Chapter 27

Everett took a deep breath of the cold salty air surrounding him. He was on his boat, slowly wending his way homeward after fishing for many long hours. He felt tired and a little achy, but also filled with contentment. It was a beautiful day, and the air smelled clean and fresh from the cold. Even though his cheeks felt a little numb, the rest of him was warm enough, and he was looking forward to being back in his house, spending time with Oliver and putting his feet up.

I wonder what it would be like to go home and find Johanna there , he thought, a warm feeling rising in his chest.

His heart began to beat faster as he thought about it. Ever since he and Johanna had made their relationship public, he'd found himself thinking about her even more than usual. It was as though his excitement over her had intensified, and so had his feelings of nervousness.

She'd said that she wanted to make their relationship public, but he also hadn't heard much from her since the wedding. He tried to tell himself that nothing was off with the two of them and she was just tired from all that dancing, but she usually checked in with him more than she'd been doing since the wedding ended.

His stomach flopped with nervousness again as he thought about it, but he brushed his worries aside forcefully and smiled. He told himself that everything was going to work out just fine, and he would get to see her soon. He missed her, even though it hadn't been much time at all since he'd seen her last.

He allowed himself to go back to his daydream, letting himself picture what it would be like if he went home and she was there waiting for him. Or perhaps the two of them would live together in her house instead.

"Slow down, Howell," he muttered, chuckling a little. "Don't jump right from a public relationship to a proposal."

He hummed a little as he brought his boat back toward the shore. The sun was sinking lower on the horizon, lighting up the waves in beautiful flashes of light. He felt an impulse to text Johanna a picture of the water, but he didn't. He told himself it was simply because he needed both his hands to steer the boat properly.

He brought his boat back to the dock and secured it. Whistling, he got off it and got into his car. He shivered a little as he started to drive back toward his house, and he turned up the heat, heaving a sigh as the pleasant warmth touched his face.

When he got home, he parked his car in his garage and made his way inside. Oliver barked and wriggled as soon as he stepped through the doorway, looking ecstatic to see him as always.

"Aren't you just an oversized puppy?" Everett murmured, grinning and scratching Oliver's ears affectionately. "Do you like me or something? Good, because you're my favorite guy around."

Oliver wagged his tail and nuzzled his nose against Everett's hands as if he knew just what was being said.

"Come on, let's go into the kitchen and heat up some coffee," he said, taking off his coat and hanging it by the front door. Oliver followed him into the kitchen, his earlier wriggling excitement turning into a cheerful calm.

Everett bustled around his kitchen while Oliver sat on the floor, gazing up at him with a look of infatuation.

"What should we do tonight, old boy?" Everett asked as he took a sip of his heated coffee. He rolled his shoulders back, pleased by the nutty taste and the feeling of something hot going through his cold body. "I'll have to take you for a you-know-what, and—"

At that moment, Oliver's ears pricked up. He turned toward the window, his tail starting to wag wildly.

"Well, something's up," Everett said, surprised by how excited Oliver was acting all of a sudden. "What did you hear, buddy?" He looked out the window that Oliver was staring up at, and his heart leapt up when he saw that Johanna's car had pulled into his driveway. Oliver whined with excitement, his tail wagging so hard it was hard to see clearly.

"I guess we're both pretty excited to see her, huh?" He grinned at his dog. "You're just as head over heels for her as I am, aren't you?" he joked, and Oliver barked as if in agreement.

A couple of seconds later, there was a soft knock on the front door, and Everett hurried over to it. He opened it to find Johanna standing there, smiling shyly.

Is it my imagination, or does she look a little nervous? Everett thought.

Johanna's eyes looked a little wider than usual, and she was clasping her gloved hands together.

"Hello," she said. "Are you busy with anything right now?"

He gave her a warm bear hug. "Just drinking coffee and hopefully talking to you. I'm very happy to see you."

"Oh." She laughed and then offered him a warm smile. "I'm happy to see you too."

Things felt a little awkward between them, he couldn't deny it. It made his heart beat faster with nervousness, but he told himself it was nothing a conversation couldn't cure.

"Come on in," he said, and she stepped inside. He took her coat and hung it up in the front closet, and then he led her into the kitchen, where the coffee pot was still warming on the coffee maker.

"Would you like some coffee?" he asked. "I've got cream and sugar for you."

She smiled, and he noted to himself that something was definitely up. She looked worried about something—and that made him worried.

What if she had come there to tell him that she didn't want to date him after all?

He told himself to keep his nerves steady as he poured her a cup of coffee and carefully added the amount of cream and sugar that he knew she liked.

"Do you want to go sit down on the couch in the living room?" he suggested as he handed her the coffee cup—a light blue one that he knew she liked.

"Sure." She smiled at him, and he got the sense that her heart was thumping. That made his heart thump in response, but he returned her smile, and the two of them started toward the living room together.

They settled down on the couch together, facing a window that looked out onto the snowy backyard. As much as he wanted to blurt out the question, "Is something bothering you?" he decided not to press her. If she had something she wanted to say to him, she was going to say it. He knew her well enough by then to know that was how she operated.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" he said, taking a sip of his coffee. He sat back against the couch, letting the softness of the cushions support his tired muscles. "Cold, but beautiful."

She chuckled. "You must be freezing. I'm still thawing just from walking to and from my car."

She hesitated, as if she wanted to snuggle up to him but then stopped herself. He watched her carefully, feeling troubled and wondering what it was she was going to say to him.

Johanna gripped the sides of her coffee cup, staring at Everett's carpet. It was an old rug—a beautiful old Persian rug, and she noticed a couple of holes in it and made a mental note that she'd liked to repair it for him. She knew enough about rug-making from Marsha to be able to repair a rug with yarn. It shouldn't be too hard, all she would need was the right color of yarn—

She realized that she was still intending to be his girlfriend and be in his life. But what if after the conversation they were about to have, she wasn't his girlfriend anymore?

She took a deep breath, telling herself to stay steady. She reminded herself of what she and Marsha had talked about, and she told herself to focus on how much she cared about him. Now that she was sitting next to him, however, that seemed to make her jitters worse. Reminding herself of how much she cared about him made her even more nervous about losing him.

"That was a beautiful wedding, wasn't it?" he said, turning to her with a smile.

"It was." She smiled back at him warmly, but inside her stomach twisted. Things were definitely awkward between them, and it was clear that he was trying to make small talk. It was like they were on a first date all over again—except their first date had been decidedly more comfortable than this. "Josie and Wesley are such a lovely couple. And the whole thing was just so pretty—so well decorated, and that venue is gorgeous. I'd never been there before. Blueberry Bay is full of hidden gems."

"It certainly is," he said, looking right at her as he said the words, and she felt herself blushing.

I've got to work up the nerve to tell him what I came here to say, she thought, holding onto her mug tightly.

She knew she was sitting stiffly, with her back straight and her feet held together, and she wondered if he was starting to get worried. He did look a little nervous. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable, that was the last thing she wanted to do—

"And it was fun to see so many of our friends at one time," he said, still talking about the wedding. "It's nice to have something important to come together to celebrate."

She nodded. "Oh, certainly. Weddings are always so joyful."

A couple of seconds elapsed, and then she set down her coffee mug on the coffee table in front of them. She twisted her hands together, trying to work up the nerve to say something. She told herself she was being silly to feel so nervous about it, but she also felt completely out of her element. She wasn't used to dealing with matters of the heart—certainly not like this.

"Would—can I get you more coffee?" he asked softly, looking decidedly worried now.

"Did you mean it?" she blurted, the words spilling out of her all at once.

He blinked at her. "Did I mean—did I mean what?"

"Did you mean it when you called me your girlfriend?" she said, still clasping her hands together but speaking more calmly and slowly this time. "Is that what you want?"

For a second, he just stared at her, and she felt her heart drop through the floor. She felt sure that he was hesitating because he was questioning whether or not he wanted to be with her.

"Johanna," he said softly. "How can you even ask me that? Of course that's what I want."

A smile broke over her face, and he grinned back at her. "Is that what you want?" he asked. "Are you having second thoughts now that we've made our relationship public?"

"I've gotten nervous now that we've made our relationship public," she admitted honestly. "I find love incredibly scary. I guess that's why I'd wanted to keep our relationship a secret in the first place. But I'm not having second thoughts. Not at all. I feel very confident that I want to be with you. I guess I was just starting to worry that maybe you were having second thoughts."

"Why would I?" he said, brushing a strand of hair back behind her ear. His calloused fingertips touched her cheek. "How could I have second thoughts about getting to be with someone like you?"

Her heart stirred, and she leaned her head down toward his hand, pressing her cheek against it. "Do you really mean that?"

He rubbed his thumb gently over her jaw. "Johanna. Our relationship is definitely what I want. I wish there was some way I could show you how I feel about you."

"You could tell me," she said, smiling coyly and snuggling up against him.

He laughed and wrapped his arm around her, squeezing her tightly. "Hmm, well, I've never been one to wax poetic about things, but I'll see if I can give you a decent sense of how I feel about you." He stared into space, his eyes taking on a tender look, and her heart flooded with warmth. She tingled with excitement, wondering what he was going to say next.

"I've fallen for you, Johanna," he said, laying his head down on top of hers. "It started fairly slowly, and then it was like I just woke up one day and there I was with feelings for you. I've fallen for you so much. I'm head over heels. Whenever a romantic song comes onto the radio, I think about you."

Her heart felt aglow and a little achy at the same time. She felt captivated by his words—she'd known that he cared for her, but she hadn't realized it was to that extent. "So far," she said softly, "you're doing an excellent job of waxing poetic."

He laughed and kissed her head. "Well, you make me feel kind of poetic. There are some feelings so big that regular words don't suffice." He inhaled, and she closed her eyes, ready for what he was going to say next. "I love spending time with you. I look forward to all of our dates. I find myself thinking about you when we're not together—there have been times when I've literally counted the hours until I would get to see you again."

"I've done that too," she admitted, flushing, and he squeezed her shoulders again.

"I find myself wanting to make plans with you. Short-term plans, and long-term plans. I want to share all the little parts of my day with you. Whenever something funny happens, I want to tell you. Whenever something bad happens, I want to tell you. It's like you've been a part of my life for years instead of weeks. It's like—it's like you fit in my life."

"I feel that way too," she said softly. "It's strange. We are so different. But I think we fit together."

"Sometimes opposites attract," he said, his eyes dancing. "I think we balance each other out in a good way. Our personalities click together. We make a good team."

She nodded. All of her fears were starting to melt away like snow that the sun was shining on brightly. She agreed with him—they did make a good team. And despite their differences, she felt that they were good together.

"Are you sure you want to be with someone like me?" she teased. "Someone who can't even knit a decent sweater?"

He chuckled. "That sweater is my favorite article of clothing that I own."

"Wait till you find all the holes in it."

He shook his head. "I've already noticed some holes—"

She groaned, and he laughed harder. "The holes don't stop me from loving the sweater! I love it. It keeps me warm—and it keeps me extra warm knowing that you made it for me." He kissed her nose.

"I thought about you the whole time I was making it," she confessed. "That's part of why I wanted to make it for you—I figured I might as well be working on something nice for you while I thought about you, since I was thinking about you almost all the time."

He threw his head back and guffawed. "Oh, that makes me happy," he said, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm going to love that sweater even more now."

"Someday I'm going to knit you a nice one, without any holes."

"And I'll love that one too, but not as much as the first one. That one will always be the most special sweater."

"Mmm." She smiled, feeling sentimental over his words. "Kind of like how our first kiss was the most special one."

"Oh, I don't know about that." He grinned. "What about this kiss right here?" He leaned his head toward hers and kissed her tenderly.

"You're right." Her heart glowed. "That one was every bit as special."

For a moment, they gazed into each other's eyes. Even though she'd basically already said the words, she wanted to tell him formally how she felt.

"I've been falling for you too, Everett," she said softly. "I want you to be my boyfriend. I want to keep seeing you."

A slow smile spread over his face, and he kissed her again. "Then we're in agreement. And just think! Now we can go anywhere in Blueberry Bay that we want, whenever we want to."

She laughed, feeling excited about the prospect. At that moment, Oliver shuffled up to them, wagging his tail and blinking at her adoringly.

"I think someone wants pets, doesn't he?" she said, reaching for Oliver and scratching him affectionately behind the ears. "Don't you, sweet boy? Oh yes."

Oliver thumped his tail and gazed at her with adoring dark eyes. Everett laughed. "Well, Oliver is definitely in favor of having you around more often. I think he approves of our decision."

She laughed as well. "Good," she said warmly. "I'm happy to be around. I want to spend lots of time with you, my fisherman."

They looked into each other's eyes, grinning at each other. She felt a rush of happiness, anticipating all of the good times they were going to share together.

"I want to spend lots of time with you too, my city girl," he said, and they wrapped their arms around each other in a hug.

The series continues with A Future in the Bay !