Buck's Landing (A New England Seacoast Romance) by Cameron D. Garriepy

get all of yours.”
    “Done.”
    When she dropped her coin into the machine and sent the light spinning along its path, Silas felt something slip into place in his heart. He wouldn’t have found her in New York, slaving away to the paper gods of justice. He wouldn’t have found her in the overpriced clubs or the dive bars his buddies favored. He wouldn’t have found her at his father’s country club in New Jersey.
    She was here. And she didn’t even realize it.
    “Holy shit!” Sofia jumped up and squeezed him, her giddy laughter in his ear. “I won!”
    He held her there, painted toes off the floor, drinking in the spicy, elemental fragrance of her warm hair. Her body pressed against his, and he could feel unbridled pleasure at the win flying along her skin, pulsing through her. He couldn’t imagine there being anything better than this. Everything about her just fit.
    The Wheel was spitting out a seemingly endless reel of tickets. All the adults, and a few of the kids, around them stopped to see what the commotion was. Reluctantly, Silas set her down. Raising her hand like a triumphant prize fighter, he addressed the small crowd.
    “She won the Wheel.”
    Sofia tore off her tickets and held out her hand. With a little bow, he handed her the stack of folded tickets from his pocket. She took them and turned for the prize counter, but not before taking his hand to tow him behind her.
    They didn’t have enough for a panda, but Sofia traded her tickets in for a perfectly horrible purple glass mermaid statue. When Silas laughed, she very seriously informed him that the mermaid was for the cashier’s window at the Landing.
    “Well, in that case, she’s perfect.”
    Sofia tucked the mermaid into her straw purse. “To the ring toss?”
    “How about the milk bottles? I’m feeling like a sure thing.”
    Sofia’s wry smile was worth the bad joke.
    The hawker was a guy in his early twenties. These days the hawkers worked the crowd with a headset, but the essential game was unchanged. Silas handed him a five for three chances. He felt like a high school kid again, trying to impress a beautiful girl with his athletic prowess. Sofia leaned against the counter, watching him gauge the throw. In the bright lights of the midway, she could have been a high school girl, too.
    His first ball went a little to the left, but it nicked a bottle hard enough to knock over the first pyramid. He squared his shoulders.
    When the third pyramid of bottles clattered to the floor of the booth, Silas whooped. He whirled Sofia off her feet, giving her a smacking kiss before setting her down again.
    “So,” asked the hawker, “what would the lady like?” He gestured to the row of super-sized animals hanging above.
    “The panda.” They spoke together, giggling as the hawker fetched it down. Sofia hugged it hard, and Silas was reminded of the deal they’d made in Dex’s bar.
    “You two have a good night.” The hawker sent them off, already drawing in new players for the game.
    Silas struck out for H Street. “Come on, panda girl. Let’s get you some fried dough.”
     
    ~~~
     
    Sofia couldn’t remember being so happy in Hampton, not since she was a child. With the panda looped under her arm, she walked in easy time with Silas. At the first cross street, he reached for her hand.
    Blinks was a blaze orange shrine to fried dough. The porch overhang was crowded with people waiting for orders; the line stretched down the stairs into the sidewalk.
    “What do you want?” Silas asked.
    She handed him the stuffed panda. “This is on me.”
    Silas took the bear. “Cinnamon and sugar.”
    She snuck a glance at him while he leaned against the signpost. As if he felt her eyes on him, he turned to her. The street light threw his face into deep shadows, but his intent was unmistakable. She shivered, understanding pooling low in her belly.
    Rejoining him with the fried dough, she gestured across the street, where several empty benches lined the