Page 27 of Hooked on a Feeling

Rowan shook his head. “Trust me, trust me. You won’t want to waste your time worrying about the financial part. Your job is to make it look pretty.”

Starr bit her cheek. Her job was to make the marina look pretty? Who did he think he was talking to? She took a step toward him. She towered over him.

His hand breezed through the air. “You’re a woman. You worry about cleaning the inside here and decorating it. I will worry about selling it. Making you the money it deserves.”

“I actually don’t think that’s necessary.” She put a hand to her hip. “You can leave. I won’t be needing your help after all.”

“Starr, let me be the man you need to make this sale happen. I can provide you with—”

“No. No. No.” She sucked in a breath, hoping that she wouldn’t hit him. “I’m done. Your condescending attitude is way more than I need. Goodbye.”

Well, that had been a disaster. Gravel spewed behind the tires of the Mercedes while Rowan rolled out of the marina. Her stomach clenched awkwardly because she didn’t want this. Did she? She should be worried about being gone from the studio so long. Was Kareen finally nailing down the Eagle Pose that she’d been practicing before Starr left her yoga studio? Was Richard finally feeling assured that no one was checking out his balls while he did Downward Dog? What had happened to the simple life she’d led when she didn’t have to worry about this damn marina? But they hadn’t crossed her mind once. The worst part was, what had happened to her?

Now it felt like her heart belonged here. Like it was a little more involved than it needed to be. She was catching feelings. For the marina and for John. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The marina had always held a special place in her heart, and she’d been prepared to hand it over as needed. But the truth was, now that she was here, she was reliving her summers with her grandparents and sister, recalling the many times she’d helped tie up boats to the docks and how Nana would always make homemade lemonade. The way the kitchen still smelled like lemons even after all this time. And how no one but her ever managed to avoid the creaks from the chairs when sitting at the dining room table. The marina was wrapping around her heart like an intrusive vine.

“Ugh. I hate that I care so much.” She kicked a pebble in the parking lot, and a new idea formed in her mind. It was too expensive to hire anyone to bring the marina up-to-date, but she couldn’t keep looking at it so sad and unloved.

She had some money of her own she could spend, and if she had to cancel her flight for Friday again, then so be it. She could stay a little longer and do whatever needed to be done. The next Realtor wasn’t arriving for another hour, so after a quick call to Lyle asking to borrow his truck and a ladder, Starr made her way to the neighborhood paint store, where she purchased masking tape, a tarp, and the paint she needed to begin painting the welcome center. The man assured her she would need a variety of brushes to scrape away chipping paint as well as a variety of actual paintbrushes and rollers.

She loaded up her paint and supplies in the back of Lyle’s truck and made it back to the marina at the same time the second Realtor was pulling into the parking lot. Starr could already tell that this woman was nice. She smiled and gave a short wave before she got out of her car. Her hair swung back and forth across her shoulders, giving her a look that said she meant business but in a nice way. Starr approved.

“You must be Starr Young.” The woman put her hand out. “I’m Deanne Woods. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you. Thank you for being able to meet me on short notice, especially on a Sunday.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I’m a Realtor. I’m used to meeting at random times of the day. And when you told me the location, I was intrigued. The marina is a huge staple in the area.”

Oh, brownie points for Deanne. “Well, it was. Unfortunately, there isn’t anyone to run it now, and it’s really been going downhill these past few years. Lyle, the caretaker, is unable to put in the necessary work this place needs.”

“I gathered that when I heard about his diagnosis. I can’t say I blame him.”

“Um, Lyle’s diagnosis? For what?” Had she missed something in her conversations with Lyle because she’d been so focused on getting to the marina and dealing with all the heartache that had come next?

Deanne gave Starr a sympathetic look. “Lung cancer. He’s stage IV, and as far as I know, he is treating it the natural way.” Deanne put air quotes around the word “natural,” and it dawned on Starr that Lyle wasn’t seeking treatment.

“Oh.” Her face heated with the embarrassment of not knowing. “I had no idea.”

“I’m sorry that you found out from me. A stranger. Knowing Lyle’s character, I bet he probably didn’t want to burden you with yet another issue while you are down here trying to go through the property.”

Starr swallowed, unable to quite comprehend what the hell was happening. Lyle having what sounded like terminal cancer. Her grandparents being gone. The property that had a lifelong grip on her heart. And John. She couldn’t form the right words to say what she was feeling.

“I really feel horrible about this. Let’s go sit. You look like you need a drink. I just assumed that you knew, being that everyone else knows.” Deanne guided Starr across the uneven asphalt and under the overhang of the marina. She pushed Starr toward the wrought-iron bench. “Sit.”

“Gosh, for being so tiny and nice, you’re sure bossy,” Starr said.

Next thing she knew, Deanne was pressing a cold bottle of water into her hands. “Drink.”

“Now you’re a Realtor turned therapist.”

Deanne sat down next to Starr on the bench. “Wouldn’t be the first time. I deal with so much crap from people nowadays. It’s why I’m selling my coffee shop. My husband and I are moving to Arizona.” Deanne snorted. “I need a break.”

“You’re a Realtor, and you own a coffee shop?” Starr thought about the distance between Arizona and Florida. “Why move all the way to Arizona? Won’t you miss this place?”

“Sure. But I was born and raised in Phoenix. And man, do I miss it. Our family is there. Our daughter is attending ASU. Life will be good.”

“I feel horrible that I didn’t know about Lyle. I take it since you’re interested in listing the marina for me, you’re not leaving any time in the next couple of weeks?”

“July. So we still have time.”

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