Her toes push at mine under the table. “Stop that. You’re going to make a success of your new venture while not putting my business under, right? You’ll prove to your dad you deserve to own the marina.”
I nod because I haven’t told anyone that I’m not even sure that’s something I want to do. Most fishermen at the marina don’t like or respect my dad. He controls so much and takes away so much of their profits when he buys their catches wholesale and distributes them. I’ve never wanted to be a cutthroat businessman, but now in my thirties, it feels like it’s too late to go back to school. I’ve pissed away so many years, only caring about the money and the expectation of living up to what my dad wanted for me. And partying. There was a lot of partying.
“I smell something burning. You thinking hard over there?” Chevelle’s voice takes me out of my thoughts.
I fork my eggs. “Nothing, just how I’m starting this business from scratch.”
She rests her foot on the edge of her chair and wraps her arm around her leg. Her leg looks smooth and sun kissed, and I want to run my hand down it like some sick fuck with a fetish.
“I’ll figure it out. I always do.” I shrug.
She blinks and gets back to eating her breakfast. “Of course you will.”
The last thing I want is for Chevelle to feel sorry for me when she’s the one who went through such a huge ordeal with Derek.
“How are you really?” I broach the subject again, thinking maybe she’ll be more open now that I’ve opened up a bit.
She rises from the chair and takes her plate to the sink, rinses it, and puts it in the dishwasher. “Fine. Why?”
“I mean from Mandi’s wedding. Chevelle, if you need to talk to someone…” I finish my own meal and meet her at the sink.
“I told you, I’m fine. I just always seem to pick jerks.” She walks to the other side of the room and picks up her cooler. “Do you want a ride or are you going to walk?”
“I’ll take a ride as long as you don’t mind Gunner coming along too.”
Hearing his name through the screen door, he perks up and whines at the back door.
“Are you kidding? He’s more welcome than you.” She lets him in, and they head to the front door.
Chevelle has always prided herself on keeping her emotions to herself. There were years of therapy after her mom’s accident, and Fisher would tell me about the nightmares she endured. How no one could convince her not to blame herself for what had happened. And I know that still to this day, the guilt is there inside her, along with the grief. I wish I could unleash her from the pain, but I have no idea how.
I head out of the house, locking it behind me. Gunner is in the front seat.
Chevelle rolls down the window. “Gunner called shotgun.”
“Like hell. Get in the back.”
Gunner tucks his tail and walks through the center of the two seats and lies down in the back.
“So bossy.” She shakes her head.
“You should see me in bed.” The statement comes out naturally and I’m not imagining the way her cheeks redden.
I think someone might be thinking about me bossing her around in bed. Good. Because it’s pretty much all I’ve been thinking about since I moved in, and I can’t help but feel like we’re reaching a breaking point.
A text from my dad on the way over tells me he has three-day charters booked for this weekend. What happened to me getting the business and starting it from scratch? He just can’t find it in himself to trust me.
We arrive at the marina, and instead of heading to the air-conditioned offices, I’m heading to a luxury fishing boat.
“Have a good day.” Chevelle smiles, continuing to her own boat. “Must be someone important to get that slip.” She glances over her shoulder at my new boat.
“I have demons in high places.”
She laughs.
Gunner follows her until I whistle, and he returns back to me. We board the boat, and in the wheelhouse, I turn on my computer. I need a name, a social media presence, and a logo. I take out a pad of paper and make a to-do list.
For the majority of the day, I hammer out the details of what I need in order to be out from under my dad’s thumb. It’s about time I do something for myself. Who would’ve thought the best thing I could’ve done for myself was knock out Derek Latrell?
I decide to take a break, walk the docks, and take Gunner to the grass along the side to do his business. Chevelle returns with what I’m surprised to find is a group of three women. She’s laughing with them as they dock.
“Oh, do you ever have some eye candy out here,” one of them says.
“That’s just my brother’s best friend,” Chevelle says.
I’m oddly offended by Chevelle’s remark but happy that her clients like what they see.
“And he’s got a dog.” Another woman whistles like I do.
Gunner stops, his eyes fly up, and he runs off in the direction of the noise.
“Gunner!” I yell, but it’s too late. He’s already waiting patiently for Chevelle to tie the boat up.
When she finishes, she calls him over and pets him, nuzzling his face. “This, ladies, is Gunner Baker, the cutest yellow lab you’ll ever know.”
“Come here, Gunner,” the whistling woman calls.
He jumps into Chevelle’s boat and licks the woman’s face, allowing her to smother him.
“He’s as cute as his owner,” the other one says.
The three ladies are probably in their early forties. All attractive and outdoorsy types. You can tell by how comfortable they seem on the boat that this isn’t their first fishing charter.
“Tell us, where do we find more guys like you?” the third one says, redoing her red hair in a ponytail.
“At any of the local bars,” Chevelle says, stepping off the boat and putting her hand on my shoulder as if she’s offering me up. “You’ll probably see him in the flesh at one of them.”
The women’s gazes roam up and down my body. “That would be nice. It is a girls’ trip.”
“Where else are you ladies going?” I ask because they’re tourists and flirting with tourists brings them back to our small town, which is always good for the local economy.
“We’re hiking tomorrow. You don’t happen to be a guide, do you? The guy we talked to had that same deep voice.”
“Sorry, ladies, if I took you hiking, I’d probably get you lost and eaten by a bear. My bet is that Denver Bailey is taking you. Great guide. You’ll have a lot of fun.”
Gunner makes his way around each of the ladies. Chevelle hops back on board her boat and finishes collecting all their stuff.
“So, are you cooking these for dinner?” Chevelle asks, holding up the fish they caught. “If you go through those doors at the inn”—she points at Mandi’s Sunbay Inn—“there are people who will help you turn these into filets, and there are recipe cards with some seasonings you can buy. They’ll even wrap and freeze any extras for you to take home with you.”
The eyes of the one with the wedding ring gleam. “Oh, that’s so fun.”
The other two groan. “We’re going to stay in this town forever.”