Pieces of Us - Carrie Elks Page 0,11

the office, but once he retired they never replaced him.”

That explained the thick dust on the furniture in there. And the fact that nothing worked – not the phone line or the electricity, and of course there was no internet. She’d already arranged for a cleaning company to come to do their magic the next day, along with an electrician and the cable company.

“How long have you worked here?” she asked Griff.

He shrugged. “Ever since I can remember. I started off helping my grandpa when The Ocean Explorer was a fishing trawler. When he died, my dad converted it into a whale watching boat, and I used to crew every weekend for him. I took over as captain about six years ago.” His voice was deep and smooth.

“I see the rent hasn’t gone up in around ten years,” she said. “According to the records, at least.”

“That sounds right.” He raised an eyebrow.

“I’m afraid that might have to change. I’ll be doing some market comparisons to see what a fair level will be.”

He tipped his head to the side as though sizing her up. “I’ll be interested to hear what that might be.” He didn’t sound pissed, but then she didn’t know him. Maybe he was one of those guys who seethed silently. All she knew was that nobody liked rent increases.

“And I’d like to come out on your next cruise, if that’s okay?” she added. “Just to learn a little more about what you do.”

“If you come out on my boat, I’ll put you to work. We don’t take any freeloaders on the Explorer.”

She bit down a smile. “I’m not afraid of work.”

Griff nodded. “We leave at eight on Saturdays. But the crew starts at six. That’s when I’ll expect you.” He gave her a nod, and turned to walk away, not waiting for her reply.

It was only when he was halfway up the pier that he turned around and called out to her.

“And Miss Paxton?”

“It’s Autumn.”

The hint of a smile crossed his lips. “Autumn, then. As delightful as those shoes are, I suggest you wear flats tomorrow. Unless you want to end up as shark bait.”

4

“So there’s a new woman in town and neither of you thought to give her my number?” Jackson asked as Lucas slid a tray of beers on the table. “At least I know where she lives.” Griff and his two friends were at the local bar for a rare guys’ night out. He watched, amused, as Jackson swallowed a mouthful of cold beer.

“Don’t harass my tenants.” Lucas shot Jackson a warning glance. “And anyway, I thought you were seeing that programmer from White City.”

Jackson shrugged. “We ended things last month. So I’m free and single. And we all know that Griff would never date somebody he works with. Not after the Carla fiasco.” He grinned at Griff. “I bet you were delighted to see she’s back.”

“Over the moon,” Griff said, deadpan.

“That’ll teach you to date so close to home.”

“Griff never dates anybody all out,” Lucas pointed out. “He just breaks hearts all around town.”

“Guys, I’m sitting right here.” Griff took a sip of beer and glanced at Jack. “And leave Autumn alone. She’s too nice for you.”

Jack’s eyebrows lifted. “Oh yeah. How nice?”

Lucas leaned back in his chair, glancing with amusement at the two of them. “Ember says she’s pretty. And that she has great shoes, whatever that means.”

“What kind of shoes?” Jackson leaned in. “I need details here.”

Lucas’s phone rang and he grimaced as he glanced at the screen. “Gimme a sec. It’s Ember. I gotta take this.”

Jackson looked at him with amusement. “You only just left her. What the hell could you two have to talk about?”

Lucas shrugged and took the call. “Hey, baby.” There was a pause. “Are you sure? I’m at the bar.” Another pause. “Okay.” He sighed, glancing at Jackson and Griff. “I need to sing to Arthur.”

Griff coughed out a laugh.

“Hey. Any more of that and we’re doing a duet,” Lucas warned him.

Griff held his hands up. “I did my duties the other night. This one’s all on you.”

“Well, I’m not doing it with an audience. I’m heading outside.” Lucas sighed and exited through the door, leaving Jackson and Griff.

It wasn’t often that the three of them got together. With Lucas’s family and Jack’s thriving business, the two of them were hard to pin down. And on the occasional time that they did manage to meet, they were often joined by their friend Breck, as well as Nate