Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Corey frowned in concentration as he tried to braid his daughter’s hair. Haley was squirming a little in her seat, but he wasn’t sure if it was because she felt uncomfortable or because she was excited to see what he was going to do with her hair.
The souvenir shop was closed for the day, and Corey had kept Haley and Max home from Little Clams so that he could spend some extra time with them. The kids had both been excited about the prospect of a full day spent with their dad, but the three of them were still deciding on what the agenda of their day would be.
“Please, Dad?” Haley asked for what must have been the tenth time. “I want to look for starfish.”
“We can certainly go by the water, Haley,” he assured her, making sure to keep his tone calm and cheerful, even though he was starting to worry she might have a meltdown if she didn’t get her way.
“But we need to go somewhere by the water that has starfish,” she said.
“We’ll do our best to look for some. It’ll be fun. Like a starfish hunt.”
She shook her head, almost completely undoing the braid he was painstakingly working on. “There are starfish here in Blueberry Bay. For sure. Miss Olivia told me about a place that has tons of them. I want to go there.”
“She did, huh?” His eyebrows lifted. He hadn’t realized that finding starfish was such an attainable goal. “Do you know where along the beach the starfish are?”
Haley shook her head, more gently this time. “No, I just know they’re somewhere along the beach in Blueberry Bay. You can find them, right, Dad?”
He grimaced, worried that they wouldn’t be able to find the starfish and she would be heartbroken. “I can’t promise you that, Haley, but I can promise you we’ll do our best to find them.”
“Okay!” She sounded happy, and he smiled. “How does my hair look?”
Not as good as when your mother used to do it , he thought, but out loud he said, “It looks beautiful. I’ll take a picture on my phone to show you.”
After getting themselves ready for a day out on the beach—which took far longer than Corey had anticipated, since both kids were extremely reluctant to put on sunscreen—they finally left the house. It was a bright, sunny day—hot enough to be pleasant without being overwhelming. Since they lived near to the beach, they decided to just walk there, and they set off along the sidewalks of Blueberry Bay.
As they were turning a corner toward the beach, they nearly ran into someone who was walking from the opposite direction.
“Miss Olivia!” Haley squealed, and both she and Max threw their arms around their favorite teacher.
Olivia grinned at them both, and then turned shining eyes to Corey. “Hey,” she said a little breathlessly. “What brings you three out here?”
“We’re on our way to the beach,” Corey told her, lifting a tote bag that held some of their water gear. “What about you?”
“I’m just out for a walk after classes,” she said, smiling. “I live not too far from here.”
He nodded. “Well, I’m glad we ran into you.” He felt awkward, and his tone was stiff, but he suddenly felt all limbs. He found that his heart was beating faster. She looked very pretty, and she was grinning at him like they’d known each other for years. “Haley tells me that there’s a place along the beach where starfish live. Would you be able to tell us where that is?”
“Oh yes! I’d love to. The starfish are along the stretch of beach between that old stone house and the lighthouse. They’re in a kind of miniature cove, underneath some boulders.”
Corey had to admire the enthusiastic way she described the place—as if it was some kind of wonderland. Both of his kids were listening to her with shining eyes, entranced.
“I can’t wait to see the starfish!” Haley cried, clapping her hands.
“Thank you so much,” Corey said to Olivia. “We really appreciate it.” He started to continue along the sidewalk, not wanting to keep her. “Have a great day.”
“But, Dad!” Haley protested. “Miss Olivia should come with us!”
“Yeah!” Max took up the idea enthusiastically. “You should come with us, Miss Olivia!”
Olivia flushed and glanced at Corey. “Thanks for inviting me, you guys, but I think your dad probably wants to spend time with you all by yourself.”
“Dad, tell her she should come with us!” Haley exclaimed.
Corey smiled at the schoolteacher. He got a sense that she did want to come along with them, and he was suddenly excited about the prospect of having her join them.
“I think it would be fun to have company,” he said, smiling warmly at Olivia. “And besides—we might get lost and not be able to find the starfish. It would be great to have a guide who knows her way around town better than we do.” Despite his enthusiasm, he felt suddenly nervous as he asked, “Would you like to join us?”
“Yes.” She grinned. “I’d love to. It sounds like a lot of fun.”
“Oh—great.” He grinned back at her, his heart fluttering.
“Yay!” cried Max.
“This is perfect,” Haley said adoringly, slipping her hand inside Olivia’s. “You can show us exactly where the starfish are—and then you can say hello to them. Did you name them?”
“Well—not yet.” Olivia winked at her. “We should name them together when we get there. What do you think, Max? Are you ready to name a bunch of starfish?”
“Oh yeah.”
The kids began to discuss names with each other as they hurried along the sidewalk ahead of the adults. Corey and Olivia walked side by side, not seeming to know what to say to each other.
“It’s a beautiful day,” she said finally, smiling.
“It is, it is,” he agreed hastily. “Very nice.”
They continued to walk beside each other in silence for a few moments.
“Thank you again for agreeing to come with us,” he said. “I’m sure you must be very busy. The kids really appreciate it—and so do I.”
“I’m happy to be invited,” she said, her cheeks flushing a little. “I just adore your kids. They’re absolutely wonderful.”
“I adore them too.” His heart lifted at her words, and he laughed breathlessly. He glanced at her, privately thinking that she was wonderful too.