Page 144 of At First Catch

Across the dock, an older couple wanders past the bait shop, their fingers loosely intertwined.

They stop near the end of the restaurant deck, looking out over the water without saying anything for a long moment.

Finally the woman smiles.

“It’s smaller than I remember.”

The man chuckles.

“Everything is.”

She nudges him gently with her shoulder.

“This is where you proposed.”

“No,” he says, grinning. “This is where you turned me down.”

Her laughter carries across the dock.

“Only because you’d known me for six weeks.”

“Seven.”

She rolls her eyes.

“You counted?”

“I was trying to convince you to marry me.”

“You were trying to convince me not to run.”

They both laugh.

After a quiet moment, she reaches up and squeezes his hand.

“Good thing I stayed.”

He kisses the top of her hand.

“Best decision either of us ever made.”

They continue down the dock at an unhurried pace, disappearing toward the parking lot as naturally as they’d arrived.

Walter watches them go from where he’s coiling rope beside the fuel dock.

“Forty-two years,” he says.

I glance over.

“They’ve been coming here that long?”

He nods.

“Met right here at Sweetspire.”

His eyes follow them with quiet satisfaction.

“This place has been collecting love stories longer than either of us has been alive.”