Summer by the Sea (9 page)

The marina was full of the most gorgeous vessels Faith had ever seen. It looked like something from a movie: rows of shiny white boats, their masts gleaming in the sunlight, the lapping of the blue water around them. She walked along the docks, following her mother and Casey. Isabella held Casey’s hand and was trying not to step on any of the cracks, her little feet hopping along as Casey tried to hold onto her. Faith paced up beside her.

“What happens if you step on a crack?” Faith asked, careful to keep her feet on solid wood.

“It’s water. It’ll get you,” she said, her head down in concentration. She made another hop. “We don’t want to get wet.” She finally looked up and smiled. When she did, Faith could see just a little of Scott in her face. It was the movement of her features as she broke into a grin that was like her daddy. Faith had seen it a hundred times on his face. She’d seen it when she’d said something funny. She’d also seen it at his wedding to Casey as he’d looked at her during their vows, and again when he held Isabella as a newborn. It was the first time she’d seen it in Isabella. There’d been a time when it would’ve made her sad, but today, it made her smile. Scott had a daughter, and she was lovely. It made her feel so happy for him.

When Faith finally swam out of her thoughts, she looked up to find Jake at the end of the dock. He, too, was smiling, his hand raised in greeting. Behind him sat the most amazing sailboat. It was sleek, white with mahogany accents that were so lacquered they reflected the sunlight like a mirror. The hardware was bright silver, every piece gleaming. The sail, a beautiful electric green canvas, was loose as the crew worked it out of its bindings. The whole boat looked as shiny as a pearl, the sail its complementing emerald.

“Thanks for coming,” he said, making eye contact with Faith.

The gesture made her a little nervous, so she smiled quickly and then looked down at Isabella. When she did, she noticed her face. Isabella was now standing closer to her mother, her apprehension clear. She was worried about the boat, it seemed like.

Jake must have noticed too because he knelt down in front of her. “Have you ever been on a boat before?” he asked gently, and Faith couldn’t take her eyes off him. She watched how his gestures changed—they were slower, more deliberate, careful. “It’s just like where you’re standing now on this dock. It’s the same except for one thing. Do you know what that is?” His voice was so soft and sweet that Faith felt herself hanging on every word, waiting to hear what he’d come up with next. “The boat moves through the water, and it feels like you’re flying. But not flying fast. Flying like a fairy, floating, sailing along like magic. That’s why they’re called
sail
boats.”

Isabella kept her eyes on him, wonderment now exuding from her face. She was smiling, her eyes big and round, clearly thinking of fairies and magic, and she’d taken a step toward him. What a perfect moment, Faith thought. How lovely he was with children. He’d known exactly what to say and had, in an instant, erased all of her fears. She’d never seen anyone who could be like that—even at school where she worked, there had never been the opportunity for that kind of magic. She looked over at Casey to get her reaction, and she knew the same thoughts were running through her mind.

“You need something special, though, to really feel like that fairy. Would you like to step over this step with me? It’s just over there.” Isabella looked back at her mother for approval. Casey nodded and Isabella dropped her hand and followed Jake onto the boat where he was holding the purple life vest they’d bought earlier.

Faith and the others boarded as he talked to her about her special jacket. Helping her slip it on and buckling the clasps he eyed the crew over her head. They began to push away from the dock ever so quietly, the motor running at a soft hum, until they were floating in the marina and heading toward the sea. The crew lifted the sail, and it flapped madly until it became taut in the wind. Jake handed the others their life vests, and assisted Isabella with the last buckle. When she was finally finished, he pointed to the vast expanse of blue sea before them and said, “Look. We’re flying. Can you see the sparkles in the water? Did you make those with fairy dust?”

A man with a friendly face came up beside them. His skin was dark brown like leather—as if he’d spent every day out in the sun—and his silver hair curled haphazardly as if it were accustomed to fighting the wind.
He must be the boat’s owner
, Faith thought.

“This is my friend, Rich Barnes,” Jake said.

They went around shaking hands and greeting each other. “Glad to see Jake’s made you feel welcome,” he asked, clapping his friend on the back. “He’s always making friends. Lucky for me, that means I get to meet a lot of great people. Nice to meet you all.”

After they’d settled in to conversation, Jake began moving around the boat, helping to check that everything was running smoothly. During a lull, Faith made her way to the bow of the boat. She looked out at the sea, the sun on her face and the smell of seaweed and salt in the air around her. The crew behind her made some adjustments to the lines, and their quiet commands mixed with the whooshing of the waves in her ears, and she couldn’t imagine a better way to spend her time. It was so nice of Jake to have asked them to do this. In the two days she’d been there, the more she saw of him the more she liked him. There was something so relaxed about him, so friendly. She decided that she was going to take the initiative. Why not?

From the moment Faith met him, she’d felt different around him compared to anyone else she’d met. She’d never been so open with someone so quickly or been so much herself. She never really enjoyed that beginning time, when she’d just met someone and the two of them had to do a sort of mental dance around each other, trying to keep up the pleasantries and stay within proper etiquette. Jake pushed right through that. He asked real questions, and she told him honest answers. It made her feel like she’d known him longer than she had.

She turned around to go and talk to him. As she did, she stopped in her tracks. Casey was laughing, her hand on his shoulder, her head tipped back, her chest rising and falling from giggling. He was smiling, and Isabella was tugging on his shirttail to tell him something. With the noise in her ears, she couldn’t hear them, but the sight was enough to give her pause. Jake was friendly and outgoing. Casey was just the kind of person who could relate to him. She was attractive, witty, sweet.

Like a vacuum, her thoughts went back to her lowest when Casey had married Scott. She thought about those lonely nights she’d spent missing him and knowing that he was on his honeymoon with Casey, doing God knows what. It was funny how she’d grown, moved on, gotten over it, but now, seeing how easily things came for Casey when it came to relationships, Faith had to wonder if something within her was broken. Faith turned back toward the sea and closed her eyes.

“It’s a gorgeous view, isn’t it?” her mom said, walking up beside her. The boat was cutting through the water, the spray fanning out along the sides. Faith nodded. “Jake mentioned that there’s wine and hors d’oeuvres below deck. That’s fancy, isn’t it?” her mom smiled, shaking her head. “Jake is a very surprising person,” she said before Faith could answer her last question. “He’s a handyman who sails on boats the size of yachts in the middle of the day.” The skin between her mom’s eyes wrinkled as she contemplated this idea. “Who does that?”

Faith didn’t answer. She wanted to know more about Jake. She wanted to spend more time with him, but after seeing Casey with him, as much as she wanted to deny it and look on the bright side, she worried it wouldn’t happen. And the fact that Jake led such an interesting life only made her feel like perhaps she wasn’t the kind of person he’d be interested in anyway. She didn’t go sailing with rich friends. She didn’t build beautiful cottages. She didn’t do a whole lot in life that exciting. Until now, she’d been okay with that.

“Let’s go over there with them and find out more about him,” her mom suggested with a baiting grin on her face. As Faith thought about it, she realized that her mom was right. She decided to ignore the fears creeping in on her and just enjoy herself.

“Can we go fishing today?” Isabella was asking Jake as Faith and her mom walked up. “Daddy was going to take me fishing but we had to come here to the beach.”

Protectively, Faith looked over at her sister. How awful it must be to carry around unnecessary guilt about things like that. Casey was taking her daughter somewhere wonderful, but in the back of her mind, she had to worry about this missed fishing trip. She knew Isabella didn’t mean anything by it, but not being with her dad was clearly playing on her mind. Faith hoped it didn’t affect Casey too much. Casey had enough to deal with when it came to her split with Scott, Faith couldn’t imagine having to deal with her child’s disappointment as well.

“Well, I hadn’t planned to go fishing today,” he said, squatting down to her eye level like he had at the docks. It was so endearing when he did that. “But, I’ll bet later this week you and your mommy can meet me on the pier, and we’ll go fishing together. I’ll be sure to set the time with your mommy.” He looked up at Casey for agreement and Faith followed his lead. She wanted to see Casey’s reaction. Her sister smiled, agreeing. In a way, she was happy for Casey. She needed something to take her mind off the divorce. She probably needed a little fun more than Faith did. But she worried at that moment because she knew that when given the option of her or Casey, Jake would certainly find Casey more attractive. Their little fishing date was bothering her far more than it should. He’d only invited Casey, not everyone. Had she misread his friendliness towards her? He and Casey seemed to be getting along so well. Once again, she was sidelined.

Casey was talkative, like Jake. She had an effortless way of filling conversation, and she was upbeat, generally happy, and agreeable. Even when she disagreed, she could manage to spin her opinion in a way that was so polite and gracious that you almost forgot that you’d disagreed in the first place. That was what made her a great lawyer. She could command attention without even trying. Jake, who seemed to be genuinely curious about people, and openly friendly would surely find Casey interesting.

“The food’s ready downstairs,” Rich said, only his head and shoulders visible from below deck.

Casey ushered Isabella gently toward the stairs, their mom following behind, leaving Faith standing with Jake. He put out his hand to allow her to go ahead of him. “Oh, no thanks,” she smiled, trying her best not to be rude. “I think I’ll stay up here. I’m not hungry.” Truthfully, the rocking of the boat and thinking again about Casey and Jake had made her stomach a little queasy. She didn’t know if wine and food would be her best bet.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine, thank you,” she lied.

He looked at her, thoughts behind his eyes. “Don’t move,” he said with a grin and began walking away.

Where was he going? Faith sat down on a built-in bench at the end of the boat and tried to focus on the whitecaps at sea. The sky was a gorgeous shade of blue, with white, puffy clouds in the distance. About a mile out, a dolphin fin slipped above the surface of the water and then went back under. She took in a deep breath, the open air and quiet sound of the sail against the wind calming her upset stomach a little.

As Faith waited for Jake to return, she thought again how good he’d been with Isabella. Why hadn’t he married and had children? There were so many things about him that she wanted to know.

“Here you go. This should help,” he said, emerging from below deck with a can of ginger ale and a small plate of crackers. “The bubbles will help with the nausea, and the crackers will ease your stomach a little. Hopefully.” He smiled.

“I didn’t say I was feeling ill,” she said, not in an accusatory manner, but surprised that he’d figured it out.

“I could tell by your face.” He handed her the ginger ale and set the plate on the bench next to her.

“How so?” she pressed. She wanted to know how this stranger, who’d only known her for two days, could read her so easily.

He looked at her, his lips wanting to smile. It was right there waiting, and she wondered how a person could be that happy all the time. “You were blinking more than usual. I thought the sun was in your eyes, but you kept doing it even when the sun went behind a cloud. Your expression had turned serious, and you hadn’t been like that quite as much yesterday or today.”

“Quite as much?” she asked. She didn’t remember being serious. “When was I serious?” Was that her problem? Did she come across too serious?

“You were like that when I first saw you at the cottage and again at breakfast.”

“You sure are perceptive,” she said, trying not to sound too defensive. The truth was, both times she’d been deep in thought. She’d been contemplating things, and it surprised her that he’d noticed. She could feel the tiniest of emotions at the pit of her stomach—affection for him that she hadn’t expected. She could feel a connection with him, and she wondered if he felt it too. Or did he feel that way toward Casey? How odd that two days ago, she didn’t even know he existed and now, he was dominating her thoughts.

He smiled again, and her queasy stomach fizzled with excitement. “Are you having a good time?” he asked out of the blue.

“Yes. Thank you for inviting me.” She was still contemplating her fears about him and Casey. She knew that she shouldn’t be, but her old wounds were surfacing without warning.

“You’re welcome.” He chewed on a smile.

“Why are you smiling like that?” she asked.

“I can tell you’re thinking again.”

“This is going to get really difficult for you if you stick around because I think all the time,” she laughed. “Are you going to read my mind all day?”

“Maybe,” he winked at her, and she couldn’t help but think how she wanted nothing more than to have him stick around. “Come with me.” He took her ginger ale in one hand and held her hand with the other. The gesture was startling, but in that instant she didn’t want him to let her go. He led her to an area to the side of the cabin and took a step up, turning to guide her in the same direction. She followed, standing with him on the ceiling of the cabin.