They cruised for about thirty to forty-five minutes, out to what Brooklyn would call the middle of nowhere. There was land on both sides of them, but she wasn’t sure if it was inhabitable or not. She wasn’t going to ask, either, mostly out of fear that Austin would want to find out, and the last thing she wanted was to put herself in a Lord of the Flies situation. She appreciated the lush scenery, though, and enjoyed the beaming sun. Even though she was supposed to fish, she hoped that Austin would suggest she read one of the books she had brought along and bask in the sun.
Bowie watched some radar device that apparently told them if there were fish in the area. Austin finally dropped the anchor and told her to look over her shoulder. Behind her was their town, and if she squinted, she could see the faint outline of Cape Harbor. It was glowing, thanks to the rising sun.
“Wow.”
“Pretty spectacular, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it really is. I guess this is why you wake up so early.”
Austin kissed her on her nose. “That, and so I can get home to you.” She reveled in his adoration. He simply was the best part of living in Cape Harbor.
“I love you,” she said as she rose up on her tippy toes to give him a kiss.
“I love you, Brooklyn. Now it’s time to fish. Bowie and I will bait your hook, but if you get a bite, you need to reel that baby in. Do you remember how I showed you when we were at the pond?”
Regrettably, she did. All hope was fading that she’d be able to sit by while the guys did all the work. Fishing was important to Austin, so this needed to be important to her. He had asked her to come out with him for the day, and she should be grateful. She did wonder, though, when Austin was going to take an interest in her hobbies. She’d love to take him to a baseball game, the batting cages, or even to the mall so she could put a fashion show on for him. Each time she’d asked, he’d been busy. There was always something to occupy his time, although he made sure to include Brooklyn in everything he had going on.
After they caught their max, they sailed back into port. Austin taught Brooklyn how to tie a proper knot and how to prepare the buoys. At the dock, Austin showed Brooklyn how to secure the boat, and then he helped her onto the wooden walkway and handed her his keys.
“Can you pull my truck up so we can load the fish into the back?”
She nodded and ran up the dock and to his truck. They had only been dating a few weeks when he had let her drive. At first, her nerves made her so jumpy she could barely turn the wheel, but after weeks of practice, she had no problems driving his truck.
The guys were waiting for her when she pulled up. She stayed in the cab until Austin came around to the driver’s door. She scooted to the middle as he climbed in. “Where now?”
“The homeless shelter.”
Brooklyn looked at the three coolers in the back, filled with fish. “Aren’t you going to sell any?”
Austin shook his head. “Not today.”
“Wow” was all she could muster.
“What?” he asked, looking over at her. His grin was wide, pulling his cheeks up, adding to his boyish charm.
She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m just in awe.”
He turned and quickly gave her a kiss. “Maybe tomorrow you’ll volunteer with me after church.”
“I’d like that a lot.”
The next day, she went with him to volunteer at the homeless shelter, and every Sunday after that, and even though the food donation was kept private, everyone there seemed to know Austin was the one who brought in all the fish.
NINETEEN
Carly stood in the doorway of Brooklyn’s room. The two women stared at each other. Carly’s expression was unreadable. Brooklyn’s, however, questioned what Carly was doing. She was dressed in jeans, probably Gloria Vanderbilts or some other older-era fashion line, with a red polo and white sweater cuffed and draped over her shoulders. Every day since she had showed Carly the finished room, she had made an effort to dress better, which secretly made Brooklyn happy. She saw her daughter’s expression each time Carly came down for breakfast. At first, shock, which turned into the biggest, cheesiest grin she had seen on Brystol’s face. While Brooklyn and Carly hadn’t always been the best of friends, they were cordial and respected one another. Carly had expectations of Brooklyn, who failed to meet many of them. Mostly on a daily basis. And Brooklyn . . . well, the only thing she expected from Carly was for her to be present in her daughter’s life.