Message in a Bottle - Nicholas Sparks [31]
“I will,” she said, and the young man nodded cheerfully, then turned and started toward the counter at the front of the store. Before she could stop the words, she heard herself ask:
“You said Garrett was at the docks?”
He turned again and kept walking backward as he spoke. “Yeah—a couple blocks down the road. At the marina. Do you know where that is?”
“I think I passed it on the way here.”
“He should be there for the next hour or so, but like I said, if you come back later, he’ll be here. Do you want me to leave a message for him?”
“No, that’s okay. It’s not that important.”
She spent the next three minutes pretending to look at different items on the racks, then walked out after waving good-bye to the young man.
But instead of going to her car, she headed in the direction of the marina.
When she reached the marina, she looked around, hoping to spot Happenstance. Because the vast majority of boats were white and Happenstance was natural wood, she found it easily and made her way to the appropriate ramp.
Although she felt nervous as she started down the ramp, the articles in the shop had given her a couple of ideas of what to talk about. Once she met him, she would simply explain that after reading the article about Happenstance, she wanted to see the boat up close. It would sound believable, and hopefully she could parlay that into a longer conversation. Then, of course, she’d have some idea of what he was like in person. And after that… well, then she’d see.
As she approached the boat, however, the first thing she noticed was that no one seemed to be around. There wasn’t anyone on board, there wasn’t anyone on the docks, and it appeared as if no one had been there all morning. The boat was locked down, the sail covered, and nothing seemed out of place. After looking around for any sign of him, she checked the name on the back of the boat. It was indeed Happenstance. She brushed aside some hair that had blown onto her face as she puzzled over it. Odd, she thought, the man at the store had said he was here.
Instead of returning to the shop right away, she took a moment to admire the boat. It was beautiful—rich and textured, unlike the boats that surrounded it. It had much more character than the other sailboats docked on either side of it, and she knew why the paper had done an article on it. In a way, it reminded her of a much smaller version of pirate ships she had seen in the movies. She paced back and forth for a few minutes, studying it from different angles, and wondered how run-down it had been prior to the restoration. Most of it looked new, though she assumed that they hadn’t replaced all the wood. They had probably sanded her down, and as she looked closer, she saw nicks in the hull, lending credence to her theory.
She finally decided to try Island Diving a little later. It was obvious the man at the store was mistaken. After one last glance at the boat, she turned to leave.
A man stood on the ramp a few feet from her, watching her carefully.
Garrett…
He was sweating in the morning heat, and his shirt was soaked through in a couple of places. The sleeves had been torn off, revealing tight muscles in his arms and forearms. His hands were black with what appeared to be grease, and the diver’s watch he had on his wrist looked scarred, as if he’d used it for years. He wore tan shorts and Top-Siders without socks and looked like someone who spent most, if not all, of his time near the ocean.
He watched her as she took an involuntary step backward. “Can I help you with something?” he asked. He smiled but didn’t approach her, as if he were afraid she would feel trapped.
Which was exactly how she felt when their eyes met.
For a moment all she could do was stare at him. Despite the fact that she had seen a picture of him, he looked better than she expected, though she wasn’t sure why. He was tall and broad shouldered. Though not strikingly handsome, his face was tan and rugged, as if the sun and sea had taken their toll. His eyes weren’t nearly as hypnotic