t have much trouble picking her out of a crowd. “You were really chugging along.”

She shrugged. “You were in quite a hurry yourself.”

“We were responding to a kitchen fire.”

Concern played across her face. “I hope everyone’s all right.”

“Yeah. Luckily, Marsha had an extinguisher under the sink so the damage wasn’t too bad.”

“That’s good.”