After they’d made the ride back through the waves, the sun beating down in earnest, the spray a salty shower flinging up from all sides, she returned to her bookshop feeling different than when she’d left. Today, for the first time, she’d set foot on Shelby Island, and she’d fallen a little in love with the place, if not also the man.
Her last thought before she fell asleep that night was while Jim might be the sentimental favorite, the newcomer might have the edge. It was a hard lesson to learn, but a true one: you can’t live inside your memories. You can only make new ones.
Chapter Sixteen
Grace paced a little, hoping Linc would return her call sooner rather than later. She’d left a voice mail asking him to call, without going into detail. She hoped he didn’t blow off the call, thinking she was bugging him about when he was going to start on the house or something equally annoying.
“How’s JoJo?” she asked when he called back.
“Ah, well, now that you ask, she’s been a little quiet this week, maybe a little more so than usual,” he replied. “Why?”
In the background she could hear men talking, laughing, and yelling back and forth. She looked at the phone and realized it was right around the time he’d be sending his crew home for the night.
“Linc, something happened at the bookshop on Saturday that upset her.” She took a deep breath.
“I heard. My dad told me. I know she likes to sit with you, but my dad said there was someone else in her seat, so Jo wouldn’t stay for the story.”
“The someone else was my four-year-old niece, my sister Natalie’s daughter. After I sat down, she climbed into my lap. She was feeling a little shy and insecure because she didn’t know anyone, and there were a lot of kids gathered around us. So when JoJo arrived, expecting to sit on my lap, there was a little girl in her place, and I think it hurt her. I don’t want her to stop coming for story time. I know she enjoys it very much. I’m very fond of her, and if I hurt her, even inadvertently, I need to make it up to her.”
“Tell me what you have in mind.”
“I’d like to talk to her and explain no one’s taking her place. She could have sat on the chair next to me, even if Daisy were on my lap. And she needs to know Daisy wasn’t just some random kid. She’s a member of my family.”
“Look, I’m just wrapping up here, and I have to head home. Let me think about this and see what I can come up with.” He paused. “Are you going to be around later?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll give you a call.”
She hit “End” and slid the phone into the pocket of her jeans. In the kitchen, she scrounged for something to eat. Her mother and Brett were having dinner in town, so she was on her own. Leftover spaghetti looked promising, and since there was little else to choose from, she reheated it and ate standing up, looking out the window at her mother’s flower beds.
They’ll have to be cleaned up soon for winter. I can help with that, she was thinking when the phone rang.
“Have you had dinner?” Linc asked.
“Just finishing.”
“How long’s it been since you were at Jackson’s?”
“Jackson’s the ice-cream parlor?” She tried to remember the last time. “Not since I moved here, so gosh, I guess it’s been years.”
“I’m taking JoJo out for a treat, just the two of us. Maybe you could stop in while we’re there.”
“What time?”
“I’m just heading out to the boat now. We should be there by seven.”
“I’ll see you there.”
Grace rinsed her plate and loaded it into the dishwasher, then went upstairs. She stood in front of the mirror in her mother’s bedroom and took stock of her appearance. It had been months since she’d been concerned about how she looked. Correction: how she looked to a guy she was interested in. The truth was she hadn’t been interested in anyone since Zach, and that seemed like a long time ago. Linc was different from her ex in a thousand ways, she thought as she hopped into the shower. Actually, she couldn’t think of one way in which they were similar, and she took that as a good sign.
She dried her hair and stood in front of her closet, trying to decide what to wear. She picked out a nice pair of jeans and a pink-and-white-striped shirt with the sleeves rolled to her elbows. She put her hair up into a ponytail and tied it with a pretty scarf. A little more makeup than she usually wore. Sandals. She was early, so she went downstairs and called Natalie.
“Nat, when Chris left the bar the other night and went outside to make a call—did he call Linc?”
“He did. He’s been pretty closemouthed about it, though. I asked him, and at first he just sort of shrugged me off, which he never does, though later he did acknowledge the call. I didn’t press him. So I have no idea what’s going on there, if that was going to be your next question.”
“It was. Thanks. Gotta run.”
Grace walked into town, and arrived at Front Street in time to see Linc’s truck park in the municipal lot. She slowed her steps to a near crawl and watched as he crossed the street, hustling JoJo along, holding her hand. Grace waited until they disappeared into the ice-cream parlor before picking up her pace. When she entered the old-fashioned shop, she scanned the room and found them in a booth near the back. She walked over and pretended to be surprised to see them.
“Linc! How are you?” she exclaimed.
“Hey, Grace. I’m fine. How’re you?” he returned the greeting. “JoJo, look who’s here. Our friend Grace.”
“Oh, JoJo’s here, too. I’m so happy to see you.”
“Want to join us? We were just looking at the menu.”
“I’d love to. Thanks, Linc.” Grace slid into the booth next to JoJo. “Do you love ice cream, like I do? What’s your favorite flavor?” Not only did JoJo not respond, she didn’t acknowledge Grace, who looked across the table at Linc for guidance. But he shrugged. He wasn’t going to be much help, because he obviously had no more of a clue than Grace had.
“Okay, you two, listen up. This is what they have today.” Linc read the list of the shop’s special concoctions, but in the end, they each opted for a simple one-scoop dish. Linc went to the counter to put in their order.
Grace turned to JoJo. “I missed you on Saturday at the bookshop, JoJo. I brought someone to meet you, and she was disappointed you weren’t there. So was I.”
“Who?” she asked quietly.
“My niece was here just for the weekend. She’s only four, so she’s not as old as you. But I told her all about you, and she couldn’t wait to meet you.”
JoJo didn’t respond.
“She doesn’t know anyone in Wyndham Beach, so she was feeling shy and a little scared. So I told her she could share my chair with you, so the two of you could sit with me. I told her you were a special friend.”
JoJo looked up into Grace’s face as if wondering if that were true. “What’s her name?”
“Daisy.”
“That’s a flower.” JoJo almost smiled.
“It is. But it’s also a name for a little girl.”