“Maybe you’ll find someone when you get to Toronto.”
“Maybe,” I say, and kill the ignition when I reach the beach. “Welcome to Pond Cove Beach and Nature Preserve.”
He turns and a smile lights up his face. “Holy shit. This place is gorgeous.” He scans the long length of empty beach. “And we have the entire place to ourselves.” He gives me a wink full of mischief. “We can go skinny dipping.”
“No, we can’t.” I laugh at his childlike enthusiasm, which is funny and kind of contagious. When was the last time I got to be a child? I honestly can’t remember, but this weekend, maybe I can make up for that. Maybe I can be reckless and wild and forget about consequences. “Way down there you can see some seals. I am not flashing a bunch of seals.”
“I don’t think they’ll mind.”
“Okay then, I’m not flashing you, and you,” I say pointing a finger at him and waving it up and down. “Keep your shorts on.”
Or completely ignore me and take them off.
After all, I did just contemplate being reckless.
“We’ll see.” He laughs and jumps from the Jeep and hikes my bag over his shoulder.
“Want to eat first?”
He nods and rubs his stomach. “Yeah, but then I have to wait twenty minutes to go into the water.”
“I think you’ll be fine, plus I’m a certified lifeguard, so I’ll save you.” I lift my arm and show him my bicep muscle. “I might be small, but I’m strong.”
“I watched you lift fifty-pound lobster bins. You don’t have to convince me.” He shakes his head, appreciation in his eyes. “You never cease to surprise me, Charlie Baxter.”
What I do is considered unorthodox by most and I’m always judged, but Wes, well he’s impressed with what I do, and everything in the way he looks at me, reminds me underneath it all, I’m a woman. Is he able to separate the girl from the seafarer?
I walk to the back of the Jeep and pull out a big plaid blanket. “Like I said, my mother wanted us to try everything at least once.” I head toward the grassy area, and as we walk by a cluster of gorgeous yellow flowers, I stop to sniff them. “These are called Eastern Mountain Avens. Do you know there is only one other place in the world they grow?”
“Really?”
“Yup, New Hampshire.” I cup one of the flowers. “These flowers act as solar collectors and follow the movement of the sun across the sky.”
“You’re making that up.”
I laugh. “Now why would I make that up?”
“Because I think you like messing with me.”
“That’s true, but they really do follow the sun, and now you have a fact that is completely useless to you.” He chuckles, and I straighten up and point to the highest hill. “Let’s go eat there. We’ll have a nice view of the ocean.”
We hike up the hill and I lay the blanket out. Wes opens the backpack and takes out our lunch. We dig into our sandwiches and go quiet as pretty birds fly overhead. Once we’re done eating, we both flop down on our backs to let our food digest before we brave the cold ocean.
I shut my heavy eyes. I stayed up too late last night, my mind on the guy beside me, and was up too early.
“Charlie?”
“Hmm.”
“Whatever happened to your dad?”
“He left when I was seven.”
“That’s shitty. See I’m a wordsmith too. But I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay. He and Mom wanted different things in life. He wanted to live in the city, she wanted to stay here and work in the fishing industry. She gave it up early in the marriage and went to the city, but it wasn’t for her. They came back here, and this life wasn’t for him. They both grew up here, like us, but he needed out, and she needed to stay.” I angle my head to see him and he’s watching me carefully, thoughtfully.
“That’s why it’s important for you, then.” His eyes narrow, like he’s putting pieces of a puzzle together. “You know, to be with someone who wants the same things.”