They followed her into a work space in the back that smelled of dust and left a metallic taste in the air. A man at a workbench looked up from his task of stringing glass items together in a wind chime.
His interested gaze settled on Torie. “Hello.”
She returned his smile. “Hi.” He was attractive enough—about five eleven with brown hair and hazel eyes above a neatly trimmed beard. She judged him to be about thirty.
“This is my son, Noah,” Amelia said.
“I’m Torie Berg. I’m new here.”
“Good to meet you. I’m an aide to Senator Richardson who is attending the meeting here next week, so I came early to spend a little time with Mom.”
Torie noticed the copy of The Creature from Jekyll Island on the table by him. “Is that yours? I’ve just been reading it. Interesting stuff.”
He glanced at it. “Yeah. I’ve been trying to get the senator to read this. He might be able to do something about it.”
Amelia pointed to a glass furnace on the outside wall. “There’s my glory hole.”
There were Y-shaped benches in front of the furnace and other metal stands around the room. Torie recognized some blow pipes, but the other equipment in the room wasn’t familiar. A set of shelves along the back held various glass globes with such delicate workmanship and exquisite colors they took her breath away. Smaller globes of other colors melded into the interior of the larger globe.
Torie stepped closer. “You’re giving these away? They’re beautiful! I love the lapis lazuli one.”
Amelia reached past her and took it from the shelf. “It’s yours as a welcome gift to the island.”
“Oh I couldn’t take it! It has to be worth a lot of money.”
Amelia pressed it into her hand. “I have a feeling you belong here on the island, and I want you to have it. I won’t take no for an answer.”
Once her fingertips touched the cool glass of the glass float, Torie didn’t have the strength to say no. The swirling blue colors drew her in and held her captive. “Your art is amazing. The scavenger hunt is going to be a huge success with our guests. They truly get to keep a float?”
“Oh yes. I’ve been working on them for months. They’re some of my finest pieces, but it’s not totally altruistic. These executives have the clout to mention my art to other people who will buy it. It’s a win-win situation.”
Noah wandered over to stand beside her. “Her work is selling like hotcakes in my online store. Business is booming.”
Torie smiled at the pride in his voice and touched the globe to her cheek. “Thank you, Amelia. I’ll treasure it.” And once she slipped back into her real life, she could direct people here as well.
They left the workroom and went out front, where Torie perused some of the other items. If only she had a real home so she could buy some of these things. Her gaze lingered on a lapis lazuli mermaid.
When she moved on, while trying to decide if she should buy it, she made the circuit around the interior and came back to the counter, where Amelia was wrapping up something in brown paper. She handed it to Joe, and he passed it over to Torie.
“What on earth?”
“It’s the mermaid. Consider it a welcome gift.”
Torie was seldom speechless, but every thought in her head flew away at the kindness in his green eyes. When had someone other than her father given her a gift just because he wanted to? Maybe only Lisbeth.
Chapter 12
What had possessed him to buy that mermaid?
The sunset lit Torie’s hair with orange and gold as they walked back toward the parking lot. Torie carried both her treasures as if they were the most precious things she’d ever owned, and Joe didn’t regret his impulse, even if he didn’t understand it.
He’d seen the longing in her brown eyes and hadn’t been able to stop himself.
“Let’s take Torie on a tour,” Hailey said. “I don’t want to go home yet.”
Joe poked her in the ribs. “I’ll bet a little girl wants her dad to buy her a stuffed animal in the gift shop.”
She gave him a cheeky grin. “They’re supposed to have new stuffed baby turtles.”
“I wouldn’t say no either,” Torie said. “I’ve been wanting to take a tour. Let me drop my treasures off in your truck if you don’t mind, and I’ll grab my bike.” She retrieved it from the bike rack and wheeled it along with them.
They reached the parking lot at the hotel, and he unlocked his truck for her to place the wrapped glass items behind the seat before he locked it again.
“I’ll put your bike in the bed and you can ride home with us.” Without waiting for an answer, he lifted it into the bed, and they turned toward the museum.
Excursions and shrimp boats were coming in, and the putt-putt of motors mingled with the tinkle of silverware as they walked to the long building.
“The museum is housed in the historic stables of the original compound,” Joe said.
They skirted the line of red trolleys and went inside. Hailey hurried to the gift shop and began to sort through the stuffed animals while Torie wandered over to the history exhibit. He’d spent many hours in here with his daughter.
It didn’t take long for Hailey to pick out a stuffed turtle, and he paid for it along with the tour tickets. He wanted to let Torie browse through the history exhibit longer, but they had to hurry if they wanted to catch the departing tour trolley.
Every minute he spent with her seemed more and more special, and he couldn’t put his finger on the reason why he was becoming so intrigued. Was it the way she held her shoulders and head high and proud as if being tall was the best thing in the world? Was it the hint of uncertainty in her eyes as she looked out on the world? She seemed to always be waiting for a blow to fall, and he wanted to dig under the surface and see what had caused that shadow in her eyes.
Whatever it was, he was caught in her net as firmly as the shrimp in the nets pulling up to the pier right now. It felt terrifying when he’d evaded any attraction to a woman all these years. Especially when she still held that wall around her, a wall he might never break through.
They stepped out into the fading sunshine, and Hailey’s eyes widened. “There’s Emily and her parents. Can we ride in the same trolley, Daddy?”
“As long as you sit with us.”
She drew herself up to her full height. “I’m eight, Daddy. I’m big enough to sit with my friend.”
She stared him down, and he shrugged. Sometimes it was hard figuring out the changing goalposts with kids. “Okay, but I’ll be right behind you so don’t get out of line.”
His daughter scampered over to join her friend on the front bench seat while he and Torie found a spot a couple of rows behind. Truth be told, he relished the idea of having Torie to himself for a few minutes. Not that he knew how to approach her without making himself look like an idiot, but he could try while the trolley filled with tourists.
He cleared his throat. “So are you ready for next week with all the bigwigs? I will be swamped myself. We’re deploying our sea mammals all along the Eastern Seaboard as the Navy’s new Trident sub comes into port for war games.”
“Are the subs always armed?”