Page 7 of Hook, Line and Mystery

He twirled her, their hands briefly parting before rejoining.

“Looks like we have more in common than just this dance,” he replied, the thought of unraveling mysteries with her having far more appeal than he might have thought before coming to the dance.

“Common ground is always a good place to start.” Her words were soft yet held an edge of excitement.

He smiled. “You know, when I’m not studying marine life, I’m usually out on my boat. There’s a unique peace in sailing, a balance of challenge and calm.”

Abby moved in harmony with him. “I can understand that. I find a similar peace in gardening. I only have a tiny container garden up on the rooftop of my building. It’s like trying to nurture a little piece of nature in a sea of concrete.” He quirked his eyebrow in an unspoken question. “Chicago,” she answered.

He twirled her again—not liking even the brief loss of their connection before their hands rejoined. “A sailor and a gardener,” he mused. “Both of us drawn to the elements in our own way.”

Their gazes met again, a blaze of awareness igniting between them.

“Perhaps our elements aren’t so different,” Abby said, her voice gentle and sincere. “Earth and water—they complement each other.”

He felt the music blend with their conversation, casting a romantic aura around them. As they danced, Kit sensed everything else fading into the background. To him, it felt like they were alone in a world of their own.

The music ended, and the night began to wind down around them. He let her go and she moved away, but not too far. He thought about reaching out—grabbing her and tucking her back into his arms, but he didn’t. The charm dangled from her fingers, catching the light as if winking at him before she put it back in her pocket. Maybe it was a clue, a tangible piece of a bigger puzzle. Kit was drawn to it—and to Abby—in a way that had taken him by surprise.

“Goodnight, Abby,” he said, taking a step back. “It was nice meeting you; thanks for the dance.”

“Goodnight, Kit.” There was disappointment in her eyes. She released his hand as if she was reluctant to do so.

Leaving the dance behind, Kit walked towards the beach. The moon cast its silver glow on the water. Normally, the familiar sound of the waves soothed him, a constant companion in his solitary world. But tonight, the sea seemed to whisper of change, of new tides bringing fresh possibilities. He looked out across the vast expanse, thoughts of Abby and the lobster charm mingling in his mind, stirring feelings he couldn’t quite name but recognized as the beginning of something more than he bargained for.

He stopped along the beach, listening to the town as it celebrated. Ever since he’d lost Clara, it was all he could do to stand on the sidelines and watch the others as they lived their lives. The pain of doing anything more had been too much. But tonight had been different. Tonight, something had flickered back to life. It would be easier to continue as he had, but suddenly that no longer held the allure it once did.

Was Abby the spark that would reignite his life? Or was she a wildfire that would consume everything in her path, leaving only wreckage and ruin behind? The moon seemed to be casting a bright shining path from the shore to oblivion. Was that what he wanted? Oblivion? ‘No,’a voice whispered on the wind. He was reminded that nothing ventured was nothing gained or changed. Hoping to find Abby, Kit headed back to the pavilion.

CHAPTER5

ABBY

What the hell?Things with Kit had seemed to be going so well, and then he’d just left—coldly thanking her for the dance and leaving her standing in the middle of the dance floor, feeling like a fool.

“He can be like that,” explained DeeDee as she quietly joined her. “His wife died a couple of years back; he hasn’t been the same since.”

It helped to know that, but it didn’t make her feel any better about what had happened. “He must have loved her a great deal.”

DeeDee smiled. “He did, but it's time he decided to live again.”

“The loss of his wife must have been devastating.”

“When I saw the two of you dancing…well, sometimes I forget—even though he looks like it—he isn’t a hero from a romance novel.”

“Depends on the novel and the hero,” teased Abby. “Besides, I’m here to write a bestselling romance novel, not fall in love with some hunky marine biologist.”

“So, you noticed that?”

“The hunky part? Yeah, that’s a bit hard not to notice, but he probably has a lot of girls much prettier than me throwing themselves at him.”

“I don’t know about that—at least not the prettier part—but more than one girl has tried to throw her cap into that ring. He’s just never been inclined to catch one. He’s worth the effort, I think, but if you’re just looking for a fling, pick somebody else. I think something like that might put him off love forever. Oh god, do I sound as melodramatic to you as I do to myself?”

Abby smiled and laid her hand on DeeDee’s arm. “No. You sound like a good friend, and there is nothing wrong in that. In fact,” she said, turning to follow the crowd to the edge of the precipice, “it says a lot about him that you think so highly of him.”

The crowd was gathering at the edge of the sea cliff with paper lanterns in their hands. A slight breeze off the ocean blew Abby’s tawny hair as she and DeeDee joined them. She was startled when she felt a gentle nudge at her elbow. Kit was standing next to her as if he’d never been gone. She thought about ignoring him, but there was something about him that spoke to her. In his hands were two of the paper lanterns; she assumed one was for her.

“Legend has it,” Kit said, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “that these lanterns carry our hopes and dreams into the great unknown. It’s been a tradition here in Badger’s Drift for as long as I can remember to light and release the lanterns from here on Lovers’ Edge.”

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