Page 34 of A Wedding in the Bay

“Thank you,” he said. “I really appreciate you saying that.”

For a moment, they shared a smile.

“I mean it sincerely,” she said. “You’re clearly an excellent fisherman. It’s a good thing I don’t have to carry on a family legacy of fishing—I would be a terrible fisherwoman.”

He laughed—a big booming laugh that she found endearing. It seemed to echo along the surface of the ocean like skipping stones. “No, I’m sure you’d be fine at it. It’s a skill—like anything else, the more you work at it, the better at it you become.”

She shook her head. “My city girl ways make me bad at countryside jobs. I’m still learning how to knit, and Marsha can tell you how absolutely abysmal at it I am. Although she’s much too sweet to phrase it like that, I suppose.” She laughed.

He chuckled. “I’m sure you’re much better at knitting than I would be. I’d be terrible at it. My fingers are too clumsy for that kind of thing.”

She shook her head. “No, you must have nimble fingers. You catch things for a living. I need to learn how to catch better when I knit.”

He frowned, confused. “Is that some kind of knitting term I’ve never heard?”

“Nope.” She laughed. “I need to catch on better.”

He groaned at her terrible joke, and she bowed.

They continued to laugh and talk lightly as he turned the boat around and headed back toward the shore. When they reached the dock, he showed her how to cast anchor and she watched in fascination.

“Thank you again for this,” she said as he walked her off the boat. “I had a really lovely time.” She smiled shyly at him, feeling reluctant to part ways.

“I did too.” He ran a hand through his hair, hesitating for a second before asking, “Do you have anything going on right now? We could take a drive through Blueberry Bay.”

Her heart skipped a beat, and she nodded. “I would love that.”

“Great.” He grinned. “I hope you don’t mind sitting in my truck.”

She made a face as she remembered his truck, and he laughed heartily. “Don’t worry, it’s clean inside. Well—clean enough.”

She laughed. “I would love to go with you in your truck, Everett.”

They walked together toward where his truck was parked, and he opened the passenger door for her.

“Watch your step,” he said, offering his hand to help her climb inside the tall vehicle.

“Oof,” she said as she took his hand and hoisted herself up, using the metal stirrup. “I never realized how tall trucks were before.”

He stared at her. “You’ve never been in a truck?”

“Don’t look at me like that, I’ve been living in New York City for decades.”

He chuckled, and she grinned. He closed her door with the perfect grace of a gentleman, and she looked around the interior of his truck. It was in fact fairly clean—he had some tools jumbled together in a box on the back seat, but for the most part the truck was tidy and smelled fresh. She was a little surprised, and she scolded herself for having jumped to conclusions about his truck.

Just like I jumped to conclusions about him, she thought. My goodness, I’m glad I got a chance to see how wrong I was.

Everett climbed into the truck on the driver’s side and started the engine. He turned to her, his slightly lined features open and warm. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” she said, laughing. Her heart felt light. “I’m still fairly new to Blueberry Bay. I would like your full tour. Tell me everything you know about our town.”

“Hmm, that will involve me going on and on about all kinds of people you’ve never met.”

She shrugged. “Sounds wonderful to me. I like history.”

He chuckled and began to drive the truck out of the parking lot and onto the road. The afternoon was still sunny, and inside the truck it was warm and comfortable. Johanna sat back and sighed in contentment as Everett began to point out various buildings and tell her what he knew about their history. She chatted with him about the information as they drove, genuinely interested in what he was telling her. They continued to laugh and banter as he wove his truck through the charming streets of Blueberry Bay. They were getting along great, and Johanna was crossing her fingers that they would have another date after that one.

As they paused at a stop sign, she suddenly let out a yelp.

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