AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You can leave your car in town at my aunt’s house,” Maggie said. “It’s too hard to get to my house by car right now. The road is under a foot of water.”
“How’s everyone coming to the party?”
“Unless they have a four wheel drive monster truck, they boat in,” she replied. “You’ll see.”
They hugged and cried a little when they saw each other. “I can’t believe this is really happening,” Katrina admitted as they walked to the dock, pulling her suitcases behind them. “I needed to get away.”
“Did something happen?” Maggie asked. Her personal motivation to run to Cypress Cove had been a broken heart.
“No. Nothing. That’s the problem. I’m going to be thirty in a few years, and I’m floundering. Even my job, I’m at the top of my game, and for what? I want to have a family someday, or what is the point of all this?”
“You can relax for a couple of days, okay? And then when you’re ready, you can do that deep mental work that we hate. Who knows what you’ll discover?”
“Is that what you did?” Katrina asked.
“It’s what I’m doing. Trust me, Kat, I’m far from over what happened to me. I have trust issues, and I want to be alone, and I can’t stand anyone controlling me. Oh, I’m a catch all right.”
“You’re fine,” she said, hugging her with a free arm. “At least I think you are. Plus, you have a patient guy.”
“I hope so. He has his moments, trust me. I want to make him happy, but I want to be my own person, too.”
“Me too. How far is this damn dock? My feet!”
“Right up ahead. What possessed you to wear heels?”
“Reruns ofSex in the City.”
“Oh god, no way,” Maggie said, laughing.
As they approached the dock, something made Katrina look up into the bluest eyes she’d ever seen, apparent clear across the canal. He was standing at the boat wheel, and while he stared at Katrina, his deckhand screamed, “Alphé, for cryin’ out loud, watch where the hell you goin’!”
He quickly steered the wheel, and disaster was narrowly averted.
“Who in the heck is that?” she asked, frozen in place. He was so handsome, handsome didn’t even cover it. He was beautiful.
“That’s Alphé Beaumont,” Gus said. “He sure has eyes for you.”
While the fishing vessel chugged out to open water, Maggie introduced Gus and Katrina. Katrina couldn’t keep her eyes off the fishing boat. Gus helped get her luggage in the skiff, and when they climbed down the ladder, he threw Maggie her rope.
“How far is your place?” Katrina asked, distracted, searching the horizon for that boat.
“Just a few minutes. It’s faster to boat in than drive.”
After starting up the outboard, Maggie slowly pulled away from the dock, the women waving goodbye to Gus. Katrina had been to Cypress Cove for Annie and Steve’s wedding, but it had been a quick trip, and she never got to see the cottage.
“Maggie, this is so wonderful,” Katrina said, finally relaxing, her eyes shining. “This is like a fantasy.”
“You mean that Greek god? I wonder who he is. I’ve never noticed the fishermen except for the guy who whacked my boat. He sure didn’t look like that guy.”
“Ha! Yes, that’s a face I won’t soon forget. No, what I mean about fantasy is this whole thing. Even the air feels special. I can’t explain it.”
“I know, for me too. I think you’ll love staying here. Look! Over there, Katrina. That’s my dock.”
“Already? Is that your evil eye? You did a wonderful job.”
“It’s mine,” she said, chuckling. “My grandfather’s is hanging over the fireplace. You’ll see. You always had an eye, so you’ll tell me if it’s tacky.”
Lifting her face, she let the last mist spray over her before Maggie stopped the boat.
