A Time for Us - By Amy Knupp Page 0,20
other cars in the gravel lot but not a person in view as she made her way to the door of the boathouse. Taking solace in the hand-painted Come On In sign that was almost as old as she was, Rachel felt her burden lighten as she opened the screen door.
“Holy moly, look what the beautiful day dragged in. My eyes must be failin’ me.”
Rachel couldn’t help smiling at the sound of that familiar gravelly voice, even though she wasn’t able to make out the man sitting in the deep shadows yet. “Buck!” she said, moving toward him as her eyes began to adjust to the low light.
“Rachel Culver, I have half a mind to kick you outta here. Saw in the newspaper you were back in town bein’ a doctor at long last. Guess you have better things to do than tend to your boat or visit an ornery old man.”
“Oh, stop it,” Rachel said, grinning from ear to ear. “I’m here now, ornery old man.” She waited for him to gain his feet, holding her hand out to steady him.
“Not only are you about five years past due, but you’re late. It’s almost eight a.m. Sun’s been up for hours.”
“I just got done with a shift at the hospital. I came straight here.”
“Eight a.m. will have to work just fine, then.”
Buck grasped both of her hands and studied her, working his jaw as he did. Rachel took the opportunity to size him up, as well, drinking in the sight of him. He’d aged more, but then, he had to be in his mid-nineties by now. Other than being a little more stooped over and having a few extra sun-roughened wrinkles, he looked the same as always. His faded yellow T-shirt said Buck’s Boat Rentals, and his skinny, knobby-kneed legs jutted out from baggy, wrinkle-free khaki shorts. He wore his usual sports sandals and life-loving, sunken-in grin.
At last, he nodded his approval at what he saw, so Rachel did the same. “Looking good, Buck Winfrey. Life must be treating you right.”
“Can’t complain. Got a full boathouse and my whittlin’ keeps me busy.” He nodded to the cluttered end table next to where he’d been sitting. Now that Rachel could see in the lower light, she spotted a piece of wood and some tools. “You here to get out on the bay?”
“I am,” Rachel said eagerly, glancing down the rows of boats for a glimpse of her blue-and-green kayak. “It’s been way too long.”
“Come on, then,” Buck said, leading the way to her storage space at the opposite end of the third row.
“How’s Bob?” Rachel asked, eyeing the shadowed corner where the two sides met the ceiling. The darker spot wasn’t recognizable, but she knew it was the resident bat.
“Happy as can be. Bugs are keeping that ol’ bat well fed this year. Won’t be long before he’s too fat to fly.”
“That wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, in my opinion,” she said, casting one more nervous glance toward the corner.
Rachel helped Buck free her kayak from its rack, surprised as always by his strength, which was so incongruent with his bony, slightly hunched body. “I got this,” he said. “You gonna wear those doctor clothes out on the water?”
She hadn’t even stopped to think about her lack of a swimsuit or suitable kayaking clothes. Her scrubs were comfortable but...
“I got somethin’ for ya.” Buck motioned with his head toward the door she’d come in through. Rachel followed him and helped him lower the kayak to the dirt floor, leaning it against the wall by the door.
Buck walked over to the wall behind the open door and started digging through a large, open cardboard box. “Here we go.” He faced her with a victorious glimmer in his eyes. “Think this’ll work? Ladies’ medium. Might be a little big on the likes of you, but I didn’t order anything smaller. Would’ve if I’d known you were gonna show up.”
He held up a yellow tank with Buck’s Boat Rentals on the chest.
“Looks perfect to me. Thanks, Buck. I’ll change into that and roll up my pants. It’ll do.”
“A Buck’s shirt will more’n do, young lady. I don’t give them out for free to just anybody! Them are twelve-dollar shirts.”
“Well, then, I’ll pay you twelve dollars when I get my purse out of the car.”
“No, you will not. It’s a gift, just for you, Miss Rachel. Now, you get changed and then we’ll get you on the water.”
There was no arguing with Buck.