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Before she went back out, she wanted to call her sister. It was early, but Aine probably wouldn’t mind.
When her twin didn’t answer, Ava walked into the main room, found the sofa empty, but found Tabon puttering around in the kitchen. Seconds later she heard the familiar sound of the one-cup coffeemaker hissing out its steamy brew, and breathed in the heavenly aroma.
Instead of joining him, Ava sat at the bar that separated the kitchen and dining room.
“Turn around,” he said, setting a cup in fro
nt of her, and pointing to the windows. “The whales are far more active this time of day. You may even see one breach.”
Tabon came around, sat on the stool next to hers, and stretched his arms over his head until his shirt rode up enough that she could see his rock-hard abs.
“You’re supposed to be watching for whales,” he said, catching her staring.
“I thought maybe I was supposed to be watching you breach.”
He laughed.
Ava looked out at the water. “There’s one,” she said, pointing to a blow.
“Yep. You’re getting better at spotting them.”
Tabon stood, went back into the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator door.
“How do eggs sound this morning? Maybe some bacon and toast to go along with a serving of sunny-side up?”
The truth was, Ava wasn’t very hungry, even the sound of food made her feel queasy.
“Whatever sounds good to you is fine with me,” she said, only to be polite.
He closed the refrigerator and came back around the bar and sat next to her.
“What?” she asked.
“You aren’t hungry.”
“I’m sure I will be soon…”
“No, you won’t.”
She tried to gauge whether he was annoyed with her or simply stating a fact, and how did he know that this time she really wasn’t?
“How about a walk on the beach instead?” he asked.
“That sounds really nice.”
“Meet you back here in five,” he said, smiling like she imagined he did when he was a little boy.
“Make it ten and you have yourself a walk-on-the-beach partner.”
—:—
After pointing out several oceanfront landmarks, he and Ava were quiet for the majority of their walk south. When they reached the mouth of the Yachats River, where it spilled into the ocean, he turned inland.
“There’s a great coffee place right over here,” he said, motioning toward the hillside.
“Where?” Ava asked.
“You’ll see.” Tabon took her hand and led her down the dirt pathway.
