Chapter Six
Having lived and worked in the Seattle area for several years, Kellie had never heard of anything like this happening to a ferry. This was highly unusual, and its being this close to Christmas made it even more frustrating.
Harrison hadn’t sent any updates beyond a couple short text messages, giving her the most current information, which, to be honest, wasn’t much.
It didn’t take a mind reader to know his fellow passengers wouldn’t be pleased with this unexpected turn of events.
She could only imagine how upset everyone on board must be.
Everyone had a reason to get to Seattle, and if the traffic in the ferry terminal was any indication, there were plenty of friends and family awaiting the boat’s arrival.
The lone announcement at the Seattle terminal was less than helpful.
All Kellie had heard was that the Bremerton run had been delayed.
The crowd inside the building was growing by the minute.
First with people waiting for the ferry’s arrival, in addition to the ticket holders expecting to board for the return trip.
“Excuse me,” a man said, coming to stand next to Kellie.
Kellie glanced up from her phone. She’d noticed him earlier, as he’d looked familiar.
“I promise this isn’t a pickup line, but I know I’ve seen you somewhere before.” He wore a slight frown, as though racking his brain to make the connection.
Kellie placed her phone inside her purse.
“To be honest, I was thinking the same thing . . . that we’d previously met.
” He was attractive enough for her to remember, tall and fit, with brown hair and eyes the color of rich, dark chocolate.
His face was familiar, but she couldn’t imagine where they might have met.
“I’m Reed Bond. Does that name ring a bell?”
She repeated it inside her head. “No. I’m Kellie Stetler.”
After a moment he shook his head.
Because she spent a great deal of her time at work, she wondered if that was the connection. “I work for Microsoft.”
Reed snapped his fingers. “I do, too. I attended a workshop you ran a year or so back on product development. It blew me away.”
“Yes, yes,” she said, now remembering him as well.
In a room full of employees, she recalled his intelligent questions and the insight he offered after her presentation.
In fact, she’d taken one of his ideas back to the development department and it had since been implemented.
She’d tried to thank him personally, only to discover he was away from the office, traveling for the company.
She’d made sure he was given the credit but had hoped to contact him directly.
Eventually reaching out to him had slipped her mind.
Their meeting had taken place shortly after her breakup with Jude, at a time when she was struggling emotionally.
“It’s good to see you again,” Reed said. “I take it you’re waiting for someone on the Bremerton ferry?”
“My brother.”
“I’m waiting for my sister; she lives and works in Bremerton as a CPA.”
“Harrison’s a submariner. I haven’t seen him in a couple years. I hope whatever the problem is, it can be easily handled. This will be our first Christmas together in a long time.”
“My sister is coming to spend Christmas with me, too. I’ve never known anything like this to happen with the ferries before, have you?”
“Never,” she agreed.
“I was thinking,” Reed said, and shifted his weight from one foot to the other as though uneasy. “I made a lunch reservation for me and Avery at her favorite seafood restaurant. Clearly, she isn’t going to be able to make it. Would you care to have lunch with me?”
Kellie had made it a hard-and-fast rule not to get involved with anyone at work, so she hesitated. Then she abruptly decided why not, it was the holiday season, and it was just lunch. Besides, reservations this time of year were hard to get. It seemed a shame to waste it.
“Sure,” she said. “That certainly beats standing around here, waiting for information.”
“Anthony’s is within walking distance, so if we see the ferry is docking, we can hightail it back in time to meet your brother and my sister.”
“That sounds like a plan,” Kellie agreed.
Reed grinned. “The reservation was for an hour ago, but fortunately I was able to adjust the time, as there’d been a cancellation at the last minute.”
They left the terminal and Kellie looked up at the silver clouds that darkened the sky. “It feels like it’s cold enough to snow,” she commented.
“I didn’t hear that snow was predicted. Weather, like holiday plans, has a way of changing without notice.”
“True,” Kellie agreed.
As they walked side by side, Kellie’s foot slipped on a patch of ice.
She would have taken a tumble if Reed hadn’t caught her arm and held her upright.
“Oh my,” she said, her heart pumping. This was her fault.
She should have been watching where she stepped.
Instead, she’d been distracted with the thoughts of Jude.
He certainly wasn’t thinking about her. Within a week of their parting, Jude was in another relationship, which left her to speculate how long the two had been seeing each other behind her back.
After Jude, Kellie had gotten gun-shy and had buried herself in work, unwilling to trust her own judgment when it came to men and relationships. She’d been so sure, confident she and Jude would spend their lives together.
“Thank you,” she whispered, clinging to his arm.
“My pleasure. I can’t have my lunch date getting hurt on our way to the restaurant.”
As they neared Anthony’s, the sidewalks came alive with people dashing in and out of the popular stores along the tourist-rich waterfront.
The scents of Christmas were everywhere.
A vendor sold spiced hot apple cider on the street.
Evergreens decorated the open seating areas that dotted the small fish-and-chips stands along the way.
Their aroma wafted toward them as Kellie and Reed walked past.
“I do so love Christmas,” Kellie commented. “There’s such an air of happy anticipation.” A little girl walked past, holding the hand of her father and licking a candy cane.
“I love Christmas, too,” Reed said.
“And I’m so happy that I’m able to spend it with my brother. He’s been a real trooper over the last year, texting and emailing me uplifting messages. He made it a point to find something to make me smile.” Kellie didn’t realize what she’d said until the words escaped her mouth.
“It’s been a rough year?” Reed asked.
She didn’t want to go down this uncomfortable path, so she blew it off.
“No more than usual, I guess. You know, life in general.” Her thoughts drifted, unbidden, to Jude again.
She’d been convinced he was the one. The summer before their breakup, Jude had met her parents.
She’d assumed the weekend had gone well.
Not until after they’d split did her mother mention she was relieved they’d parted.
From the moment she’d met Jude, her mom felt he wasn’t the right man for Kellie.
In retrospect, Kellie wished her mother had said something then, although she had to wonder if she would have listened.
“I see.” It was apparent Reed had read through her words and knew it was much more. She was grateful he didn’t press for details.
They reached Anthony’s and Reed announced his name to the hostess.
“I’m pleased you were able to make it,” the young woman said. “In another five minutes we would have had to release the reservation.”
“I’m glad we made it, too,” Reed told her.
“Weren’t you the one who was waiting for the Bremerton ferry?” the pretty young woman asked.
“Yes, I called earlier.”
“I thought so. That stalled ferry is big news. Everyone is talking about it. I can’t remember anything like this happening before, and right before Christmas, too.”
“For sure the timing is bad, but I doubt anyone wants to be trapped on a ferry any time of the year.”
The hostess agreed and led them to a table by the window. “I saved this table for you so you can keep watch in case the ferry docks.”
“That was thoughtful,” Kellie said, appreciating the kind gesture.
They sat and opened their menus. A server appeared and took their drink order. Needing something to chase away the chill from the short walk, Kellie asked for a hot buttered rum. Reed ordered the same.
The drinks were promptly delivered, and they delayed placing their meal order, wanting to enjoy them.
The hot alcoholic beverage instantly went to Kellie’s head.
She should have known better than to drink it on an empty stomach.
Brushing her shoulder-length auburn hair around her ear, she took in a deep, brain-clearing breath.
“Thank you. This is a lovely respite from waiting in the ferry terminal.”
“My pleasure.” Reed relaxed against the back of his cushioned chair.
The server delivered warm sourdough bread with herb butter to the table. They both took a slice.
Not wanting to talk about herself, Kellie said, “Tell me about your sister.”
Reed’s eyes sparkled with affection. “Avery is the best. We were raised by our grandparents. Gramps died my first year of college and Avery stayed with our grandmother until she graduated from college. Grams wanted her to have a life of her own, so Avery rented a cozy apartment until it became apparent Grandma’s health was steadily declining.
My sister moved back home and cared for her until her death.
As far as I’m concerned, Avery is a saint. ”
He took a breath and waited until she waved him on, wanting him to continue.
“I did what I could to help. Unfortunately, I travel a lot for work, and so my sister handled the brunt of the caregiving. As a result, she’s twenty-five and doesn’t have much of a social life.
“I tried introducing her to a few of my friends. Big mistake. In fact, I’d arranged for a friend to join us here today. As soon as she heard of my latest matchmaking attempt, she point-blank refused.”
“I was thinking I would introduce my brother to a couple of women from the office. Guessing it won’t be appreciated if he feels the way Avery does.”
“What about you?” Reed asked, holding her gaze. “Are you currently involved with someone?”
“No. Are you?”
“No,” he said, as if this was exactly what he wanted to hear and hoped she felt the same.
Although skeptical that this would lead to more than a pleasant lunch, Kellie smiled, pleased that their mutual single status was established.
Grinning, Reed briefly glanced down at his drink before making eye contact.
“I have a confession. You should know, I recognized you right away. I debated awhile about how best to approach you and decided to pretend. I admired you the first time we met at that presentation and considered asking you out.”
“Why didn’t you?”
He looked away. “With all the traveling I do, it’s hard to maintain a relationship. And I figured you were probably already involved. I have a sense that you were?” His words were more a question than a statement.
For a moment, Kellie was too surprised to answer.
He took her silence to mean something else.
“I apologize, I shouldn’t have asked you that.”
“Actually,” she said, “at the time we first met, I was seeing someone else. Someone in my department.” She sipped her drink. “I learned my lesson and have decided against dating men who work for Microsoft.”
“Even in a different department?” he pressed.
“Well . . . no. I think if I were to meet someone from a department that doesn’t work closely with mine, then it could possibly work.”
Reed’s grin was huge. “Great.”
“What about you? I mean, at the time we first met?” she asked.
“No one. Like I mentioned, I work long hours that take me out of town far more than is healthy for a long-term relationship. I had my twenty-eighth birthday a while back and it sort of hit me then that I needed to be thinking about the goals I have for the future.” He paused and looked away as though embarrassed.
“I apologize. I didn’t mean for this conversation to go in that direction.
We’ve only just met, and I doubt you want to hear about my life goals at our first lunch. ”
Kellie relaxed. “It’s not a problem. I’m one of those people who appreciate honesty.” Especially someone who makes it known he isn’t one to lead a woman on for his own selfish reasons.
Again, her thoughts drifted back to Jude.
She’d believed he had the same goals as she did—marriage, children, and a future together.
After three years it seemed like it was time to move forward, only for Kellie to discover Jude had no intention of marrying her.
How foolish she felt to have wasted those years on a man who’d misled and used her.
In retrospect, she realized Jude had manipulated her to get the promotion he wanted.
She’d foolishly assumed that once he had advanced in his career to the point that they were equals in the workplace they would marry.
Not so, she learned shortly after he got what he’d wanted.
It was then that Kellie was forced to face the truth.
Thankfully, they’d never moved in together, so they were both able to go on with their lives with minimal fuss. Which is exactly what Jude had done.
The server collected their orders. Kellie went with the Cajun spiced rockfish and Reed ordered the coconut shrimp with a Caesar salad. They enjoyed their meal in a companionable silence.
“I wonder if there is any news,” Kellie said as she reached for her phone to check if Harrison had sent a text with an update.
“Anything?” Reed asked while she scrolled through her notifications.
Kellie nodded. “Not from my brother. However, from what’s being reported in the news, it’s an engine problem. Supposedly, it could be a simple fix once they can get the part to the ferry.”
“You mean the part has to be found and then delivered?”
“It looks that way,” Kellie murmured.
“Then it could take several more hours.”
Again, she agreed. “Unfortunately.” Looking up, she was surprised to find Reed smiling.
“Do you have plans for the rest of the day?” he asked.
Under normal circumstances, she’d head back to her condo in Kirkland and wait for Harrison to catch an Uber. That had been the original plan. These, however, weren’t normal circumstances.
“What do you have in mind?” she asked.
“Have you ever taken a ride on Seattle’s Great Wheel?”
She shook her head. “No, but I’ve always wanted to someday.”
“Well, it looks like someday has arrived. We should be able to see the ferry from the top. You game?”
Kellie was intrigued. This sounded like a great way to kill time. “You bet.”
“Great. Let’s go.”
Kellie grabbed her coat, which she’d rested over the back of the empty chair next to her, and stood. What had looked to be a long, miserable afternoon waiting for her brother had suddenly turned into what might be a grand adventure.