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“He’s stopping by tomorrow morning after church to look at it. So, we shall see.”
Closing her eyes, she slung an arm over her forehead. Dappled sun filtered through the cypress trees. For being a city girl, the sounds of being on the water soothed Katrina: croaking frogs, a boat motor in the distance, the splash of a muskrat diving off a stump into the bay.
“I love it here, Maggie.”
“Me, too.”
“I don’t even miss having a man, until I see someone like Dave Chastain.”
“Wait, Katrina. You do have a man, remember? You have Alphé.”
“But when I see Dave, how beautiful he is, so sincere and interested in everything, and we talk, I realize that I’ll never have what I want from Alphé.”
Maggie sat up and leaned on her elbow and looked at her friend, worried.
“What are you going to do about it, then?”
“Just let the relationship run its course. He doesn’t make any demands on me, and I like his kids. For now, it’s enough. But what if there isn’t anyone else out there for me? I want a family. I want a man.”
“Wait, you want a family? That’s a first. You need to get your goals straight.”
“I do, but it seems unlikely, so why set myself up for disappointment?”
Maggie rolled over on her back again. “It’ll just happen when you least expect it. Look at me and Justin. I never thought I’d want to be with anyone else after Russ. Ugh, I can’t even stand saying his name. And it’s been a struggle to get over the betrayal. Poor Justin takes the brunt of it. But we’re together, trying to make a success of it.”
“Maggie, you and Justin are a great success. You’re perfect together.”
“I hope so. Here they come. The great Chastain brothers.”
Katrina looked up just as Dave and Justin stepped on the dock, their combined weight probably over four hundred pounds so a good bit of creaking could be heard.
“Jeez, I hope the dock doesn’t collapse.” Maggie laughed.
They didn’t move, lying on their backs, shielding their eyes from the sun. Maggie opened her eyes and saw the men standing over them, smiling.
“Can I help you?” Maggie asked, squinting into the sun, chuckling.
“We just wanted to see what you were up to,” Justin said. “Can we join you?”
“Sure. Where’s Luke and the other men?”
“Still working,” Justin said, sitting down next to her.
“May I?” Dave asked, pointing at the spot next to Katrina.
“You may.”
Dave looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
Maggie and Justin were occupied talking about a small change to the plan of the barn, giving Dave and Katrina a chance to speak unobserved.
“You’re beautiful.”
“Dave. Where’s Amber?” she whispered.
He turned to her, surprised. “You know about Amber.”
Katrina shrugged her shoulder toward Maggie. “Where is she?”
