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“Well, the crew always has a good time. I’m sure we have enough food for one more. Sometimes, we play games or something after dinner or we just talk. You could get to know the crew.”
Ashlyn pushed her hands into her back pockets and turned her eyes away from Brandon in an effort to hide how much she cared what his answer would be.
“That sounds fine to me,” Brandon said. “As long as there truly will be enough food and I am not intruding.”
“It’s fine,” Ashlyn assured him. “Why don’t you just walk back with us?” The crew stored their equipment after carefully wiping it down to get rid of any spare sand particles. Dinner was tacos, and everyone began chowing down. Ashlyn found a place at the table across from Brandon and found that he was easily fitting in with the crew. Everyone asked him about his job and what he did, etc. Ashlyn sat back and smiled as she watched him interact. It seemed like she had picked a real winner this time.
When they were done eating, Brandon casually picked up Ashlyn’s plate and rinsed it off at the sink for her. Ashlyn looked over at Pamela who had also noticed his action. Pamela gave a small thumbs up. That was all the encouragement that Ashlyn needed.
She got next to him to play a game of Phase 10, but the game was taking forever. They had six people playing, and it seemed as though she would never phase up. The points were quickly mounting, and one person was even in the thousands. Ashlyn didn’t want to quit the game, but she couldn’t help feeling a little bored. She wanted to talk to Brandon. She wanted to have his attention, not be shoved behind other people.
Ashlyn nudged Brandon as she started her fifth round on level six. “What time do you need to get back?” It was a subtle hint that maybe she should walk him back to his car, but he didn’t seem to be getting the hint.
Brandon merely shrugged. “Maybe in an hour or so. I have to feed the dog, but she’s outside and she can wait some more.”
Ashlyn nodded and waited another five minutes for her turn. She wondered if Brandon would be up for a walk outside on the beach. It was too tempting to pass up. Ashlyn finally spoke again.
“Do you want to walk on the beach?” she was trying to speak quietly so that not everyone would hear her.
Brandon looked at her for a minute then nodded. “That’s actually a really good idea.” He looked at his watch. “We should go right now.”
Ashlyn wondered at his sudden change in attitude, but she didn’t give him time to change it again. “I fold,” Ashlyn laid her cards in the middle. The other players protested, but she knew they didn’t mind. They were probably just as annoyed by how long the turns were taking as she was. Ashlyn stood up and stretched. She was ready to talk to Brandon and see if he thought of her as anyone special.
Chapter Three
As soon as they got out on the beach and had kicked off their sandals, Brandon started talking excitedly. “There’s been this nest on the beach for a few weeks now. I’ve been coming over to walk every night and see if the eggs are hatching, but someone told me they will only hatch when there is a full moon. Tonight isn’t quite a full moon, but it’s close enough. Have you ever seen turtles hatch?”
“Turtles?” Ashlyn asked. “No, I didn’t know that was something you could see. Don’t they hatch in the ocean?”
“No,” Brandon shook his head. “The mom turtle lays her eggs in the sand and buries them. Then she goes back in the ocean and leaves them there for a few months. When a full moon comes, the baby turtles, hundreds of them, hatch and use the light of the moon to guide themselves to the ocean.”
“Wow!” Ashlyn had never known this about turtles, and she started getting excited about the thought of seeing them. “But if the eggs are buried, how do we know they are there?”
Brandon shrugged. “There are wildlife preserves monitoring the beach. They are able to locate them. When they do locate a nest, they rope it off so that people don’t accidentally step on it and kill the baby turtles. There is usually someone sitting at the hole watching for when they hatch.”
Ashlyn could see a small group of people huddled up near the dunes. She wanted to hurry ahead, but she also wanted to stand back and enjoy her time with Brandon. Suddenly, she felt his fingers clasping at hers. He was taking her hand!
Ashlyn’s heart skipped a beat as his hand firmly gripped hers. She wanted to tell him or show him somehow that she appreciated it, that she was glad he was taking her hand. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Nervously, Ashlyn looked at Brandon by turning her head slightly. He was smiling at her, and Ashlyn smiled right back. How beautiful it was to be on the beach with Brandon making her stomach flutter!
They finally reached the small group. There was a narrow passageway, like a tunnel dug into the sand, and they carefully stood on the side. Ashlyn looked up the little passageway to a hole that disappeared beneath the dunes. There was no sign of turtles tonight.
An older man sat in a folding chair by the head of the passageway.
Brandon waved down the man’s attention. “Do you know when the turtles might hatch?”
The man shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. It will definitely happen in the next week, before the moon begins to wane. However, I can’t begin to tell you the hour. Nature has its own way, Son.”
Brandon took a step back from the passageway and turned back to Ashlyn. “I saw a turtle’s nest hatch before, and it was right before midnight. Do you want to wait a while?”
Ashlyn looked at the few people that were seated comfortably in chairs or on blankets. She didn’t know if she wanted to wait a few hours when there might not even be anything happening that night.
“I don’t know,” Ashlyn replied. “I know you need to get back to take care of the dog, and I don’t want to wait if nothing is going to happen. It might be better to try another night. After all, I need to be up nice and early for filming tomorrow.”
“That’s true,” Brandon agreed. “Well, I don’t want to keep you then.” Brandon let go of Ashlyn’s hand, and she felt a little irritated. Was he just going to stay here and let her find her own way back to the house? Maybe he wasn’t the gentleman she thought him. But now, he was just turning around and taking her other hand.
Ashlyn smiled and shook her head just a little at his silliness.
“What did you do before it was summer time?” Ashlyn asked.
