Page 19 of The Library of Second Chances
He snapped a photo of the uncrowded beach for his sister, Carly, who had messaged him earlier to see how he was settling in.
“Much quieter here than in San Diego,” he typed, before sending the photo.
A giant splash sounded behind him and he felt water spray across his back. He turned to see a Great Dane with a tennis ball dripping with water hanging from its enormous jowls.
“I’m so sorry!” a woman called from a few yards away. As she approached and slipped her sunglasses on top of her head, he recognized her from Lucy’s table at dinner the previous evening. She stopped when she’d identified him.
“It’s okay. I was hot anyway.” Logan laughed as he pulled the wet polo shirt away from his back. “Logan Lancaster,” he said, extending his hand. “I don’t think we were properly introduced.”
“Pam Beasley.” Her reply was curt, but she shook his hand quickly.
“And who’s this?” Logan petted the dog on its head, which came up to his chest.
“This is Ava. We’re just out getting some exercise. She loves the water.” Pam took the tennis ball from Ava’s mouth and stepped back to lure the dog just out of the sea, then she threw the ball down the beach, where it bounced a couple times on the wet sand before Ava caught up to it. She began trotting back triumphantly with the ball in her mouth.
“Are you a downtown business owner too?” Logan asked. The mayor had warned him before the meeting that the various groups tended to sit together.
Pam nodded, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Cool Change, the consignment boutique on Main Street.”
“Little River Band.” Logan hummed a couple bars of the song by the same name.
“Exactly.” Pam’s taught features relaxed into a smile. “It was the name of my dad’s fishing boat.” She took the ball from Ava again and threw it farther down the beach toward downtown. Ava took off after it as Pam fell in step beside Logan to walk in Ava’s direction.
“You grew up here?”
Logan figured Pam to be in her mid- to late fifties. She was petite but very well put together. It was obvious fashion was her thing. Even for a walk with the dog on the beach she wore white linen pants rolled up at the ankles and a matching top with a long, chunky gold chain necklace. Several gold and silver bracelets lined her wrist, jangling when she moved.
“I did. Heron Isle born and raised. I remember when the Waterway Café was a welcome center that served free orange juice to tourists.”
“I didn’t know that. What was downtown like back then?”
“Pretty much like it is today. A few businesses have come and gone, but did you know that half a dozen of them are run by direct descendants of the original proprietors?”
“No, I didn’t know that either.”
“Sounds like you have a lot to learn, Mr. Lancaster.” Pam gave him a sly smile that said she knew the task he was facing was bigger than he probably realized.
“Please, call me Logan.” He flashed her the smile that had helped him set a record at the date auction held annually for San Diego’s humane society. It was how he and Catherine had met. She’d won him, which pretty much set the tone for the rest of their relationship.
Pam nodded, taking the ball from Ava again and throwing it farther toward downtown.
“Logan, what are your intentions here on Heron Isle?”
“Well.” He sighed. “I was hired by the commission to find a waterfront development plan that helps fund the budget deficit and keeps the town financially successful for years to come.”
“And have you come up with any new ideas for how to get that done?”
“I have a few.” He flashed her his winning smile again. “But I’d rather hear your ideas. I’m still trying to get a feel for what Heron Isle needs.”
“That would depend on who you ask.” Pam looked out over the ocean where a pelican was diving for its dinner. “But I imagine what you’ll hear from quite a few is that they like things how they are. They’d rather increase the bed tax and have the tourists foot the bill, but then the tourism board and the two resorts bow up at that idea. Just look around you though.” She flung both arms wide, encouraging him to take it all in. “Why fix something that isn’t broken?”
Despite the humid air and the sun streaking across the beach, a chill went up his spine at her words.“Why fixsomething that isn’t broken?”They were the same words his father had said to him when he’d come home from his freshman year of college with new ideas to modernize the dairy farm. His father had been too stubborn to change his mind, ultimately losing the farm, but Logan wouldn’t let Heron Isle make the same mistake. Not on his watch.
Nine
Lucy
Lucy got another early start the following morning, finishing up her journaling on the back porch before eight o’clock. She needed to make the rounds with the downtown business owners before it was time to open the bookstore. Although she thought her conversation with Logan had gone well the day before, there was still something about him she didn’t trust. Maybe it was his perfect teeth or his perfect square jawline. Even the dimple that made his face asymmetrical was perfect because it kept him from lookingtooperfect.
