Last Chance Harbor (20 page)

As soon as she got out, he’d met her at the bottom of the steps leading to the studio.

“Was Zach really upset about you coming here today?”

“Nah. He just doesn’t like the idea of me dating. Period. Especially since Dad died. It seems he’s appointed himself my substitute father.”

“Has he always been this possessive?”

“Not at all. That seemed to come with the stand-in father thing once he got back home from Colorado. We’ve discussed his overprotective attitude before. What did you fix me for dinner?”

“I hope you aren’t disappointed but I put together a picnic basket. I thought it’d be a surprise for when we get to the island. But I do have to lug the thing to the boat.”

“Why would I be disappointed? A picnic on the island sounds so romantic!” She threw her arms around his neck to prove it.

“Jordan suggested I cut the crust off the bread. It makes the sandwiches look more like finger food, so I did.”

“Why Troy, that’s so fancy. If I remember correctly, you like the outdoors, like to surf? Could we finagle a surfboard in the boat?”

“Already have a short board picked out. We’ll have to take turns though. And I know you like the water.”

“Hey, remember our senior trip? We went down to San Diego and spent all that time surfing at Swami’s.”

“Good swells there. But what I recall most is you in a bikini. I particularly liked that red one you wore that set off your hair.”

“How do you remember that? I got sunburned that trip, was so burned it hurt no matter how much aloe vera I slathered on. In fact, we both looked like lobsters—you with your pale skin and me with mine. That’s what I remember.”

“What do you plan on doing when you graduate in May?” Troy asked.

“That’s a tough question. I might have to head to Santa Cruz or even San Jose to find work.”

“What would you think about opening up your own excursion business?”

“What excursion business? How? I make tips, Troy? I don’t have money to invest in—”

He cut her off. “Nick might need someone to ferry guests back and forth to visit the island during the B&B’s busy season, take people out to that old shipwreck Ethan wrote about in his book, too.”

“You’re serious about this.”

“Yeah, and so is Nick. He called it a cottage industry. You’d need a larger touring boat and a base but it could be a moneymaker.”

“Wow, I’d have to think about it. I’ve taken business courses and all but I never once considered owning my own. So when do I get to see your apartment?”

“Later when we get back. I want to get going while we still have the light.”

They’d toted the basket down to the Cove like the kids they’d once been. They had no way of knowing anyone else had already converged on their romantic island getaway.

The island was
too small to go undetected for long. So Ryder decided to confront the issue head on. He made his way down the slope to shore. But Troy had already spotted the other dinghy bobbing in the water. Neither man could say they were overjoyed to see the other and spend their afternoon together.

“What are you doing here?” Ryder asked.

“Same thing you are,” Troy returned. “This was my plan.”

As disappointed as Troy felt, Bree was clearly in the other camp. At the thought of a get-together, her cheerful nature kicked in. She chatted away like a magpie. “What luck that you and Troy had the same idea. Great minds think alike. You must be here with Julianne. Perfect. We can combine our picnic baskets. It’ll be like potluck.”

“We’re just up the hill there,” Ryder directed Bree, who took off in a jog.

But Troy lagged behind and murmured, “You ripped off my idea. Admit it. You knew I planned to bring Bree here today and you beat me here.”

Ryder blew out a guilty breath. “I guess I did. I forgot you called dibs. My fault. In my defense though, I wanted to show Julianne a nice afternoon before her weekend ended and she had to head back to Santa Cruz.”

Troy adjusted his ball cap down over his curly hair, glanced up ahead where the two women were already chatting away and busy going through the food he’d brought. “It’s too late now. We might as well make the best of it. But this is definitely not the afternoon I had planned out.”

“Yeah, me either,” Ryder uttered, following Troy up the embankment.

O
n Monday, Ryder worked under the sound of a steady rain as it pounded the new roof. The old tar and pitch composition had been the first thing to go last month. Since then they’d revamped it with a thin film coating and solar panels added for energy efficiency.

“This is the first good rain we’ve had since we started. A good test of workmanship,” Logan told Ryder.

“How are we doing so far?”

“Stellar.”

“How’s Kinsey?”

Logan let out a huge sigh. “Who knew impending fatherhood would make me as nervous as an old hen scared witless that it’s about to face the chopping block.”

“That bad?”

“Worse, in less than two weeks I’ll be the father to, not one, but two babies.”

“Double the panic.”

“And then some.”

Paul Bonner came up to them, followed by Drake Boedecker. “Someone better get over there. Zach and Troy are about to go at each other’s throats.”

Ryder glanced over at the two men standing nose to nose inside the administration area. “You have enough to deal with,” Ryder said to Logan. “As foreman, I’ll handle this.”

When he reached Troy and Zach, Ryder barked out, “What the hell is going on over here? This is not the time or the place for crap like this. You sign up to give a hundred percent to a job you do it as a professional, not act like two junior high brawlers. You two want to fight? Do it somewhere else other than this worksite. This is gonna end right here, right now, today, or I’ll know the reason why. Do you both understand me?”

“Hey, ask Troy why Bree came home all excited last night about some stupid idea this jerk put in her head, some ridiculous notion that she could start an excursion business after she graduates community college in May. Of all the stupid…”

“It’s not stupid,” Troy stated. “It’s a viable business option.”

Ryder’s mouth gaped open. “
This
is what you two are bickering about? You guys are unbelievable. For your information, Zach, I was there Saturday night when Nick told Troy the B&B could use that kind of commercial enterprise around here. Don’t blame Troy for simply suggesting it to your sister.”

“Really?” Zach said, dropping the attitude. “I just assumed he was bullshitting her to get her in the sack.”

“You’ll have to ask him about the why—on your own time. Let’s back up a minute though. Zach, what exactly do you find wrong with Troy dating your sister?”

“Go on, tell him,” Troy demanded in challenge. “Tell him you don’t want
anyone
taking Bree out. Not me, not even if I had a million bucks in the bank would it matter. You don’t want anyone going near your sister. Tell him.”

“Is that true?”

Zach dropped his stare. “Yeah, I guess it is. Look, ever since our mom died, it’s been up to me to see to it Bree was taken care of. Then when our dad passed away…I don’t know…I guess…I don’t want to think of her like that…with anyone.”

Ryder relaxed his stance. “Okay. So what you’re basically saying is that you have no real basis for the obstinate attitude you’ve had toward Troy? Is that about right?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Does that mean you’ll stop getting upset every time I talk to Bree?” Troy wanted to know.

“I’ll try.”

“Good,” Ryder said. “Have we cleared the air then? Now, could we cut this bullshit between you two and get some work done around here?”

Later, the crew gathered at the back of the school near the shipping and receiving area to eat lunch and watch the rain come down.

“I wouldn’t mind owning a business of my own,” Paul said. “If I had the money I’d open up a bicycle shop. I like to fix them up and resell them.”

“No bikes for me,” Troy said and repeated his dream about making his own surfboards. “Wally Pierce collects the old wooden ones. He has them hanging up all over his garage. They’re really cool.”

“I don’t even know how to surf,” Ryder admitted. “But I still think I’d like to try and build a boat, make it sleek and fast, one of the wooden kind from long ago.”

Zach turned to the man he’d been at odds with since the job began. “First chance we get we should show you how to surf,” he suggested. “You can’t truly call yourself a Californian until you’ve been up on a board at least once no matter what your driver’s license says.”

“Growing up here, learning to surf was like learning to walk,” Troy agreed. “That’s why I showed him a few moves yesterday. He didn’t fall off…much.”

But instead of ribbing Ryder, Zach latched on to what the boss had said. “Why would you tackle such a career like boatbuilding? Is there any money in that these days?”

Ryder stared off into the downpour. “The summer before my dad died, I was about nine. He took me to a camp for fathers and sons where the owners taught us how to construct boats, not big ones, but those miniature skiffs you see sailing on the little ponds or lakes. Then my dad died. After that my grandfather, on my mother’s side, picked up the slack. Gramps was as an architect and loved building things in his spare time. It was one of the first times I remember really connecting to the man. Anyway, he saw to it that we went back over the years. And I enjoyed those days creating something with my hands. It’s what I was meant to do.”

“Why didn’t you?” Troy asked.

“I went into the military instead.”

Zach sat hunched with his hands dangling on his knees, considering that. “Did you know there used to be an old shop sandwiched between the fancy restaurant and the marine rescue center across the street from here that built sailboats?”

“That must’ve been way before my time,” Troy cracked. “I don’t remember it. The place was always empty.”

“It was there,” Zach insisted. “A Swede by the name of Gunnar Borgerstrom owned it. You used to be able to smell the fresh wood they used and put through the electric saws. My dad worked for him before the town dried up and the place closed its doors.”

“So you have some idea how to build a boat?” Ryder asked, curious about the man who’d been a thorn in his side in some fashion since the entire project began.

“Not exactly. But I used to watch my dad work on the hulls. I think it’d be a pretty cool way to earn a living, if you ask me.”

“That makes two of us,” Ryder said, swallowing a bite of leftover pasta. “I wouldn’t mind seeing the inside of that old storefront. If Nick really is open to making loans to new businesses, I wonder…”

But Zach’s prickly nature surfaced. “Do you honestly think a man like Nick Harris would lend money to a couple of construction workers for a pipe dream?”

“I don’t see why not. All he can do is tell us no.”

“But making surfboards might be more practical, especially around here,” Troy advised. But after thinking about it for a few minutes, he added, “If you do this, I want to be a part of it. I’ve been saving every penny I can scrape together.”