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“No. Just no.” I did not want her to finish that statement, and I certainly didn’t want the images it inspired dancing around in my already crowded head. “I’m going to steer clear of Bennett Ramsey for the duration of our stay here.”
***
Bennett
IF ONE GOODthing had come from running into Claire, it was that I needed to blow off steam, so Larry was finally getting the walk on the beach I’d promised him.I admit it—I’m a slacker dog dad.It wasn’t that I didn’t want to take him—I just didn’t want to have to vacuum out my truck and give him a bath afterward. So maybe I wasn’t a slacker dog dad but more like a slacker overall.Not much better.
He pressed his nose against the passenger window, covering it with slobber and condensation. When he could no longer see out because of said condensation, he whined and let out a high-pitched yip.
I sighed.Ugly and stupid—not a good combination.He caught sight of his wagging tail and spun around, trying to get a look at whatever was attacking him. Then he promptly got distracted by me and licked my face.
Despite my sour mood, I chuckled. “Good boy.”
I’d take lovable over pretty and smart any day. All three traits were probably too much to ask for. Although Claire had the trio locked down. Or at least, I’d once thought so. I had to question the integrity of the woman who was actively working to bring the monstrosity of a commercial resort to the Carolina Banks.
She’d lived and worked here for three months, and we’d adopted her as one of the locals. She should have understood that a Markham property had no place here. It would ruin the small-town charm that defined the islands. Remembering how happy I’d been to see her, I scowled. And I’d been thinking it was my lucky day because Lyra had asked me to fix the damn toilet. Hell, I’d almost asked Claire out just for old times’ sake. A friendly date was all that it could be because I didn’t waste time on outsiders.
Which meant I’d had quite a dry spell because, as Claire had put it, I was related to half the island. Not literally, but sometimes it felt like that. The dating pool was so shallow it was nearly dry. That was probably for the best. As the oldest Ramsey-Croft sibling, I had my hands full.
I parked, and Larry clawed at the window, eager to get out on the beach he loved as much as I did. Maybe he wasn’t so stupid after all, because he’d figured out where we were. I clipped the leash to his harness and grabbed hold of the end before opening my door. As I expected, he clambered over me to jump out of the driver’s side. When the leash went taut, he was jerked backward with a yelp.
“Hang on, Larry. Jeez.” When we got to the beach, I’d most likely let him off leash even though I wasn’t supposed to. If no one else was out there, I figured it was a victimless crime.
We crossed over the dune, and Larry was just as disappointed as I was to see a whole mess of people and several large tents farther down. I groaned.Today is not my day.
I was tempted to pack Larry back into the truck and take him to our second-favorite spot, but I caught sight of Wes sitting on the hood of a police Jeep and looking bored as hell. Since one of the department’s officers was on medical leave, he’d been picking up extra shifts, which meant I hadn’t seen him in a while.
Larry pulled on his leash, and I let it go, confident he’d run straight to Wes. He didn’t disappoint me, leaping up onto the hood of the Jeep and nearly knocking Wes off.
Grinning, Wes rubbed Larry’s side. The dog’s back leg started shaking, and he slid off the Jeep then landed in a heap on the sand. I grabbed his leash and commanded him to sit. Surprisingly, he did, with tongue hanging out.
Man, it must be nice to be a dog.
I leaned against the Jeep. “What’s happening, Officer Moyer?”
“Same old.”
I gestured to the spectacle before us. “This is the same old?”
Shrugging, he yawned. “I’ve been assigned to security.”
“Trying to avoid another naked mushroom party, huh?”
He shuddered. “Don’t even joke about that. I still have nightmares about naked old-man asses and shriveled balls. I can tell you with certainty that they’d been in that pool a while.”
I laughed. I’d heard him talk about it before, but it never got old.
He shook his head. “Not cool, man, not cool.” But after a moment, he laughed too. “I think the chief has nightmares, too, which is why he’s ramped up security. It’s whatever. Not much else going on right now, anyway.”
A parade of people wearing bathing suits emerged from a tent and marched to the water’s edge. The leader of the group sat down cross-legged at the edge of the water. A wave hit him, and he swirled his arms around like he was doing a slow-motion eighties dance based on the washing machine spin cycle. His followers plopped their asses next to him and followed suit.
“This is weird,” I said.
“Yup. But I bet you can’t look away.”
“You first. That water can’t even be fifty degrees,” I mused. “What purpose does having your nuts frozen off serve?”
“Beats the hell out of me. I’ll keep my nuts and stay unenlightened.”
