Page 4 of A Future in the Bay

He hadn’t told her yet, but he was also looking to move somewhere new. He felt like he needed a change of scenery, and he was feeling the tug to live somewhere else. When she’d asked him if he’d be willing to come to Blueberry Bay for a couple of months to help her with a project, he’d agreed immediately. He was happy to go somewhere new for a while—at the very least, it would scratch the itch he’d been feeling to relocate, and at best, it would help him decide where he wanted to move to. Blueberry Bay was a cozy town right by the water—living there could give him a sense of whether or not he wanted to live in a place like that, or somewhere completely different, like a bustling city.

“How are things here?” he asked, coming to help her with organizing the stacks of paper since he’d finished with the glue sticks. “How’s that heartthrob you’re in love with?”

She laughed and blushed. She was dating Corey Easton, a local souvenir shop owner with two rambunctious twins that Olivia adored. “He’s doing great. Max and Haley are doing great, and the store is going great.”

“And you’re great, so the man is really lucky.” He grinned. “I’m excited to meet him and the kids.”

“I’m so excited for you to meet them! You’re going to love them, I know you are.”

“How about the rest of your life? How’s teaching?”

“Going so well. You know how much I love kids, and the classes here have been fun and just the right amount of work, you know? It never feels like too much.”

He smiled at his sister, wondering if what she considered to be the perfect amount of work might feel like too much to some other people—enthusiastic people were like that about what they had to do.

“I’m glad to hear that. Speaking of work, before we leave the school today, you should show me all the places you want to renovate.”

“Sure! I want shelves put into some of the classrooms, and some equipment added to the playground. Some other things too, here and there.” She frowned a little, pressing her lips together. “The school board has approved everything that I proposed, but they want the work done before Kids’ Fest in mid-April. That doesn’t give you a lot of time.”

He grinned at her. “We’ll get it done! And besides, I’m sure the school board is happy with you for proposing improvements and offering to accomplish them through very cheap labor via your brother.”

She winced. “They are paying you, you know—I know it’s probably not as much as it should be?—”

He laughed, shaking his head. “I’m happy to do it. It’s for a good cause, and what they’re paying will more than covermy expenses. Especially if my loving sister feeds me dinner sometimes.”

She laughed. “You got it. You can always come over to my place for dinner—sometimes Corey and the kids come over or I go over there, but it would be easy to add you onto the dinner guest list.” Raising her brows, she added, “Speaking of places to eat food, where did you end up staying? Are you at Literary Stays?”

He shook his head. “No, I’ve got a furnished apartment by the water. It’s a short-term lease, just for the amount of time I need to be here working on the renovations.”

“Sounds great! I’ll have to swing by sometime soon to see it. Is it cute?”

He laughed. “If by ‘cute,’ you mean small, then yes. I like it. It’s got a little balcony overlooking the ocean, and a kitchen, and an itty-bitty bedroom. And there’s a garage underneath where I can keep my baby.”

She grinned, knowing that he was referring to his motorcycle. “You know, for a guy who looks so tough and rough-around-the-edges, you have a kind of peculiar nickname for your motorcycle.”

He shrugged, grinning. “All the tough bikers call their motorcycle their baby. You can ask anybody.”

“Well, you’re the only tough biker I know, so I’ll have to take your word for it.”

They finished setting up the craft supplies, and then she took him on a tour of the school, showing him all the places where she wanted him to make renovations.

“Is it too much?” she asked nervously as they were circling back from the playground. “Do you think you’ll be able to finish it by mid-April?”

“For sure,” he assured her, grinning confidently. “I’ll get started tomorrow, bright and early in the morning. Next timeyou show up here, you’re going to be like, ‘Wow, he’s done already.’”

She laughed. “Oh, am I now?”

“Definitely.”

Chuckling, they went back inside the school together, since it was still early spring and chilly. When they were back in Olivia’s classroom, they sat down across from each other at a couple of desks.

“You know what else your school needs?” he joked. “Bigger desks. I can barely fit in this thing.”

She laughed, shaking her head. “What are your plans after this?”

“I want to go see Aunt Marsha. I haven’t seen her since she and Willis started dating, and I want to hear all about how she’s doing. And I want to meet Willis.”

His sister’s eyes lit up at the mention of their favorite aunt, Marsha Dunlap, and her boyfriend Willis Jenkins. He knew that Olivia had had a hand in bringing the two of them together, since they’d been in love many years earlier and had both been skittish about starting to date again after so long a time.

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