Page 16 of Taming Waves

“Tell her we said hello,” I say as I stand and walk him to the door.

When I turn back, Anson looks at me funny.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he says as he pours a cup of coffee.

“I know that look. Go ahead and say it.”

He shrugs. “You’re awfully concerned about the comfort of a woman living here all of a sudden. That wouldn’t have anything to do with your new boss, would it?”

“I’m just looking out for my aunt and uncle. I want to ensure they put their money where they’ll get the most return for the investment.”

“If you say so,” he says as he blows over his mug.

“Why would it have anything to do with Brew?”

He chuckles. “You know that’s not the boss I’m referring to. You planning to finally shoot your shot or what?” he asks.

I shake my head. “Just finish your coffee and shower so you and I can run over to the farm to talk to Uncle Grady.”

I’ve managed to save a nice nest egg. Sebby compensates us well; instead of a fixed salary, he provides us with a percentage of the profits. For each charter booked, he divides the earnings with a sixty-forty split—the house receives sixty percent while the employees share the remaining forty percent. Charters typically range from twelve hundred dollars to twenty-four hundred dollars each, and during the season, we can complete four to five charters a day, whereas in the offseason, we might have a couple each week. Additionally, we accept tips, and some customers are quite generous.

Last month, I sat down with Uncle Grady and made him an offer to buy the condo. To find the best insurance rate afterhis current policy doubled, he’d had the condo appraised last summer. The property was valued at just over seven hundred thousand dollars. They’d originally purchased it for only one hundred fifty thousand back in the ’80s, which was quite a good investment. I offered to buy it at the full appraisal amount, but he refused. Instead, he offered to sell it to me for half the price. I tried to argue, but he insisted that since he and my aunt never had children of their own, my sisters, Rainey and Presley, and I were the closest family they had, so they wanted me to have the condo, and they planned to use the proceeds from the sale to pay off Rainey and Presley’s student loans.

I haven’t told Anson about the purchase yet, but he’ll find out today when we pick up Uncle Grady and the three of us meet his attorney for lunch to discuss the closing.

Audrey

“You going to sign off on Leena?” Van asks.

I interviewed Leena last Friday. Her husband is a police officer, and they are moving from Hickory, North Carolina, to Sandcastle Cove to be closer to their daughter, who started school at the University of North Carolina Wilmington this year. He will be working the night shift for the Sandcastle Cove Police Department, and Leena is also looking for a job that will allow her to work nights.

I hit Send on my screen to shoot off this week’s liquor order and close my laptop.

“I think so. She’ll need training, but I liked her, and I think she’ll fit in great around here,” I tell him.

He nods. “In that case, I’ll text Brew to let him know I’m calling and offering her the job. Do you think you’ll be able to train her starting next week?” he asks.

“That’ll work great. I’ll start her on lunch and dinner shifts, and once she’s got the hang of it, we’ll switch her over to nights.”

“Sounds good.”

He disappears back into his office. I pull up next week’s schedule, make adjustments, and send it to everyone via the mobile app before shouting my goodbye.

I’m just pulling out of the parking lot when my phone rings. I press the button to accept the call, and Heather’s voice comes over the speakers.

“I notice that you have yourself and Parker working together every night,” she says in place of a greeting.

“Hello to you too. Yes, we will be. It’s not like I have a lot of options.”

“You could have taken a few early shifts and let him and Leonard handle nights.”

“We’re hiring a new girl who’ll be starting next week, and I’ll be busy training her in the afternoons. So, this week, I want to concentrate on ensuring Parker has everything down pat.”

“Uh-huh,” she sings.

“What?”

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