Page 27 of A Wedding in the Bay

He grinned at her. “Great. We could stargaze again or do something else. Go see a movie or get dinner together. Something like that.” She couldn’t quite tell in the dim lightning, but it looked as though the tips of his ears were slightly pink.

“I would love to,” she said, “but maybe not dinner or a movie just yet? Since Marsha tried to set us up, I’m guessing people are already talking about us not working out. Well, everyone who was at that dinner party, anyway. Word is sure to spread quickly if we’re out in public going on a date together. And it’s not that I don’t want people to know that we’re seeing each other,” she added hurriedly, “but—”

“But you don’t want anyone to pry or ask too many questions,” he said, grinning. “I get it. Besides, you’re right. I don’t really want the whole town speculating on whether or not we’re going to date each other when we’re still trying to figure that out ourselves.”

She chuckled, and her heart warmed at the thought of dating Everett. It had been a long time since she’d been on a date with a man! “Let’s keep it a secret for a while. That way we can see what happens between us without anyone else trying to get involved.”

“I agree. And it might be kind of fun to sneak around a little.” He laughed, and she giggled.

“All right, so we’re agreed then. Now that we know we don’t want to go out in public just yet, where would you like to go for our date, Mr. Howell?”

“Hmm,” he said, his eyes gleaming. “How would you feel about coming out on my boat?”

“I would like that very much,” she said, beaming at him. “It is your most prized possession, after all.”

He chuckled, and they stood at the front door for another few minutes, discussing what day their date should be on. Finally, she glanced at her watch and said reluctantly that she needed to leave. “Thank you again for tonight. I’ll see you soon.”

“I’ll see you soon, Johanna.” He smiled at her, and leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

Butterflies erupted in her stomach. For a moment she lingered, and they smiled warmly at each other. “Goodnight,” she said finally, opening the door.

“Goodnight. Get home safe.”

“I will.”

She left Everett’s house and headed back to her car, feeling a bit giddy.

This is all so unexpected, she thought. I feel as though I’m on a roller coaster or something like that. It’s thrilling. I can’t wait to spend time with him again.

She got into her car and closed the door against the cold winter night, feeling a flush of eagerness dancing in her chest.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Caitlin pushed her car along the aisles of Sandy’s Grocery, mentally checking off items on her grocery list.

“Keep an eye out for those cauliflower crackers we like, honey,” she told Pearl, who was shuffling ahead of the cart as if she was doing some kind of dance. “Michael wants to use them as part of a recipe this week.” She realized with a flutter of joy that soon, she’d be able to refer to Michael as “Daddy” when talking to Pearl. Her heart felt full.

“Okay!” Pearl said cheerfully and began to peer at the aisles as she walked as if she was a bloodhound on the scent. Caitlin chuckled. She was proud of what a good attitude Pearl had—they’d been out running errands for a couple of hours already, and her daughter was still acting energetic and cheerful.

Pearl located the crackers with an exclamation of triumph, and she plopped them into the cart.

“Good job, Pearl! Thank you.” Caitlin high-fived her daughter, and they turned around the corner of the aisle, where they almost bumped into someone. “Sandy!”

Caitlin’s face lit up into a grin when she saw her friend, who co-owned the grocery store with her husband Daniel.

“Oh, hey!” Sandy’s long blonde braid swung off her shoulder as she turned to give Caitlin a hug. “How are you?”

“We’re fine! How are you? How’s the baby doing?”

Sandy’s expression shone with happiness. “Just great. He’s an angel. I mean, obviously he cries sometimes, but that’s just part of being a baby. He’s got the sweetest temperament and the most beautiful brown eyes. I’m completely head over heels for him, and so is Daniel.”

Caitlin felt a burst of joy for her friend. She knew how much Sandy had always wanted a child, and how for many years she and her husband Daniel had thought they would never be able to have one of their own. That had led to them caring for many foster children, including Tommy, a teenager whom they’d recently adopted. It had all worked out beautifully in the end, with Sandy’s surprise pregnancy. She and Daniel had two kids now, both of whom they loved dearly.

“I can imagine,” Caitlin told Sandy. “How is Tommy feeling about the baby being in the house?”

“Oh, Tommy’s an angel too. He’s been so helpful, and so has Daniel. And as the months go on, everything’s gotten easier for all of us. Chandler doesn’t cry as much during the night anymore, which has been a huge blessing.”

“Raising a baby is never easy though.” Caitlin patted her friend’s back sympathetically. “You must be exhausted.”

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