A Walk Along the Beach(16)

“You get up at three-thirty?” That seemed unbelievable. “What time do you go to bed?”

Lowering her gaze, Willa gave the impression that if she said too early, I’d have a change of heart. I needed to correct that impression.

“It doesn’t matter—nothing does, as long as you’re willing to go on a date with me.” I was convinced the pleading in my voice destroyed my man card.

“Lights are off around nine.” She sounded unsure, as if her hours remained a deal-breaker.

I did the math in my head. “Is that enough sleep?”

    “I can stay out later if you want.”

“No need,” I rushed to assure her. “I’m willing to take whatever time you give me. I’ll get up at three-thirty, too, if that helps.”

Willa smiled. The only thing I could equate her smile to was watching the sun rise, spilling light over the Olympic Mountains. I’d managed to capture that shot in one of the several magazine covers I’d had over the years. The photo, which I considered my best to date, took my breath away once the film was developed. I swear I stared at it for a good fifteen minutes, unable to tear my eyes off the image I’d captured.

The same feeling flowed over me with Willa’s smile. “Is tomorrow too soon?” I asked, calmer now, my heart returning to an acceptable beat. From the way it had pounded earlier, I should have been light-headed.

“Tomorrow would be perfect.”

“What would you like to do?” I was game for anything, as long as it was with Willa.

She met my gaze. “Would you mind a walk along the beach?” she asked.

A walk along the beach. “That sounds perfect.”

I would have gladly taken her to the priciest restaurant in the state, had she asked. This was Willa, though. Nothing fancy. Nothing out of the ordinary. A simple walk along the beach. If I wasn’t half in love with her already, this simple request would have done it.





CHAPTER 7





Willa


I arrived home, bubbling with excitement, eager to tell Harper about running into Sean. I flew in and nearly tripped over the rug in my eagerness. My shoulders deflated when I found her in her room, fast asleep. Snowball was nowhere in sight. Careful to keep the screen door closed as I traipsed back and forth hauling grocery bags into the apartment, I kept an eye out for my sister’s kitten.

Snowball didn’t make a showing and I could only imagine where she was hiding.

I made dinner and went to wake Harper. “Dinner’s ready,” I told her, gently placing my hand on her shoulder.

Stretching her arms over her head, she yawned and briefly looked up at me. “I’m tired. I want to skip dinner tonight.”

“You sure?” Normally Harper had a good appetite.

“I did a hard workout this afternoon and was up late on the phone with John last night. Let me sleep.”

    John, if I remembered correctly, was a fellow climber. From the beginning I’d had my doubts about this mountain adventure of Harper’s. She was exhausted and she had yet to set foot anywhere close to Mount Rainier. “Sleep,” I whispered. She’d wake later and change into her pajamas and probably raid the refrigerator.

In the meantime, Snowball was AWOL. Hoping to lure her out from her hiding spot, I set a bowl of food on the kitchen floor. She was a no-show. Surely the kitten would be hungry by now. So much for Harper’s promise to take care of her.

Mumbling under my breath as I headed into my room, I found Snowball curled up and asleep on my pillow. How she’d managed to get all the way up to the bed was a mystery.

“So here you are,” I said, lifting her and gently petting her. “I have food out for you.” I carted her into the kitchen and placed her on the floor. Snowball found the bowl and quickly ate. When she’d finished her dinner, I carried her back to Harper.

“Harper,” I said softly, not wanting to startle her. “I have your cat.” I set Snowball down on the pillow next to my sister’s head. While half asleep, Harper smiled and gently tucked Snowball against her stomach. The kitten immediately curled up and took a nap.

Shaking my head, I left the two of them.



* * *



—

I didn’t talk to Harper until the following morning, when she stopped off at Bean There on her break between her fitness classes.

“Hello, Sleeping Beauty,” I said, and handed her a protein drink along with a vegan blueberry scone. There’d been evidence that morning of her kitchen raid sometime during the night.

“I know. Can you believe I slept nearly twelve hours?”

“Yes. I think these workouts are stretching you to the limit.” I didn’t want to claim they were too much for her, for fear of sounding like the mother she’d accused me of being.

    “Hogwash,” Harper insisted. “I didn’t get enough sleep the night before and needed to catch up is all.”

“Whatever you say.” I wasn’t sure I believed her, and resisted rolling my eyes.

Seeing that Alice was dealing well with the customers, I grabbed a coffee and joined my sister. Lowering my voice, I said, “I happened to run into Sean last night.”

“And?” Harper arched her neatly trimmed eyebrows.