Love, Unexpected

Andi started when her phone vibrated in her pocket, but she guessed it would be Brooke and hurried to answer.

“Hi, Mom.”

Better than cheery, Brooke sounded excited.

“Well, hello. Are you enjoying yourself in the big city?” Her mood lifted at the sound of her daughter’s voice.

“We’re at Navy Pier eating fudge ice cream,” Brooke said. “We rode the Ferris wheel, and it was great. And we went to the aquarium today. You should see the sharks—and the dolphins.”

“Sounds like fun.” She walked away from the dock, but before she got too far, she pivoted and took another look at the boat. Nothing in the marina was as isolated as that lone yacht.

“Wait, Mom. Dad wants to talk to you a minute.”

“Okay, put him on,” Andi said, taking a few more steps away from the boat.

“Hey, Andi,” Miles said, “any news?”

“About a roof over my head, you mean? And Brooke’s.” Andi winced at the sarcastic tone coming out of her mouth. Where had it come from? Frustration? Misplaced resentment? Miles didn’t mean anything negative by the question.

“Oops, sorry, Miles,” she said quickly. “Don’t mind me. I’m mad at myself. Somehow, this move didn’t go at all the way I planned it.”

“It will work out. And like I told you, you can stay in the cottage another week or so, and then move back in when our guests leave.”

Andi knew exactly what was coming next. If she still hadn’t found a place to live, she and Brooke were welcome to stay with Miles and Lark. They had plenty of space, and Brooke had her own room fixed up exactly as she wanted it. She spent almost half her time in Miles’s house, anyway. Andi would be welcome to the guest room. It was a generous offer. Andi knew that. Just like she knew she couldn’t bring herself to stay there.

“We talked about that, and you know how I feel, Miles. It would be too odd for Brooke. She’s used to going between my house and your house. It’s been her life since she was a toddler. She adjusted well to being with you and Lark and Evan. But stay in your house? I don’t think so.”

“You wouldn’t be here for long. Only until things settle in for you in Two Moon Bay, Andi. It would only be for a week or two.”

“Look, I’ll get vacation rentals a week or two at a time, or we’ll stay in one of the residential hotels,” she said, annoyed by the turn of the conversation. “It’s not the best solution, but it’s better than being with Brooke in the same house with you and Lark and her son.” Such a nightmarish solution. Andi would do almost anything to avoid it.

“You make it sound like a punishment for something,” Miles said, uncharacteristic resentment seeping into his voice. “You’re telling me you’d rather be alone with Brooke in a hotel than with her in my house.”

“Yes, Miles, that’s precisely what I’m saying.” She paused. “Give me a minute to spell this out for you.” It was hard to gather her thoughts with the background noise coming from Miles’s phone. Between a loud blues band, a mix of voices and the wind producing a static sound, it was nearly impossible to hear him. She kicked her voice up a notch. “I’m on my way back to the cottage now. Can we talk later? I’d like you to understand.”

“Okay, I’ll call you in an hour or so.”

With the call ended, Andi retraced her steps back across the grass and through the marina and down a few blocks of the waterfront street. She was soon unlocking the front door to Lark’s cottage on Night Beach Road. She fixed herself a plate of cheese and crackers and made short work of what she decided was dinner. Then she poured herself a glass of merlot and sat in the window seat to wait for Miles’s call.

Andi barely knew Lark, but it was easy to picture Brooke’s stepmom raising Evan in this cottage, working at her desk in front of this large picture window with its view of the lake. It was still Lark’s office, except when she and Miles had company staying here, like now. Then she worked in her office in their new house just down the street.

Andi thought about all the reasons she believed moving to Two Moon Bay was good for Brooke. But the logical, sound reasons for making such a major change only explained about 90 percent of her rationale. Andi hadn’t confided to anyone about the other reasons that pushed her toward her decision. It was hunger, she thought. She was hungry for something different in her life. After years of successfully managing a large medical practice, she’d been a casualty of a merger with a larger medical group. Luckily, she was a saver so she wasn’t living hand-to-mouth. She’d also accepted a few temp assignments over the last eighteen months and that helped cover her expenses. She had the luxury of holding out for a good professional opportunity.

When she’d first started her job search, a couple of medical practices had come looking for her, even coaxing her to agree to interviews, but they made such lowball offers she’d turned them down flat. She was determined to think bigger, not smaller. Or, what was stopping her from changing fields altogether, maybe taking off in a new direction?

Deciding to move to Two Moon Bay had been bound up in that exciting notion of a fresh start. All that work to renovate her house increased its value and the profit from its sale bought her more time to figure out what she wanted. The sale happened much faster than she or the Realtor had anticipated. The offer was well above the asking price, but in order to take advantage of it, she’d agreed to a closing date that allowed her almost no time to find a permanent rental.

Andi sipped her wine and stared at the narrow reflection of the new moon breaking through the haze over the lake. Where had her logical mind gone? None of these short-term problems would matter if she was judging her situation rationally. These were setbacks, minor at that, but they brought back long buried memories of other times she’d just as soon forget.

Like the air, the lake was still tonight. That sad old boat she’d seen was probably barely moving at the dock.

Odd that she would think of that boat. But there was something about it. But what?

Miles’s call broke into her thoughts.

“So?” he asked.

“So,” she said back, “here it is. You know I agreed to get out of the house in Green Bay without enough time to organize the move or find a rental, let alone buy a new place. I feel bad about that. Here I am, with my reputation as a hotshot manager, but I mismanaged this entire situation.”

“But I keep trying to tell you it’s okay,” he said with an impatient sigh. “We all know it’s temporary. We have room for you. This is about you, Andi, not me...or anyone else.”

Lark. He means it’s not about her. But Andi knew that. Using her thumb and index finger, she rubbed her forehead as if that action could produce the words that would help him understand. “I know this sounds overblown, but it feels chaotic, Miles,” she finally said. “On some level, not having a job or a house reminds me of the days after our divorce when I made so many mistakes.”

She was talking in code, as if not spelling it out would soften the blow. Who was she kidding? The blow was landing on her, not Miles. “I married Roger so fast, and it was such a disaster. The next year was a mess. You were the one who kept life stable for Brooke.”

“Oh, Andi, that was years ago,” Miles said softly. “I can’t believe you’re linking that old mistake with this situation. They’re entirely different. Anyone would have jumped at the offer you got for the house and figured out how to meet the terms later.”

Andi laughed. “You’re right, logically, that is. I guess this is stress talking. And Brooke was crabby about packing up so fast. That’s what brings up the same old feelings that I failed her—again. But I’d rather we move into a residential hotel until I find something. Better than having her mom staying with her dad and his new wife. A woman her dad knew long before he met her mom. It’s complicated, Miles.” Unintentionally, the volume of her voice had increased so she was almost hollering at him. “Sorry, Miles, I’m not mad at you.”

“I get it, but you’re being too hard on yourself. I’ve never criticized you as a mom. Never.”

Now he was getting mad. Another unintended consequence of the quandary she’d created.

“And one more thing. You’re taking Brooke’s bad moods way too seriously,” Miles said, his voice normal again. “Change is hard.”

Andi let out a long, weary sigh. “That’s true. But her riding camp starts soon. I’m hoping being around horses will improve her attitude.”

With a laugh in his voice, Miles said, “She’s told Evan all about her camp in great detail. That kid is so patient, and he’s only fourteen.”

“It’s worked out well for you. The move, I mean, and you and Lark.”

“Yes.” He paused. “I’m not trying to hurt you with this offer of a room in our house. Neither is Lark.”

His gentle tone triggered the growing fullness behind her eyes, but she wasn’t ready to let down her emotional barrier, not even with Miles. “True enough. But try to understand what’s behind my thinking. You and I get along well, and all that, and as much as I rooted for you and Lark, I simply can’t be under the same roof with you two.” She snickered. “That was blunt enough, I hope.”

“Handle it your way,” Miles said matter-of-factly. “I won’t bring it up again.”

She felt lighter. A burden was lifted, and suddenly a hotel suite didn’t seem so bad. She was tempted to tell Miles about other things going on with her, but she held back. They were friendly, but he wasn’t an intimate friend. Besides, she didn’t even know what was going on inside her, or why she was stirred up about change.

They ended the call and Andi immediately searched for local hotels that offered the kind of room she and Brooke would need. Of course, she thought, when the Sleepy Moon Inn came up. She’d seen it on the edge of downtown, only a few blocks away. She searched the site for vacancies, and when the information came up, she made a reservation and breathed a little easier.

Thinking about her exchange with Miles, she realized it was a good thing she hadn’t spontaneously confided her nagging wish for something different, a new direction. Wow. Those were the words she’d used years ago when she’d foolishly told him she wanted a divorce, claiming marriage—to anyone—wasn’t right for her and she needed another path.

Andi shivered inside, thinking of how ridiculous that sounded to her now.

Enough. Look ahead, not back. Her personal motto, particularly after her job ended.

Andi slipped out of her jeans and tank top and pulled her sleep shirt over her head. Going through her nightly routine helped put a stop to the useless journey into the worst part of her past. As she smoothed moisturizer across her cheeks, she struggled to recapture her excitement over the decision to move to Two Moon Bay. But the move itself was only one part of it.

She felt her old patterns shifting. Maybe it was because Brooke was growing up and needed her less. In any case, the changes weren’t limited to the mundane stuff, like finding an apartment or a predictable, if dull job in the same field. Except for a couple of huge mistakes, each involving a man, she’d lived cautiously, maybe too much so. She was always guarding against throwing her life—and Brooke’s—into disarray. Now she wanted more.

Andi fluffed the pillow and turned on her side. Closing her eyes, she decided that if she ended up in the hotel suite, she’d turn it into an adventure for herself and Brooke. She’d convince Brooke it was like camping out but without the bugs. Whoever built that run-down old boat she’d seen earlier must have wanted something out of the ordinary. So why shouldn’t she?

CHAPTER TWO

ZEKE STOOD BEHIND the counter and packed small orders, but kept one eye on his dad going through the routine of leashing Teddy and taking him out for a walk around the block. As always, Art opened the front door, then turned around and said, “Exercise for man and beast.”

“That’s right, Dad,” Zeke responded, as if on autopilot. Talk about a rut. Same walk, same quip every morning.

When the door closed behind the man and the beast, Zeke counted on fifteen minutes to catch up after yesterday’s glitch. He’d put over one hundred miles on his truck driving to exchange orders addressed to the wrong customers so that each package got to the right person. Fortunately, the people involved had done business with Donovan Marine Supply for years. Don’t worry, they’d said. They understood. But how could they? Zeke sometimes had trouble understanding what was happening to his dad.

Correcting these mistakes not only took time, but it also meant leaving Dad alone in the shop. Now, before he got too deep into handling the orders that had come in online overnight, Zeke hurried to the section his dad has stocked the day before. Familiar dread settled in his chest as he prepared himself to double-check the pricing and placement, and, if necessary, fix mistakes.

Crouching to look at the cost of the existing stock of various sizes of nylon line, Zeke matched them against the pricing on the new order. He let all the air out of his lungs and his breathing returned to normal. But that didn’t clear his conscience. No matter how well he prepared himself, he couldn’t fight off little stabs of guilt every time he did precisely what his dad had accused him of—going behind him to check his work.

Maybe he wouldn’t feel like such a sneak if his dad’s memory lapses, or more typically, loss of focus, occurred every day or even every week. But they didn’t. Most of the time, his dad’s work lived up to the standards their customers expected from Art Donovan, and that Art expected of Zeke. But even occasional glitches cost them money—and goodwill—all the same.

Zeke checked the last of the new stock of stainless deck hardware. Satisfied it was in good shape and priced correctly, he went back to orders on the computer.

Zeke’s mood lifted when he saw the orders for two anchor packages—anchor, chain and line. Not bad. They hadn’t even opened the door yet and they already had a substantial sale scheduled for customer pickup later that day. He moved on to the next order, this one for paint and varnish. That made him think of Drifting Dreamer. As he’d gone to sleep last night, the old yacht hung out in his thoughts. What had happened that turned such a classic boat into a wreck? One thing was sure—if they decided to sell fast and get it off their hands, the new owner was going to need a whole lot of both paint and varnish.

Or maybe he’d take on the job of giving that yacht a new life and recover the costs in the sale price. It was an appealing idea Zeke made himself shake off. He barely had time for the occasional building restoration job that came his way. Where would he find time to restore an old boat? He shouldn’t go down this road, anyway—the one where he saw the boat like she was a person with a brain and a heart and whose glory days were behind her.

Zeke heard the back screen-door hinges squeak, the signal his dad and Teddy were back.

“Hey, Zeke, there’s a lady down by the boat,” Art said, coming around the corner to the counter. “You know, that old yacht from yesterday.”

“Drifting Dreamer, Dad,” he said drily. “She’s the only boat we own.” Was there more to the story? “Uh, did she have a question or want something?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t talk to her. We have too much to do around here to stop and chat to a stranger. Even a good-looking one. The gal has some long hair.” Art let go of the leash and in a flash, Teddy turned and made a beeline for the back door.

“There goes the dog.” Zeke bit his tongue before he could snap at his dad, who hadn’t hooked the latch on the door to keep Teddy inside. “I’ll go get him.”

Teddy was out the door and headed for the dock, but Zeke managed to grab the leash off the grass and slow him down. “Hey, buddy, you can’t go out by yourself.” The dog pulled on the leash and led Zeke straight for the woman standing on the dock looking at the boat. He saw what his dad meant. Her dark hair fell more than halfway down her back.

“Okay, Teddy, we’ll stay out a little longer.” He let Teddy take him to the woman, who was tall and slender, and wore jeans and a red T-shirt. When she saw him coming, she lifted her sunglasses and perched them on her head. In her other hand, she held a giant-size Bean Grinder to-go cup.

“Good morning,” she called out, smiling. “I suppose I’m trespassing.”

He was tongue-tied. By a pretty smile and long legs. He raised his hand in protest. “Probably so, but we won’t call the sheriff, at least not yet.”

“I see. I have to prove myself first.” She held up the cup. “I’m armed only with the Bean Grinder’s morning mix.”

“In that case, we’ll...” Zeke watched Teddy sniffing the woman’s sneakers. “I was going to say we’ll call off the dogs, but, too late.”

She reached down and scratched Teddy behind his ears. “No problem. I’m not afraid of a curious dog. I was out walking last night and saw this boat, but it was dark so I couldn’t see much. Something made me walk over this morning to get a better look.”

“Well, you’re only our second visitor since the boat arrived yesterday morning.” He explained that Nelson White, the owner of the marina and boatyard next door, had also wandered down to see the new arrival. Zeke nodded to the boat. “Nelson probably thinks the Dreamer is an eyesore bringing down the neighborhood.”

Zeke pulled on Teddy’s leash to stop him from circling the visitor and wrapping the leash around her legs. “What do you think?” Why had he asked that? Just to keep her from walking away?

“Right now, I’m thinking your dog is using his nose to learn all about me and where I’ve been this morning.” Her smile grew bigger as she stared at Teddy.

“That’s no doubt true.” Zeke eagerly grabbed the chance to play along. He hadn’t had this much conversation with a stranger—a female stranger—in a long time. Well, except for customers. What else had he been missing? “His name is Teddy, by the way.”

“Theodore Donovan, I presume,” she said, deadpan, as she pointed to their giant sign mounted high enough on the building to be visible from the water. “Hmm, sounds like he should run for office.”

Zeke laughed from deep in his chest. “We never got as far as Theodore. He’s plain ol’ black-and-brown Teddy. And now he has a last name. We won’t tell him, or he’ll get a big head.”

She narrowed her eyes in amusement. “If Teddy is like most dogs I know, he’s probably spoiled rotten and already has a big head.”

Her dark blue eyes glanced down at Teddy and then to the side to take in Drifting Dreamer. But, he noted, she now seemed to be studying him. “I’m Zeke, and as it happens, my real last name is Donovan.”

He offered his free hand and she switched her coffee cup so she could grasp it. “I’m Andi Sterling. And I’m new in town.”

“I figured that out,” Zeke said. Her soft hand, extra warm from the coffee cup, gripped his.

“How so?”

No good reason, he thought, but that was no answer at all. “Because you don’t look familiar. Sometimes I think I’ve met most everyone around here at least once.”

“Well, now you know me, too. I’ve only been in Two Moon Bay for a few days.” Suddenly, her expression changed from lighthearted to serious.

“Were you curious about the boat?” He gestured to the stern. “Drifting Dreamer. The name mostly wore off with the other paint.” The hull once had been glossy black with the name painted on in bronze gold.

“You own the boat?” she asked, not looking at him but at the yacht.

“We do.” Seeing it through her eyes, he quickly added, “To make a long story short, we inherited it. Uh, as is.” That should explain its sorry state.

She turned her head to look directly at him. “Are you and your wife planning to keep it...her?”

Zeke waved her off. “Oh, no, I’m not married. I should have explained. My dad and I own the boat. Well, not exactly. It really belongs to him.” Zeke shook his head, frustrated by the way he tripped over his words, sounding like a goofy teenager. “If you can believe it, a guy who owed Dad money left it to him in his will. We haven’t decided what to do with it, but the guy settled, sort of, a twenty-year-old debt.”

“Twenty years? Wow. That’s an incredible story.”

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and took a sip of her coffee, showing no sign she was ready to leave.

Maybe the boat really did intrigue her. “Uh, would you like to go aboard and take a look inside?”

The bright smile was back. “I thought you’d never ask.”

“Really?”

“Of course.” Her blue eyes flashed flirtatiously. “Curiosity is killing me.”

“Sorry, I’m just sort of shocked.”

She exaggerated a look of wide-eyed innocence. “You mean because the boat doesn’t look so good?”

Another laugh rose from deep inside. “No kidding.”

“Okay, confession time.” She gestured to the boat. “I don’t know the first thing about boats. But I’ve restored a house over a century old and badly maintained for at least thirty of those one-hundred-plus years. I know very well how old, neglected things can be brought back.”

She’d restored an old house? Hmm...intriguing. “Old and neglected. That about sums it up.” He stared at Drifting Dreamer for a few seconds. “You go on aboard. I’ll go get the key to open her up.”

She nodded and, after only a couple of seconds of hesitation, climbed from the dock to the deck.

Taking the dog with him, Zeke hurried back inside the store, and found his dad sealing up a carton. As he unhooked Teddy’s leash, he eyed the box with suspicion, memories of fixing yesterday’s order mix-up intruding into his otherwise pleasant thoughts. He’d have a look at the cartons later before they had a chance to go out. He opened the top desk drawer in the office and grabbed the keys. “Hey, Dad, the woman with the long hair? Her name is Andi and she’s curious about Drifting Dreamer. I thought I’d show her around.”

“That so? Maybe she wants to buy it?”

Zeke frowned. “I hadn’t thought of that, but she said she restored an old house. So, who knows? Maybe she won’t be able to resist the challenge.”

Art looked over his bifocals and frowned. “Don’t be long, son. We’ve got orders to fill.”

“Got it, Dad.” Zeke told Teddy to stay and let the screen door close. Teddy immediately started whining and Zeke stopped. “Andi’s right, buddy, you are spoiled.” Relenting, as Teddy surely knew he would, he said, “You stay close by. No running off.”

Teddy trotted to the boat, beating Zeke there. He wasted no time jumping from the dock to the deck.

“I bet Mr. Theodore follows you everywhere,” Andi joked.

“More or less,” Zeke said. “I think of him more as my dad’s dog, but we’re both responsible for keeping the little stray.”

“The dog apparently has good instincts.” She flashed a beaming smile that once again showed her pretty white teeth.

He opened the padlock to the cabin doors and went down the wooden companionway into the saloon, or what he thought of as the main cabin. Andi followed close behind.

“What do you think? First...no, second impressions.” He was aware that being aboard Drifting Dreamer wouldn’t do much to alter an initial impression. It would probably only make reality hit home harder.

“I think this boat has a past,” she said, following him into the center main saloon, “and I’d sure like to know what it is. Simple curiosity, I guess.”

A past? Had she read his mind? That question had turned over and over in his mind last night. It had kept him wide-awake and thinking hard. From the moment he’d secured the dock lines, he’d wondered what this boat had been up to during her better days. It was a mystery he wanted to solve.

“I get it. I’ve been asking myself that, too. Unfortunately, we know very little, except what the spec sheet told us. She was built in 1939 in Duluth at the Metzger Boat Works. Pretty famous builders, those Metzgers. The listed owner is C. Peterson. We think the boat has been in the Great Lakes since her launch, but we can’t say for sure. Somehow, she ended up in the hands of Terrance Smyth—he’s the guy who owed my dad money.”