It’s #BookQW and my hero can’t ‘take’ anything for granted!
More from Chapter 2:
Luna arrived at North Dock looking a dream, her fluffy hair captured beneath a broad sunhat and the lacy hem of her gauzy blue top fluttering around her linen trousers.
Spells, she looks so good. Even cocooned in a life jacket.
She flashed him a smile, her gray eyes hidden behind sunglasses, but her cheeks lifted, her head tilted impishly—
Orb take it, had he pushed that thought to her?
Aye, he had. He grinned back and stopped short of kissing her when she boarded the boat. He’d learned that lesson a year ago after hailing her in town. It was months before she’d acknowledged him again and weeks before he learned that she felt her pale skin and hair garnered enough extra attention without drawing more.
They set sail. Out on the open ocean, she leaned toward him on a long tack and chastely kissed his cheek before turning her face into the wind and sighing.
Enjoying yourself? he asked.
Quite.
They jibed southward against the wind so the return trip would be faster and were a cove past Kittiwake Point and the lighthouse before she turned to him again.
“I appreciate the opportunity to get out. Papa has been most difficult the last week.”
“Because of me?”
“I’ve mentioned you, but…” She shrugged. “He’s on us all about tidying up, which isn’t an awful goal, except it’s coming as I’ve had folks asking me to do home repairs in town. I need my own income, which Papa hasn’t been able to argue down. Independence from him will allow me to build a life separate from Kittiwake Point. With Fest upcoming, I’ve had more inquiries.”
“Maybe ’tis his way of preparing so he can enjoy the festivities,” Salm murmured. This was as good an opening as any to ask her. “I have the week off at Fest. Would you like to spend time with me?”
Luna rolled her eyes. “If Papa doesn’t find some errand or task he insists needs doing.” That was a yes, but answer. If he was going to succeed at convincing Luna they should bond, then he needed to draw her away from this town—for surely she’d take any opportunities for work that came up that week if they didn’t leave.
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Read the first chapters on the book page: Keepers of the Seas Cliffs.
Buy the ebook (The paperback is coming soon!)
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In personal news, I missed last week–here, and on all social media–because I was ‘taking’ a trip to Turkey! My mom joined me and we met up with my niece who is teaching in Istanbul for a short time. Twice, we got out on the waters of the Bosphorus Strait, and though it wasn’t sailing, here are a few photos that tie-in nicely to living along the coast, like they do in the Keepers novel!
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