Page 2 of Just One Chance
“Oh. Got it. Thanks for pointing that out.”
“Sure. My dad built this house.” Avery shrugged. “Actually, he built most of the houses around here. I’m sorry the realtor didn’t show you the panels. They normally do. Especially for people who move in during hurricane season.”
“I never actually met the realtor,” the man said. “I bought the place sight unseen.”
“Wow. That’s brave.”
“It’s closer to the water than I thought it was.”
Avery glanced toward his back yard. Had he seriously bought oceanfront property without knowing? “Hard to get much closer.”
“My sister picked it out.” He leaned against the house, his shoulders slumped. “She only showed me the pictures of the inside and told me it was downtown. Close to the hospital. Obviously, I shouldn’t have believed her.”
This guy’s story just kept getting better and better. “Well,” Avery said, a laugh floating through her words, “welcome to Sullivan’s Island.”
“Thanks.”
Avery held out her hand. “I’m Avery.”
“David Daniels,” he said. His handshake was firm—that was good, at least—and he offered the tiniest of smiles. He was definitely adorable. In a nerdy little brother sort of way.
“You’re a doctor over at the hospital?”
“Yes,” David said. “In the ER.”
Avery nodded. “I’ve got a few friends who work there. You’re a new resident?” If he was, he was sitting on family money, because no resident she knew could afford to buy oceanfront on Sullivan’s.
“No, actually. I just finished my residency at Northwestern up in Chicago. This is more permanent.”
Avery froze. The guy couldn’t be a day over twenty-five. “What, did you start medical school when you were sixteen?”
A blush crept up his cheeks and he coughed into his fist before mumbling something Avery almost couldn’t hear. “Something like that.”
“For real?” Avery asked.
David sighed, like he’d answered the question a million times before. “College at sixteen, med school at nineteen. I’m twenty-seven now. And yes, I’m old enough to practice medicine, I did pass all of the same exams every other doctor takes, and no, I’ve never watched Doogie Howser.”
“Sorry. I bet you get that a lot, huh?”
He shrugged dismissively. “I’m used to it.”
“Do you like it?” Avery owed the guy a subject change. “The job?”
“The job, yes. But I’m not sure I would have taken it if I’d known hurricanes were part of the deal.” David tossed a nervous glance toward the ocean.
Avery grinned. “Listen. We haven’t had a major storm hit Charleston since Hugo, and that was before I was born. It seems like there’s always something brewing off the coast during hurricane season, but odds are against anything hitting us head on. I think what’s out there now isn’t even a hurricane yet. It’s just a tropical storm. It’s nothing to worry about.”
David ran a hand across his forehead, then back through his hair, mussing his perfect part. “Really?”
“Most of the people on this stretch of the island have lived here a long time. When you see us getting our houses ready? That’s your clue to do the same.”
“Do people evacuate?”
Avery shrugged. “Yeah. Sometimes. When we have to.”
“I don’t understand why anyone would voluntarily live in a place that a hurricane could destroy in minutes.”
“It’s a small price to pay for living in paradise. Honestly, I’d rather take my chances with hurricanes than deal with snow every winter.” Avery moved to the stairs. “I gotta get my groceries inside, but I live right next door if you need me.” She pointed to her house. “The one on that side. With the blue door.”
