“No Will today? I thought he would be along for the ride. I guess you said he had preschool.”
Her son and his sweet personality and constant chatter would have provided a very welcome buffer right about now. “Yes, and a playdate afterward with a friend that we arranged earlier in the week. I told you the timing was good for me.”
Ty Barrett had quickly become Will’s best friend after they moved to Haven Point. The two of them were always begging to play at each other’s houses.
“I guess you probably wouldn’t drag him along Christmas shopping anyway.”
“He’s not crazy about shopping for anything,” she said. “Speaking of shopping, it occurred to me this morning that you might need some help with your own Christmas presents. Is there anything I can pick up for you while I’m in town?”
“Thanks, but online shopping has been my friend this year. I would have been sunk, otherwise. I’m envisioning a constant parade of deliveries between now and Christmas.”
“You know, there’s a good reason they warn people not to make major purchases while under the influence of narcotics.”
His low, amused laugh rang through the car and she nearly swerved into a mile marker post.
He laughed.
Marshall Bailey actually laughed.
The sound of it rippled down her spine like he had just trailed his fingers along the skin just above her neckline.
She swallowed, hands tightening on the steering wheel, and her gaze focused on the road. She was going to drive both of them into the icy waters of Lake Haven if she didn’t maintain a little control here.
“What a beautiful day,” he said after a moment. “I can’t even tell you how good it is to be out of the house. I feel like I’ve been trapped inside for weeks.”
Yes. She probably was safe talking about the weather and their stunning surroundings. “I love this drive along the lakeshore between Haven Point and Shelter Springs. It has to be one of the prettiest roads in the world.”
“I’ve always enjoyed it, too.”
“I guess that’s a good thing, since you have to drive it every day now that you live in Haven Point.”
“True enough.”
“Do you think you will stay in Haven Point after Wyn finishes school and moves back?” she asked.
“Haven’t decided yet. Wyn’s going to want her house back eventually, I suppose.”
“Don’t you think they’ll move into Cade’s house when they get married, since it’s bigger?”
If she hadn’t shifted her gaze to glance in her mirror on his side of the vehicle, she might have missed his slight grimace.
“What’s the matter? You don’t like the idea of the two of them together?”
“He’s my best friend. She makes him happy, and vice versa. Why would I have a problem with that?” he asked, but she thought she still heard an edge in his voice.
It must be a little weird for him, but as far as she could tell, he had never been anything but supportive of his sister’s relationship with Cade.
“What was it like growing up in Haven Point?” she asked, taking pity on his discomfort to change the subject. “It must have been amazing.”
“Amazing? I don’t know about that, but it was a good place to grow up, at least for me. That probably had more to do with my particular family than our geographic location.”
“I could see that. Your family is wonderful.”
“Despite the idyllic setting, everything here isn’t perfect, you know. Like any town, Haven Point has its share of trouble. Even as a kid I knew that. When your dad is the chief of police, you can’t help but know a little about the darker side, though he tried to keep it from us as much as he could.”
“I suppose that’s true of every town.”
“No doubt. The boat factory, which was the biggest employer, had struggled to stay profitable for a long time in a changing economy. Various layoffs hit the town hard over the years. You probably know that Ben Kilpatrick had to finally close shop after he inherited the company, which left a lot of people out of work. It’s been nice to watch all the towns around the lake come back to life since Caine Tech moved in.”
McKenzie had told her a great deal about the ill-fated history of the wooden boat factory owned by her husband’s family and her and Ben’s efforts to move in a Caine Tech facility to take its place and bring jobs and commerce back to the struggling lakeside town. As someone trying to rebuild her own life, she found Haven Point’s efforts to reinvigorate itself fascinating.
“What about you?” he asked her. “You told me a little about your home life but not where you grew up. Portland?”