Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Johanna busied herself with making her pumpkin and pecan pie, wondering how to make conversation with Everett. Ordinarily, she preferred having time to herself, and she wouldn't normally have welcomed a guest into her kitchen while she was baking. But the quiet, cheerful man in front of her gave off a serene energy that she liked. She felt comfortable around him in a way she couldn't explain—especially considering how uncomfortable she had felt around him at the dinner party.

What can I say to him? she mused as she began to cream ingredients together with her electric mixer. I feel rude not talking to him, although he seems to be fine with it.

She glanced at him and saw that he was gazing out the window with a slight smile on his face, holding his mug in both hands. He seemed to sense her looking at him and turned in her direction.

"What? I don't smell like fish again, do I?" he teased.

She groaned, covering her face with her hands, and he let out a big booming laugh. "Everett, I am so sorry. I really put my foot in my mouth the other night. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry if I offended you at all."

He chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I have a thick skin."

"Well, I'm glad you weren't offended, but I—" She thought all at once of what she'd said to Marsha—that Everett wasn't her type—and she felt herself blushing.

"It's perfectly all right," he assured her. "I did smell like fish. I'm sorry I showed up like that—I was worried that it was rude of me to come to a dinner party smelling of fish. I don't usually smell like that. That was an unusual situation where I had to deal with a catch as fast as possible."

She smiled and nodded. She realized that he didn't smell of fish then—as a matter of fact, he smelled very nice. He smelled a little bit like the sea and a little bit like a musky kind of aftershave. "I'm just not used to living by the sea, that's all. Well—I suppose New York is by the ocean, but you know what I mean. I'm sure fishermen smell like fish a great deal. Sounds like it's probably just part of the job. I just wasn't expecting it."

He nodded, smiling playfully at her. "No fishermen in New York, huh?"

"Well, not in my circles," she said, and then winced. "There I go again," she said, feeling flustered. "I'm sure that sounded terribly stuck-up. I didn't mean it like that."

"Don't worry about it, I understand what you're saying. I can't imagine there are too many fishermen walking around New York associating with classy ladies such as yourself."

"Oh, hush," she said, laughing.

He grinned and took another sip of his coffee. "What was it like in New York? Besides the lack of fishermen?"

"Oh, it was exciting at first." She slowed down in her baking as she started to reminisce about the past. "I loved the action and the busyness of it all. But then—especially after Dane moved away—it just started to feel too lonely. None of my friends there really cared about me." She paused, wondering why she was opening up so much to a man who was essentially still a total stranger to her.

"May I ask what happened to your husband?"

Her eyebrows rose. Was he curious about whether she had recently left a relationship? "He passed away a long time ago. I've been on my own—well, besides Dane—for many years."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thank you. I think maybe if I'd still had a partner I might have stayed in New York, but I got tired of feeling alone all the time. So Alissa and Dane suggested that I move here, and I loved the idea. I haven't regretted it once."

He nodded, smiling at her. "It's a great place to be. I've lived here all my life."

"You have, really? Oh my. Honestly, I envy you." She laughed lightly. "It seems like a wonderful town. Has it changed much?"

"Oh, not much." He chuckled a little. "The people have changed, and that changes the community. But it's always been good, and the town itself hasn't changed all that much. We've still got most of the same old buildings, things like that."

"I love the old buildings," she said warmly. "They're very charming."

"Well, they're kept in great condition. Folks here really care about them—holding onto their legacy is important to the people of Blueberry Bay."

She nodded, having gotten a sense of that herself. "The people here love their town."

"I think that's my favorite thing about living here," he said. "People here know how to value the little things, you know? It makes for a much happier life."

She smiled. It was something that she'd been discovering for herself of late, and it was affirming to hear him say it out loud like that. "You're right," she said. "It's a good way to live." She went back to her ingredient mixing in earnest, feeling her spirits lift even further. "What about you? What are some of the little things you value?"

"Oh, fishing definitely," he said, grinning.

It took her a second to realize that he wasn't joking. "Really?" she asked, and he let out a booming guffaw.

"Really. I love fishing. I love being out on the water and paying close attention to the signals of nature. It's like a kind of listening. And it's always exciting trying to do something well and then succeeding. It's satisfying when I catch a load of fish."

"I suppose it must be," she said, nodding as she worked. She had never considered the idea that someone might like a job like fishing—she'd always considered it to be the kind of thing someone did for money alone. "It must be nice to be out on the water during the sunset."

"Or when the sun is rising." He nodded, a gleam of enthusiasm coming into his eyes. "I fish during the night a great deal. Being out on the boat when the sun comes up—there's no feeling like it."

For a moment, the two of them smiled at each other, and then she turned away, feeling a fluttery feeling in her chest all of a sudden.

"What about you?" he asked. "What are some of the things you like about Blueberry Bay?"

"Oh, I like how quiet it is. I can hear myself think here. Or—I guess it's more that I don't feel like I have to listen to what other people are thinking all the time here." She chuckled. "New York was like that. Somebody always had something very important to say. It was noisy. Here, people have the space to be by themselves if they want to be. I like that. I guess it's kind of like what you said. It's closer to nature."

"I didn't expect you to be a nature girl," he said, grinning.

She scoffed, pretending to be offended. "I'm not one for camping, I'll admit it." She lifted one shoulder, chuckling as she added, "But I do like some aspects of nature very much. I like flowers, and looking at the snow, and the stars! Even before I moved here, I loved how much easier it was to see the stars here in Blueberry Bay. I've always had a thing for stargazing."

She could feel a blush warming her cheeks as she admitted it. It wasn't something she'd talked about with anyone before, but she owned a couple of books on astronomy, and she loved to sit quietly and look up at the stars—sometimes for hours.

"You have?" he asked, sounding excited.

"Yes." She smiled shyly. "I've always found the stars absolutely fascinating. I keep meaning to buy a telescope now that I'm out here where the stars are more visible. I could actually use one here. In New York, that wouldn't have been feasible. I think it would be so exciting to own a telescope, don't you agree?"

Everett blinked. "I have one."

Her jaw dropped. "You do?"

"Yeah. I also love stargazing. And astronomy. I have a telescope at my place. A really nice one, actually. Very high quality. I saved up for it for a long time before I bought it."

It was Johanna's turn to blink. "Oh my goodness. That's very exciting. Too bad you can't bring it out on the boat with you."

He laughed. "One false move, and plonk! Goodbye my second most treasured possession."

She groaned sympathetically at the thought. "What's your first most treasured possession?"

"My boat," he said without hesitation, and she laughed. "What?" he asked, smiling.

"You men and your machines," she teased.

He shrugged. "I couldn't do what I need to do without it. I'm very attached to it. Aren't you very attached to that hand mixer?" he teased, nodding toward the mint green electric mixer that was resting on the edge of her mixing bowl.

"I suppose so." She laughed. "But if I had a telescope, that would be my most prized possession. I'd use it every night." She paused in her work, gazing dreamily into space for a few seconds. She thought about what it would be like to be able to get a better view of the stars, and her heart rate picked up in excitement.

"I do look through it pretty often," he admitted, smiling.

"Have you ever seen a comet through it?" she asked eagerly.

"A few times! The best part is looking at the stars, though. I subscribe to Astronomy Magazine , and I always know which constellations I'm looking at."

"I do too! Did you read that article about deep-sky objects?"

Soon the two of them were chatting excitedly about astronomy. She finished preparing the pie and set it into the oven, and then she sat down across from Everett at the kitchen island. They continued to discuss the stars and telescopes and Astronomy Magazine while the pie baked, filling the kitchen with a warm, sweet aroma.

She found herself enjoying their conversation immensely. All of the awkwardness that there had been between them seemed to have completely melted away.

He's so fun to talk to , she thought. His manners are so comfortable and friendly. And to think, at the dinner party I'd felt sure that we would have nothing to talk about!

Soon the pie was ready, and she cut both of them a generous slice.

"This looks delicious," he told her, smiling as he took the plate she was handing him. "You're a regular expert at baking."

She laughed lightly. "Well, I enjoy it. Like how you enjoy fishing, I suppose."

He rumbled a laugh and took a bite of the pie. His eyebrows lifted and he nodded in approval as soon as he could taste it.

She smiled and pushed her fork into the end of her slice. The creamy topping ended in a crunchy crust, and she sighed in satisfaction as she brought a sweet bite to her lips.

"This is definitely sufficient payment for helping you get back inside your house," he told her, grinning. "One of the best pies I've ever had."

"Oh, hush," she said, but she was pleased.

As they ate their pie, they continued to talk about stargazing. Even after they were done eating, they continued to sip their coffee and talk eagerly about their shared interest. After a while, Johanna glanced at the clock and realized what time it was.

"My goodness, we've been sitting here talking for an hour!" she exclaimed.

He looked down at his watch and clucked his tongue. "Oh, wow." He stood up slowly. "I should probably get going. I don't want to keep you."

"It's quite all right," she said, standing up also. "I enjoyed talking with you." She smiled warmly at him, realizing that her heart was fluttering again.

"I had a nice time talking with you too," he said. "I didn't just stay for the pie." He winked.

For a moment, they both hesitated. Something was hanging in the air between them, but neither of them seemed to know how to say it. Everett put it into words first.

"I think," he said slowly, "that maybe we were both a bit too quick to jump to conclusions about each other the other night."

She nodded. "I think you're right."

"Would you like to do something with me sometime?" he asked carefully, his fingers twisting absently together. "Maybe we could do some stargazing together using my telescope."

She smiled at him, feeling herself flushing a little. "I would like that. I think we should."

He smiled back at her, his shoulders relaxing a bit as if he had been nervous that she would say no. "Great. Let me get your phone number, and we can talk about a time that works for both of us."

She nodded and told him her phone number out loud while he typed it into his phone. She felt jittery in a good way—it had been ages since she'd given a man her phone number in a way that hinted at romance.

She packed up a Tupperware with two more slices of pie as he put on his coat. Both of them moved a bit slowly, with a touch of reluctance to end their time together.

"Thank you again," she said to him at the door, handing him the Tupperware.

"Thanks for the pie." He grinned. "I'll see you soon."

"See you soon. Get home safe!"

"I will."

He smiled and gave one short wave, and then he disappeared around the corner of her house. She heard his truck start up with a wheezing rumble, and then the sound of its rickety engine faded into the night.

She began to clean up her kitchen, her mind retracing the events of the afternoon. She smiled to herself, still amazed by how unexpected it had all been. Her initial discomfort around him had completely disappeared, and in spite of how much she usually liked time to herself, she'd enjoyed spending a couple of hours with him. She began to hum as she worked, wiping the kitchen counter clean. She liked him very much, and she was truly looking forward to seeing him again.