The Newcomer (Thunder Point #2)(66)

“I know, Frank. I’ve lived here my whole life. Should I make us a couple of sandwiches?”

He lifted the cooler just as Gina was coming up behind Ashley. “I did already. We’re set. Sandwiches, chips, case of beer...” He smiled at Gina. “Kidding. Diet Coke and green tea.”

“Just give me a minute,” Ashley said, whirling off to her room to get changed.

Gina stepped toward the front door. “This is very nice of you, Frank.”

“Thanks, but I was going out there, anyway. I went from the marina to the bait shop to ask Cooper if he’d mind if I hiked out to the bird sanctuary, and then I thought, maybe Ashley had nothing to do.” He could feel a little color on his cheeks. Being sixteen could be a royal pain. He’d been killing himself trying to think of something that might distract her on prom night and just lucked into the whales.

“Well, come inside. Let’s see what else we can stuff in that cooler,” she said.

But he had it pretty well stocked. In addition to the sandwiches and chips he had veggies and fruit.

Carrie grinned when he came into the kitchen as she’d obviously heard the exchange at the door. “Here you go,” she said, handing him a bag of cookies. “And is there room for this?” she asked, pulling a small, disposable plastic container out of the refrigerator. “Pasta and crab salad? Just fresh today.”

“Thanks,” he said.

She handed him two plastic forks. “Do you have napkins?”

“And wet wipes,” he said with a shy smile.

“You’re a dream date,” Gina said.

“I’m not a date,” he said. And he thought, I’m not a date, thanks to my idiot brother.

“I could call my friend Sarah and borrow her Razor and you could drive across the beach,” Gina offered. “If you left it by Cooper’s while you go out on the point, it would be safe.”

“Thanks, but I’m up for the hike. If Ashley is.”

She came bouncing into the room, jeans and tennis shoes on, hoodie tied around her waist. “Of course I’m up for it. I can’t wait.”

“We need to move it. I don’t want to get out there too late. Once the sun sets, the show is over. Let’s go.”

“Let me carry something.”

“I got it. When we have to go uphill you can have one of these handles.” Then he looked at Gina and said, “I don’t think we’ll be late.”

“Ashley has her phone,” she said. “Just be careful and have fun.”

* * *

Gina called Cooper. “Hey, it’s me, Gina. Frank came by and said he asked if he could go out on the point to look for whales.”

“Affirmative,” Cooper said. “Permission granted.”

“He has food, a blanket, a Duraflame.... The log is for the sand, not the point, I take it. So, I think this is great—something for Ashley to do on prom night. But I’m just saying...”

“I’ll be here all evening, Gina,” he said. “After Sarah takes pictures of Landon and Eve before they head off to prom, she’s coming over. I see some deck time coming my way. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open.”

“I’m not really worried about her. She has her phone,” Gina said. “But it’s been a real rocky spring.”

He laughed. “Tell me about it! The whole world tilted on its axis!”

“I guess it did, didn’t it? Have I said congratulations yet?”

“A couple of times, I think. Don’t worry about Ash. Downy might be a dipshit who’s going to regret his manly moves, but I think Frank’s a standup guy. And for the record, I don’t think he’s just cleaning up Downy’s mess.”

“I think you’re right.”

“Did you know he can name every plant and bird on that point?”

She laughed. “I’m not surprised.”

* * *

Ashley had been on picnics all her life, but she’d never been on a picnic with Frank. It was like a biology class, but more fun.

Instead of climbing the stairs to Cooper’s deck, they walked up the drive, then out toward the point.

“I haven’t been out here in a while,” Frank said. “This place is covered with pine and manzanita, but there are some beautiful plants—wild ginger, salal, iris, ocean spray and even swamp rose, which is typically an east coast plant. The last time I was out here I counted ten types of fern—deer fern, chain fern, maidenhair, lady. There are several lilies, including mariposa, and that usually grows on the mountainsides.”

“You know all these plants?”

“I looked them up,” he said. “That’s a flowering currant and that’s Pacific blackberry.”

“Wow.”

“I know. Geek, right?”

“No! It’s cool,” she said.

“Ben was more interested in the birds—the loon, eagle, belted kingfisher, cormorant, merganser. I think he counted all the different birds he’d seen out here.”

“Are you into birds, too?” she asked him.

“I’m better with stars,” he said. “I should say I’m more interested in them. Here we go,” he said, reaching the end of the point. He dropped the cooler and backpack and pulled out a blanket to sit on and the binoculars, which he gave to her. “I’m counting on you to sight the first breach.”