Find Wonder In All Things (5 page)

“What’s the matter with you?” Stuart asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Why’d you pick that song? She thought you were accusing her of moving in on her sister’s guy.”

“She did not think that.”

“Either that or you had some kind of thing for her sister.” His eyes narrowed. “You don’t have a thing for Virginia, do you?”

James sputtered in indignation. “No!”

“Good, because as soon she gets back in town, I’m asking her out.”

“Fine.”

“Okay.”

James fiddled with the cocktail napkin under his drink. “I thought you were moving in on the kid,” he admitted.

Stuart’s eyebrows rose, and then he sat back laughing. “Where’d you get that idea?”

“Oh, I don’t know — the dancing, coming up here just the two of you, all the sly looks.” James was beginning to feel a little foolish.

“Sometimes you just take a notion and run away with it, Marshall.” Stuart sat up and leaned his elbows on the table. “Laurel and I are just friends. In fact, I’ve been driving her crazy with questions about Virginia all afternoon.”

“Glad to hear it. Because going after Laurel when you have that history with Virginia wouldn’t be right.”

“Since when do you get all bent out of shape about a girl’s feelings?” Stuart teased.

James frowned into his glass and said nothing.

Stu leaned over and spoke close to James’s ear. “Laurel answered a lot of questions from me today, but she asked a few too — about you.”

James’s head shot up. “Say what?”

Stuart nudged him with his elbow. “I was trying to show your good side by getting you up there to sing to her. Girls love musicians.”

“You could have told me first.”

“When did I have a chance to tell you?”

“She’s a high school girl, Stu.”

“High school graduate, my friend — college bound. She’s nice, and I know you’re not blind; she’s pretty, too.”

James shrugged.

“And she likes you — or she did until just now. Oh, sit tight; she’s coming back.”

Laurel stood behind James’s chair and put her hand on the back of Stuart’s. “I’m heading home, I guess. I’ll see you tomorrow, Stuart.” She looked at the floor. “See ya ’round, James.”

Stuart gave James a little glare and indicated Laurel with his eyes. “James, would you mind walking Laurel home? I think I’ll stay a while.”

“No, that’s fine,” she began. “I can — ”

“Sure,” James interrupted her, not at all certain why he was suddenly so eager.

“Great. See you tomorrow, Laurel.”

“Bye.”

James stood up and waited for her to pass in front of him.

“Be nice,” Stuart mouthed behind her back. James just rolled his eyes.

They stepped out into the crisp, night air and walked down the hill toward the road in silence.

“Laurel, I — ” he said when the quiet grew awkward.

“You should know that Stuart is planning to visit Virginia up at school tomorrow. He’s been asking me about her all day.”

“I, uh . . . well . . . ”

“I thought maybe you didn’t know that he was still interested in her, so if you were thinking you might ask her out while you’re here, you may want to reconsider, given that he’s your friend and all. I mean, they do have a history. It’s bad form to ask out an old girlfriend of your best friend, especially since said friend is still interested in said girl.” She frowned. “Some guys think that, because Virginia’s had a few boyfriends, she’s easy, but she’s not.”

She quickened her pace, and before he could think of how to defend himself, she turned up the driveway to her parents’ house. “Good night,” she called without looking back.

James stood there, feeling stupid. He’d just been trying to make sure that she didn’t get hurt! He didn’t give a rip about Virginia. Then he remembered what Stu had said:
“she likes you — or she did until just now.”
So she was interested, but how was that supposed to work? He pictured her red hair framing her face and her long legs walking in front of him and her eyes: pretty, blue arrows that went straight to his heart — or his groin; he couldn’t determine which at that point. Was he really considering asking out his boss’s daughter? Bad idea — bad, bad idea.

And to top it off, she thought he had the hots for her sister. He almost laughed at the absurdity of the misunderstandings. He shook his head and resumed his walk down to the houseboat. The next time he saw Laurel, he would find a way to clear this up. He had no interest in Virginia Elliot; she belonged to Stuart.

And she didn’t have the warm sparkle of her little sister.

Chapter 3

James climbed out of the bunk bed and eased his way toward the door at the bow, careful not to slam the screen door and wake Stuart.

He sat on the boat deck and jammed his feet into his running shoes. It was just after dawn and a fog still hung over the lake, but he knew a run would settle his head a little. He always had trouble sleeping the first night in a new place, and this trip was no different. Vaulting over the houseboat railing and onto the dock, he landed with a soft thud and took off at a brisk walk toward dry land. As he walked up the steep climb to the road, he cast an involuntary glance toward The Loft and further up to the driveway that led to the Elliot’s log house. There was no noise except the rumble of an outboard motor — an early bird fisherman, putting his boat in the lake. The air was thick with the smell of honeysuckle and locust trees.

He turned in the opposite direction, jogging toward the state park and its winding paths. The humid air was like liquid in his lungs, and he was already sweating. Long legs took graceful strides all around the park, until he figured he’d gotten in a couple of miles. While he ran, he mused about how to fix things up with Laurel. Odd how it was so important to him that they clear the air. He told himself it was because he worked with her and the summer would go a lot more smoothly if they got along. That didn’t necessarily mean he wanted to date her. No matter what Stuart said, she was technically still a high school girl in James’s mind, and he avoided those like the plague. He couldn’t take the giggling.

But then again, Laurel was a different sort of girl. For one thing, he’d known her for years. For another, he had yet to hear her giggle. He guessed that working and living at her father’s marina all her life had made her levelheaded — and more mature than a lot of the girls he knew at college. Somehow, she’d also gotten very pretty. So should he reconsider asking her out? He realized he liked her — a lot. If she was willing, maybe he should get to know her better.

He rounded the next bend and came by the playground swing set when he saw someone else up as early as he was. Sitting in a swing, staring at her feet was the object of his morning musings. He could hardly believe his luck. They would get to talk before work.

James stopped in his tracks, and the sound of feet skidding in the gravel caused her to look up. Her face held no expression; she just looked him up and down. He raised a hand in greeting and settled himself into the swing beside her.

“Hi.”

“Hi.” Her voice was soft.

“Did you sleep well?”

She laughed softly. “You sound like my grandfather. His main concern in life was that everyone slept well. Actually, no I didn’t — did you?”

“Not particularly, no.”

“That’s why you’re up so early today?”

“I like to run early. It settles me — so I don’t make stupid mistakes and silly assumptions during the day.”

“Oh?” She looked confused.

“I didn’t get to run yesterday. That must have been what happened.”

“Oh?” Laurel shook her head, still not comprehending.

“Last night — my silly assumptions and stupid mistakes.”

She waited.

“That song I chose for the open mike . . . ”

“Yes?”

“Stuart said that somehow I gave you the impression that I wanted to ask out Virginia, when the truth was . . . ”

Her head shot up, and she gave him a sharp look.

“I was more interested in seeing you . . . I mean, seeing that you didn’t get your feelings hurt.”

She tilted her head, her eyes full of questions.

“You spent all day with Stuart, and I thought you and he . . . ”

“Oh!” She gave an exasperated sigh. “We were talking about Ginny. He wants to go see her at college, and I wasn’t sure it was such a good idea.”

“Why not? Does she have a boyfriend?”

“No, she’s just busy. Her class is winding down, and she needs to study. I’m not sure a distraction from that is a good thing right now.”

“You sound like her mother. Are you your sister’s keeper?” he asked with a smile.

“We’re each other’s keepers,” she replied with emphasis. “Ever since that stupid boyfriend of hers spread all those rumors a couple of years ago, Virginia and I watch each other’s backs.”

James dug the toe of his shoe into the dirt below the swing. “Yeah, Stuart told me about the asshole boyfriend yesterday. I didn’t know about it.”

“She got rid of him pretty quick after he said those things. It made me think twice about dating any of the guys around here, I’ll tell you that.”

She stopped. “Wait a minute. You thought Stuart was interested in me?”

“You sound surprised.”

She looked back at the ground and pushed herself back and forth with her foot. “Usually guys are interested in Virginia rather than me, and I just assumed you were too.”

“Maybe you assume wrong. I recommend running to help with that.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “I can definitely see why a guy would want to ask you out.”

She smiled at him just as the sun popped out from over the hill across the lake, blinding and warming him at the same time. Her hair blazed like copper fire under the spell of red and orange dawn. Words tumbled out of his mouth, unplanned and unfamiliar.

“Are you allowed to date?”

“You mean go out places, to movies and dinner and things?”

He nodded.

“Well, yeah, I guess. It’s never really come up before.”

“So when you said you don’t date guys from around here . . . ”

“Here is the only place I’ve ever been. All the guys I know are either tourists or locals.”

“So you mean . . . ”

“Besides,” she interrupted, “my parents need me to work at home a lot, and well . . . nobody’s ever asked me except for school dances.”

“Now
I’m
surprised.”

She blushed and changed the subject. “I’ve been meaning to ask you— when did you learn to play the guitar?”

“I guess I started when I was about sixteen. I needed a way to combat the ‘angry young man’ syndrome.”

“You were an angry young man?”

He nodded.

“That’s hard to believe.”

“All young men are angry about something or other.”

“Even you, huh?”

His smile dimmed. “I’ve had my moments. Music helps me forget them.”

“Oh.” She dragged her toe across the dirt under the swing. “Did you take lessons or just learn on your own?”

“A little of both. I started with acoustic, but I play a little electric now and then as well. I’m in this band, and we play local gigs around Dayton.”

“When do you have time to study?”

James tried to keep from laughing. He never studied, but it wouldn’t do to have a freshman think that’s how one got through college. “We mostly play on weekends.”

“Shh, be still!”

The unexpected order surprised him until he followed her eyes and watched as a butterfly floated down and landed gently on his thumb that was wrapped around the chain of the swing. “Well, would you look at that?” he ventured, watching the creature rhythmically fold and unfold its wings. “Do you know what kind it is? Is it a monarch?”

She squinted at it. “Don’t move, so I can get a good look at it.” She paused. “No, it’s a Viceroy I think–
Limenitis archippus.
”

He raised his eyebrows at her, and she broke into a smile. “Binomial nomenclature is a hobby of my father’s. When I was a little girl, I followed him everywhere around this marina. He taught me a lot of the birds and butterflies that are native here.” She watched the butterfly until it flew off. “
Find wonder in all things, even the most pedestrian
,” she said, her voice soft and thoughtful.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s a quote from Carl Linnaeus, the botanist. He developed the system of classifying plants and animals. He’s the father of modern ecology and my father’s idol.” She smiled and looked back at James.

“So your father knows a lot about the flora and fauna around here?”

“He was going to be a biology professor, but he never finished grad school. My dad loves the outdoors — studying the animals, the insects, the plants. In fact, all us girls are named for wildflowers found in the Appalachians.”