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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Tim sat at the controls to the boat and watched the waves crash ahead of him in the moonlight. The boat was moving at a crawl, which suited him fine since they were headed nowhere in particular.
And that’s where he felt he and Valerie were at the moment relationship-wise, too—nowhere in particular. He would have much preferred to be lost in the middle of the sea with no map than to be in such an uncertain place with a woman he was falling in love with and wasn’t certain would stick around.
At the sound of light footsteps padding behind him, he didn’t turn around, but he didn’t have to. He could see her reflection in the window.
Her long, coily hair darkened the shoulders of her borrowed T-shirt. She held her arms pressed tightly over her belly.
He did turn, though, because he didn’t like her stiff posture, and he didn’t want her to think he didn’t care.
“Come here.” He gestured her over and pulled her onto his lap.
She sat rigidly until he tucked his chin over her shoulder and looped his arm around her waist. She slumped then, looking down at her knees.
The obvious question was“What’s wrong?”but there was so much wrong with them.
He could dance around with his words a bit and lead up to what they both needed to say later. A question that had nothing to do with the two of them seemed like the easiest place to start.
“So, what’s going on with Kevin?” he asked.
She let out a quiet laugh and skimmed her fingers along the side of his forearm. “He was afraid to ask me.”
“What is it?”
“There’s a program at the community college. He needed two references. He got one from Frank and I said I’d write the other.”
“What kind of program?”
“It’s a trade program for construction skills. I think masonry, plumbing, electrical, and all sorts of intro level things like that. It’s meant to help people decide which stream to take.”
“I never knew he was interested in that.”
“I don’t think he did either, to be honest.”
“Why would he want to do that and not—”
“Not work for the family business?”
Tim shrugged. “I mean, it’s there. He knew I’d employ him and pay him fairly. I would have treated him just like everyone else just like I used to during the summers when he was sixteen and seventeen.”
“Maybe he doesn’t like building boats.”
“But the opportunity was right there for him to make something of.”
“And so was your parents’ farm.”
He groaned. He hated when logic bit him in the ass.
“Neither you nor Clay wanted to farm,” Valerie said. “You went off and did your own things.”
“And now there’s no farm.”
“Even if you had farmed, there’d be no guarantee it would have continued to thrive or even stay out of the red. You followed your passion, and maybe that’s what Kevin needs to do.”
“He doesn’thavea passion. Or at least, if he does, he doesn’t talk to me or Heidi about it.”
“I think he’s a lot more practical than you give him credit for.”
