opened his mouth as if to speak, then shrugged, and bent to pluck something from the firm sand. A clam shell, bone-white with gray rings toward the outer edge. His thumb stroked over the surface. “I bet you collected a thousand of these in your lifetime.”
“Maybe a million,” Meg said. “My sister Skye and I pored over our beach treasures like other kids did trading cards.”
He glanced up. “I remember one particular treasure you had…a piece of abalone shell, I think it was, that you’d strung on a leather thong for Peter. He wore it everywhere.”
“Yes.” Her fingers found Bitzer, and she rubbed his thick coat. That fragment had been part of her collection forever, and one of her prized possessions because it was shaped like a heart. She’d given it to Peter that summer ten years ago, and told him it was just that. Her heart. “He wore it all the time except when he went into the ocean.”
Caleb petted the dog as well, his lean hand caressing Bitzer’s flank. “So you have it then.”
“No. We don’t know what became of it. Maybe that day, that time, he kept it on when he went out…though it was never recovered.” Even when Peter’s body and his kayak had shown up a day later, on a beach five miles south of the cove.
A beat of silence went by, the quiet only filled by the rush of the waves. “I’m sorry if my mentioning that made you unhappy,” Caleb said. He stepped around the dog to pull her close.
Although she knew she shouldn’t, Meg leaned against him. “It’s all right,” she said. “There are those sad memories, but so many happy ones at the cove, too.”
“Tell me,” he urged, taking her hand and turning to direct their walk back up the beach.
And the next thing she knew she was doing just that, mixing up her mother’s merfolk stories with the real-life escapades of the cove kids who had run wild every summer. She laughed out loud, remembering the games they’d invented, the sand abodes they’d built, the miniature popsicle-stick boats they’d launched or the real-life rafts they’d attempted to construct out of driftwood lashed together with rope.
Before she knew it, it was nearing three o’clock and she had to rush to the property management office to meet the newcomers. When her duties were over, she locked up, only to find Caleb and Bitzer on the sand right outside.
The dog sat beside his master. Caleb was staring out to sea, the wind ruffling his hair. Again she couldn’t help but admire the width of his shoulders, the strong muscles of his back that she could see through the thin cotton of his shirt. But it was that calm stillness that attracted her most, she thought, as if the mere act of breathing in air was something to which he gave his utmost attention.
Apparently sensing her presence, he turned his head. “Business done?” he asked, holding out his hand to her.
She went toward him, drawn like a magnet. Once her bottom touched the sand, he drew her close. It was the most natural thing in the world to drop her head to his shoulder.
“What should we do now?” he asked idly.
She should tell him what they should do now was head to their separate lives. But it didn’t seem right to upset the affable mood. So she shrugged.
“We could go for a swim,” Caleb said.
“I don’t go into the water anymore.” She didn’t even gaze upon it. Right now her eyes were focused on the beach. In her peripheral vision she could just glimpse the white foam stretching toward their feet, but that was the closest look she allowed herself.
Caleb drew her more snugly to his side, then sighed. “I guess it’s sex then.”
The words took a moment to sink in. Caught between amusement and exasperation, she turned her head to look at him. “What? Isn’t that a trifle presumptuous?”
“My mother always said that about me.”
Meg laughed, then pushed at him. “You stop.”
He fell to the ground, then pulled her on top of him. “Not gonna.” With a roll, he had
“Maybe a million,” Meg said. “My sister Skye and I pored over our beach treasures like other kids did trading cards.”
He glanced up. “I remember one particular treasure you had…a piece of abalone shell, I think it was, that you’d strung on a leather thong for Peter. He wore it everywhere.”
“Yes.” Her fingers found Bitzer, and she rubbed his thick coat. That fragment had been part of her collection forever, and one of her prized possessions because it was shaped like a heart. She’d given it to Peter that summer ten years ago, and told him it was just that. Her heart. “He wore it all the time except when he went into the ocean.”
Caleb petted the dog as well, his lean hand caressing Bitzer’s flank. “So you have it then.”
“No. We don’t know what became of it. Maybe that day, that time, he kept it on when he went out…though it was never recovered.” Even when Peter’s body and his kayak had shown up a day later, on a beach five miles south of the cove.
A beat of silence went by, the quiet only filled by the rush of the waves. “I’m sorry if my mentioning that made you unhappy,” Caleb said. He stepped around the dog to pull her close.
Although she knew she shouldn’t, Meg leaned against him. “It’s all right,” she said. “There are those sad memories, but so many happy ones at the cove, too.”
“Tell me,” he urged, taking her hand and turning to direct their walk back up the beach.
And the next thing she knew she was doing just that, mixing up her mother’s merfolk stories with the real-life escapades of the cove kids who had run wild every summer. She laughed out loud, remembering the games they’d invented, the sand abodes they’d built, the miniature popsicle-stick boats they’d launched or the real-life rafts they’d attempted to construct out of driftwood lashed together with rope.
Before she knew it, it was nearing three o’clock and she had to rush to the property management office to meet the newcomers. When her duties were over, she locked up, only to find Caleb and Bitzer on the sand right outside.
The dog sat beside his master. Caleb was staring out to sea, the wind ruffling his hair. Again she couldn’t help but admire the width of his shoulders, the strong muscles of his back that she could see through the thin cotton of his shirt. But it was that calm stillness that attracted her most, she thought, as if the mere act of breathing in air was something to which he gave his utmost attention.
Apparently sensing her presence, he turned his head. “Business done?” he asked, holding out his hand to her.
She went toward him, drawn like a magnet. Once her bottom touched the sand, he drew her close. It was the most natural thing in the world to drop her head to his shoulder.
“What should we do now?” he asked idly.
She should tell him what they should do now was head to their separate lives. But it didn’t seem right to upset the affable mood. So she shrugged.
“We could go for a swim,” Caleb said.
“I don’t go into the water anymore.” She didn’t even gaze upon it. Right now her eyes were focused on the beach. In her peripheral vision she could just glimpse the white foam stretching toward their feet, but that was the closest look she allowed herself.
Caleb drew her more snugly to his side, then sighed. “I guess it’s sex then.”
The words took a moment to sink in. Caught between amusement and exasperation, she turned her head to look at him. “What? Isn’t that a trifle presumptuous?”
“My mother always said that about me.”
Meg laughed, then pushed at him. “You stop.”
He fell to the ground, then pulled her on top of him. “Not gonna.” With a roll, he had
Similar Books
