WE’LL PROVIDE THE BURGERS & HOT DOGS. BYOB PLUS A
SIDE OR DESSERT.
Chef had needed almost three weeks off, and now, as it neared the end of July, he was scheduled to come back part-time. They’d workedout an arrangement with the deli to provide low-cost breakfasts, easy lunches, and a variety of snacks. Chef would work afternoons, providing only dinners. He’d need physiotherapy for a few months still to regain strength in his hand, but he was eager to get back to the kitchen.
Miles was grinning at her when she set the chalk down. “Is Beckett’s place big enough to hold all of this?”
Presley laughed, unsure, now that it was in front of her, how she was going to get it all to the dock. “Some of it’s going to the lodge, but he’s cleared out the spare bedroom, so it should.” She’d come back for the apartment items later.
“I’ll call Anderson?”
Presley nodded. “Thank you. But I need…” She trailed off, looking for a specific package. It wasn’t from Amazon, so it was easy to find. The small box gave nothing away.
“See you Saturday?” Presley asked.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Miles said.
Back on the cruiser, her special package in the basket with the few items she’d picked up, she rode toward the dock, waving at people along the way. Mateo had joined the lodge as a part-time hiking guide, which freed up Beckett’s time to get as much as he could in order for the rental shop before going back to Brian’s part-time.
Getting off the bike, she walked toward Beckett, who saw her almost immediately. The large, garage-style doors of what had once been an auto shop were open. Tevin and a friend were finishing up the last of the interior.
“This looks great,” she said as she came closer.
Much like the cabin, it was coming together quickly. After a conversation with Gramps, Beckett had decided he wanted to rent an actual building. It would make storage easier. When Gramps suggested the former auto shop across from Pete’s would work well, Beckett wasn’t immediately sold. Presley had doodled her ideas of what it could look like once they painted and added a counter and a seating area. From there, Gray and Jill suggested adding bike racks in front for easy parking and maybe offering easy-to-travel snacks and drinks for the riders.
“It’s coming along,” Beckett said, taking her hand. He pulled her in for a soft kiss that made her sigh with happiness. “What’s in the box?” he asked when he leaned back.
“A surprise,” she said.
“For who?”
She poked his chest. “You.” She held it out to him.
Music pumped from the back office, where the guys were painting.
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” he said, looking at her with so much love she couldfeelit. He said it often, and so did she, but it was the little things he did—bringing her coffee in the morning, anticipating her needs, taking her hand or putting one on the small of her back like he couldn’t stand not touching her. Now that she knew what it felt like to be someone’s person, to have someone return her feelings fully and completely without reservation, she wondered how she’d thought she could settle for anything less.
“I did,” she said on a breathy sigh. “It’s a thanks-for-loving-me-back-and-making-me-the-happiest-woman-in-Smile-I’m-so-excited-about-our-life-together gift.”
Beckett’s laugh echoed in the freshly painted, empty space. He yanked her into a one-armed hug, swinging her around.
“God, I love you.”
When he set her down, her heart was racing. Now she knew how he had felt giving her the bike. “I love you, too,” she said quietly, nudging the box. “And I hope you love these. If you don’t, I won’t be offended.”
With care, he opened the box, pulling the lid off. Inside, nestled under some tissue paper, were business cards.
He pulled one out, looked at it. The 3.5 x 2 cardstock paper looked small in his grasp. She was pleased to see it’d turned out exactly as she’d designed it with her own personal doodle of a tandem bike in one corner and a cruiser in the other. In the middle, it read:
BECKETT’S BIKES
SMILE’S ONE-STOP SHOP FOR ALL YOUR RENTAL NEEDS
The address, phone number, and website were listed below the tagline they’d created together. She clasped her hands, resting her chin on them, waiting for him to say something.
His gaze moved over the words slowly before rising to meet hers. “You’ve believed in me from the second I told you about this.”
Her heart gave a nervous flutter. “From the second you told me, I could feel your excitement and passion for doing this. For doing thishere,where you grew up.”
