CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
South Island, South Carolina
December 20
The new deck smelled of cedar and varnish. Holding a mug of coffee, Steady tested the surface and, finding it dry, stepped out into a chilly morning.
The beach was framed by a rosy sky, quiet but for the swoosh of the incoming tide. Steady turned the other way. The sky was not the only pink thing enhancing the beauty of the scene. A puff of a pink ponytail bounced away from him in the distance. His neighbor, Very. Yes, he thought, she was very. Very intriguing, very sexy, very smart—then when she turned and headed back the way she had come, he added another descriptor to his list—very beautiful.
Her feet pounded the sand as she sprinted the final distance. Long legs in turquoise tie-dye flew. She slowed to a jog when she reached his stretch of beach. Then she stopped and faced him.
“Are you Steady? Twitch's friend?”
Delighted Twitch had mentioned him—hopefully as the handsome and handy guy next door—he nodded enthusiastically. “That's me.”
She stared at him for a moment, her chest rising and falling under an orange University of Virginia hoodie. Then she shouted, “keep that telescope pointed at the sky, pervert.”
And with that, she jogged off, the red neon stripes on her trainers fading like disappearing taillights.
Steady set his mug of coffee on the flat railing and stood there for a full minute with his mouth hanging open. Then he threw back his head and laughed. This girl was aptly named. She was Very.