Page 16 of The Edge of Summer
“Where are you going?” I call. “I thought we were getting something to eat.” Dockside, the restaurant attached to the lighthouse, has been calling my name since we arrived on Kip Island.
My brother kicks at the sidewalk with the toe of his running shoe. “Not hungry,” he says. “I’m going back to the house.”
Bullshit, I want to yell. But I swallow it down. I’ve learned to pick my battles with him, and this is one I won’t win.
“Are you sure? Do you want us to bring you back anything?”
He shakes his head. “I’ll make something later.” Then he stuffs his hands in his pockets and gives us his back, starting on the short walk toward Hawberry Lane. I watch him go, wondering what I have to do to get him to talk to me.
“Sissy,” Sophia whines as she tugs on my hand, “I’m hungry! Can we go?”
I spare Parker’s retreating form one last glance, and then I paste a smile on my lips for my sister’s benefit. “Yeah, Soph, let’s go.”
The walk to the lighthouse is a short one, Main Street acting as a straight path that leads right to the base of the structure. Up the sidewalk, I spot a familiar blonde coming toward us. A dog—a German shepherd, if I had to guess—bounds diligently by Clara’s side, the leash slack between them.
When she finally spots us, she waves, a smile stretching across her lips. “Hey!” she calls.
Sophia grins when she sees the dog. “Puppy!”
I don’t think there’s anyone on this planet who loves dogs as much as my sister. As Clara gets closer, Sophia squeezes my hand to the point of breaking it. I hold my breath as I watch my painfully shy sister work through her nerves.
To my surprise, she boldly looks up at Clara and blurts, “Can Ipleasepet your puppy?”
Clara chuckles. “Go ahead,” she says. “His name is Riot. I have to warn you though: he might decide to give you a kiss.”
Sophia giggles as she reaches a hand tentatively toward the dog. True to his owner’s words, the dog’s tongue lashes out, swiping across Sophia’s palm. She shrieks in delight. “That tickles!”
“I didn’t know you had a dog,” I say.
While Clara and I haven’t known each other long, we covered a lot of ground in the weeks leading up to our move to the island. I’m surprised something like this didn’t come up.
“Oh, I don’t,” she says. “Riot belongs to my brother. I just take him for walks once in a while when he gets caught up at work.”
One thing I’ve learned about Clara is that she is constantly running around helping her family. Whether her parents need help at the bed and breakfast they run on the other side of the island or her brother needs someone towatch his daughter—or, apparently, when a dog needs walking—Clara is the one on call.
“What are you guys up to today?” she asks.
“We were just heading to your restaurant to check it out.”
Her eyes light up, showing the great pride I know she takes in her job. She gestures toward the restaurant. “Don’t let me keep you, then. Go enjoy!”
I laugh at her enthusiasm. “Before you go, I have a question. Do you happen to know anywhere that’s hiring?"
Perhaps it would have been smarter to find a job first before uprooting our lives and trekking across the country, but all I could think about was beingaway. Between the sale of our old house and the money our parents left behind, we have more than enough to get by, but I want to keep as much of that money for Parker and Sophia as I can. When they’re old enough, they can choose to spend it how they want. In the meantime, I need a job.
Clara grins. “Just about every business on the island is looking for summer help. But I take it you’re looking for something more permanent?”
I nod. “Maybe if I get in somewhere for the summer, I can convince them to keep me on.”
“No convincing necessary. Come work for me.”
“You?”
She gestures to the building behind her. “I’m used to working around parents’ schedules, so accommodating for time you need to spend with your siblings won’t be an issue. And honestly, you’d be doing me a favour. One of my usualsummer hires got an internship in her field and had to quit, so I’m short a server.”
“Don’t you want to interview me first? Ask about my experience?”
Clara’s grin widens. “Nah. I’m more of a trial by fire kind of girl.”
