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“Pushed you? You gotta be kidding me withpushedyou?”
Chapter 3
Jade
“Pushed you?” I demanded from the open doorway. “You gotta be kidding me withpushedyou?”
“Mr. Hawthorne, this is my daughter, Jade.” Admiral gestured to me. “She runs the docks. That would explain her being there to help tie off.”
“Pushedyou!?” I demanded. “Are you seriously saying I pushed you? Because if I remember correctly, I was there first and you pushed me.”
“I did say I had it, and you were behind me, so you pushed me,” he said. “How else did we end up tangled in the water?”
“Mr. Hawthorne, is it?” I said. “Why on Earth would I push you?”
I could hear my father snickering from behind the counter. I felt a twitch of a smile just from hearing him laughing, but fought to keep it in.
“Mr. Hawthorne, I have never known Jade to, um, push anyone in the water. Are you sure that’s what happened?” Admiral asked on a light chuckle. “Jade, what happened?”
“I was reaching for the rope they were tossing out and he came out of nowhere, pushing past me.” I walked over to the back shelf and grabbed two towels. “Here, dry yourself off. You’re dripping everywhere.”
“Thanks, but I wouldn’t be dripping if you didn’t push me,” he laughed.
“You pushed me,” I said sternly. “The proof is your hat tangled to my hood, which was behind me. Hence, you pushed me.”
“You pushed me,” Mr. Hawthorne countered. “You didn’t want me to get the rope, so you pushed me out of the way.”
“You know I didn’t push you, Mr. Hawthorne. You just wanted to get the rope without waiting for me to answer you.” I crossed my arms. “Are we in agreement?”
“Well, maybe I exaggerated a little, but I did say I would get it,” Mr. Hawthorne shrugged, “and the name is Sawyer.”
“Mr. Hawthorne, we don’t seem to be able to agree here, so let’s move on.” I walked behind the counter. “Is the owner of that yacht a friend of yours, or do you go around randomly helping boats tie-off?”
“It’s my yacht. That’s why I was there. I was waiting on it.” Mr. Hawthorne laid the towel on the counter. “I’m docking here for the night before going to my island.”
“Are you the one that bought Sandpiper?” I asked.
“Yes, but I renamed it Cloud Nine.” Mr. Hawthorne smiled. “You get it? It’s my happy place — my cloud nine.”
“Oh, I do get it. Just about any island out here is someone’s cloud nine.” I tried for a smile. “Although, don’t be surprised if everyone still refers to it as Sandpiper.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. I have to get dried up now from my swim,” Mr. Hawthorne paused, “perhaps you should too.”
“Sound advice, Sawyer,” Admiral called out, laughing.
“Dad! You’re supposed to be on my side.”
Chapter 4
Sawyer
“Idon’t wanna hear it, Asher,” I growled, entering the saloon of the yacht.
“Come on, Sawyer. Man, that was the best laugh I’ve had in days.” Asher handed me a drink. “She looked cute. Well, at least until you pushed her into the ocean.”
“I didn’t push her, she pushed me!” I shouted as I went down the hall to my stateroom.
“Did you get her phone number?” Asher called out. “You probably owe her at least a drink, if not a new outfit.”
