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He takes his place behind the steering wheel. “Wherever you want. You can ride with the kids up front or on the leaning post with me.” He pats the seat beside him. “But you need to be holding on to something when I put the boat in gear.”
I join him on the leaning post and grab onto the console railing.
“Can we go fast?” Conrad calls out to Will.
Will shakes his head. “Sorry. I don’t want to scare your mom,” he says, glancing over at me with mischief in his eyes.
“Puh-lease,” Caroline and Conrad say in unison.
“We’ll go fast for a minute. But then I want to show your mom the town from the water.”
I hold on tight as he speeds up, and the boat rises out of the water. The hum of the motor and the whistle of the wind make it difficult to hear, and we don’t speak until he slows again as we approach the bridge.
When he slows the boat, I say, “Tell me about this Merriweather person the bridge was named after.”
“He was one of the town’s founding fathers. Believe it or not, I come from a long line of Merriweathers. My mother was the last to bear the name.”
I find this fascinating. I’ve never known anyone so rooted in a place before. “So, you’re a true South Carolinian.”
“Born and raised,” Will says and recites the town’s history as we putt-putt along.
When we reach the city marina, we turn around and head back in the direction we came. Will picks up enough speed to appease the children but not prevent us from talking.
“So, you’re new to town. Water’s Edge is off the beaten path. Did your husband come here for work?”
“No husband. I just went through an unpleasant divorce.”
He casts a sideways glance at me. “That sounds serious.”
“It was. Fortunately, he’s out of our lives forever.”
The heat radiating from Will’s body makes me swoon. I can’t help but think of him differently now that I know he’s a widower. But his wife has only been dead a couple of months. I assume he’s in no shape emotionally to start a new romance. I’ll continue pretending he’s Jason and I’m Anna. I commit what I’m feeling about him to memory to write about these feelings later.
When we cruise past the house, I ask, “Where are we going?”
“I thought we’d ride to the mouth of the ocean.” He eyes my life jacket. “You’ll be more comfortable if you take that off.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “No way! Not until we get back to the dock.”
He chuckles. “Suit yourself,” he says and presses the throttle to increase speed.
I never knew being on the water could be so liberating. I feel free with the wind blowing through my hair and the salt air tingling my nose. When we reach the mouth of the ocean, I point at a sprawling modern house on a large spread of land. “Who lives there?”
“Cliff and Corey Matheson. They’re from New England. That’s their retirement home. Ashton designed it, and I built it. It’s our largest project to date. Pretty amazing, isn’t it?”
“Stunning. Tell me about it. Do you build many contemporary homes?”
He shakes his head. “This is the first. My sister is a traditionalist like me, but we both learned a lot from the project. The house is U-shaped with an interior garden courtyard and an infinity pool overlooking the mouth of the inlet. Ashton calls it her crowning achievement.”
“I can see why. Maybe it’ll be featured in a magazine one day.”
“Maybe,” he says, and I can tell he likes that idea.
We arrive back at the house to find Ashton starting the grill. “I figured we’d eat early. I’m sure the kids are starving. Julia, can you and Conrad stay for dinner?”
Before I can answer, Will chimes in, “Yes! Please stay! You belong in our house of misfits.”
I look up at him from under furrowed brow. “You’ll need to explain that comment.”
