went down to the beach to run. I’d slowed down on scarfing all my lunch, so I thought I’d be okay, but I decided to take the first little bit slower than normal. Emma was enjoying playing in the surf. And there wasn’t another soul on the beach, so I let her off the leash.
Just as she went running to play in the waves, I realized my mistake. There was someone else on the beach; they were just away ahead of us. It appeared to be a man, larger than average, and dressed in jeans and a plain tee. And he was walking straight for me. I was glad I’d reached out to Toby when I left. If I was going to be kidnapped or killed in the next few minutes, someone would find Emma sooner rather than later. I’d hate to have her get hit on the road, trying to get home. She’s not the best at watching for cars.
I pushed my negative thoughts away. Just because I was alone on a beach with a man didn’t mean anything bad was going to happen. Greg had me jumpy after the house arrest the last few days. I called Emma to me and clicked back on the leash. She sat at my feet, not happy about the change in plans, but not whining either. I guess she was just glad to be out of the house too. We started walking down the beach in the direction of the other person.
I hadn’t gone too far before I recognized him. And I didn’t know if I would rather have an unknown person or have to talk with Mike Masters again. I’d told Toby and Aunt Jackie that I was too busy to attend the writer event that evening. Now he was going to see me out relaxing on the beach with my dog. I thought up a quick lie in case he asked. I had to go into town for a wake for a friend. No one would push on that excuse.
He raised a hand as we got closer. “I’m so glad I ran into you. I felt bad not asking you specifically about the signing tonight, but that guy you have working there, he’s so good at the marketing part. The local paper came to interview me early this week and the interview was in the paper this morning. I hope we get a lot of visitors.”
“Me too. I’m glad you scheduled an event. Deek said you were leaving town soon?”
He nodded, scanning the ocean waves as he spoke. “Yeah, my mom’s not doing well and I need to get back to Henderson to check on her. But I’m going to miss this place. A lot. I wish I could afford to live here.”
“I think California’s pricey everywhere, but on the beach listings have to be worse.” I felt lucky that Miss Emily had left me the house. If not, I’d still be living in the small apartment over the store. So much had happened during the last few years. My aunt had moved in and moved out. And now the apartment would have a new person enjoying its homey comfort. I stopped myself from mentioning I might have a rental available mostly because my aunt had said she had someone. It wasn’t just because I didn’t really like Mike. At least, that was what I was going to tell myself.
“I haven’t even looked. I support myself with my writing, but not at beach-house level.” He smiled and leaned down to pet Emma. “Who’s a good dog?”
Emma greeted him like they were old friends. She barked out a greeting, then sat to let him rub behind her ears. My dog likes everyone.
“Well, we’d better get going. I’m on a tight schedule today.”
He looked up at me. “Are you going to be able to come to the signing? I’d love to see you there. It’s good for the readers to know that the owner supports author events.”
Great, now I was getting the guilt lecture. I shook my head and moved around him. “Sorry, I’ve got an appointment tonight. Too bad the signing was so rushed. I would have loved to be there.”
I didn’t want Mike to see my nose grow, so I started running. I called back, “Have a great signing.”
We got a few feet away when I heard his answer. “Thanks for everything.”
Wow, did I feel like a heel. But he had started it with the guilt comment. Yet somehow, I