Finding Haven (11 page)

He pushed the screen door open and walked toward the rental booth. He spun around.

“What do you think? It’s my first time in an apron.”

She scrunched up her nose. “These aprons don’t look good on anyone. You can thank
my father for that.”

He looked at his chest and wondered for a second if he had laid off the workouts for
too long. Was there actually a woman in the world immune to his charm? “All right,
then. What’s next?”

“Why don’t we start with something simple like the rental booth? We’re already out
here.” She hung a lifejacket on a hook on the sidewall and clipped the straps together.

Assessing the stand, Evan didn’t think renting out equipment would be too complicated.
It had been a long time since he had bagged groceries at the local food market in
Brees, Texas, but he remembered the cadence of working in a store. This would be easy.

“Ok. Train away. I’m all ears.” He nodded at a couple as they walked by, cameras dangling
around their necks. He realized this might be the best way to blend in to island life—just
be one of the locals.

She cleared her throat. “The first thing we always do in the booth is open all the
windows, turn on the fans, and when I’m working, I turn on the music.” She reached
over toward the radio and hit the power button.

“Nice. I think I like this even more.” He recognized one of the songs he heard in
his Jeep. “What’s this music called?”

“You haven’t heard beach music before?”

“Can’t say I have, but I like the words.” He always judged a song by the lyrics. If
it didn’t mean anything, why even bother with the music?

Haven’s mood seemed to have improved in the last hour. There wasn’t a trace of a tear
on her cheeks. He kept getting distracted by her blue eyes. Every time she smiled
at him, they sparked. It was enough to sidetrack any man.

She giggled. “My parents and all their friends love it. So it’s kind of like oldies.
I can see how you would hear that sound. I’ve grown up listening to it.”

“So you like beach music and what else?” He thought of a few of his favorite country
artists and wondered if she had ever heard them. The best were the ones who wrote
music too.

Haven fidgeted with her apron. “Me? Oh I like everything. Anything that has depth
in the words.” She scrunched her nose. “You probably don’t want to get me started
on words. I can talk for hours about lyrics.”

It didn’t bother him if she wanted to talk about music. He wondered what words spoke
to her. Right now, his favorite songs were about getting lost. She probably couldn’t
relate. No one could.

“Hey, do we get to take them out?” He eyed the row of boats next to the stand.

“Not during our shifts, we don’t, but I guess it would be ok after work.”

Maybe he could still work in some paddling today. “You know, I think it would help
me get a better understanding of the business and the equipment if we took the boats
out. You should take me.”

She stopped fiddling with the lifejacket clips. “You want to go kayaking? With me?”
She turned to face him.

“Why not? You did say you’d give me on-the-job training.” He watched her think over
his invitation. He was glad she wasn’t crying anymore—at least he had accomplished
something important today. Her face was too pretty for tears.

“True, but I’m not much of a kayaker. And—”

“Stop trying to come up with excuses and just take me out. Ok?” He grinned wider than
he intended. He might be actually trying to get a reaction from her, and that was
something he never did. Women naturally reacted when he was around. Not this one.
She was different, and he liked that about her.

He walked behind the booth and glanced over her shoulder at the rental checklist.
As his chest brushed her shoulder, he felt her stiffen, so he moved to the side. The
flirting came so effortlessly to him that it was like breathing. Usually, he didn’t
think about it, but now that he had removed himself from girls, and people in general,
everything about this interaction seemed heightened. The way her hair smelled, the
look she gave him, the hesitation in her response—all of it was like part of a dance
he had been missing. A slow dance.

“Ok, I’ll take you. But, as part of the training.” She turned to face him. “You’re
right; you should be familiar with the rental equipment.”

“Ah-ha.” He felt slightly triumphant. Wilderness Evan had not lost his touch. “It
will be fun, dar— It will be fun.” He slid the clipboard across the counter, hoping
to cover up his fumble. “So, tell me what we have here.”

“This is the checklist we use every time someone rents a piece of equipment. They
have to fill out this sheet. Let’s start at the top.”

“D
O WE
get breaks around here?” Evan thought it had to be close to lunchtime. His stomach
was growling, and he could go for one of those barbecue sandwiches he saw a customer
pack on the back of the kayak.

Haven was scribbling something on a piece of paper. “Huh?”

“Lunch. Can I break for a few?” He tried to catch her eye, but she was buried in a
small notebook.

“Sure. Sure. Whatever. Thirty minutes I guess.” She whispered something as her pen
furiously inked out another line.

“Ok.” He untied his apron. “I’ll be back in a few.” He waited for her to respond,
but he was certain he could fall overboard at this point and she wouldn’t notice.

Evan followed the boardwalk around the cove. There were bait shops and a few restaurants
along the marina waterfront. It was like something you would see in an idyllic movie
scene, although these people were real. Evan smiled at the thought as he tugged on
the door handle of one of the sandwich shops and ordered a sandwich.

Fifteen minutes later, he emerged from the cafe, satisfied the hunger pains had subsided.
He looked toward the end of the docks and spied an ice cream stand. He strolled in
that direction and got in line behind a family of five. The couple argued over whether
their children could eat the ice cream out of cones versus cups. Evan smiled, thinking
if that was the dilemma of the day, it was a damn good problem to have.

“What can I get you?” The ice cream attendant squinted from the sun.

At first the plan was to sit here and watch the boats sail by while he still had ten
minutes left on his break, but when he spotted the bucket of chocolate, he had another
idea. All girls like chocolate.

“One strawberry and one chocolate.”

“Cones?” The man already had his scoop in the cooler.

“Yep. I think we can handle cones.” Evan handed the man cash and accepted the two
heaping cones, already dripping from the heat. He would have to hurry to get them
back to the kayak stand before they completely melted.

“Thank you. Enjoy the day.” The man turned to face the next family behind Evan.

“Thanks.” He tasted the strawberry before launching into a full sprint back to the
store.

Haven was exactly where he left her. Her nose pointed at the notebook and her hand
scrawling words across the pages.

“Brought you something.” He shoved the chocolate cone in her direction, dripping the
dessert on the page.

“Uh—what the—?” She looked up, annoyed that her page was splattered with the sticky
treat.

“Shit.” Evan scrambled for a paper towel. “I didn’t mean to spill it.” He tried to
wipe the pages for her.

“No. No. I’ve got it.” She brushed his hand away. “It’s probably better with chocolate
all over it.” Her eyes rose to his, and he caught a glimmer of laughter.

“Tell me you at least like chocolate. Did I screw that up too?”

She bit her bottom lip as the corners of her mouth rose. “Actually, my favorite is
strawberry. But, it’s good. I’ll eat it.”

Evan chuckled. He was striking out left and right. He shifted the cones and placed
the strawberry one in front of her. “Take this one.”

“No, it’s yours.” She shook her head.

“I’ve already ruined your page. Just take it.” He held the cone next to her hand.

She wrapped her fingers around the paper sleeve, touching the top of his hand in the
process. He lingered for another second, wishing this girl hadn’t just stolen his
next great line because it was going to be good. But her eyes made him forget all
his witty comebacks. He chuckled under his breath.

“Something funny?” She licked the top of the strawberry swirl.

“No. Just learning a lot today.” He crunched on the side of the cone and stepped out
of the booth. A party boat was headed out of the marina. He needed to study it for
a second and try to remember who in the hell he was.

“F
IVE O’CLOCK
is quittin’ time, right?” Evan spied his new boss eyeing the clock.

The last few hours Haven had shown him the employee entrance, the ins and outs of
the rental stand, the general layout of the store, and given him his schedule. What
kind of screwed up plan was this? He had to be at the store at five thirty in the
morning. This would go down as one of the not-so-smart ideas of the summer.

Admittedly, he had had a good time. She was cute, funny, and it had been awhile since
he had met a smartass. Most girls were so afraid to scare him off that they wouldn’t
speak their minds. Going on dates was like watching fan blades spin around; it was
an endless exercise of the same old garbage.

She smiled. “Yes. We’re done for the day. Why don’t you take these inside?” She tossed
her apron into Evan’s chest. “Still want to go out paddling?” Her head tipped to the
side, and he noticed the sun caught strands of her hair, turning them a bright honey
color.

“Of course. Be right back.” He untied the canvas string and ducked inside the screen
door. He had been waiting all day for this. Every time he saw a boat sail past he
wanted to hop aboard and drift out to open waters.

The sun was so intense at this time of day, the only thing keeping his eyes from watering
were his sunglasses. The rays smacked him in the face as soon as he walked back on
the dock. He watched as Haven struggled to hold up one kayak while unhooking the suspension
cord to keep the boat upright. If she let go, it would knock her in the head.

“Hey, let me help you with that.” He jogged over and braced the boat as she set it
free.

“Thanks. This one was a little tighter than I expected.” She placed her hands on the
sides of the kayak and dragged it to the open boat launch. “Can you get yours on your
own?”

Evan laughed. “I think I can manage.” He flipped the handle on the lever and released
the kayak into his arms.

He started toward the launch and noticed she was already ten yards out in the water.

“Hey, I thought we were paddling together!” he shouted across the water.

“We are. See if you can catch up.” With that, she dipped the end of her paddle in
the water and made a deep stroke next to her kayak, propelling her farther ahead.

Evan recognized a challenge when he saw one. His competitive quarterback side kicked
in, and he ran toward the launch, tossing the kayak forward, and jumped into the open
seat. He fumbled with the paddle until he had an even stroke, crossing his chest like
a figure eight. She was fast, surprisingly fast, but he knew he could catch her.

Instead of turning into the open sound water, Haven steered into a creek where she
seemed to be able to pick up speed. Evan sliced the paddle through the water, pressing
hard with his shoulders. He caught her smile as she looked over her shoulder to gauge
his distance. She continued to steer straight as the creek narrowed. The rows of houses
and piers were behind them.

Only a few more yards. He was so close. Adrenaline surged through his veins, and he
felt his heart pump harder as he worked to overtake her boat. He plunged the tip deeper
into the water, sending him within inches of the orange kayak in front of him. The
bow of his boat sailed past Haven. He jumped up victoriously.

“Yes! Gotcha. Yes! Yes!”

“Sit down!” Haven screamed, but it was too late.

“Whoa-whoa-whoa!” Evan rocked back and forth on his feet and tried to steady the vessel,
but he had already disturbed the natural balance of the boat.

“Jay!” Haven managed to yell his fake name before he landed on her kayak, flipping
both of them over and into the saltwater creek.

Evan popped to the surface, realizing he could touch the murky bottom.

“You ok?” Evan sputtered the words as he reached for his capsized victim. He thought
he felt something brush past his leg, and he knew it wasn’t Haven.

“What in the hell?” She brushed her hair out of her face and spit out a mouthful of
water.

“Sorry, about that. I guess I got a little carried away with my victory.” He shrugged
his shoulders in apology.

“Victory? I didn’t know it was an official race. I was just kidding around.” She grabbed
onto the side of her boat and tossed the paddle in the cockpit. She looked mad.

Evan stared at her. What had gotten into him? He had sped through the marina and creek
like a NASCAR driver. Albeit, an incredibly fast and triumphant driver, but still
he may have let things get out of hand. The last thing he wanted was to piss her off.