*Before we start, I just wanted to dedicate this chapter to someone special who has been an awesome fan since day one. You make me smile :)))) Tracisek!

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I had just finished putting away his uneaten food and washing the handful of dishes when Wes came strolling back into the kitchen in a pair of swim trunks and a t-shirt.

"Grab your bag Gorgeous, I need to go shopping."

I dried my hands on a cute tea towel embroidered with a colorful outline of Michigan. "And I need my bag why?"

He grabbed an apple from the counter. "Because you're driving me obviously."

"I wasn't hired to be your chauffeur. Drive yourself."

"Well," he said walking closer. "I would love too, but I've heard it's frowned upon to drive with a suspended license."

I laughed. "Why am I not surprised."

"Because you think I'm a naughty boy who does naughty things?" He winked.

By now he was standing directly in front of me and dangling a strange key in my face.

"I'll even let you drive my car."

***

His car, as it turned out, was one of those fancy, sporty things that probably cost more than our old house. He had backed it out of the garage for me, because the thought of scratching it had nearly sent me into a panic attack, and now I was behind the wheel trying to look for the ignition without appearing like an idiot.

He reclined in the passenger seat, smirking. "Any day gorgeous."

I frowned. "I don't know where to put the key."

He leaned over and pressed a button near the steering wheel bringing the car to life. It purred and vibrated with barley suppressed energy. Holy crap. This was probably one of those cars that went zero to sixty the second you pressed the gas pedal. "Can we just take my truck? Better yet. You give me your list, and I'll just run to the store without you."

I tried to smile, but even I could tell it was more of a grimace.

He patted my knee. "And deprive myself of your company? Not going to happen. Besides-" he gently moved my right hand to the driveshaft. "-you don't seem like the type of girl to back down from a challenge."

I sighed and backed down the driveway.

"Not so bad is it."

"No," I smiled. "Not too bad. I hope you have amazing insurance though."

"Hmmm. I'm sure Mrs. Potts probably updated the insurance when I told her I was coming."

I was about to freak out on him, but realized he was laughing at me. "Ok smart aleck, very funny. Who is this Potts anyway, you've mentioned her before."

"Mary, our family manager."

"Mary? She's the one who interviewed me."

He nodded. "She takes care of anything we need for any of our properties."

"But I could have sworn her last name was something that started with an S? Not Potts."

"That's because it's not." He chuckled to himself, shaking his head. "Have you ever seen Beauty and the Beast?"

I rolled my eyes. "Not only was it my favorite Disney movie, I also have two little sisters."

"When I was younger, she showed me the movie and I thought she looked like Mrs. Potts. She's a little round and her white hair is always pinned back. I don't think she cared for the nickname at first, but I'm sure it grew on her."

"I'm sure," I said sarcastically.

Traffic was heavy as usual. It took us about thirty minutes to drive three quarters of a mile because you had to cross a bridge that rose every half hour to let boats come and go from round lake to the open waters of Lake Michigan.

We managed to find a parking spot downtown, but instead of going into the grocery store like I would have done, he dragged us around to all of the specialty shops. Bread and homemade tortilla rolls from the bakery. Jams, corn chips and salsa from The American Spoon and a rainbow of produce from the farmers market.

"Where to next bossman?"

"We need some fish. You good to walk to Finnegan Fishery, or should we get the car?"

I raised an eyebrow. "It's like a quarter of a mile. I think we're good by foot." I hiked one of the canvas bags higher on my shoulder and we followed the path along the harbor, passing the harbor master building, rows of insanely beautiful boats and the newly remodeled bandshell that had held outdoor concerts since before I was born.

"You seem to know your way around here, how long have you been summering in Charlevoix?"

"Since I was ten." His eyes had darkened, but he seemed to snap out of it just as quickly. "What about you? It's hard to imagine you've been here all these summers and I've never run into a white haired goddess. You think I'm bad now, you should have seen me in my teens, I would have been all over you."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I've been here my entire life, but I'm sure we ran in different circles."

"You'd be surprised," he said. "What about your family?"

"My family -" the bag slipped down from my shoulder and Wes tried to take it from me, though I refused. " Well, my dad was born and raised here, as was his dad before him, and my mom... she was from New York. Her family had a summer house here. One year, her and my dad fell in love and that was that. She never went back."

"Was?" His voice was sympathetic.

"She passed away last year. Breast Cancer."

"I'm so sorry."

"Thank you..." I kicked a rock off the sidewalk as we continued down the path.

Wes cleared his throat. "What about these sisters you mentioned. How old are they?"

At that I smiled. "They're twelve. Twins. And a total handful."

"I bet."

We made it to the entrance and walked down the wide drive to the warehouse at the edge of the water. One guy in a pair of rubber overalls was hosing down the cement and another was carrying supplies on a long wooden dock, disappearing inside the white boat bobbing against it. The doors to the warehouse were wide open and we entered to find a variety of fish on ice.

"This was all caught fresh this morning," Frank said as he walked over to us, wiping his hands on his stained jeans.

"Nice haul," I replied.

"How's your dad these days? We could use some help around here if he'd like to get back on the water sometime."

"He's ok. I don't see him to much nowadays. They've kept him pretty busy at the foundry."

Frank nodded, reading between the lines. "And whose your friend Em?"

"This is Wesley, I'm helping him out this summer." I turned towards a smiling Wes. "And this is Frank Finnegan, a long time friend of our family."

Frank reached for his hand and Wes gladly took it. "What's your last name Wesley?"

That same cloud came over him anytime a personal question was asked. He cleared his throat. "It's Harrington."

Frank's grip seemed to tighten. "You wouldn't happen to be related to Chris Harrington would you?"

Both men stared at each other. "Yes. He's my father."

Frank looked at me, then back at Wes before releasing his hand. "I've known him for quite a few years, not that I've seen him around for a while."

"He stopped coming after my grandmother passed. He only started again a couple years ago."

Frank nodded, but gave me another strange look.

"Frank!" One of the guys called. "The damn computers on the fritz again."

"I'll be right there." He patted my arm. "Tell your dad and sisters I said hi, and take whatever you'd like." He walked towards the doors calling over his shoulder. "Grab an extra whitefish for your dad too."

"I will, bye Frank!"

Wes stared at his retreating form. "He hates me."

I startled. "What do you mean?"

"You can't know my dad and not hate anything he's touched."

I don't know why, but my heart broke a little in that moment.

***

Besides the fact that he's obviously promiscuous and has a dirty mouth, I didn't have many complaints. Wes was actually fun to hang out with and an easy conversationalist.

We had left the fishery with five pounds of whitefish wrapped in paper and were walking on the paved path that ran along the harbor. "Do you like fish tacos?"

I grinned. "Honestly, they're one of my favorites."

"I was thinking of cooking the fish on the grill tonight and making some tacos. Would you want to stay for dinner? I mean, I'm sure I could find much better company elsewhere, but probably not this last minute." He wasn't even trying to pretend to be serious, blatantly joking.

"Har. Har." I raised my eyebrow. "I can't. I have to pick my sisters up at three from camp and be at the bar by five."

My phone started ringing before he had a chance to reply and I dug it out of my shoulder bag. It was the camp number. "Speak of the devils."

"Hello?"

"Hey Em, it's Avery. I hate to bother you, but Annie hurt her ankle pretty bad."

My skin drained of color. "Is she ok?"

Wes put a hand on my shoulder, his eyes questioning.

"Yeah. The girls were running on the beach and she stepped in a hole. I think it's just a sprain, but she needs to get it checked out."

I let go of the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. "Ok. Thank you. I'll be there as soon as possible."

"See you soon then."

I hit end.

"Is everything ok?"

I took a deep breath. "Yeah, but one of my sisters got hurt at camp and I need to take her in to get her ankle looked at. I'm gonna have to run you home real quick and get up there."

"Nonsense. I'm going with you."

We'd turned in the general direction of the car. "That's not necessary. I'm not going to have you drop whatever you were doing today to help me take my sister to the ER. I'm just the help after all."

"First of all, I had zero plans today. Secondly, you said it was her ankle. If she can't walk on it, you'll probably need some help. And third. Don't ever say that about yourself."

I opened my mouth to protest, but he stopped me. "I'm coming."

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Hey Guys!

I just wanted to say that you're saints for waiting for this update. I know it's been forever and I'M SORRY!!!

I'm an idiot who thought it would be a good idea to work on three books and two scripts at the same time... well, that's ADD for you. I literally can't keep my head in one story at a time.

With all that being said, I'm SOOO looking forward to reading your comments! They put a huge smile on my face and help me continue writing :)

If you have a second to VOTE, that is always appreciated as well!

Thank you always,

xxx Bre