Page 16 of The Love In Sunsets

Once they reached the end of the road, the pavement turned smooth. They turned and drove along one of the waterfronts Seaport offered. Water facing homes lined one side of the street, while a park dominated the other. People swam, kayaked, and kids played baseball at the park, while others docked their boats at the pier.

The girls honked and Kiel slowed down, allowing them to pull up next to him. “We want to stop and take pictures,” Skyla told him.

“Why don’t you lead, and I’ll follow.”

“Deal.” Skyla sped up and then pulled into a parking spot. She and Ciara got out of their coupe while Kiel parked. He caught up to them as they scoped out the magical spot for their selfie. Skyla angled the camera and herself in various positions before inviting her siblings over. She snapped a series of shots, which she would hate because she was so picky, but Kiel and Ciara would love, and then they headed out.

Their next stop was a historic fort, which was now a major tourist attraction. It also held various events throughout the summer, including a very popular music festival. The three of them explored the grounds, taking as many pictures as possible, and attempted to board what they thought was a pirate ship, only to find out they were in a sailing class and quickly disembarked before they ended up in the middle of the ocean without a clue.

The three of them all but ran back to the parking lot and hopped into their coupes, laughing as they drove away. They stopped on Ocean Side Drive at the state park, parked and walked across the street after the line of traffic cleared. They stood at the top of the ocean wall and waited for the waves to come toward them. The three of them held hands, closed their eyes, and gasped when the water hit them. Thankfully, by the time the wave hit the wall, it was mostly spray and not some rogue wave that could knock them off the wall.

“I’ve never seen waves so big before,” Ciara said as she videoed the enormous walls of water crashing into the jetty not far from them.

“Let’s go down there.” Kiel didn’t wait and jumped off the wall and onto the pebbled surface. Close to where he stood, a group of men fished and on the other side, people sat in their chairs, watching the oceanic activity. The one thing he noticed was that no one seemed scared of getting wet or being swept out into the water.

“Take my hand.” Kiel extended both hands to help his sisters down. He didn’t want them hurting themselves, and he didn’t want to explore without them. Together, they navigated to one of the monstrous sized boulders and sat down.

“This has to be the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen.” Skyla held her phone up and took a series of pictures, and then told Kiel and Ciara to look her way, snapping another selfie.

As Kiel sat with his sisters, he watched as barges moved slowly and fishing boats coasted by. There was less boating activity on this side of the island than where they had just come from. The water was choppy, powerful, and suited for transportation. Not so much for leisure.

They stayed for only a handful of minutes before continuing along the road. Ciara took a turn driving because Skyla wanted to take as many pictures as possible when they drove by the mansions. Keil cursed under his breath when they ended up behind a dump truck. His mind went into survival mode, and he motioned for the girls to turn down a side road. Once traffic cleared, they were back at it like all the other tourists in town.

On their last leg, they drove along the water again. Only this time, it was where people caught the ferry or took a boat tour. Kiel snapped a picture of The Blue Lobster Adventure sandwich board to show his dad later, and when he came to a stop at the red light, he saw her.

Eloise sat on a stool in front of her easel, painting away. Kiel turned from side to side, glancing all around. He tried to see what caught her eye, but the sheer amount of people blocked everything.

A horn honked behind him, startling him. Kiel pressed the accelerator and jerked forward, almost ramming into his sisters. The sight of Eloise distracted him. He had looked for her earlier in the day, expecting to find her in the same place where he first met her. He admitted to himself he was sad or felt let down when he couldn’t find her at lunchtime.

“Now where?” Skyla asked when they parked their coupes at the rental location.

Kiel shook his head, clearing his thoughts. “I think you two should go shopping. I’m going to walk around for a bit.”

“You’re getting a beer, aren’t you?” Skyla asked, while Ciara rolled her eyes.

“No.” Maybe he would. “I want to explore.”

Ciara tugged on her sister’s arm. “Come on. Let him go check out the babes.”

Kiel blushed, even though Ciara wasn’t wrong.

After parting ways at the corner, Kiel turned toward the wharf and snuck behind the shops, hoping to hide his whereabouts from his sisters. When he emerged from between the buildings, he stood at the edge of the park where he had seen Eloise earlier. He scanned the area and saw her perched on her stool. Only now, she had people around her.

He walked to the park bench and sat down, and for whatever reason, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Eloise was about ten feet from him. The family around her said something funny and she threw her head back in laughter. Kiel desperately wanted to know what they said so he could repeat it or say something similar. The way she absorbed their affection toward her—he wanted that reaction when he spoke to her.

When the family left, he stood and began walking toward her, only to stop when his phone rang. He fished it from his pocket and looked at the caller ID and groaned loudly.

“Hey, Dad. What’s up?”

“Your mom and I decided to stay in this evening. Do you kids want to stop and get pizza on your way home?”

No.

“Sure, be there shortly. The twins are shopping, I need to track them down.”

“I’ll text you the order,” his father said before hanging up.

Kiel dropped his hand to his side and sighed heavily. He wanted to talk to Eloise, but duty called. He glanced her way and saw her watching him. A smile spread across her face when they made eye contact. Kiel gripped his phone tightly, angry that his parents ruined the plans he hadn’t fully made.

---