Page 195 of At First Catch

“I wanted to see what the marina actually meant to the rest of Coral Bell Cove.”

I shrug one shoulder.

“Diane helped me find old visitor reports. Bailey let me compare bookstore traffic during waterfront festivals. Mrs. Pace dug through café sales from the summers before the hurricane.”

A shadow lifts from his face.

“I’ve been putting everything into one place.”

“What kind of place?”

“A folder.”

The corner of his mouth finally lifts.

“A very official-sounding folder.”

“It is.”

I smile despite myself.

“I don’t know if any of it’ll actually help.”

“It started as numbers,” I admit. “Occupancy reports. Visitor counts. Tax revenue.” I smile. “Then I started talking to people instead.”

Nolan stays quiet.

“Mrs. Pace told me every busy weekend at the marina meant she baked another dozen pies because tourists always stopped for dessert before heading home.”

I glance toward the bookstore across the street.

“The Mayor said waterfront festivals were some of the biggest weekends of the year for the shops. Families wandered in after dinner while they waited for the fireworks.”

My eyes drift toward the restaurants lining Main Street.

“One of the charter captains told me when his boats stayed full, the tackle shop stayed open longer. The tackle shop staying open meant more people wandered downtown. More people downtown meant fuller restaurants.”

I shrug.

“Everybody kept saying different things...” My smile grows. “But they all meant the same thing.”

Nolan watches me.

“What’s that?”

I look back across the slips.

“When Sweetspire Marina does well”—I pause—“Coral Bell Cove does too.”

I look back toward the marina.

“But every time I hear you talking about budgets and loan projections...” My fingers tighten around the railing. “I keep thinking somebody ought to see what happens outside these docks too.”

He stays quiet.

“The hotels. The restaurants. The bookstore. The charter captains. The festivals. My job has always been helping people understand how this town fits together.”

I finally look back at him.