Small-Town Girl. Jessica Keller

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СКАЧАТЬ 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 СКАЧАТЬ