6. Chapter 6 – Zach
R ae looked up from her phone as I joined her in front of the taco shop. Her short-sleeved blue cotton coveralls left her arms bare, revealing her strong forearms. The fabric hugged her hips, making it impossible to miss her feminine figure beneath the workmanlike uniform.
Her hair was plaited back from her face in one of those complicated braids women loved, but a sneaky tendril had still popped free.
Secretly, I always cheered that strand on.
It hinted at the Rae that made an appearance only rarely—the silly, bubbly side of her nature that was often subdued by work and her responsibilities.
“Hey.” I leaned in to graze her cheek and that rebellious curl with a quick kiss.
She froze, making me regret my impulsive gesture. Casually touching Rae wasn’t new. But doing it when I knew she was single was different. Even if it was the kind of kiss I could have given my gran.
I forced a smile to cover the awkwardness. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. Do you want your usual?”
She nodded, still mute, and I turned to Tony to hide my grimace. “Two quesabirria taco plates and two Diet Cokes, please.”
I paid for our meals and joined Rae, who was watching the interisland ferry unload. Slowly, the boat disgorged walk-on passengers and cars making the trip from Orcas Island. Sunlight rippled on the water, making me glad I’d remembered my sunglasses.
“How’s your day going? Did you have to recalibrate the fluxgate compass on Josie’s boat when you changed the oil?”
Rae’s face split into a grin. “Only if I wanted her to navigate directly into a sandbar.” She patted my chin. “You’re cute when you try to ask me mechanical questions. Navigation is all electronic. Nice try, though.”
“It’s almost like I own a sailboat,” I said, deadpan.
She snorted, her chuckle gentle. She nudged me with her shoulder. “That would carry more weight if you didn’t have a mechanic on retainer that you pay in tacos.”
“Order up for Zach.”
We stepped to the pickup window.
“Thanks, Tony.”
Rae and I walked to a table outside Harbor Brews. I devoured my tacos in ten big bites, leaving me time to watch Rae as she nibbled daintily at her lunch. The quesabirria was delightfully messy, sending her through multiple napkins in her futile attempt to keep grease off her chin.
We chatted through the schedule for the next few weeks, agreeing that asking Gran to help with pickup was the lesser of evils.
On days I had training runs with Lee, I usually stayed at Harbor Brews longer.
My eighty-something grandmother was a local legend.
And pain in the ass. But she was family.
I didn’t question Rae about her reluctance to ask her sister-in-law.
Her brothers were absolute tools in high school.
Any woman who could put up with one of them full-time was either a saint or seriously deluded.
Will Guzman shouldered open the door to Harbor Brews, hands full with a carry tray of coffees to take back to the firehouse. He grinned when he spotted us, but I noticed his attention was mostly on Rae.
“Yo, Rae. Zach. Good to see you. Are you coming to the high-angle rescue drill next month? Chief Garcia wants us to clock some hours with the new basket.” He winked at Rae. “I’ve always wanted you to play my damsel in distress. Word is, you’re single now. That right, Dawkins?”
Will Guzman was forty-something if he was a day. Bald in that Mr. Clean way, he paired it with a well-trimmed mustache and goatee. I glanced between Rae and Will. Did she want to go out with him?
She looked flustered by his question. Like she didn’t know what to say. Wasn’t used to male attention.
It hit me that nothing was stopping her from dating him. Certainly not Simon.
Rae was single. Free. And Will was probably only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the men who’d be flirting with her. She wouldn’t be single long unless she wanted to be.
“For sure, Will. We’re hoping Jia will be back for that. If not, we can probably get a sitter.” My use of ‘we’ was calculated. Possessive. A total dick move. And I couldn’t bring myself to care that I’d overstepped when Rae slid me a relieved smile.
Will’s lip twitched. He nodded, eyes dancing, taking my answer with good grace and reminding me why I’d always liked him.
“Great,” he said easily, lifting his coffee tray. “Gotta get these back to the crew. See you both around.”
I took a long pull from my Coke, watching Rae as she picked at her last taco. Did I apologize?
Before I could get the words out, she said, “Thanks.”
“For what?” I asked, trying to sound oblivious .
She gave me a knowing look. “For helping me out of that gracefully. I like Will, but I’m not ready to date yet.”
“Oh.”
Could she hear the disappointment in my tone? It should have been victory. But all I could think was that her words excluded me too.
“We’ve got too much going on this summer with the kids,” she continued guilelessly. “I don’t have time for dating.”
“Right,” I said, taking another sip from my soda.
A beat later, a familiar woman slipped out of Harbor Brews with a tall iced tea, eyes lighting up when she saw me.
“Hey, stranger,” she said, lush lips tilted in a secret smile. “It’s been a while.”
It’d been years . Monica and I had ended our no-strings situationship when she hooked up with a rich off-islander who bought a house near Roche Harbor. While our arrangement had suited me, I’d wished her well with her new man.
Rae stiffened across from me, something about the rigidity in her shoulders communicating that she had a fair idea of what Monica and I had been to each other. Even if it ended ages ago.
“Not sure if you heard, but Rob and I broke up.” Monica’s lips dropped into a tiny pout. “You should call me sometime.”
“He’s busy this summer,” Rae blurted out, flushing guiltily.
I hid my smile, pleased I wasn’t the only one with a possessive streak. Maybe it was only her revenge for me overstepping with Will, but I couldn’t help hoping her shutting down Monica meant more.
“Rae and I have a lot going on at the moment. I’m going to be tied up for the foreseeable future.” I held Rae’s gaze. “With Rae and the kids.”
Monica lifted one tanned shoulder. “No worries. It’s nice running into you.” Her smile encompassed Rae. “See you both around. ”
Rae shredded her napkin in record time, avoiding my gaze. When she’d reduced her last paper towel to a pile of rubble, I gathered up our plates and trash, feeling lighter than I had since Rae revealed the end of her relationship with Simon.
“Can I walk you back to work?” I asked.
Slowly, she nodded. “You don’t need to head back inside?” She tilted her head toward Harbor Brews.
“Nah. Isa has me covered for a while longer.” I grinned. “Besides, apparently, I don’t know the difference between navigation and engine parts. I need to brush up on my mechanical knowledge if I’m going to ask you intelligent questions about your workday.”
She snorted, shaking her head. “Fenwick, we’d have to walk a few hundred miles before you’d have the vocabulary you need, not just a few hundred feet. Besides, it’s not like I can tell the difference between Robusta or Arabica. I don’t expect you to be an expert on boats.”
“Hmph. Well can I just walk with you because I want to, then?”
Her mouth twitched, and she pushed the naughty curl I loved back from her cheek.
“Deal.”