Dirty Summer 2

Blair’s eyes grew big. “Are you serious?”

“Damn straight.”

“Is it someone playing a prank?” She was skeptical. She didn’t know if she believed in ghost stories or legends.

“No way, it’s real. The way my pops tells it, a sailor was stranded on the shoals after a shipwreck about a hundred years ago. He was able to get out of the ship with a lantern and tried to swim to shore, but the currents out here are unpredictable and he never made it to land. The next day, they found his lantern, but never the body.”

Blair shivered and inadvertently scooted closer to Justyn.

He continued with the tale. “So, the legend goes that the blinking yellow light is him still trying to swim to shore, but no one can ever catch up to it because of the currents.”

“Holy shit. That is the creepiest thing I’ve ever heard.” Ok, maybe she was a little scared.

“You want me to show you?” Justyn placed his hand on the gearshift, ready to maneuver the boat toward the lantern’s light.

“Definitely.”

Justyn laughed and gave her a killer smile that made Blair glad she boarded this boat. “Hey, Reid.”

“Yeah?” Reid stopped mid-sentence.

“We’re going after the Eternal Swimmer. Hold on up there.”

“Don’t worry, just hold on. We’re getting ready to go fast. Wouldn’t want you to slide away.” Reid wrapped one arm around Maggie’s waist as Justyn whipped the boat into racing speed.

Blair lightly bit her lower lip. Something about the way Justyn took command of the boat as he stood and steered toward the golden light without reservation made her look at him in a whole new way. It was kind of hot.

“Almost there,” he shouted to her over the wind.

Blair peered over the console, trying to keep her eyes on the target. The closer they got, the weaker the color was. Blair squinted harder as Justyn slowed the boat.

“Where did it go? It should be here.” Blair stood and looked over the side of the boat.

“Over there.” Justyn pointed three hundred yards east.

“What are we looking for?” Maggie called from the bow. Evidently, Reid hadn’t had a chance to fill her in on the legend once the chase began.

Justyn laughed. “I don’t know if you want to know.”

Justyn reached down and let his hand rest on Blair’s shoulder. “I think that’s enough ghost hunting for one night. What do you say I take you girls home?”

Surprised by the heat that stemmed from her shoulder, Blair smiled. “Sounds good.”

“Hold on up there!” Justyn shouted before throwing the boat into full gear and pointing her toward the Buttonses’ pier.

Four

Maggie

Maggie steadied herself as she planted a foot on the dock. She held onto Reid’s outstretched hand.

“Thanks again for the cruise,” she said, looking up into his eyes. The dock light allowed her to detect their rich brown hue.

“No problem. It’s always fun to introduce new people to the island.”

Not only was this guy smoking hot, he seemed nice. Maggie kept flashing back to seeing his naked torso on the beach earlier that today. She couldn’t wait to let Blair know Reid was the mystery guy she’d seen sanding the boat. However, now that she thought about it, maybe by now Blair had figured it out. How many hot boat builders could one tiny island have?

“So have you always lived on the island?” she asked. “I know you said your family has a boat business here, but did you leave for college or some kind of boat building school?”