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“I know. What happened to that promise to take me out on your boat?”
“Pretty sure you canceled because of research.”
Oscar stroked his jaw thoughtfully. “Oh, right. That pesky job keeps getting in the way.”
“Tell me about it.” He turned to Molly. “I want you to meet my colleague, Dr. Molly Lawrence. She’s acting as the interim veterinarian at Turtle Rehab.”
Oscar extended his hand. “A fellow turtle enthusiast. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“New turtle enthusiast. I’m by no means on the same level as most of the people here, but I’m eager to learn. I’ve very much enjoyed your workshop today. Thanks for allowing me to come.”
“Any friend of Grant’s is a friend of mine. Especially one who’s so flattering to my ego.” He pushed his glasses up on his nose before he picked up the folder with his lecture notes and tucked it under his arm. “Now, what do you say we get out of here before anyone else stops me for questions? Talking for three hours always leaves me famished.”
“Listening to you talk for three hours leaves me famished,” Grant joked. “And I just got a text from Jonathan that they’re there and lunch is ready.”
Oscar turned for the door, and Molly leaned into Grant. “We’re eating lunch with Dr. Simmons?”
“I hope you don’t mind. Some of the old university gang had made plans to eat lunch together. I added you to the reservation when I found out you were coming.”
“Mind? I hope they don’t mind that I’m crashing your reunion. Also, there’s a good chance I’m going to ask a ton of questions.” She tapped her chin. “Will they kick me out for too many questions? And what would that threshold be?”
Grant chuckled. “As long as your questions are related to their research, your bigger concern will be getting them to shut up.”
They walked down the short hall and into the small conference room the hotel had set up for their catered lunch. Grant spent the next few minutes introducing Molly to his friends in the room. She fit right in with the group of animal lovers, and it only took a matter of minutes before she was engrossed in a conversation with another one of the university’s vets. As everyone found a seat for lunch, she managed to snag herself a spot between Dr. Simmons and her new friend, Dr. Lana Krolik.
Is this okay?she mouthed across the table as she slid into her chair.
He gave her a nod of approval and took a seat at the other end of the table next to Jonathan.
“You didn’t mention you were seeing someone when we had dinner the other night.” Johnathan’s gaze darted in Molly’s direction as he took a sip of his iced tea.
“Who, Molly?” Grant glanced across the table at Molly and their eyes met. She shot him the kind of wide-eyed grin of a kid on Christmas morning. And, right on cue, the familiar flutter kicked in.
He quickly looked away. So maybe it was fair to say he was crushing on Gulfview’s new locum vet, but who could blame him? She was the most interesting woman he’d met in a long time, and the more time he spent with her, the more captivating she became. But it wasn’t serious. It couldn’t be serious. “Nah, she’s just a colleague. She’s doing some contract vet work for the rehab center while our normal vet is out on medical leave.” Of course, he had every intention of spending as much time as he could with her while she was still in town.
“Well, that’s good. It’s one less thing to consider in taking this job.” He put his napkin on his lap and pulled his plated salad toward him. “Have you given it any more thought?”
Grant picked up a fork and speared some of the lettuce leaves on his own plate as his thoughts switched from Molly to the position Jonathan had offered a couple of weeks ago. “Some.”
And by some, he meant a lot. Over the past couple of weeks, he’d thought about it from every angle. Of course he wanted the job. As director of research, he’d get to oversee an entire team of researchers dedicated to making a difference in marine life everywhere. The reach of this job was inspiring. But if that wasn’t enough, the current project was one he’d dreamed up. For the next five years, the entire team would be dedicated to studying the intricacies of marine habitats. The information they gathered would help with how to better focus conservation efforts and allow zoos and aquariums to create healthier, more authentic environments for their residents. Plus, they were even willing to let him finish his PhD while he was working on it. To put it simply, it was the perfect job offer. Those only come around once in a lifetime.
“It’s an intriguing offer.” He pushed the salad around his plate as a vision of the job danced through his mind. “The combination of spending small spurts at sea between longer stints in the lab is especially appealing. The best of both worlds, really.”
“It’s almost as if the job was designed specifically for you by you.” Johnathan speared a large clump of salad. “Oh, wait. It was.” He grinned as he shoveled the bite into his mouth.
“Touché.” He thought back to the days when he’d worked on the proposal for this very study. Life had looked so different then. But wasn’t life always changing? Every time he thought about this job, he kept coming back to the same thought: maybe it was time for life to change again. “The new director needs to start at the end of the summer?” His sister’s wedding was scheduled for the beginning of August. There was no way he could leave before that, but after…?
“We’re aiming for middle of August. We’d like to have the new director in place for the start of the fall semester. Tell me you’re saying yes.”
Grant popped a cherry tomato in his mouth and chewed slowly, giving him time to think.
On the one hand, how could he leave Emerald Cove? His sister, Turtle Rehab, everything else he’d moved home for. Were they at a place where he could walk away?
Then he glanced at the familiar faces gathered around the table. Some were laughing with each other; others were in the middle of deep conversations, all of them enjoying being together. There was no denying he loved it here. These were his people. And this work? It was what he was born to do.
It was a difficult decision, but saying yes to Jonathan wasn’t saying yes to the job. It only moved him to the next step of the process. Anything could happen when the board got involved. But if he let this opportunity pass him by, he would always wonder.
“Alright, I’m officially throwing my hat in the ring.” There was a hitch of hesitation in his voice, but who would blame him? This was a big decision with a lot on the line.
