Page 83 of Serenity Harbor

He didn’t know how to answer her. “Yeah,” he finally lied. “Will you excuse me? I need to grab some water.”

“Oh. Sure. I should grab the blanket out of my car for the fireworks, anyway.” She paused. “It’s a big blanket. There’s room for two, if you want.”

Shoot. How was he supposed to turn her down, wiping that sweet, hopeful smile away? “I’ve, um, got my little brother. We’re kind of a package deal.”

He wasn’t all that sure how Milo would do with the fireworks, anyway, especially after the long day of stimulation they’d already enjoyed.

“Oh. That’s okay. We can squeeze one more. Or maybe he’ll want to sit with Kat. She seems pretty good with him.”

Katrina was wonderful with him. Bowie would have loved her for that alone, even if not for the hundred other reasons.

“I’ll have to see,” he said.

She smiled broadly. “Sounds good. I’ll meet you back here after dark.”

Samantha took off into the house, and he grabbed a cup and filled it from the glass water jug that had floating blueberries and sliced strawberries in it. It made him think of Katrina again, the taste of her mouth and the heat of her skin.

Unable to resist, he scanned the party for her. At first he couldn’t see her, until he saw a slim figure in a flowered pink sundress work through the crowd and head through the trees toward the trail that ran along the lakeshore.

His first thought was to worry that Milo had gone wandering, but he found his brother still on the swings, this time being pushed by Andie Montgomery. Satisfied that his brother would be okay under her watchful eye, he headed after Katrina.

The sun had set, casting his surroundings in shadow, though full dark would be another hour away. For now, everything was muted and pale in the lavender twilight except the lake, which seemed to glow amber and peach. Birds twittered in the tall trees as they prepared to call it a day.

He walked about a hundred yards from the house until he finally found her. She sat on the lakeshore on a bench placed along the trail that offered a beautiful view of the mountains rising up on the other side of the water.

The sunset tinted her features the same amber of the lake, and she looked lovely and a little sad. As he watched her, Bowie had to fight the urge to rub his fist against his chest as that ache intensified.

He loved her and didn’t know what to do about it.

He should probably start by leaving her alone. This was a grievous intrusion of her privacy. She had obviously left the party so she could be alone, and it was rude of him to stand here among the trees and spy on her.

He turned, intending to slip back through the trees to her mother’s house, when his foot nudged a rock that clattered against another one.

She turned her head, and in the fading light, he saw her features twist into surprise and then a sort of resignation. Since she had already seen him, he knew he couldn’t just turn around and go back to the party now without seeming like some kind of creepy stalker.

Instead, he stepped forward and walked to the side of the bench. “Everything okay?”

“Sure. Just fine,” she said after a beat. “Why do you ask?”

The words were obviously untrue. He wasn’t foolish enough to claim he was an expert on Katrina Bailey by any means, but shehadlived in his home the last few weeks. He could see the restlessness in her and, beneath it, something else. Something almost...sad.

He inclined his head the way they had come. “All your family and friends are up there with the food and the booze and the music, while you’re down here by yourself.”

“Maybe I just needed a moment to catch my breath. Sometimes a girl just likes to be alone once in a while.”

The words stung. She obviously didn’t want or need his concern. That probably went double—or triple—when it came to these new and frightening emotions twisting through him.

“Right. Sorry I bothered you,” he said stiffly. “I was worried about you, but I can see that was unnecessary.”

She sighed. “I’m the one who’s sorry for snapping at you. Thanks for worrying about me, but I’m fine, really. Sit down, if you want.”

He hesitated for only a moment before stepping forward and easing onto the bench beside her. The scent of her drifted to him, of strawberries and wildflowers and Katrina. He was aware of a little pang as he wondered how many more of these moments with her he would be able to steal before she left in only a few days.

“Is Milo okay?” she asked. “Andie offered to keep an eye on him. She’s great with kids, but I still probably shouldn’t have left him.”

“He seems to be having a great time, as far as I can tell. Who knows? I doubt he has a lot of experience with social occasions like this or Wynona’s wedding last week. It’s probably a little different for him, attending a party where everybody’s not stoned.”

“You can never be too sure about Eppie and Hazel.”

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