18. Margot
EIGHTEEN
Margot
I t didn’t matter how much I scrubbed I wasn’t going to be able to clean the sign at the boat ramp. It had been sprayed with fish blood and guts years ago and Uncle Walt had never tried to clean it. At least, that’s what I told myself whenever something was dingy, broken, or beyond repair at the Blue Heron.
It had been a few days since the boating accident. Caleb hadn’t called. I remembered how my mom used to tell me stories about when she dated, and guys always waited three days to call. That wasn’t a thing anymore.
I didn’t want to think the reason he didn’t come back was because he thought I deserved it. It was payback for everything I had done to him. Had I walked right into a trap? I’d fallen for it because I wanted to believe he could forgive me. I wanted it desperately.
I wiped the back of my neck. The sweat was beginning to run from my hairline down my back. The bucket of water and suds had turned black, but nothing on the sign and changed. I groaned, slamming the sponge into the mess.
“Hey! Hey! Are you an assistant or something? Can you help us?”
I spun around at the high-pitched voice. I didn’t expect to come eye-to-eye with three women my age, hauling jet skis behind a Jeep.
I tried to wipe my hands off on my jean shorts. “Hi. Yes, how can I help you?” I ignored the assistant question.
“We’re going out for the day. Where can we park?” She perched her sunglasses on the top of her head to speak to me.
I smiled. Customers. Paying customer. I wondered if they needed anything other than the boat ramp access to launch their jet skis. I walked toward them.
“Once you launch you can pull straight into the gravel lot over there.” I pointed to the designated trailer parking. I had made progress on pulling weeds and making it look like a spot people could park in. “You’ll be in the perfect spot to load your trailer when you’re done for the day.”
“Great. Thanks.” The blonde smiled and pulled forward.
I took a step back, watching the three friends laughing and changing the music on the radio station.
It was unconscious at first, but I didn’t mean to gawk and stare at them. It struck me that it had been a long time since I had spent any time with friends. Real friends. The kind of people who knew what kind of drink to order for me if I was late for dinner, or my favorite movie, even the name of the first guy I slept with. Where were those friends? When had I traded in my people for the ones in Ethan’s circle? When had I chosen to block off time for his group?
It didn’t help that the book had taken my days and nights. I had blocked off the next few months for the book tour and turned down dinner plans, weekend getaways, and anything people wanted to do with me I was already scheduled with something related to the book.
I didn’t have answers on why I changed my priorities the way I did. I only knew I had screwed up more than one thing when I dated Ethan and eventually moved in with him. It wasn’t only a roof over my head I lost, it was personal connections to a lot of people. The realization made me want to slide out of view, but instead, I waited for the blonde to back into the boat ramp with the double set of jet skis.
She was an expert at reverse driving. Within minutes, she had launched the two jet skis and her friends waited on the one good dock for her while she parked the Jeep.
I was always in awe of the people from Marshoak Island. It seemed like everything related to the water came naturally to them. Unfairly so.
“We’ll be back in a few hours. You’ll watch my Jeep?” she asked as she dropped a twenty-dollar bill in my hand. It was more than the cost of using the ramp, but I didn’t mention giving her any change.
“Of course.” I grinned. “I’ll be here. I promise it will be safe.”
“Cool. Thanks.” She ran toward her friends, hopping on the closest jet ski. Her friend had left the front seat open for her to drive. They screamed and hollered with laughter as they jetted out of the marina and the pair became less than a dot on the sound.
I looked back up at the splattered sign. I looked down at the sponge floating along the top of the bucket. I plunged my hand inside, thinking I could give it one more try.
I sat on the front steps with a glass of sweet tea. From here I could see the bright white background of the dock sign. A small smile crept across my lips. The sun was only slightly hedging toward the horizon. I had sweat in places I didn’t know existed. I knew about the Carolina humidity, but it was still shocking, a week after being here.
I looked up to see Dean driving into the marina parking lot.
“Hey.” He grinned, walking toward me.
“Hi.” I didn’t care what I looked like or that I was covered in grime. I had to remove my socks and shoes when they ended up soaked with soap and water. I was letting them dry in the sun.
“What have you been doing?” He neared the porch but kept a slight distance. I wanted to laugh. I must have looked and smelled worse than I realized.
“Trying to clean up around here,” I answered.
He glanced around, looking for the evidence. “Huh. You’re always surprising me.”
I noticed the folder in his hand.
“What is that? More tax bills?” I asked.
“Actually, it’s the plan I wanted to talk to you about.” He handed the folder to me.
I opened the top page. My eyes scanned the letter. “A loan?” My voice creaked when I said it out loud.
“It seems like you might want to hang out here a little longer. Maybe the island is growing on you. Why not make a real go of it and put some money into the Blue Heron? You have good ideas. The ice machine for example.”
My stomach was churning, and I felt my throat tighten. “But then I’d have more debt, Dean. More lenders. More people expecting payments.” I shook my head and tried to hand it back to him, but he wouldn’t take it.
“It’s a business loan, Margot. It’s not toxic. It’s a relationship with a bank. A good one. One of my friends works at the local branch on the island and I ran all this by him. With what this property is worth, you could easily get a small loan, pay off the back taxes, which would be a requirement of course, and then use the rest to fix up the rest of the marina. Repair the docks, and the slips, get the other boat ramp functional, and try some of your new ideas like ice and drinks.”
I stared at him. “I’m not a business person. I got a D in Econ,” I revealed. “This is not something I can do.”
“I can help.”
My breath hitched. “You don’t need to do that, Dean. You’ve already done enough.”
He shook his head. “Walt had a lot of problems, and it’s not fair that he left you with them. I don’t think you want to sell the Blue Heron.”
“I should sell it. It’s the most logical way out of this mess,” I contended.
“But you haven’t asked me once about listing agents or getting an appraisal.” He folded his arms across his suit and leaned against the railing in the shaded part of the porch.
“I-I haven’t been here that long.” I jumped up, knocking over the glass of sweet tea. “Shit!” The rest of the glass had landed in my lap.
He dashed inside, returned with a kitchen towel, and handed it to me. I tried to sop up the tea.
“I was thinking maybe you could come over tonight. I’ll make dinner and we’ll go over?—”
The jet skis raced into view in the marina. The three girls were laughing as they slowed to a crawl.
“Hold on. I have to help them,” I lied, jogging toward the ramp. “Hey!” I waved at them. “How was it?”
“Great!” Their faces were pink in places where the sunscreen had worn off. The blonde edged up toward me, cutting the engine so she could drift.
“It was beautiful on the water. We had a great time. We trailed a pod of dolphins. It was amazing.”
“Really? That sounds incredible. It was probably cooler out there than here.” I smiled. I felt Dean’s eyes watching the entire scene. I had to think of something I could do to look useful.
As the blonde stepped on the dock, I unwound a rope off a nearby piling and offered to tie it to her jet ski. Her friends bobbed up and down waiting for her to bring the trailer over.
“Sure. Thanks. I’m going to back in now. I’ll be right back.”
She unsnapped her life jacket and dropped it on the pier next to me. She walked off toward the Jeep while I stooped down to try to figure out what in the hell I was doing. I just had to keep the jet ski from floating away. Luckily, the other girls floated over and one of them offered to jump on and drive the jet ski onto the trailer.
They got both loaded and were ready to go. The blonde hopped out of the Jeep. She shoved her hands in the back pockets of her cutoff shorts.
“I’m Josie by the way,” she introduced herself.
“Margot.”
“It’s cool you’re working here.”
“Well…I…” I had no idea how to explain what I was doing here. “Thanks,” I managed.
“Look, we’re going to a party tonight. It’s a bonfire on the beach. A bunch of other locals should be there.”
“A party?” My mouth hung open.
Josie laughed. “Yeah. If you want to check it out. I could pick you up.”
“Yes!” I was almost too enthusiastic. I was desperate for some human interaction. I still hadn’t built up the nerve to talk to the fisherman who came to the marina every morning.
“Okay. I’ll pick you up at eight.”
I wanted to squeal and hug her at the same time, but I grinned like an idiot instead. “I’ll be ready.”
Josie climbed in behind the wheel and the girls drove away. I walked back to the porch where Dean was still standing.
“I’ve got to go. I have a client meeting soon. But dinner? My place?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I have plans tonight. Maybe another time.” I turned and walked inside. I had to figure out what to wear to a beach bonfire. At my last New York party, I had been on Ethan’s arm, in a cocktail dress. Tonight, felt like the start of a new chapter. It needed to start with a shower.