Small-Town Girl

Brice had considered using his boats for fishing tours. But fishing tours were hours of commitment. And this wasn’t the Caribbean. The fish in Lake Michigan might be huge, but there wasn’t all that impressive an assortment to be found.

“Fishing tours?” He tossed the words out to see what his brother would say.

Evan tapped his chin, thinking for a second. “That has merit. Although you’d have to hire someone to give the tours, and that would cost money.”

“I could do them. I know where the best fish—”

“You are many things, but a friendly tour guide is not one of them.”

“Maybe I’ll just sell the boats. Admit my losses and downsize.” He had a smattering of small vessels he’d picked up secondhand. They weren’t hauling boats, but he’d figured they’d be useful for something. So far, they’d been nothing but money pits. He’d sell them. Let them become someone else’s problems.

Evan opened his cash register and removed the drawer of money. “That could work too, and there’s no shame in that plan, but will it ruin you to give yourself one week to brainstorm a few other possible solutions?”

“A week’s not going to ruin me.”

“Then go back to that cabin of yours and think.”

At this time on a summer evening, the main part of downtown Goose Harbor was flooded with people, so much so that cars stopped driving down the roads because there were too many pedestrians to maneuver around. Besides, Brice had left his car by the docks. He’d exit out the back door of Evan’s business and cut across the beach. He needed to spend some time seeking out God’s guidance anyway. The less-congested evening beach would be the perfect place to go pray.

* * *

The short-lease condo that Kendall had found to rent when she first moved to town was located on the opposite end of Ring Beach from the main portion of town. Walking to her business meeting with Sesser and Claire had sounded like a great idea earlier, but now her feet ached. Heels weren’t built for cross-terrain travel.

A girl from the foothills of Kentucky would need to ease into beach living slowly. Even if it was only a freshwater beach on Lake Michigan, having never been to the ocean, she found it the biggest, most impressive beach she’d ever seen.

Which was one of the reasons why she’d chosen Goose Harbor as the perfect place to start her business. Sure, a place like Orlando or Los Angeles would have been ideal, but then again, they would have been far too pricey. Her savings wouldn’t have lasted long in one of those cities. Rent the first month or two would have drained her completely. Moreover, her little business would have been easy to overlook in a large city. She could have never marketed enough to get noticed somewhere big.

After seeing the article in Midwestern Travel magazine about the quaint tourist town of Goose Harbor that swelled to four times its population for six months of the year, she knew she’d found her location. Her dream could finally become a reality. Discovering that Ring Beach was one of two freshwater beaches in the whole country that made it onto a list of best beaches in the world—well, that information sealed the deal.

A place like Goose Harbor would draw lots of couples and people looking for romance. That was where Love on a Dime would step in and plan dates for them. Provide whole catalogs of choices for clueless men looking to impress their girlfriends or, better yet, plan their proposals. And when no one was in the market for a date, she’d offer event-planning services or book excursions for girls’ weekends. The process had become second nature after she’d worked as an event planner at the golf course near her hometown for the past eight years.

She often wondered how many of the weddings she’d overseen ended in divorce. Fifty percent—that was the going rate nowadays, right? The number never ceased to shock her as well as solidify her desire not to marry. She’d been right to leave her serial dating habits back in Kentucky. Men complicated things. No, actually sometimes men were quite useful. Like when heavy boxes were involved.

Love was the enemy more than anything. Love made a person foolish and far too trusting. Love was responsible for countless people getting taken advantage of. But not her. Thankfully she had always ended her relationships before they became too serious. Goose Harbor would be a baggage-free paradise for her.

“Wait up.” A voice behind her made her stop.

She turned around to find Brice Daniels a few feet away.

“Oh, hey. It’s Brice, right?”

“Yes.” A quick wince crossed his face before he masked it. Brice looked tired, or like he had something on his mind.

“Are you okay?”

“Just wondering why you’re so determined to cross this beach with those shoes on when the sand’s cooled down some by now.” He smiled, but the look didn’t reach those piercing, pale green eyes of his.

“But the sun’s only just setting.” She turned toward the lake, pointing at the sun, but then stopped and grabbed Brice’s solid arm. There was no adequate way to describe the beauty of the sun going down over the lake, so instead Kendall gasped. “Sit and watch this with me.” She tugged on his sleeve.

Brice didn’t argue. He dropped onto the sand and looped his arms over his knees. “It never gets old, does it?”

Kendall sat right beside him and watched the orange and magenta light dance with the coming night across the lake’s surface. “I’ve never seen a sunset quite like this. It’s...it’s...too much for words.”

“You should see it out on the lake.”

“I can.” She thrust her hand out to indicate the water.

“From a boat.”

“When I find someone with a boat, I will.”

“I own a whole fleet of them.”

Shifting her gaze from the sunset to Brice, she caught him staring at her. “Would you take me sometime?”

“Sure.” He shrugged.

“Soon.”

“Okay.”

“Tomorrow?”

Brice chuckled. “All right.”

Wait. Had she just forced him to take her on a date? Wow. Her forward personality always seemed to get her into trouble. But she hoped it didn’t come across that way. No. She hadn’t...right? She couldn’t, because Kendall was not dating anymore. Goose Harbor was going to be a boyfriend-free zone.

Kendall trailed her fingers through the sand. “If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I kind of forced that on you.”

He looked over at her and they made eye contact. “I want to.” His voice was soft, almost a whisper. Brice’s pale green eyes were so intense her breath caught for a heartbeat. He kept speaking. “I have some smaller boats that I need to test out. I’m trying to decide what to do with them. One is nicer, and I’ve only taken it out once since I bought it. She could use a spin out on the lake.”

“She?”

“All boats are women. I thought that was common knowledge.”

“I guess I don’t spend time with enough pirates to know these things about boats.”

“You slay me.” He laid his hand on his heart. “Do you see an eye patch or a peg leg here?”

“You’re right. Pirates certainly don’t use words like slay.”

“Blame the books for how I talk.”

“You’re a reader?” She wondered what types of books he read. Nonfiction books about fixing cars? Autobiographies about people who definitely weren’t pirates? Or did strong Brice Daniels curl up with a fictional mystery during his downtime? Her interest piqued, suddenly she wanted to know all about him.

“Of course.” Brice’s voice broke through her thoughts. “What else is there to do when you’re out on the lake?”

“Um, watch these amazing sunsets!” She slapped his arm but then left her hand there. “Brice, I was just hit with the most amazing idea. Care to hear me out?”

“Sure.” Another one-word answer.

“You don’t speak a ton, do you?”

“That’s what you wanted to talk about?”

“No, but I just thought that.”

“Do you say everything you think right when you think it?”

Kendall pursed her lips and rubbed her chin, pretending to think really hard for effect. It worked. Brice shook his head, a half grin on his face and his eyes twinkling with a shared joke.

“Okay.” Kendall rolled her eyes. “Most of the time I say exactly what I’m thinking. Right when I think it.”

“Well, I don’t.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Even with his boots on, he moved his feet back and forth in the sand as if he was digging in his toes. “I believe in thinking about things and not always saying them out loud. Words don’t always solve problems.”

“But sometimes they do.”

“Sometimes silence is better.”

“I feel sorry for your girlfriend.” Kendall slapped her hand over her mouth. “Wow. Sorry. That didn’t come out like it sounded in my head.”

Brice raised his eyebrows, but the lift at the edge of his lips told her he wasn’t mad.

Kendall pinched the bridge of her nose. “All right, you win. Sometimes silence is better, like it would have been four seconds ago. Let’s silently sit here and watch the sunset. Then we can silently walk across the beach. Afterward, we can silently say goodbye to each other. Won’t that be fun?”

“Why don’t you tell me your idea first? The one you had before getting off track.”

“I will. But sorry about the girlfriend thing. I’m sure she’s happy and—”

“I don’t have one, so no worries. No wives in the attic either.”

“Jane Eyre reference. Nicely done.” She sent him a wink.

Brice inched toward her. “Your idea?”

Kendall scooted so she was facing him. “Sunset cruises.”

“Yes...we’re doing one tomorrow.”

“Not just tomorrow. What if we had a planned sunset cruise every single week?”

His eyes grew wide. “You and me?”

“Well, yes, we’d both be there, but I’m talking about hosting it as a tourist activity. Every Friday night— Scratch that.” Kendall gathered up her hair and bunched it at the nape of her neck to keep the wind from whipping it around. “I’m sure there are better things you want to do on your Friday nights than spend them with me. Any night of the week would work really, as long as it was the same night each week so people could count on it. We’d charge a set fee and host a sunset cruise out onto the lake.”

Brice rocked a bit and leaned onto his elbows. He worked his jaw back and forth for a minute.

She’d gone too far, hadn’t she? Presumed upon this poor man who was now trying to find the kindest words he could to let her down. She always did this, didn’t she? Plowing ahead before thinking things through had only ever gotten her in trouble. And it made her a risk that most men didn’t want to be around. Like dynamite. They never knew when the risk would be too great or her ideas lead to failures.

This trait was probably what had driven her father to walk out on her and her mother when she was only six. Too much energy. Too many ideas. Too many failures.

Brice still hadn’t spoken up. She needed to take him out of his misery. “I shouldn’t have spouted that out like that. You don’t know me, and I know nothing of your boating company. And the cruises probably wouldn’t work, so—”

He finally sat up. “I think they will.”

“You... Really?”

“There are some smaller, fancier boats in my fleet. I bought them on a whim at an auction without knowing what I’d do with them. They could work really well for something like this.”

“You don’t think my idea is silly?”

He shook his head. “Not at all. It might be the answer to the prayer I hadn’t prayed yet.”

“Is that even possible?”

Brice nodded solemnly. “God knows what we need.”

Kendall flattened her hands against the cooled sand. “When should we start?”

“Let’s rein this in for a minute. How about we go on our cruise tomorrow and get a better idea of everything before making plans? Deal?” He rose to his feet, dusted off his pants and then held out a hand to her, helping her stand.

“Deal.”

They walked silently down the beach until they reached the edge, where they parted ways.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He headed toward the shipping yard.

“Until then.” She waved over her shoulder and headed home for the evening with a lighter step. Perhaps Brice Daniels was right. Maybe God answered prayers people hadn’t prayed yet.

Even hers.

Chapter Two

Kendall had changed her outfit. Six times.

It’s not a date.

In the end, she opted for comfort over style and wore leopard-print ballet flats paired with skinny jeans and a charcoal tank top that had some fancy draping across the front.

This morning after unpacking her condo a little more, Kendall had headed to Love on a Dime, where she’d spent the day drafting a press release and brainstorming other ways to get the word out about her business now that it was officially open.

Next she’d looked up Brice online, since she’d forgotten to get his number last night, and found surprisingly little information. Unless he used a false name online—and he really didn’t seem the type—he had no social-media accounts. His shipping business was called, get this: Brice Daniels. Just his name. At least that had made the number to his company easy to find. Her next move would have been bugging his brother next door, but Evan had been busy all afternoon entertaining a string of customers. She’d called Brice’s number and left a message on what sounded like an ancient answering machine. His voice came across deeper on the greeting than she remembered.

He’d called her back at the office ten minutes later and they’d settled on a time to meet at the pier. And now it was time. Kendall bounced her shoulders up and down a few times to relax them. Nerves. From looking forward to another sunset and the possibility of having a way to meet Sesser’s demand for a weekly event so easily; that was all.

Instead of walking the beach as she’d done yesterday, Kendall drove to the dock. Nothing was clearly marked and she couldn’t find a parking spot, so she parked along the side of one of the warehouses where her vehicle wouldn’t be in the way and headed out to find Brice. Kendall didn’t have to walk too far onto the docks, though, because she spotted him waiting for her near the front of the pier. He waved and Kendall felt her breath catch.

Oh. Grow up already.

But it was impossible not to notice Brice’s strong presence. His shoulders were wide and his profile cut an ideal male figure against the backdrop of boats lightly bobbing in the marina. He wore nicer boots than he’d had on yesterday. These ones were the kind that could be worn to church or to a casual office. Dark jeans, a formfitting gray Henley that looked as though it would be incredibly soft from many trips through the washing machine and a navy blue lightweight jacket completed his look. Kendall had to command her jaw to keep from dropping wide-open. She’d dated plenty of men in the past ten years, but none who looked as effortlessly handsome as Brice. The man belonged in a movie playing a dashing prince.

The sun hadn’t set yet, but it would in the next half hour. For the most part, the pier was quiet. Gentle waves lapped back and forth against the moorings, and a few fat seagulls scavenged for food along the beach.

“Ready?” Brice’s whole face lit up as he smiled.

“Lead the way.”

He surprised her by offering his arm. She took it and they started down the pier. There were two places to dock boats in Goose Harbor—the white-painted wooden pier located near the downtown area that held all the fancy sailboats and yachts or the working pier, where they currently were. This one was concrete. It had stains and puddles and carried the smell of freshly caught fish. Most of the boats attached to the working pier were barges and other large ships. Here they were tucked away from the normal path and sight line of tourists. Toward the far right, one boat stuck out because it didn’t look like the rest of them. It was white and green and had a deck sitting on top.

“Is that her?”

Brice nodded. “I know she needs to be spruced up before we can put the public on her, but I think this one will be the best in my fleet for the cruises. At least at the start.”

“I think the biggest improvement will be moving it to the other pier in town. That should be first on our list.”

Brice stopped walking. “Move it to the other pier?”

“Of course. That’s the pier tourists know about and gather at. This pier is functional and all, but it’s not pretty and won’t do for running tours. You see that, don’t you?” She felt the muscles in his arm flex under her hand as she spoke. Had she said something wrong?

He looked down the pier and took a deep breath. “You may have a point.”

“Did I say something wrong?”

“It’s fine. I try to deal as little as possible with the man who owns the piers, is all.” Brice worked his free hand over his jaw. “But I’ll see if there’s space to rent at that one. I’ll check into it tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

He unwound her arm from his, pulled the edge of the boat so it came flush with the pier and opened the gate-like door. “In you go.” He offered his hand again so he could help her across the gap of water, as the boat had already started drifting away from the pier a bit.

Kendall didn’t wait for Brice to give her a tour. Instead she started through the boat on her own. It had two separate levels. The top had a green awning, and the bottom was contained but still above water. The lower section boasted wide windows so both levels could be used for a cruise if there were enough passengers. The lower level also had a small kitchen and two bathrooms.

After climbing the stairs to the upper level, Kendall spotted what appeared to be a huge wheel of red paddles at the back of the boat. It reminded her of something out of an old-time movie. She turned around to find that Brice had been trailing her.

“It’s called a paddle wheeler. But it’s a very small one.”

“So it’s like Tom Sawyer on the Mississippi River. You’ve just upped the cuteness level of this sunset cruise venture a hundredfold. People will love to snap pictures on this thing. People will go selfie crazy on this boat!” Joy bubbled up in her chest. As long as Brice agreed, this sunset cruise plan could work.

Brice tapped the boat. “I’m no expert on cuteness levels, so I’ll take your word on that.”

“Do you use this boat to haul things for your business?”

“I could. It has a lot of surface area for its size, so when it came up at the auction I placed a bid. Most people were there that day for heavy-duty working ships, so I got her for a good price. But it hasn’t been used much since I bought her.”

“Which turns out to be a good thing for us.”

“A blessing in disguise.” He smiled. “Ready to head out? The sun will be setting in the next twenty minutes here, and the lake is smooth enough to go out a ways.”

Kendall grabbed the side railing and tried to jiggle it. “Are you sure she’s sound?” That was a correct ship statement, right?

“She’s sound. Needs a new coat of paint and an elbow grease of a cleaning, but she’s sound. The coast guard certified her, and we’ll have to have her inspected annually just like the rest of the ships. We’ll have to carry more life jackets on board. I think she’s got ten or so now, but we’ll need one for every passenger we plan to have. The ship-to-shore radio worked the last time I checked, and she’s radar-equipped.”

“Then let’s shove off.” Kendall saluted him because that felt like the right thing to do to a boatman, but heat flashed across her cheeks after doing so.

Brice’s face did that thing where he was clearly fighting a huge, goofy grin again. “Aye-aye, Captain.”

He unwound the ropes holding the boat to the pier and then jumped back onto the vessel. Brice worked his way to the top of the ship, where there was a booth built for him to sit at and steer. Kendall came alongside him as he started the boat and it rumbled to life.

Brice winked at her. “Go on over to the edge and enjoy the ride.”

Kendall made her way to the back near the paddles and watched the red slats slap against the water as they headed away from the sight of the little, safe harbor in town and out into the waters of Lake Michigan. She leaned against the railing and watched the town grow smaller in the distance, wondering if she should have asked Brice just how far out they were going to go.

After a while he angled the boat so it was going up the shoreline, away from Goose Harbor and toward an area full of dunes and a thick forest. When the leaves changed yellow and brown in the fall, the hill probably looked like a group of giant, sleeping bears.

“See them?” Brice hollered. He pointed down the shore to a place near where a large river entered the lake.

Kendall shaded her eyes with her hand. “See what? The river?”

“The eagles!” Brice pointed again. “They’re getting ready to fish.”

She looked higher and then gasped. Three bald eagles soared in a circle high above the trees that grew near the mouth of the river. Their wing spans were huge. “I didn’t know you had those in Michigan.”

“We do.” The boat started going much slower. “On nights when the lake is too rough, we can offer a cruise up that river instead. It’s a protected area, but I called the rangers today and they said river cruises are allowed and welcome on the preserve. There’s bound to be all sorts of wildlife to spot. I think most tourists would like that.”

He’d called the rangers today? If Brice was thinking ahead, then he really was on board with running these sunset cruises and wasn’t just being kind. He was an equal partner.

Wouldn’t it be nice to finally be around someone she could count on? That wasn’t a trait she usually associated with men in her life. Maybe Brice was different.

Or maybe she didn’t know him well enough yet.

* * *

Brice turned off the paddle wheeler and dropped both the bow and stern anchors, which was probably overkill, but better safe than sorry.

He crossed the boat to where Kendall stood, watching him. Not knowing what to do, and more than anything not wanting to sound foolish in front of her, he chose to stand beside her and look out at the sunset. Kendall didn’t make a move to talk right away. She simply turned and stood shoulder to shoulder with him. Her hand rested beside his on the rail, making his heart thump off-kilter in a way it hadn’t done since college. Since the first time he saw Audra.

Brice stole a glance at Kendall. Gorgeous. Better than any sunset. He kept finding his gaze shifting back to her. Kendall’s skin had an exotic color to it; he thought he’d heard that type of skin called olive toned before. Her hair was thick, and dark, and had soft-looking curls. Her nose had character. It was a little big, but it fit her perfectly. Maybe six inches shorter than him, she was a good height. If he tucked his arm around her, she’d fit perfectly into the crook of his body.

Brice pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut.

What was he thinking?

Hadn’t he been kicked in the teeth enough by women? He was not going to jump back into the dating pond anytime soon. Besides, women didn’t care about being committed. They cared about what a guy had to offer them. They liked to be chased, not caught. He would do well to remember that he had nothing to offer to anyone; in fact, he usually made people’s lives worse.

If I hadn’t had you I wouldn’t be stuck.

He took a step away from Kendall and from his mother’s voice in his mind at the same time. When he opened his eyes, Kendall had followed his movement, though. She was looking up at him, wearing an open expression.

“You have a scar.” She tapped his cheek where there had been a deep, half-inch scar since he was eight years old. From a belt buckle to the face. “I didn’t notice it before.”

He grabbed her hand and steered her back to the railing. “Don’t miss the sunset.”

Space. He just needed space.

Brice turned to head back to the inside of the boat, but Kendall snagged his arm.