Expertly Cam freed fish from hook, then to her horror handed her the full net. "Hang on to it."
"Don't leave me with this thing." She took one squinting look, saw whiskers and fishy eyes—and shut her own. "Cam, come back here and take this ugly thing."
He set the widemouthed pail he'd just filled with water on the dock, took the net, and flopped the catch into it. "City girl."
She let out a long breath of relief. "Maybe." She peeped into the pail. "Ugh. Throw it back. It's hideous."
"Not on your life. It's a four-pounder easy."
When she refused to take the pole a second time, he sacrificed the rest of his brother's Brie and settled down to catch the rest of that night's supper himself.
the reception that hermorning's work received from Seth changed her attitude. Impressing a small boy by catching an indisputably ugly and possibly gourmand fish was a new kind of triumph. By the time she was driving with Cam to the boatyard, she'd decided one of her next projects would be to read up on the art of fishing.
"I think, with the proper bait, I could catch something much more attractive than a catfish."
"Want to go dig up some night crawlers next weekend?"
She tipped down her sunglasses. "Are those what they sound like?"
"You bet."
She tipped them back up. "I don't think so. I think I'd prefer using those pretty feathers and whatnot." She glanced at him again. "So, do you know your father's secret waffle recipe?''
"Nope. He didn't trust me with it. He figured out pretty fast that I was a disaster in the kitchen."
"What kind of bribe would work best on Phillip?"
"You couldn't worm it out of him with a Hermes tie. It only gets passed down to a Quinn." They'd see about that, she decided, and tapped her fingers on her knee. She continued tapping them when he pulled into the lot beside the old brick building. She wasn't sure what reaction he expected from her. As far as she could see, there was little change here. The trash had been picked up, the broken windows replaced, but the building still looked ancient and deserted.
"You cleaned up." It seemed like a safe response, and it appeared to satisfy him as they got out of opposite doors of the car.
"The dock's going to need some work," he commented. "Phillip ought to be able to handle it." He took out keys, as shiny as the new lock on the front door. "I guess we need a sign or something," he said half to himself as he unlocked the dead bolts. When he opened the door, Anna caught the scent of sawdust, mustiness, and stale coffee. But the polite smile she'd fixed on her face widened in surprise as she stepped inside.
He flicked on lights and made her blink. They were brilliant overhead, hanging from the rafters and unshaded. The newly repaired floor had been swept clean—or nearly so. Bare drywall angled out on the near side to form a partition. The stairs had been replaced, the banister of plain wood oiled. The loft overhead still looked dangerous, but she began to see the potential.
She saw pulleys and wenches, enormous power tools with wicked teeth, a metal chest with many drawers that she assumed held baffling tools. New steel locks glinted on the wide doors leading to the dock.
"This is wonderful, Cam. You do work fast."
"Speed's my business." He said it lightly, but it pleased him to see that she was genuinely impressed.
"You had to work like dogs to get this much done." Though she wanted to see everything, it was the huge platform in the center of the building that pulled her forward.
Drawn on it in dark pencil or chalk were curves and lines and angles.
"I don't understand this." Fascinated, she circled around it. "Is this supposed to be a boat?"
"It is a boat. The boat. It's lofting. You draw the hull, full size. The mold section, transverse forms. Then you test them out by sketching in some longitudinal curves—like the sheer. Some of the waterlines." He was on his knees on the platform as he spoke, using his hands to show her. And still leaving her in the dark.
But it didn't matter whether she understood the technique he described or not. She understood him. He might not realize it yet, but he had fallen in love with this place, and with the work he would do here.
"We need to add the bow lines, and the diagonals. We may want to use this design again, and this is the only way to reproduce it with real accuracy. It's a damn good design. I'm going to want to add in the structural details, full size. The more detail, the better."
He looked up and saw her smiling at him, swinging her sunglasses by the earpiece. "Sorry. You don't know what the hell I'm talking about."
"I think it's wonderful. I mean it. You're building more than boats here." Faintly embarrassed, he got to his feet. "Boats is the idea." He jumped nimbly off the platform. "Come take a look at these."
He caught her hand, led her to the opposite walls. There were two framed sketches now, one of Ethan's beloved skipjack and the other of the boat yet to be built.
"Seth did them." The pride in his voice was just there. He didn't even notice it. "He's the only one of us who can really draw worth a damn. Phil's adequate, but the kid is just great. He's doing Ethan's workboat next, then the sloop. I've got to get some pictures of a couple of boats I worked on so he can copy them. We'll hang them all in here—and add drawings of the others we build. Kind of like a gallery. A trademark."
There were tears in her eyes when she turned and wrapped her arms around him. Her fierce grip surprised him, but he returned it.
"More than boats," she murmured, then drew back to frame his face in her hands. "It's wonderful," she said again and pulled his mouth down to hers.
The kiss swarmed through him, swamped him, staggered him. Everything about her, about them, spun around in his heart. Questions, dozens of them, buzzed like bees in his head. And the answer, the single answer to all of them, was nearly within his reach.
He said her name, just once, then drew her unsteadily away. He had to look at her, really look, but nothing about him seemed quite on balance.
"Anna," he said again. "Wait a minute."
Before he could get a firm grip on the answer, before he could get his feet back under him again, the door creaked open, letting in sunlight.
"Don't leave me with this thing." She took one squinting look, saw whiskers and fishy eyes—and shut her own. "Cam, come back here and take this ugly thing."
He set the widemouthed pail he'd just filled with water on the dock, took the net, and flopped the catch into it. "City girl."
She let out a long breath of relief. "Maybe." She peeped into the pail. "Ugh. Throw it back. It's hideous."
"Not on your life. It's a four-pounder easy."
When she refused to take the pole a second time, he sacrificed the rest of his brother's Brie and settled down to catch the rest of that night's supper himself.
the reception that hermorning's work received from Seth changed her attitude. Impressing a small boy by catching an indisputably ugly and possibly gourmand fish was a new kind of triumph. By the time she was driving with Cam to the boatyard, she'd decided one of her next projects would be to read up on the art of fishing.
"I think, with the proper bait, I could catch something much more attractive than a catfish."
"Want to go dig up some night crawlers next weekend?"
She tipped down her sunglasses. "Are those what they sound like?"
"You bet."
She tipped them back up. "I don't think so. I think I'd prefer using those pretty feathers and whatnot." She glanced at him again. "So, do you know your father's secret waffle recipe?''
"Nope. He didn't trust me with it. He figured out pretty fast that I was a disaster in the kitchen."
"What kind of bribe would work best on Phillip?"
"You couldn't worm it out of him with a Hermes tie. It only gets passed down to a Quinn." They'd see about that, she decided, and tapped her fingers on her knee. She continued tapping them when he pulled into the lot beside the old brick building. She wasn't sure what reaction he expected from her. As far as she could see, there was little change here. The trash had been picked up, the broken windows replaced, but the building still looked ancient and deserted.
"You cleaned up." It seemed like a safe response, and it appeared to satisfy him as they got out of opposite doors of the car.
"The dock's going to need some work," he commented. "Phillip ought to be able to handle it." He took out keys, as shiny as the new lock on the front door. "I guess we need a sign or something," he said half to himself as he unlocked the dead bolts. When he opened the door, Anna caught the scent of sawdust, mustiness, and stale coffee. But the polite smile she'd fixed on her face widened in surprise as she stepped inside.
He flicked on lights and made her blink. They were brilliant overhead, hanging from the rafters and unshaded. The newly repaired floor had been swept clean—or nearly so. Bare drywall angled out on the near side to form a partition. The stairs had been replaced, the banister of plain wood oiled. The loft overhead still looked dangerous, but she began to see the potential.
She saw pulleys and wenches, enormous power tools with wicked teeth, a metal chest with many drawers that she assumed held baffling tools. New steel locks glinted on the wide doors leading to the dock.
"This is wonderful, Cam. You do work fast."
"Speed's my business." He said it lightly, but it pleased him to see that she was genuinely impressed.
"You had to work like dogs to get this much done." Though she wanted to see everything, it was the huge platform in the center of the building that pulled her forward.
Drawn on it in dark pencil or chalk were curves and lines and angles.
"I don't understand this." Fascinated, she circled around it. "Is this supposed to be a boat?"
"It is a boat. The boat. It's lofting. You draw the hull, full size. The mold section, transverse forms. Then you test them out by sketching in some longitudinal curves—like the sheer. Some of the waterlines." He was on his knees on the platform as he spoke, using his hands to show her. And still leaving her in the dark.
But it didn't matter whether she understood the technique he described or not. She understood him. He might not realize it yet, but he had fallen in love with this place, and with the work he would do here.
"We need to add the bow lines, and the diagonals. We may want to use this design again, and this is the only way to reproduce it with real accuracy. It's a damn good design. I'm going to want to add in the structural details, full size. The more detail, the better."
He looked up and saw her smiling at him, swinging her sunglasses by the earpiece. "Sorry. You don't know what the hell I'm talking about."
"I think it's wonderful. I mean it. You're building more than boats here." Faintly embarrassed, he got to his feet. "Boats is the idea." He jumped nimbly off the platform. "Come take a look at these."
He caught her hand, led her to the opposite walls. There were two framed sketches now, one of Ethan's beloved skipjack and the other of the boat yet to be built.
"Seth did them." The pride in his voice was just there. He didn't even notice it. "He's the only one of us who can really draw worth a damn. Phil's adequate, but the kid is just great. He's doing Ethan's workboat next, then the sloop. I've got to get some pictures of a couple of boats I worked on so he can copy them. We'll hang them all in here—and add drawings of the others we build. Kind of like a gallery. A trademark."
There were tears in her eyes when she turned and wrapped her arms around him. Her fierce grip surprised him, but he returned it.
"More than boats," she murmured, then drew back to frame his face in her hands. "It's wonderful," she said again and pulled his mouth down to hers.
The kiss swarmed through him, swamped him, staggered him. Everything about her, about them, spun around in his heart. Questions, dozens of them, buzzed like bees in his head. And the answer, the single answer to all of them, was nearly within his reach.
He said her name, just once, then drew her unsteadily away. He had to look at her, really look, but nothing about him seemed quite on balance.
"Anna," he said again. "Wait a minute."
Before he could get a firm grip on the answer, before he could get his feet back under him again, the door creaked open, letting in sunlight.
