Page 38 of Hook, Line, and Summer

I’ve worked with my dad since I was a kid, but I never felt the same connection to this life as Andrew. While he always lived and breathed it like our father, I did it more out of a sense of obligation. Like now. When my mom called, it never occurred to me to say no. It’s the family business after all. Putting my job and life on hold for weeks wasn’t an easy feat, but I managed to do it.

I will admit that the longer I’m here, the more I feel disconnected from my real life. When I first arrived, I checked my work email and phone constantly, staying up to date and chiming in on everything happening at the office. Now I’m lucky if I do it once a day and I only answer things marked urgent.

Our passengers arrived before I could analyze that too much. I greeted them as they came aboard and listened as my father gave his usual welcome spiel. Before long, the boat rumbled to life and we set off from the dock.

It’s going to be a long day on the water, but once we’re back, I get to see Summer. I chuckled at that thought. It’s exactly how I got through all my days on board when I was a teenager. Seems some things never change. We just need to figure out how to make things permanent this time.

CHAPTER12

Summer

“You’re not goingto tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope.” Adam tilted his head in my direction and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “Although that’s mostly because I don’t exactly know.”

“So it’s an adventure.”

“Everything is an adventure with you,” he said with a sweet smile that melted my heart. “And tonight’s adventure is taking us to a place Andrew recommended about thirty miles up the coast. He said it’s a bright red shack we can’t miss and they serve the best lobster tacos and rolls he’s ever had.”

“Ooh, yum!”

We drove along the coast, the ocean breeze blowing through the open windows. I peeked back at Thea who was sniffing the air with a big smile on her face. She loves going for rides as much as she enjoys walks. Honestly, she just likes to be with me, no matter what I’m doing.

“How’s she doing back there?”

“She’s loving life. Thanks for inviting her to come along.”

“Of course,” he said. “So you never told me how you and Thea ended up together.”

“Her previous owners were moving and couldn’t bring her with them. They said they tried to find someone to take her, but couldn’t. So before they left town, they brought her to the rescue. I volunteered to keep an eye on her for a few days and the rest is history.”

He glanced in the rearview mirror at her then shifted his eyes back to the road.

“I can’t imagine how anyone could give her up.”

“Yeah, me neither. But their loss is my gain,” I said. “She came along a couple months after Nanny Jules died and brought me back to life.”

I hadn’t meant to bring the mood in the truck down, but that’s what I did by mentioning my grandmother. Adam has said he feels guilty about not coming home when she died. Thankfully I noticed a patch of bright red up in the ahead.

“Is that it?”

“It must be,” he said, slowing down as we approached. “It looks crowded.”

“That’s a good sign, right?”

“It usually is.”

He pulled into the lot and we found a spot all the way in the back.

We got out of the truck and after latching Thea’s leash to her harness, we walked toward the shack to get in line.

“Summer!”

I looked around and spotted Eve and Max seated at a table on the other side. Eve was waving like a maniac to get my attention and I returned the gesture. We wove through the tables to get to theirs. Eve gave me a big hug and I introduced her and Max to Adam, then she sat back down to pet Thea.

“What are you guys doing here?” she asked.

“Andrew said this place has the best lobster tacos and rolls, so I figured we’d check it out,” Adam said.

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