* * *
He hadn’t lied to Bryn; he couldn’t get out of his plans. He’d put them off too long as it was. Facing Sharon Burke and telling her their arrangement had to end wasn’t going to be easy. For the next hour he busied himself with paperwork while he waited for his customers. Several times he stopped, pencil poised in midair, while he tried to think of a way to let Sharon down easily. Thumbing through one of his astronomy magazines hadn’t helped either. In the end he decided to rely on the one thing Sharon always insisted on. Honesty.
Picking up Bryn’s carton of lunches, he walked out to the Coral Kiss. Below deck, he lifted out the first box to place in the cooler. She’d wrapped each one in banana-yellow ribbon with a hand-lettered card attached. He tipped the card to read it. Chez Madison—distinctive cuisine in the heart of the Keys. Shaking his head, he laughed softly. If he didn’t admire her goal, he had to admire her perseverance. After storing the food, he went topside hoping to catch a glimpse of her upstairs at Pappy’s in the open-air room. He never got the chance to look for her, because his group charter was climbing out of their van in the parking lot. As they gathered their gear he jumped down onto the dock and directed them inside the office to sign several forms. While he waited, he found himself thinking about the woman he would see tonight. Maybe with him out of her life, she could start thinking about a plan for the rest of it. About goals. And about finding the courage to move on.
Sharon Burke was a good person, and after her husband died, a lonely one like himself. There were plenty of men lined up to impress the lovely widow, but as she told him, no one understood that she wasn’t looking for another husband. Just a decent man to talk to, a man who didn’t demand her constant attention when she simply wasn’t ready to give it.
At first, talking was all they’d both wanted. All they needed. Their no-strings relationship hadn’t slipped mindlessly into a sexual one. They’d rationalized that move two years ago. When the need to find comfort and release grew strong enough, one of them would make a phone call to the other. Since she had been the last one to call over two months ago, he knew it was his turn. Maybe it was because of his visit to Angie’s parents, but he kept putting off calling Sharon. Like a habit, his relationship with Sharon demanded little attention, required minimum imagination, and offered no challenge. His life had drifted on. Then Bryn with her peekaboo clothes, disturbing ways, and determined attitude blew into his life like an unpredicted hurricane. No matter how hard he tried to discount his attraction to Pappy’s granddaughter, he’d known from the moment he’d met Bryn that it was time to end his relationship with Sharon.
As he directed his customers aboard the Coral Kiss, he felt a sense of relief along with impatience to get the day over with, and to get on with his plans for tonight. Glancing out at the open water beyond the marina, he repositioned his ball cap and asked loudly, "Anyone here fish these waters before?" Through a chorus of noes, Rick came back with, "Aw, hell, neither have I." Everyone laughed, and as they motored out of the slip, he had the feeling that his attempt at humor had more to do with relaxing himself than his customers.