“That was all your daughter,” Cody said. “She’s pretty amazing with people.”
“She is.” Warren eyed him. Could he see the admiration Cody felt? Could he see more than the admiration he felt? “She’s pretty amazing in general.”
Cody nodded. “She is.”
“Are you settling in out there at Brant Point?”
They made small talk for a few minutes, something Cody had prepared for that morning on his drive over. He generally despised small talk, but now that it was part of his job, he’d decided to at least make an effort.
It came so naturally to Louisa, chatting with people she didn’t even know. He supposed that was because Louisa was genuinely interested in everyone and everything. Everyone had a story, and she wanted to know what it was.
“I hear you’ve been teaching Louisa how to sail?”
“She’s catching on, sir,” Cody said. “Mostly.”
That was a lie. Louisa would never make it in the Coast Guard; that much was clear. After the week they’d had, he wasn’t sure she’d even make it as a passenger, but he had given her two easy jobs, and he planned to do the rest. They wouldn’t win, but he’d get to be near her—that was worth more than some trophy and bragging rights anyway.
“Is that . . . ?”
Cody followed Warren’s eyes across the yard and saw a tall man with silver hair, wearing a lightweight tan suit, a crisp white button-down, and what was certainly a very expensive watch on his left wrist.
“Sir?”
Warren turned fidgety as the other man waved a hello. “What is he doing here?” He muttered the words under his breath. And then, all at once, his entire demeanor changed. “Ted, didn’t expect to see you here today.”
Ted? Ted Kauffmann?
The man extended a hand in greeting, which Warren shook vigorously. Was he sweating?
“You’ve got your daughter to thank for that,” Ted said. “She sent me a personal invitation. She’s a smart cookie gathering all this money in one place.” Ted flashed them what appeared to be a well-practiced smile.
Warren glanced toward the tent where Louisa still worked. “Louisa invited you?”
Ted was looking at Cody now, which Warren noticed belatedly. He fumbled over his introduction so badly it became clear something was wrong. “Sorry; where are my manners? Ted, this is Cody Boggs. Cody, my old friend and colleague Ted Kauffmann.”
Cody shook the stranger’s hand as Warren pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed his forehead.
“Boggs?” Ted squinted at Cody. “Daniel’s son?”
“That’s correct, sir,” Cody said. “You knew my father?”
Ted finally let go of his hand. “Good man.”
“The best,” Warren said. “The very best.”
In the distance, JoEllen waved at her husband.
“I’m sorry, gentlemen,” Warren said. “I think I’m being summoned.”
Ted nodded. “You best answer the call.”
Warren rushed off, leaving Cody standing awkwardly with a man he didn’t know, but who had known his father. A man who, according to Louisa, had replaced Warren as Maggie’s financial adviser. Maybe there was no connection, but what if there was?
He glanced at Louisa and found her looking in his direction. Had she set this up for his sake? Was this his only chance to ask Ted Kauffmann if he knew anything about any of this?
“So you’re in the Coast Guard?” Ted asked. “Your dad would be proud of that. He was such a stand-up guy. Better than Warren and me, that’s for sure.”
Cody frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Daniel was such a Boy Scout.” Ted slid a hand into his pocket. “Tried to corrupt him more than once, but he always resisted, no matter how appealing the payoff.” Ted took a drink from the glass he was holding with his unpocketed hand, the ice cubes clinking against the edges. “Warren always said your dad was too smart, and he really was.”
Cody looked over at Louisa’s dad, who stood with his wife under one of the red beach umbrellas Louisa had attached to the tall tables to help shade people from the sun. Warren looked back at them nervously.
What was going on?
“Warren, on the other hand, now I could always count on him to overplay his hand.”
“I’m not sure I follow, sir.”
“Poker,” Ted said. “The high-stakes kind. That guy is fearless. Not always smart, though—I took more money off Warren Chambers than anyone who ever played the game.” His laugh cracked through the air. “He got in pretty deep, I think. Stopped playing not long after your dad passed—God rest his soul. I think that really shook him up. Shook us all up. Made no sense God took the good one and left the rest of us here.”
Cody’s stomach turned. He didn’t follow any of this, but the mere mention of his father had left the taste of bile in his throat.
Before he could ask Ted a single question, Warren was back. “Should we get a drink?”
Ted held up his glass. “I’ve got a drink.”
“Well, I don’t.” Warren glanced at Cody. “Good luck in the race.”
Cody stood there dumbly as the two men walked off.
Ted hadn’t said anything incriminating, so why did it feel like Warren was hiding something? So he played poker. High-stakes poker was big among rich guys, wasn’t it? Cody spotted Louisa walking toward him. She’d changed out of her white dress and now wore shorts and a tank top over her bathing suit—a navy-blue-and-white polka-dot thing that he never minded seeing her in.
Should he tell her about his conversation with Ted Kauffmann? After all, she was the reason the man was here.
She reached him, but her face remained expressionless. “Let’s get this over with.”
And off she went in the direction of the sailboats, where the rest of the men were gathering with their partners.
He sighed. Whatever he’d done to tick her off, he’d done a good job of it.
Louisa sat near the back of the boat, waiting for the guardsmen to stop razzing each other so they could get the race under way. She truly hoped Cody wasn’t counting on winning because with her on the jib, it was unlikely.
Manning the small sail toward the front of the boat and keeping an eye on the compass were the only two jobs she had.
She was unsure of both.
Cody shook hands with two of the guys standing on the deck, then moved into place. As he passed by her, she inhaled his familiar scent, and it frustrated her that in spite of her irritation with him, she still found him terribly appealing.
“You doing okay?” He faced her, and the full weight of his attention sent her nerves dancing.
“I’m fine.”
“You seem upset.”
From the boat next to them, McKenzie Palmer let out a loud, joyous shout. “Hey, XPO Boggs, you sure you don’t want to trade partners? I promise I know what I’m doing.”
Louisa glared at McKenzie from behind her dark sunglasses, but she noticed Cody didn’t respond. If he wanted to trade her in, Louisa would happily bow out. . . .
The announcer called for everyone’s attention. This was it. They were starting.
He walked over and stood directly in front of her. “Is there something you need to say to me?”