Page 42 of Crash Over Us
The next morning, I climbed out of bed before my alarm sounded. I didn’t know if I had slept two hours or none. I tossed from one side of the bed to the other, thinking about everything that happened between Caleb and me. Thinking about our argument. Thinking about him leaving and then returning in less than thirty seconds.
I realized he wasn’t next to me. He must have gone out to the pier to nail more boards down. It was his last day of leave before Guthrie said he could return to patrol.
I groaned, knowing that it was pointless to keep tangling myself up in the quilt. There were two deliveries scheduled for today. I needed to be showered, dressed, and caffeinated before they arrived.
When I made it downstairs and peeked out the kitchen window, Caleb wasn’t on the pier. His truck wasn’t in the drive either. I was about to text him as soon as I had poured my first cup of coffee, but was interrupted. I heard the sound of a truck beeping. I hurried onto the screen porch. I smiled. It was the ice truck.
I walked out to greet the driver.
He stepped out of the vehicle and sauntered over with a clipboard. “Good morning. You ordered an ice cooler.”
I grinned. “I sure did.”
“Where do you want her?” He handed me the delivery ticket to sign.
I walked him over to the only portion of the marina that had a covered section of deck. There was also an electrical outlet that could handle the ice cooler. It was going to get wet outside in the elements, but it was slightly protected.
“I measured. I want it to go here, and then the drink machine, when it gets here, will go right next to it.”
“All right.” He assessed the situation, turning his ball cap from the front of his forehead so the brim was facing backward. “I can do that.”
He walked back over to the truck and began to back up. He made sure he was as close to the decking as possible before he lowered the cooler onto a dolly and rolled it up onto the pier.
I didn’t know I could be excited about a commercial ice cooler. I didn’t know I could admire how shiny it was. Beautiful really. When I looked at it, I knew it meant income for the marina. It wouldn’t be much, but it would be steady. Items like ice and drinks, and maybe one day snacks, would invite people to come here and load up their coolers for the day before they took their boats on the water. It was progress. The ice cooler was my first step in turning the Blue Heron around. I hoped it would come in handy for Movies on the Marina.
The delivery driver plugged in the cooler. We both smiled when we heard the hum as the machine turned on.
“It’s going to take a couple of hours, but should be nice and cold soon for you. You’ve got your ice delivery set up?”
I nodded. “The ice will be here tomorrow.”
“Good deal.” He flipped his hat back around. “Let us know if you need another one. I can always bring a second one out.”
I laughed. “Let me see how the first one goes.” I hoped the ice sales were profitable enough I would need a second cooler. It was an obtainable goal to set.
He tipped his hat and climbed in the truck. A cloud of dust formed as he drove away. I looked over at John fishing on the end of the pier. If he had noticed the cooler, he didn’t react. I would ask him about it later.
I heard the crunch of gravel, expecting to see the drink machine truck, but when I looked at the drive, it was a different truck. It was Caleb. He was back.
My stomach flipped.
He jumped out of the truck. He was in a soft grey surfing T-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. He carried a small bouquet of flowers.
“Caleb,” I whispered. “What is that?”
“For you.” He stood inches away.
“You got me flowers?”
“I did, baby. You’ve been through a lot. I wanted to do something.”
The flowers were already wilting in the heat. I wished he weren’t wearing sunglasses so I could see his eyes. They always told me so much about what he was thinking and feeling.
“I’m sorry,” I sucked in the words.
“No, you aren’t going to apologize for last night. We figured it out. In more ways than one.” He smirked, and I had to believe there was a wink behind the sunglasses.
He handed me the flowers.
