“You do?”
“Yeah, I got you. I can’t imagine a better teacher.”
Her mouth fell open in astonishment before she protested, “No, I’m not… I can’t teach you.”
“Why not?”
“You need a professional. I’m not qualified.”
“Who taught you?”
She stared for a minute before shifting her gaze to her boat, then looking away.
“Elijah,” he said, tilting his head to catch her eye.
Cassidy’s attention snapped back to him. It was the first time she’d heard her husband’s name from his lips. Mac had referred to Elijah before, of course, but had never used his name. For some reason, she thought it would be weird; jarring. It wasn’t. Mac spoke his name like he was talking about someone he knew, someone he was comfortable with. The name didn’t haunt him.
Belatedly, she nodded.
“Good enough for me,” he declared. “Besides, I’ve seen you handle yourself. You know what you’re doing. And, you owe me.”
“For what?”
He drew a thrilled Fred to him, ruffling his ears. “Dog-sitting.”
Cassidy rolled her eyes. “That’s more for you than it is for Fred.”
Mac looked into Fred’s ecstatic face. “I don’t know. Look at him. Certainly debatable.”
She let out a soft laugh. “You are both equally pathetic.”
Merry dark eyes shot up to her, nearly stopping her heart. “What do you say?”
Shaking her head, she relented, “Fine.”
“Perfect. I already have an appointment for Friday. You aren’t working.”
“How do you know?”
“I checked with Dar.”
“You asked Darlene before me?”
“Made the appointment from the bar,” he informed her. “Easy to ask when you’re off.”
Cassidy bit her bottom lip. “How long will it take? What time will we be back?”
Standing, he shrugged. “Not sure; we’ll take Fred.”
Cassidy shifted her gaze to her grinning dog.
“I’ll swing by around oh-eight hundred. It takes a couple of hours to get down there.”
Cassidy frowned. “It’s not local?”
“Local enough,” he said dismissively. He tilted his head again as he regarded her. “You okay?”
She nodded, distracted. “Sure.” She was thinking ahead to two hours in a car with him. An entire day with him,interacting; talking. Was it weird she was more nervous about that than spending a day in bed with him?