Love At The Shore

by Teri Wilson

  Maureen shook her head. “You’re lying, but at least it sounds cute when you’re smiling.”

  Jenna’s own marriage had been nothing like Maureen and Ian’s. Sometimes they were so adorable together that it hurt to look at them. Especially now, while Lucas McKinnon stood on his side of the patio looking at her like she’d lost her mind.

  “Oh, sorry.” Jenna realized she should probably make introductions. Not that the four of them would be hanging out together any time soon. Or ever. “Lucas, this is Maureen and Ian. My good friends from home. Guys, this is Lucas.”

  They exchanged hellos and shook hands over the top of the fence.

  “We’ve heard so much about you,” Maureen said.

  Really? She made it sound like Jenna had been talking about Lucas nonstop. And thinking about him too, which she most definitely hadn’t.

  Keep telling yourself that.

  “All good, of course,” Maureen added.

  “Now you’re lying.” Lucas sipped his tea.

  They’d officially ventured into awkward territory. Maureen shifted her gaze to Ian. “Should we go?”

  Ian wasted zero time grabbing his toolbox. “I think we should go.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it. See you guys.” Jenna waved as they headed down the deck’s staircase.

  Once Ian and Maureen were out of sight, Jenna turned to find Lucas watching her with unabashed amusement. How had she never noticed the dimple in his left cheek?

  Her face went hot. “Just so you know, the fence is for Tank. To help me ‘relax,’ as you so poetically put it.” She made little air quotes around the word relax because she just couldn’t resist.

  Lucas took another long, lazy sip of tea before responding. “Sure it is.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He said nothing. He just kept looking at her like he could see straight inside her head, and then the corner of his mouth hitched into a smug half-grin as he started to walk away.

  Good. Didn’t he have a wave to ride somewhere?

  But before he could take more than a step, Nick and Ally came bounding down the outdoor stairs from the house’s upper deck.

  “Don’t go too far. Stay where I can see you,” Jenna said as they ran past her, headed toward the beach.

  “Okay, Mom,” Ally called over her shoulder.

  “Have fun!” Jenna crossed her arms and watched to make sure they didn’t get too close to the water. “Be safe but have fun.”

  Ally tossed a frisbee to Nick as they crested the dune and he caught it just before it plowed into the sand.

  Beside her, Lucas nodded. “I’m just saying I get it.”

  Why was he still standing there?

  “Get what?” she asked before she could stop herself.

  “I get it. I’ll keep my furry kid on this side, if you keep your kids on…” He pointed to the space opposite his portion of the patio. “That side.”

  “Oh, you want me to keep my kids contained?” Of course he did. Why was she the slightest bit surprised?

  “It only seems fair.” He shrugged and ambled back toward the door to his half of the house. “Doesn’t it?”

  She pasted on a smile. “All right. Fine.”

  And to think she’d actually felt guilty when he’d first walked outside and spotted the fence. His easy smile had vanished the second he’d set eyes on it. Jenna hated to be the source of such a crestfallen expression, and her first thought had been that she’d taken their war of words too far by putting an actual, physical barrier between them. She’d also been somewhat worried that she’d hurt his feelings somehow, despite his refusal to cooperate with her—at all.

  What had she been thinking? She had zero reason to feel guilty. The fence was the perfect solution. Lucas McKinnon was impossible. Jenna couldn’t deal with him for five straight weeks, and now she wouldn’t have to.

  Out of sight, out of mind.

  She took a deep inhale of salty sea air and smiled at the white picket masterpiece. “I feel better already.”

  Lucas wasn’t sure why he was letting his odd neighbor get under his skin. Ordinarily, he had no trouble going with the flow and minding his own business. He was a peaceful person. And Jenna wasn’t the first uptight, big-city type to rent the other half of the beach house.

  But she was definitely the first to construct a fence straight down the middle of the deck.

  Who did that?

  He couldn’t seem to shake off the question. How could he, when every time he looked out the window, he caught a glimpse of that ridiculous white-picket monstrosity?

  He’d almost let himself believe that Jenna would come to her senses and tear the thing down before the sun came up the next morning, but no. It was still there when he and Tank wandered outside to watch the sun rise over the ocean, bathing the sea in soft pinks and yellows.

  Too bad the water was so calm. What Lucas really needed was a good surf, but that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, he grabbed a couple of sawhorses from his storage shed and propped one of his boards on top of them. He’d have to work off his irritation with a piece of sandpaper instead of riding a wave.

  He sanded the surfboard in smooth, circular motions while Tank watched from a nearby deck chair. The tension in Lucas’s shoulders eased almost at once, and he couldn’t help smiling as Tank’s scruffy little head swiveled back and forth, following his movements.

  Then two other small heads popped up from the other side of the new fence, Nick and Ally. And just like that, Lucas’s shoulders stiffened again.

  Don’t engage.

  Lucas wasn’t a family man. He wouldn’t know how to be one, even if he tried. His father hadn’t exactly been the best role model in that department. He’d spent more time at the office than he had at home when Lucas was growing up, right up until the day he had a fatal heart attack while sitting at his desk.

  After business school, when Lucas found himself falling into the same workaholic trap, he’d gotten out while he still could. Life was a gift—one that shouldn’t be wasted. So, he’d headed to Tybee and never looked back. His life was simple now. Uncomplicated.

  Just the way he liked it.

  He focused intently on his board. He didn’t even make eye contact with either of Jenna’s kids, but they didn’t seem to take the hint.

  “How often do you walk him?” Ally said.

  Lucas looked up and found her staring longingly at Tank.

  The dog was usually more into snoring than walking. Lucas shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s kind of low-maintenance.”

  “Because I could do it if you want.” The girl bobbed up and down, brimming with excess energy.

  Did kids always get up this early? It was summer. Shouldn’t they be sleeping in?

  “I think we’re good,” Lucas said.

  “Or I could teach him how to sit. Or roll over.”

  Tank learning new tricks was about as likely as Jenna learning how to relax. Not going to happen. Ally called out to Tank, peppering him with orders. The dog’s eyes drifted closed.

  “I bet you’re a really good swimmer, right?” Nick grinned over the top of the fence. “Since you surf all the time.”

  Great. Now the little boy was chiming in. Wasn’t the new construction supposed to stop this sort of interaction?

  Lucas shrugged. “I wasn’t always.”

  “But you are now?” The boy’s face scrunched up, which emphasized the light sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of his nose.

  Cute kid, Lucas thought. Or he might have thought so if he were a kid person. “Are you guys always this chatty in the morning?”

  “Not me. She’s the early riser.” Nick tipped his head toward his sister.

  She grinned and pointed double finger guns at Tank. “Which is why I can walk your dog.”

  As
if on cue, Tank yawned.

  Lucas stifled a smile. “He likes to sleep in while I’m surfing.”

  “Do you think you could give me some pointers?” Nick’s eyes brimmed with hope.

  Lucas narrowed his gaze. “On surfing?” Nick’s mom would just love that, wouldn’t she?

  “Just swimming,” he said. The metal retainer on his bottom teeth reminded Lucas of his own awkward middle school years. “I need to cut my time to make swim team next year.”

  Nostalgia aside, Lucas’s response was automatic. “You know, I’m not much of a teacher.”

  Nick wasn’t giving up. “Even if—”

  “Sorry,” Lucas said, cutting him off. He didn’t want to give the kid even a whiff of false hope. “It’s really not my thing, buddy.”

  Lucas had no interest in trying to be a role model for Jenna Turner’s precious children. One wrong step and he’d never hear the end of it. She already seemed to think his lack of houseplants meant he was some kind of deadbeat. Since when had ferns become a hallmark of responsibility?

  Besides, dogs were much easier than kids. Dogs were sweet. Dogs were loyal. They loved naps and didn’t mind eating the same food every day. They didn’t require help with their homework or braces for their teeth or a college education.

  Best of all, dogs loved with their whole hearts. Lucas didn’t have to worry about letting Tank down. His dog had never once looked at him with anything other than complete adoration in his soft, brown eyes.

  Kids, on the other hand, were far more complicated.

  And if the crushed expression on Jenna’s son’s face was any indication, they were also much easier to disappoint.

  What a difference a day makes.

  Or more accurately, a fence.

  Jenna stood at the pretty turquoise stove in her half of the beach house and flipped a pancake over with a flick of the spatula. Two place settings of beachy pastel china were already set out on the kitchen counter, along with a pitcher of fresh orange juice and warm maple syrup.

  She was in a far better mood this morning than the previous one. She hadn’t heard a peep from the other side of the duplex since the discussion surrounding the fence. No loud guitar music, no barking, no Lucas.

  It was bliss.

  She’d slept like a baby and even managed to wake up early enough to write two full pages before getting Nick and Ally out of bed. Boom. Meanwhile, Mr. Slack would probably roll out of bed at noon.

  Fine. He could do whatever he wanted over there across the fence. Jenna didn’t care one way or another. She had a book to write and pancakes to make. Since she was in such a celebratory mood, she’d tossed a generous portion of chocolate chips into the batter. Ally would be thrilled.

  Jenna called upstairs, ready for a stampede. “Who wants the first stack of pancakes?”

  Her kids considered pretty much everything a competition, so she figured they’d be barreling down the stairs within seconds. But when she glanced at the ceiling, bracing for impact, there was no response whatsoever.

  She tried again. “Nick? Ally?”

  Still nothing from inside the house, but a few familiar yips drifted through the open window.

  Tank, of course. But why was he barking all of a sudden, just when Nick and Ally had gone conspicuously missing?

  Oh no.

  Jenna dropped the spatula as Lucas’s words rang in her head, clear as a bell.

  I’ll keep my furry kid on this side if you keep your kids on that side.

  She couldn’t be the one to break their delicate truce. Not after he’d looked at her like she was a crazy person for dividing the deck into halves. If Ally and Nick were on the other side of the fence, he’d never let her live it down. It would be humiliating—beyond humiliating—and she wasn’t sure she could take five straight weeks of looking at Lucas’s smug surfer grin.

  Even if that grin was framed by a set of oh-so-appealing dimples.

  She blinked. What was she thinking? She couldn’t possibly find Lucas McKinnon attractive. There was nothing nice about him whatsoever. Not his sandy wetsuit that he constantly left lying around, not his surfboards that were strewn all over the patio, and not his late-night guitar music. Not even his dimples.

  Or the goofy voice he used when he talked to his scruffy little dog.

  Okay, maybe that last one was kind of dreamy. But that didn’t mean she was attracted to him. It didn’t even mean she liked him.

  Yip.

  Tank barked again, snapping her back to reality. What was she doing? Why was she standing around reminding herself of all the reasons she disliked Lucas when the pancakes were getting cold?

  Something was definitely happening outside on the deck. She needed to find Nick and Ally.

  Now.

  Lucas had been sanding his surfboard for nearly fifteen minutes, but it wasn’t any smoother than when he’d started. There were exactly two reasons for his staggering lack of progress, and those reasons were named Nick and Ally.

  They were still interrogating him—about swimming, surfing, dogs and an assortment of other random subjects that popped into their heads. Lucas couldn’t help admiring their persistence. He’d thought they would’ve given up by now, seeing as he wasn’t exactly encouraging the interaction.

  They didn’t seem to notice, though. Their arms were draped over the fence, inching them higher so they wouldn’t miss a thing happening on his side of the patio.

  Surprisingly, Lucas didn’t mind. Much.

  Tank, however, was another story. The poor dog was still being ordered about by Ally.

  Sit. Lie down. Roll over. Speak.

  Her list of demands was vast. But Tank being Tank, he refused to budge from his comfy spot on the deck chair. Other than an occasional yip of protest, Ally’s commands were falling on deaf ears.

  “I think something is wrong with him.” She tilted her head. “He won’t sit. Or listen.”

  Lucas glanced at Tank. The pup’s eyelids were getting heavy. Any minute now he’d be chasing beach balls in his dreams.

  Lucas’s gaze shifted back to Ally. “He likes to move at his own pace.”

  “Kind of like his owner.” The singsong lilt in Ally’s tone told Lucas she was repeating an opinion she’d heard elsewhere. From her mother, most likely.

  Lucas sighed. “Don’t you guys have to get ready for camp or something?”

  The second the words left his mouth, Jenna appeared at the foot of the staircase. “They do.”

  Her windswept hair was gathered to one side, and a coffee cup was cradled in her hands. She wore a denim shirt over a plain white tee with cherry-red jeans. For some reason, the unexpected pop of color made Lucas smile, and he couldn’t help but wonder what she’d been doing upstairs for the past half hour. She looked—dare he think it—relaxed.

  Almost.

  She cleared her throat. “Which is why they should be upstairs getting ready instead of down here bothering you.”

  Lucas leaned closer to Nick and Ally. “Her words, not mine.”

  He’d never said they were bothering him. They seemed like good kids, although Tank might disagree.

  Jenna shot him a disbelieving glance over the rim of her coffee cup.

  “But what if we’re already ready?” Nick said. Neither he nor Ally budged.

  “Does that mean you don’t want your pancakes?” Jenna asked. So that’s what she’d been doing up there. Making pancakes. “Because I’m sure Tank would love to eat them.”

  A joke! Lucas could hardly believe it. He volleyed one back to her. “He prefers small children.”

  Nick and Ally’s eyes went as wide as saucers.

  Seriously? Tank was as gentle as they came. “I’m kidding.”

  “Cute,” Jenna said without a hint of sarcasm. She sounded as if she might actually mean it.

  Luca
s felt himself smiling. They were actually being civil to one another. They might even be flirting.

  No way. Not possible. His smile faded on his lips. Was it?

  “Did you put chocolate chips in them?” Ally said.

  Right…the pancakes. Breakfast sounded nice. Jenna was probably the type of mom who used pretty cloth napkins and warmed up the syrup. Lucas’s stomach rumbled, and he hoped no one heard it.

  Jenna swept a lock of hair behind her ear. She was getting closer and closer to beach hair every day. “I might have.”

  The promise of a chocolate-laden breakfast was all it took to tear the kids away from the fence. Finally.

  “Yes!” Ally bolted for the stairs.

  Nick wasn’t far behind.

  “I’ll meet you up there,” Jenna said as they whizzed past her.

  Then it was just the two of them, and Lucas suddenly found himself short of breath.

  Relaxation suits her.

  Not that he had any business making such an observation when she’d constructed a literal barrier to keep him away.

  Still, she lingered at the foot of the stairs for a minute as if she wanted to say something. He couldn’t imagine what it might be.

  She took a deep breath. “Well, have a nice day.”

  Lucas nodded. “I always do.”

  How could he not have a great day when he lived in the most beautiful spot on earth and wasn’t bogged down by a house full of potted plants?

  He laughed quietly to himself until he realized he was watching Jenna climb back up the stairs. He didn’t envy her position as a single parent, but she made it look almost effortless. And he had to admire her work ethic and dedication to her writing. Plus there was a hint of amber in her brown eyes that reminded him of summer sunsets and skies ablaze with golden light. He loved those eyes, even when they were regarding him with cool indifference.

  When he averted his gaze, he found Tank regarding him with keen interest. The dog cocked his head and let out a soft woof.

  Lucas’s gaze narrowed. “What are you thinking, boy?”

  Was Tank contemplating how long he could avoid Ally’s enthusiastic brand of dog training? Was he wondering what Jenna had wanted to tell him before she’d retreated back upstairs? Or was he simply thinking about pancakes?