The Path to Sunshine Cove (Cape Sanctuary #2) - RaeAnne Thayne Page 0,52
it, walking all the way to the McBrides’. The bike trailer was similar to one he’d had for Sophie that converted to a jogger stroller with the right accessories, but he suspected Jess didn’t have those with her.
“How about this? We can load up the bikes into the back of my truck, run to the bike shop for a tube and have them fix it while we grab a pizza for dinner. It’s the least I can do to thank you for watching over Sophie.”
She looked shocked at the suggestion. “That’s not necessary, really.”
“Maybe not, but I would enjoy it. If you already have dinner plans, that’s fine. I’ll drive you home and pick up a tube on the way back, fix your bike and get it to you tomorrow.”
“I would rather have pizza,” Grace said.
“Pizza!” Ava exclaimed.
Even their dog seemed to agree, jumping around and giving happy little yips. He might have been picking up on the girls’ excitement, though.
Jess looked uncertain, though he could see her beginning to weaken. “What about Sophie?”
“I’ll go talk to her and tell her the plan.”
“She wasn’t very happy with you when she left. I’m not sure she’ll be in the mood to hang out with us.”
“Has it been longer than fifteen minutes?” he asked ruefully. “With the way her moods go lately, she’s probably done being mad at me about the surfing thing and has moved on to something else completely.”
She would still be mad at him, of course. That was a given. But maybe she would unbend long enough to enjoy more time with Jess and her nieces.
“I have to go talk to her anyway. If she doesn’t want to help us with the bike, I can always bring her back some pizza, if it comes to that.”
“How about this? If she wants to go along, we’ll have pizza. If not, I’ll just ask you to take us and the bikes back to Rachel and Cody’s place, where I can look around for an inner tube or a patch kit.”
“I’ll see what I can do. I’ll meet you back here in ten.”
“Long enough for us to wash up. Thanks,” she said, ushering the girls toward her Airstream steps as Nate headed for his place.
He found Sophie in the family room playing her favorite video game. She looked up when he entered but seemed too distracted by the game to glare at him. That was progress, at least.
“Hey there,” he said with a smile. “I’m sorry I treated you like a baby. I was worried about you. I know you can take care of yourself in most situations but you know how unpredictable the ocean can be. You made the right choice in the end not to surf by yourself. I should have focused on that instead. I’m sorry.”
She looked startled at the apology, which made Nate think maybe he didn’t do enough of them.
“I should have texted Gram to let her know where I was. I do know the rules. I thought my friend would be with me.”
He wanted to talk to her about this boy she had invited over after school but decided to pick his battles for now.
“Jess has a flat tire on her bike. We’re going to run downtown to the bike shop and we’re talking about getting a pizza. Want to come? You can get a personal-size with your own toppings, if you want.”
Sophie had a long history of being picky when it came to her pizza toppings, which he had learned how to work around.
She appeared to consider the merits of staying home by herself with her video games or spending more time with Jess and the girls. They won.
“I guess,” she said, saving and shutting down the game.
Nate figured he would take a shrug and an unenthusiastic response as a win in this case.
* * *
In the end, they decided to wait for the tire to be repaired at the bike shop, which didn’t take long. They were done and ready to be on the road again in about twenty minutes.
All three of the guys working in the shop couldn’t seem to take their gazes off Jess, each vying for her attention. She didn’t seem to notice. Could she possibly be unaware of the attention she attracted?
“All done,” Mike, the very married store owner, said with a flirtatious smile at Jess. She either didn’t notice or had decided to ignore him.
“Thanks for doing it so quickly.”
“Anytime.”
She paid for the repair, which Nate would have liked