I meet her at the front of the vehicle. We head inside and music from a local band drowns out our voices. “Colin is over there,” I say, my mouth near her ear as I point.
She nods, and I put my hand on her back to guide her to his table. This is one of our usual Saturday night hangouts in the summer, and I wave to a few of the fishing crew from Hooked—a multimillion-dollar seafood company with its home base in Lunenburg—that I’ve met over the years. I catch sight of Hooked’s CEO, Nate and his wife, Kira, and spot Sam saying something to make them all laugh. I’d introduce Alyson, but no doubt Sam would drag her to the dance floor. He’s a funny son of a bitch, but the thought of him dancing with Alyson doesn’t sit right with me.
Colin jumps up when he sees us. “What the hell? You haven’t been out in months.”
“Busy, you know that.”
Colin shakes his head at me. “Yeah, there’s a lot I know, but what I know right now is you need a beer.” He gestures for the waitress as Sara pulls Alyson into the seat next to her, and the women chat like they’re long-lost friends. Dammit if Alyson doesn’t need a friend. It sort of breaks my heart to think she’s going to go back to a place, to people, that doesn’t care for her. Soon enough, a few more of the guys join us, and Sara’s friends all pull up chairs to our table. I steal a glance at Alyson. I might not have wanted to come here, but I’m glad I did, for her. Jesus, it’s crazy how much I want to do for the girl who fits in here yet comes from a very different world.
I relax and soon begin to enjoy myself. We spend the night chatting and laughing, and for the first time in a long time, I just forget about work for a while. Alyson even managed to drag me to the dance floor a couple of times, although I don’t have her moves, and when I caught Sam checking her out, I gave him my best death glare. He simply laughed it off and produced his middle finger.
By the time the last song is played, I’m a hot, sticky mess from the humidity in the place. Alyson has a new light in her eyes and an even bigger smile on her face. I caught Colin’s eyes a few times, worry lingering there, but he didn’t bring up the bet, knowing it wasn’t the time or the place.
“Want to get out of here?” I ask Alyson, and she takes my arm and twirls herself around. I grin, sure she’s had one too many glasses of wine, but what the hell? She deserves a break. But honestly, I never thought I’d like being with her so much, always looking over my shoulder for her back on the farm, waiting to get a glimpse of her in her market, or to hear her voice, hear how happy she is to see me when we both finish for the night. I guide her outside and get her situated into the passenger seat, and she’s still singing away, off-key.
“Don’t quit your day job,” I tease, and she laughs.
“I’m no better at that than I am at singing.” She leans against the backrest. “Thank God for Cindy helping and help coming in for harvest.” I put my hand on her thigh and give it a squeeze. She turns and looks at me. “I had fun tonight. Thank you.”
“I had fun, too.” I back up and negotiate my truck onto the highway.
“I really like your family,” she says and gives a big sigh.
“They like you, too.”
“We never have big family dinner like you guys do. It’s really nice.”
Her smile is so sweet and vulnerable, my throat nearly closes over. “You and Sara seemed to hit it off.”
“I really like her.”
“You going to the wedding then?” I ask, but what I’m really asking is if she plans to be here that long. She frowns, like she knows exactly what I’m getting at.
“I don’t know,” she answers and turns to look out the passenger-side window, lost in her thoughts. We both go quiet for the remainder of the trip home, and when I pull into my driveway, I turn to her.
“I’ll get the animals settled for the night.” I gesture toward the cottage. “Why don’t you head inside?”