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She was forcing him to spill the beans about the boat.
“Honey, it’s totaled. You’re getting a settlement for a new boat. We can shop Saturday if you’d like.”
“Yes, I have to have a boat, so that’s a priority. I don’t know why it’s freaking me out not to have one. I just want to see the old one because it was my grandfather’s.”
“Are you afraid you’ll be trapped here?”
“Maybe. But I know I can call Gus to take me into town, so that’s ridiculous.”
“Try not to expect too much of yourself right now, will you, please? You’re recovering. It’s all a product of stress.”
He offered his hand to steer her to the rescue site. He was afraid that she was ready to freak out, that the reality of what had happened to her was going to sink in. And besides that, if he listened hard enough, he could hear voices, laughter, and car motors, and he didn’t want her to notice. He’d keep up a running commentary.
“Is wearing wellingtons unnecessary?”
“No, it’s still damp back there.”
“Oh, you’ve been?”
“I did take a walk to see where the trailer was going to end up. It’s quite impressive, what you’re attempting. I hate to ask how much it’s costing you.”
“Yeah, you’d better not. Ha! But it’s not that much. Wait a minute…” She’d heard laughter.
“Okay, I guess this is where I have to blindfold you,” he said, laughing, forcibly turning her around so her back was to the upcoming site.
“Justin, what’s going on?”
“Will you relax? Jeez! Just keep this on for one friggin’ minute,” he said, laughing at her protests.
He took her by the shoulders and led her down the path they’d already worn to the site. There was silence when the couple came into view.
“Are you ready to see your surprise?”
“I’m scared.”
Muffled laughter from the crowd tittered out.
“I’ll take your blindfold off. You’ve been so good. One, two, three.”
He took it off, and everyone that Maggie Angel knew in Cypress Cove screamed, “Surprise!”
In front of Maggie, a completed rescue building. She was speechless. While she was in the hospital, her friends and family had set up the double-wide, landscaped the yard, built a huge enclosed deck around the entire trailer, fenced in the yard, and built a road and a gravel parking lot. And then she heard barking.
“Are there animals already?”
“Come on in,” Kelly said, going on her other side.
The others were staying at a respectable distance, and although it made Maggie feel a little weird, she understood why. They were afraid of her, like she had survived an accident and was now a different person.
“Mom and Aunt Elizabeth,” she said, waving.
Nearly everyone there had visited her in the hospital.
“Annie!” she cried. Annie came right over and hugged her.
Justin let Annie get on the other side. Kelly and Annie led Maggie into the trailer. It had been painted the same blue that the outside was painted, the same blue as the cottage.
“We’ve got the evil-eye theme going,” Kelly said. “Like the painting on the end of the dock.”
