“Really?” Maddie looked to Drew, who smiled his agreement without needing to see the proof. Once he secured her in the boat, he undid the rope and started the motor—all while avoiding Ti’s gaze. For once, she was thankful.
“What’s with the oars?” she asked him.
“Backup.”
As deeply as Ti gulped, Drew must’ve heard her. “Don’t worry. This skiff’s been in my family for generations. My dad taught me everything I need to know about helming this boat.”
“And Dad taught me.”
Ti stared at Maddie. “You can drive this thing?”
“Sure.”
Of course she could. Ti averted her attention back to her camera.
A ways out on the sound, she shot several takes of the sunset’s rich pinks and oranges cascading over the harbor and melting into the horizon like watercolors running off a canvas. She clung to the beauty as the view behind Drew unleashed another reminder of why she was here. They were about to give every other store on the island a run for their money. Her future might not change, but at least Drew and Maddie’s could.
Before retiring the camera to her waterproof bag, Ti snapped a few photos with their feet hanging over the side of the boat. Ankles crossed, dog paws perched on the edge, nothing but endless blue hues in the background. She couldn’t have framed better shots if she’d had props.
Drew hitched a grin at her flip-flops. “Took my advice, huh?”
“Just ’cause I found a pair of cute shoes that happened to be comfy doesn’t mean my other ones weren’t working just fine around here.”
He coughed into his hand. “Liar.”
She splashed water at him, but he laughed even harder. Punk.
“Did you know Blackbeard died here?” Maddie said out of nowhere as they approached a small inlet.
Ti looked from her to Drew and back. “Really?”
“Yep, the island was his favorite spot. And since he was a pirate and all, that must mean Ocracoke’s a little piece of treasure.”
In case Maddie’s cuteness didn’t cause Ti’s heart to swell enough, the love in Drew’s expression overran every space inside her until there was no room left to breathe.
“You know,” Ti said. “I think you might be on to something.” Ocracoke had more treasures than she’d ever expected to find.
A splash on the opposite side of the boat whipped all their heads toward Jasper doggy paddling the rest of the way to the inlet. Apparently, someone was a little excited.
Drew hopped out and dragged the boat onto the small, secluded shoreline.
“Ooh!” Maddie sprang to her feet. “Is that why Grandpa named the shop Anderson’s Soundside Treasures?”
“You got it.” Winking, Drew lifted her from the boat and then helped Ti out.
“Come on.” Maddie grabbed Ti’s hand as soon as her toes reached the sand. “This is where Dad used to come to—”
“Okay, Sea Monkey. Ti doesn’t need a guided tour. Why don’t we eat first before it gets dark?” He retrieved the thermos and picnic basket from the bottom of the boat.
Ti dispensed the sandwiches she’d made. “I don’t cook. So, you’re stuck with peanut butter and jelly. Hope that’s okay.”
“No worries.” Drew peeled open the plastic wrap. “It’s hard to go wrong with a PB and J.” One bite into it, and his face disagreed. He worked his jaw, looking like someone’d lathered sticky putty all over it.
Ti tore off a small piece of her own. Not small enough. The bread stuck to the roof of her mouth in a thick coating. She tried not to laugh while prying it free in a not-so-ladylike manner. “Sorry. It’s a little dry.”
Drew finally got it down. “No, it’s just very, um . . .” His lips quirked. “Peanut buttery.” Muted laughter shook his shoulders.
“Shut up. Jelly has a lot of sugar in it. I didn’t want to put too much on.” She flicked a shell at him and stretched for the thermos, desperate to wash down the sandwich.
He snagged the thermos before her fingers grazed it. “I’m sorry. Are you thirsty?”
“You think you’re funny, don’t you?” Ti went for it again, but he scooted out of reach. Swapping it from hand to hand, Drew had her practically tackling him to steal it. She grabbed it. “Better watch out, Houdini, or you’ll end up mysteriously lost at sea.”
“Not before your phone will.”
A glance at her cell on the blanket spurred a dozen comebacks she wanted to record in front of him. Tempting. Almost as much as lingering this close to him was. With his hair damp around his temples from the day’s heat and a whimsical slant playing in his eyes, she almost pressed in and lost herself in a moment no camera could give justice to.
And end up complicating things?
The instant shove-back in her thoughts broke Ti away. Eyes averted, she toyed with the thermos instead. “This isn’t green tea, is it?”
“Is that a rhetorical question?” He mimicked her tone from earlier.
“I hate when you do that.”
“I know.” His way-too-amused grin barely got the words out. “You might end up liking the tea, you know.”
“On a scale from zero to zero?” She twisted the cap off and fake-glared at him before taking a swig. Darn. It was actually good. She hid her reaction behind the lid. No way she was letting him win this one.
“Did you know June 15 is World Sea Turtle Day?” Maddie chimed in. She tore apart her sandwich a piece at a time, apparently the only one unfazed by its dryness. “Female turtles lay their eggs in the same place every year.”
“Is that right?” Ti couldn’t help enjoying Maddie’s enthusiasm.
“Yep. I’ve seen babies on this inlet before. Hatching usually happens between March and October, but I like to come by in the summer, anyway, just in case they come back.” Maddie left a pile of crust on her napkin for Jasper and flittered off to the far tip of the inlet.
Drew admired his daughter, playing in her element. “She wants to be a marine biologist.”
Given her love of turtles, Ti couldn’t picture any better career for her. She followed his line of sight. “I’m sure she’ll make a great one.”
“Someday.” He kept his focus ahead, but Ti didn’t miss the audible concern for the future tussling with his words.
Rather than press, she excused herself to give Drew some space and joined Maddie at the shoreline, where she was sifting through sand for pieces of sea glass.
“That’s a pretty one.”
Maddie examined the contours while spinning it around in the remaining sunlight. “Yep, I think it passes the sparkle test. I’ll keep it.”
“The sparkle test, huh?” Ti repressed a chuckle.
“Shine quality. We only keep the best. It has to be special. At least, that’s what Dad says Mama used to say.”
A bracelet around Maddie’s ankle glistened in the light. “Did your mama make that?”
Maddie straightened the glass pendant above her foot. “One of the few. She left most of them unfinished. Dad says that’s what artists do. Something about unrest . . . I don’t remember now. But one day, I’m gonna learn how to make pretty jewelry, too.”
Comprehension poured in with the soft waves banking against the shore. Ti peered back at Drew, staring out to sea like a sailor waiting for the tide to wash away all traces of heartache. White foam clung to her ankles, reality not letting her go.
No wonder Drew’d been resisting any connection with her. His guarded disposition wasn’t because he disliked or misunderstood art. It was because he’d loved and lost an artist.
Chapter Eleven
Void
Ahead, moonlight draped over Maddie’s strawberry blonde curls while she sorted through her newly acquired treasures. Jasper trotted alongside. Both still full of the same joy that’d been buoying them all evening.
Unlike Drew.
Ti peeked at him beside her. The walk from the harbor carried about as few words as the boat ride from the inlet had. Maddie’d managed to pull him out
of his reverie earlier. Had even gotten him to laugh and horse around with them for a while. But every time he caught himself having fun, he’d retreat.
What was going through his head? He had to know Ti wasn’t trying to—couldn’t begin to—compete with his late wife. But helping out had become more than just a distraction tactic. She couldn’t walk away now. Maybe if she could put him at ease . . .
While walking, she gently nudged Drew with her shoulder. “Sorry for keeping you out later than planned.”
“Again.” He stayed face forward, but the shadow of a grin fell on her.
“Hey, at least no one contemplated hijacking a ferry this time.”
A soft laugh drifted over her. “Speak for yourself,” he half-whispered.
Ti ran a finger along her hoop earring, thoughts circling in the silence. “Drew, I want you to know I think you’re a good businessman. I haven’t meant to overstep—”
“Anderson.” A shaggy-haired guy about Drew’s age jogged up from the opposite direction with a surfboard in hand. “Are you seriously selling your Monsta 3?”
Maddie whipped around. “Your competition board? Why would you sell that?”
Because he’d make any sacrifice to provide for her. Ti’s already-tense heart compressed even more as she ushered Maddie forward.
Drew scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, why don’t we hook up later, Palmer. Tomorrow morning at Eduardo’s?”
The dude clasped Drew’s hand. “You got it, bro.”
Once the guy jogged on, Maddie shimmied out of Ti’s hold and marched right up to her dad. “How can you get rid of your shortboard?”
He ruffled her bangs. “It’s complicated, Sea Monkey.”
“No, it’s not. You—”
“Oh, good. You saved us a trip.” Of all people, Marcus strutted up with the same brunette from the party the other night. Wearing a button-down this time might’ve helped Ti’s gagging reflex if he didn’t have the top four buttons open.
Jasper released a low growl when Marcus and the girl stopped in front of them under a streetlight. “We were just on our way—”
“To a Miami Vice reunion?” Ti tipped her head to the side. “Let me guess. You’re hoping to borrow a clean V-neck, since all of yours must be dirty, right? Sorry, but Drew tends to go for the manlier look.”
Marcus skewered her with a glare until a slow leer burned with enough heat to singe those chest hairs of his. “It’s a good thing your girlfriend thinks she’s funny. Maybe her stand-up act can support you after I buy your shop at the auction and put you out of business.”
He roped an arm around the brunette and flaunted an envelope at Drew. “We told Mr. Parsons we’d save him a stamp and hand-deliver your foreclosure notice ourselves.”
Auction? Foreclosure? Why hadn’t Drew told her things were this bad?
Drew yanked the envelope from him and tore it open. “Mr. Parsons was supposed to give me more time. I . . .” With a sharp glower at Marcus’s smug look, Drew crumpled the page.
“Don’t beat yourself up, Anderson. Not everyone can be in the ninety-eight percent of Americans who actually make good on their loans.” He tapped Drew’s shoulder. “But hey, we can still have one last shop-to-shop showdown during the surf competition, huh? For old times’ sake.”
Still clutching the paper in a death grip, Drew barreled into Marcus’s face.
Ti squeezed between them and braced a hand to Drew’s heaving chest. “Not here.” She motioned with her eyes toward Maddie.
Drew slowly backed down but didn’t unclench his fists. Ti pried the notice free, looped her arm around his, and urged him forward. Despite how much she wanted to pluck Marcus’s curls out one by one and shove them down his throat right now, this wasn’t the time or place.
“Hope I didn’t ruin your night,” Marcus called in a singsong voice from behind them.
Drew’s veins bulged against Ti’s grip on his arm.
She tugged him forward. “Keep walking.”
A cool gust of wind met them around the corner like a godsend.
“Dad, what’s he talking about?”
With the same tenderness Ti’d seen Drew offer Maddie again and again, he wiped all traces of frustration from his face and took her hand. “Nothing I can’t take care of, sweetie.” He kissed the top of her head. “It’s gonna be fine.”
Cooper and Livy waved at them from across the street. “Right on time, guys.” Cooper tossed a football at Drew. “Ready to hit the beach for a few?”
Ti slid the notice in her pocket and gathered Maddie’s hair off her shoulders. “We should probably get to bed—”
“Only if you’re ready to take a beating.” Drew spiraled the football back at his brother.
Ti gaped at Drew.
“What?”
“You want to stay out later?” She edged closer and lowered her voice. “After what just happened?”
Drew swooped Maddie up on his shoulders and jogged backward. “What’s life without spontaneity, right?” With a visibly forced smile, he turned and caught up to Cooper.
What in the world?
Livy pressed an arm into Ti’s. “Did you guys have fun tonight?”
Ti peered behind her toward Marcus’s trailing silhouette. “Um, sort of.”
“I’m impressed you even got Drew out there.”
“Why?”
Livy twisted the drawstrings on her shorts and kept her head down. “Just ’cause.” She cupped her hands around her mouth. “Hey, guys, wait up.” She waved Ti forward. “Come on.”
Okay, apparently everyone on the island was trying to compete for Ti’s Queen of Deflection title tonight. Shaking her head, she jogged onto the beach with the rest of the group.
Talk about being dethroned. Marcus’s bombshell grated on Ti’s nerves the longer she sat watching Drew act like the run-in didn’t happen. No one could blame him for not wanting to think about losing the shop right now, but something more was bothering him. It had been all night. Was she a painful reminder of what he’d lost?
“They’re great with her, aren’t they?” Livy popped the tap on her soda can and jarred Ti from her thoughts.
A few feet off the shore, Drew and Cooper threw the football above Maddie and Jasper, playing monkey in the middle. The stars glittered above them like her sparkly flip-flops.
“Maddie couldn’t ask for more.” Other than a mom. Ti traced the prong between her toes. “Did you and Drew ever date?”
Liv almost snorted out her drink. “Do you have to ask?”
“What? You’d be good for him.” Liv might’ve had a rough stint in London, but she was the kind of girl guys like Drew went for.
“He’s like a big brother. End of story.”
“Okay, fine. What about Cooper? You’re telling me you two never hooked up?”
“This is Coop we’re talking about. Of course we did.” Livy dug her toes in the sand. “But it didn’t take long to figure out we make better friends.” She leaned her palms on the blanket. “Besides, his heart’s already taken. He won’t admit it, but it’s there.”
Ti brushed the sand off her hands. “Ocracoke’s infamous ladies’ man fell in love, huh? So, why go chasing after second place?”
“Same reason we all do.”
To fill a void. Story of Ti’s life.
Livy gazed at the Andersons. “I’m just glad they took me in as a friend when I first got here. I would’ve been lost without them. They’re good guys.”
Yeah. The kind who sacrificed to take care of the people in their lives. The kind women dreamed of marrying and building a future with. Both guys deserved the whole Pleasantville-life that came with this adorable town.
Once again, she ached over knowing Drew’d had that once. Wind tangled knots through her hair, brokenness through her heart. No one could expect him to settle for anything less now.
Drops of water sprinkled onto Ti from behind. She spun around and peered up at Cooper’s mischievous dimples. He snagged a towel from
the blanket and rubbed it over his hair. “Drew and I think we should teach you to surf before the competition. You know, to make sure you feel a part.”
“I think you mean feel humiliated.”
“Not possible.”
“Mm-hmm.” She stole his balled-up towel and chucked it at his face.
“Hey, you’re always talking about needing the full Ocracoke experience to help with your art, right? There’s no better way than to dive right in.”
“Not gonna happen, buddy. But I’ll give you bonus points for the smooth try.”
“Well, if you’re gonna play hardball, then I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“This.” Without warning, Cooper scooped her up and hauled her to the water.
Drew flopped down on the blanket beside Livy while Cooper threatened to toss Ti in the shallow waves. Maddie hung from Coop’s arm, coming to Ti’s rescue. Laughs and squeals erupted in the familiar song of bonding they’d shared all week.
Drew would have better luck shaking every last grain of sand from his hair than shaking off the images of Ti spending the evening with them like a part of their family. Why’d he agree to bring her to such a personal place today?
Jasper’s barks joined Maddie’s laughter as she fought to take Cooper down from behind. Ti flailed, her hair an untamable force in the wind.
“That could be you, you know?” Livy nodded at the shore.
Drew sat up. “I don’t do that.”
“Have fun?”
“Flirt.” Unless he wanted to make an idiot of himself. Like he needed another reminder of the charisma and impulse he lacked. Besides, what was the point in starting something that had a time-ticking expiration date on it?
Livy’s gentle touch to his arm mirrored the intuition in her eyes, despite his attempt to avoid it. “I know Ti shares similarities with Annie. And believe me, I don’t want anyone to get hurt, but I’ve seen the way you are around her, Drew.” She raised a shoulder. “You like her.”
“Like her?” He looked at Ti as she fought to keep her feet from skimming the waves. “The girl drives me nuts. If her New York accent didn’t irk my nerves enough, her matching no-filter issue is gonna give me an ulcer one of these days. Don’t get me started on that phone of hers. And a fear of the water? C’mon. Who doesn’t love the ocean? That’s just not natural.”
Begin Again (Home In You Book 2) Page 10