Where had this girl come from? She looked perfectly at home sitting on a rock in the middle of nowhere. Most of the women he met couldn’t pull off that look, at least not well.
And what demon had gotten into his head and taken over his thoughts? Keep it together, dude. It would be unprofessional to flirt right now.
Nick willed himself not to look at the soft outline of her neck or the curves of her gently toned arms. “Uh, nope,” he answered. “I think you’ve got it all.”
Courtney looked up from her notebook.
“So, what would you like to leave the readers with? Why should they choose your company when there are so many others around here offering these kinds of trips?”
She might not be distracted but Nick had better cool it. He flashed a goofy grin and shrugged innocently. “How could they go anywhere else? I mean, what’s not to like?”
Courtney laughed playfully. “Besides the obvious, then?”
Was she flirting now? “I’m just kidding around.” He sat back. “But, seriously, we know this sport; we know these waters; we offer more time slots than the other companies around here, and all at a great rate. More bang for your buck. Check online for our reviews. Great track record. We’ve been around the longest, too.”
“Got it.” Courtney grinned. “Quite the salesman, eh?”
Man, she was cute.
“I try.” He stared out at the water. Should he ask for her number?
Nah. She was conducting an interview, not making the rounds through some nightclub. Besides, well...
He hated to think it, but she was exactly the kind of girl who worried him. The kind that could do him real damage—the kind of damage his ex-girlfriend, Regina had done. He didn’t need to see that look on a woman’s face again.
Courtney put away her notebook. “Okay, well I think I’ve got what I need to write the best blog post ever.”
“Really?” He grinned again. You’re that sure?”
Courtney made a face. “Just you wait.”
“Well, geez. I can’t wait to read it then.”
She could pull off ironic, too. He sighed and looked away.
She downed the last of her coffee. “Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” Nick raised an eyebrow.
“So, is—how do I say this?” She paused a second. “Is Kira always like that?”
Nick lowered his voice, not that anyone was around to hear them. “If you mean a bit direct, then yes, she is.” He grinned.
Courtney relaxed a little. “If that’s how you want to put it, then yes, that’s exactly what I mean.” She shot him a look of amusement. “Switzerland.”
Kira was an original. He knew not to step on her toes or get involved in something that was none of his business. But Courtney seemed genuinely concerned.
“Don’t worry. She’s basically harmless. Just needs to get to know you, then she’s awesome. She’ll come around.”
Courtney looked thoughtful. “I hope so. I didn’t know I’d have to fight battles at this level. Hadn’t even considered it—matter of fact.”
Nick leaned in. “Okay, I’m going to tell you something because I don’t want her to scare you off—and because she’s not usually this bad. It’s no secret, anyway.”
“Okay?” Courtney leaned toward him. “I’m all ears.”
“So, the writer you’re replacing was a guy that Kira dated for almost a year. Sam. Good guy. They broke up a few weeks ago when he took a job in Boulder. Some travel resource company. Couldn’t turn it down. He’s from Colorado, so I doubt he’s ever coming back.”
“Oh,” she said slowly.
“Kira took it pretty hard.”
“Well, that makes a lot of sense.” Courtney sat forward again and kicked her heels off the rock. “So she’s been a bit more direct ever since?”
“Much more.”
Sam had worked closely with Kira for over a year. They were a dynamo team—Beecham had been very happy with Sam’s work.
Sam was offered a lot more money at the new job than Beecham could afford to give him. Despite Kira’s emphatic attempts to change his mind, Sam had packed up and left three days ago. Nick was pretty sure the guy had broken Kira’s heart.
Nick figured Kira was taking out her frustrations on the new girl. “Yeah, she just needs a little time. She’ll come around.”
“Okay, well, yeah, that makes me feel a lot better. Thanks for telling me.”
“Probably a good idea not to let on that you know, though.” Nick dumped the last drops of his coffee onto the dirt beside the rock and twisted the cup back on top of the thermos. “Let her tell you herself.”
“Good idea.” Courtney stared out at the lake again.
Nick thought she seemed relieved. “You about ready to go? We should head back.”
“Oh, yeah. Sure.”
They packed up their things and headed for the main trail.
“So, where’re you staying this summer? I figured you’re local, since I saw you at the West End?”
“Right. Yeah, I am. I’m actually staying at a guesthouse not far from town. And it’s pretty cool. There’s a trail you can pick up right out in front that leads all the way to the docks. Runs right along the water. So pretty.”
“No way? Big yellow house? Little cottage to match?” Nick was shocked.
“Yeah. You know it?” Courtney sounded surprised.
“Yep. Sure do.”
“Wow, this is a really small town, isn’t it?”
“Have you met the owner? Sweet, older woman. Victoria Brady?”
“I haven’t met her yet, but I saw her in the window yesterday and she waved. Her housekeeper, Mrs. Schlagel, I think it was, stopped in to make sure I was doing okay. I was planning to stop over at the main house and introduce myself later today. Wait, do you know her?”
Nick and his brother had spent many summers at the lake as kids with their grandparents, who had a summer home in Heritage Bay prior to their death a few years ago. He and Kenny learned to handle a kayak when they were very young because of those summers. “Yeah, it’s a really small town. My grandparents were good friends with Victoria.”
“Really? Now I can’t wait to meet her.”
Nick looked back fondly on those years. His grandparents were so unlike his father.
Hardworking but easygoing, they’d given Kenny and Nick the chance to make their own decisions, whether it had simply been their choice of ice cream at age eight, or their thoughts about school and friends at fifteen. He always felt like he had a voice with them.
He often wondered how someone like his father, so controlling and single-minded, could’ve turned out the way he did.
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred and Victoria Brady, who owned the property where Courtney was staying, had been very close friends with his Grandma and Grandpa Bingham. Nick and Kenny knew the marsh and her little stretch of beach, as well as the trail Courtney had mentioned, quite well. Victoria reminded him of his own grandmother—they’d been a lot alike.
Victoria Brady had reached out to Nick when Nick had come to stay in Heritage Bay last year. And he’d offered his support when Mr. Brady had passed on last fall.