to be near water. And I modeled his office after the apartment we were in. I thought he liked it. But now I’m not sure he even likes his job. Last night I tried to talk to him about his future clients and when his uncles could help him open the office. But he wouldn’t talk about it. He just said he had to go.”
“Go where?”
“He’s staying with Dr. Jamie and his wife. I told Nate we could camp out in the Stanton house, so we could be alone. But he said his cousin needed him and...” Stacy threw up her hands. “I don’t know what’s going on with him. I was only gone for a few weeks, but it’s as though everything has changed. It’s like he doesn’t even want to be with me.”
“I think you two need to sit down and talk,” Terri said. “You should be honest about what you want out of life and honest about yourselves.”
Stacy turned toward Terri. “I’ve never been dishonest with Nate. Do you know something that I don’t?”
“Just that he’s been quite grubby around here and he seems to enjoy the physical labor. He hasn’t been like the man you described.”
“Yeah, well, men like to watch football. They all have that part of themselves.”
“Rugby.”
“What?”
“Nate likes rugby.”
Stacy was quiet for a moment. “He hasn’t been, you know, having...?”
“An affair? No,” Terri said. “Not even a hint of sex. I never saw him going after any of the females here, even the ones who let him know they were willing.”
Stacy gave a sigh of relief. “We just need time. Tomorrow I’m making a picnic for Nate and me. It’s to be at six, after everything is set up. I thought we’d go to Moonlight Beach. Would you join us?”
“I’m not sure—”
“Please?” Stacy asked. “Nate seems so at home here. Maybe you can get him to relax, to open up, to talk. If he’d just tell me what’s wrong, maybe I could fix it. Maybe—”
“Okay.” Terri stood up. “I need to go. Other people...”
“Sure. I can do the rest of this.” Stacy smiled. “I’m sorry you and I missed out on a lifetime of friendship. You’ve been great today.”
“Uh... Yeah, me too.” Terri said as she practically ran back to the road.
* * *
Terri was in the kitchen going through the cabinets trying to find a blue pan that she’d seen Nate use. It was oval and had a rough coating inside. He’d said it was perfect for fish and that’s what she had. Mr. Allen had given her a big striped bass in thanks for figuring out how his tent was to be put up. He’d held the poles while she screwed them together. This was his first Widiwick and he was very excited.
When the doorbell rang, Terri grimaced. It was nearly 9:00 p.m., she was hungry and she did not want to have to solve even one more problem.
She wiped her hands on a towel, took the frown off her face and went to the door. When she saw Nate through the glass, she smiled so wide her skin nearly cracked. She flung open the door. “Why didn’t you use your key?” It wasn’t easy to keep from throwing her arms around his neck. It seemed like years since she’d seen him.
He stepped inside and he started to say something, but then he glanced at the kitchen and saw the long white package on the counter. “Is that a fish?”
“Mr. Allen gave it to me. I was going to cook it but I can’t find that big blue pan.”
Nate went into the kitchen, opened an overhead cabinet and pulled the pan from the top shelf. “I was going to hang it on the wall, but it’s so heavy that I’d have to use a grappling hook.”
Terri laughed, glad to again feel the easy, light camaraderie between them. She leaned on the counter and watched him season the fish. How often she’d watched him cook!
Nate put oil in the heavy pan, then set it on the stove and turned on the burner.
“Did the Turner Twins help you today?” Terri asked.
“Those two pretty boys don’t know which end of a hammer to use.” As he got a potato out of the pantry and began to peel it, he smiled at her. “Why did they call Jamie this morning?”
“Mr. Arnold thought he was having a heart attack, but it was just anxiety. Mrs. Mellerson was there in one of her low-cut tops. Besides him, Jamie