“What?” he barely managed to get out as he thumped his head back down on the table.
“I also love you.” She gave a small laugh when his only response was silence—because hell, it’s damn hard to talk with a heart lodged in your throat. “And you know what else?”
He did manage to grunt this time.
“I got my passport renewed last week, and I’ve got a bad case of travel-itis,” she said, her laughter abruptly ending when the line suddenly went dead.
Gunnar opened his hand and let the phone drop to the table with another groan, only to bolt upright with a curse when her words finally sank in.
Son of a bitch, she was coming here!
To Maine.
To see for herself if Katherine MacBain deserved him.
Hell. If he couldn’t find a decent house to rent, he’d have to buy one, because he couldn’t have May traipsing to the bathhouse every time she needed to— No, wait. If he got them a house, she’d stay a month, but she’d hightail it home within a week if he simply bought another sleeping bag.
Gunnar stood and slipped his phone in his pocket with a sigh of defeat. He might be an ass, but he drew the line when it came to making the closest thing he’d ever had to a mother sleep in a wooden tent.
Chapter Fifteen
“So, tell me again what’s so all-fired important out here?” Katy gave her brother her twenty-fifth scowl of the morning.
“It’s hard to describe,” he said and looked out over the Bottomless Sea like he was searching for clues to a treasure hunt.
“When you asked me to come for the day, you might have mentioned we’d be out in the boat, Robbie. I’d have packed a hat.” Libby pushed flailing strands of hair out of her face and shielded her eyes with her hand. “It’s a little blustery.”
“Sorry. This came on sort of suddenly.”
“What came on? And what can we do about it?” The farther out they got, the more Katy’s annoyance grew. She didn’t get that many days off, and while she loved the surprise of time with her mother, it would have been nice to have some say in how they spent it.
“You’ll see soon enough.” Robbie slowed the boat and steered them toward the island off the starboard side of the boat.
“We’re going to the island?” Katy said. “What in the world, Robbie?”
“On the plus side, I guess we’ll know what he’s planning soon enough.” Ever the peacemaker, Libby pushed her hair out of her face yet again and smiled at her daughter.
“Yeah, Katy. You’ll know soon enough.” Robbie flashed her a secretive grin. “Can you tie us up?” He tipped his head toward the approaching dock.
Eyes rolling, Katy hurried to the bow and grabbed the dock line. Poised and ready, she waited until they got a foot or two away and then jumped to the dock platform. Quick as lightning, she secured the line, then hurried to the stern, caught the second line as Robbie threw it her way, and wrapped it around the cleat.
“Nice job,” her mother called.
The sight of her pride over such a small thing softened Katy’s mood. It was really nice to have her mom there, and no matter what Robbie had in mind for them, she couldn’t deny that she really needed to soak up some maternal comfort. Just being around her mom always made her feel better.
“Yeah, seems like you’ve still got it,” Robbie said, face shining like he’d just cured cancer or something.
“Um . . . of course I’ve still got it, brother. My new job keeps me kinda active, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“Does it now?” he said with a smirk, then jumped to the dock and held his hand out for Libby to do the same. “Happy to know you can handle yourself, little sister.”
Katy studied him and readied her twenty-sixth scowl. She knew that tone; he was up to something, and not a surprise-birthday-party sort of something. Her brother was winding up for a curveball, his favorite pitch. But before she could figure anything else out, he was scurrying behind her, untying one rope and then the other. Her mouth fell open as he hopped back on the boat.
“Robbie! What are you doing?” Libby’s voice held a tone Katy hadn’t heard in years, not since the days of full-on sibling squabbles.