Virginia McCullough - Love, Unexpected

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.”