Page 21 of Love and Other Trials
“It’s different for guys,” he bantered back. “I know I’m being ridiculous.”
“You said you think I’m pretty tough, right? Well, I still dread going to my grandma’s house in Folly. I’m worried about that moment when I get to the first step of the porch. She’d usually call out my name from an open window, and the way she’d say it—like I was precious to her—always made me feel like I was walking on the clouds. That won’t happen ever again. I want to live there because I’m hoping it’ll help me find peace by settling in a place we both found happy. She wanted that.”
She was hoping to take the deed her sister had promised to give her after the wedding and start the process of putting it in her name. Because she was going to lock that up legally. Her family could not be counted on to keep promises.
He unfurled from the golf cart and was around to her side a moment later, extending his hand. “Since we’re in the same boat, so to speak, perhaps we can help each other.”
Just like that, their new bond went deeper, and she felt her heart pulse harder in her chest as she laid her hand in his. “I’d love that.”
The morning sun glinted on his hair, turning it gold. His gaze was thoughtful and filled with heat. They could kiss right now, she knew, but then Sherlock jumped out of the golf cart as the screen door to the store creaked open.
“Nice dog. Y’all here about the wedding?”
She reluctantly looked away and felt the loss of Dax’s hand as he released her. Turning, she pasted a polite smile on her face and nearly did a double take. The man who’d asked looked like an old pirate, a common enough occurrence in Charleston, but he sported an old smoking pipe in addition to long, straggly gray hair and a T-shirt with dancing starfish. The starfish on his belly looked like they were stretching, as if for fish yoga. “Yes, I’m Ariel.”
“Like the mermaid.” He chortled before puffing on his pipe. “Hard to forget that name. I’m Scooter. And the fella? He the groom?”
“No, he’s the best man and a Navy pilot to boot.”
Dax shot her a look, but she had good instincts about people. She’d peg this guy as a veteran.
“Captain Dax Cross. Pleasure to meet you.”
“I was in the Marines way back in the day.” Another puff of his pipe reached Ariel’s nose, the spicy tobacco reminding her of an old library. “You sea biscuits still have it easy?”
“Yes, sir,” Dax drawled. “You know, my grandpa had a joke for his old Marine buddies when they gave him shit for being in the Navy.”
So Dax and his grandfather had more in common than fishing. He’d followed in family footsteps.
“Do you know why the Navy carries Marines around the world on its ships?” he asked before answering with a cheeky grin, “sheep are too obvious.”
Scooter grinned, showing a gold tooth. “That one is older than dirt, sonny. What about this one—how do you separate the men from the boys in the Navy?”
Dax laughed heartily, a sound as tantalizing as a slice of warm pecan pie. “My grandpa loved that one. With a crowbar.”
“I’ve got me one around back.” Scooter jerked his head to the right. “With the koi you want to see. Come along and see my babies.”
She was so happy she wanted to lock arms with Dax and mosey on back. God, call her crazy but she loved men like these two. They gave each other shit, but she knew they were also the type to get shit done. No muss, no fuss. Her motto. She was hoping it would carry her through the wedding.
Sherlock was already sniffing at the brush under the palm trees as they followed Scooter. A sea of troughs waited behind the front building, each containing a special kind of fish. The tanks were labeled with black sharpie, and she read signs for angelfish, swordtails, tetras, American cichlids, and goldfish before arriving at the koi. Large orange and white fish swam in the clear water.
Scooter tapped the tank. “These here are mighty popular, even though they’re pricey. I had a bride about five years back come out and ask if she could rent them. Saw something about them on one of those fancy wedding shows ladies love to watch. Said she knew a whole bunch of brides here in Charleston who’d go wild for them at their special day. Got me to thinking, and when that happens, my missus says to look out.”
Both she and Dax chuckled. What did his missus look like? Ariel wondered if she had a pipe to smoke too.
“Sure enough, she was right. After I started renting them out, I could finally afford the boat I’d been saving up for. Can you believe it? But what men fork out for rings today really blows my mind. Back when I proposed, you were lucky to be able to afford a simple gold band. Now a rock the size of Texas is expected, and more often than not, the marriage barely lasts as long as the payment plan. Crazy, if you ask me, but I’m not complaining. How many do y’all want?”
What a character. But that was Charleston. She told him her budget. “I’ll need the special wedding tank I saw online as well. With the installation, of course.”
“It won’t fit in that Barbie golf cart of yours.” His gold tooth winked as Dax smothered a laugh. “I don’t include it because I’ve had some people rent kiddie swimming pools instead. Depends on the bride. The plexiglass one I have is perfect for a wedding with lots of people running around. Weddings can get wild.”
She thought of her family. Wild didn’t cover it. “Do you have insurance?”
“You betcha. I’ll write up your invoice inside if you want to look around. You might enjoy checking out my African cichlids on the back left. They’re freshwater and colorful. I specialize in the blue ones. You being a mermaid, they’re your kin.”
With another flash of his gold tooth, he strolled out, pipe smoke flowing behind him.
Dax was mashing his mouth together, fighting a smile. “You’re bringing me to all the hot spots, aren’t you?”
