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The excitement in her voice made him want to offer to introduce her around. Talk about a stupid move. She would be more welcome here than him. But something about Emma made AJ want to help her. Maybe he was feeling sorry for her after the rough flight, but he didn’t like it. She worked for him, not the other way around.
“Make friends with the locals,” he suggested. “You’ll hear them all.”
“Must have been fun growing up here.”
“When I was a little kid.” He studied the buildings—stores and cafеs he didn’t recognize—along the inland side of Bay Road. Maybe that would take his mind off the woman sitting next to him. A wrought iron wind vane of a sailboat faced west. On the sidewalk, two people walked hand in hand. An unleashed golden retriever trotted next to them. “Not so much when I became a teenager.”
“It’s a charming town.”
“If you like small and boring.”
“I do.” She stared across him. Her lips parted, spreading into a wide grin that made him want to smile. “Look at the boats.”
Sailboat masts teetered on the harbor. Flags fluttered in the breeze. Empty moorings meant most boats had headed out to sea for the day. “Fishing used to support this town. Now I hear the biggest catch is tourists. A couple of my brothers take them deep sea fishing.”
That must kill his dad, who believed the only way to make money was building boats and catching fish. He’d called tourists “barnacles” and a few other choice words he wouldn’t say in front of his wife or mother.
With her eager gaze, Emma looked like a tourist herself. All she needed was a camera, sunglasses and a guidebook. “I could see coming here for vacation.”
He’d taken days off work, but he couldn’t relax here. Still, talking about Haley’s Bay with Emma wasn’t so bad. Being so aware of her movements and expressions, however, was making him uncomfortable. He focused on the town’s geography. “Cape Disappointment is next door with campsites, yurts and hiking trails. There’s the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. Long Beach is a coastal resort community to the northwest and Astoria, Oregon, is south across the Columbia River. I guess if I hadn’t grown up here...”
“You’d come for fun.”
“I might.” AJ tried hard not to think of this place. “But I always thought of Haley’s Bay as the place I couldn’t wait to leave when I went to college.”
“Back east, right?”
Libby must have prepped Emma with his background info. He assumed only the basics. All he knew about Emma was that she’d been in the foster care system before moving in with Libby and her parents during high school. “MIT.”
“Boston must have been a big change with the crowds and skyscrapers.”
“My first week it took me three days to fall asleep because of the noise, but I loved living there. Compared to a city, this place is dead.”
“You might view your hometown differently now that you’re an adult.” Emma pointed to the Captain’s Cafе, a multistory restaurant complete with weathered front, crow’s nest, anchor and captain’s wheel. “Do they have good food?”
“I’ve never seen the place.” He searched his memory for what had been there before. The doughnut shop, no...that wasn’t right. “That used to be Stu’s Sandwich Shop, a hole-in-the-wall storefront. But no one could top their pastrami on rye.”
“I love a good Reuben.”
AJ imagined her biting into a big sandwich, a dab of Thousand Island on the corner of her mouth. He wouldn’t mind licking it off and tasting more than the dressing.
Whoa. Where had that come from? He didn’t lick, let alone kiss, employees.
And she was his employee. Smart. Observant with journalist-writing-a-travel-piece insights, opinions and questions. Qualities he searched for when hiring staff. The other things he looked for were initiative and loyalty. Always, after what he’d gone through in Haley’s Bay, loyalty.
She gestured to the passing scenery, giving him another whiff of her shampoo. “What other places are new?”
Ignoring how good she smelled, he took in the street, noting the differences from his memory to reality. “The Coffee Shack, Donut Heaven, Bert’s Hardware, the Bay Mercantile Store and the barbershop were here before, but the building facades are updated. The Candy Cave, the Buried Treasure and Raging Waters are new. They appear more for tourists than locals. But I’ll bet the new store owners have the same small-town mentality as everyone else.”
“That so-called mentality is part of the appeal.”
Her odd—almost disapproving?—expression jabbed at him. Libby wasn’t a yes-person, but if her opinion differed from his she wasn’t vocal like Emma. The nanny had no problem speaking up. He wasn’t used to people doing so and wasn’t sure if he liked it or not. “The mentality is difficult to take growing up.”
“You feel that way, but many people didn’t grow up in a small town. They want to experience what that’s like. That’s why tourists like visiting. Haley’s Bay has to be a popular destination or we’d see the effects of a downturned economy, empty businesses and for lease signs in the windows.”
Interesting. A nanny with a keen sense of business. She wasn’t a carbon copy of Libby, and that was surprisingly okay. He leaned toward Emma, wanting to know more about her. “What was your major in college?”
“I didn’t go to college.” Not an ounce of regret sounded in her voice. She raised her chin with a hint of pride and determination, two more traits that appealed to him. “I attended a thirty-month nanny certification program in Portland. But I loved my economics class in high school. I like to read and stay up on current events. Nannies are a child’s second teacher, after their parents. I aim to enhance a child’s natural interests.”
Initiative in the flesh, plus confidence and curiosity. All packaged as a prim, proper, mousy nanny who had a pretty smile when she let it show. Emma would work out nicely. The more she dealt with, the more he could retreat.
“You might not like your hometown, but I love the quaint shops and cafеs.” She rested her head against the back of the seat, her shoulder brushing his. “Quintessential Pacific Northwest coastal town.”
Her wistful, romantic tone annoyed him. So did the tingle racing down his arm from where she’d touched him. “Forest and water, Emma. Please. Don’t get all rose-tinted on me, okay? This is Hicksville and being here held me back, badly. I never would have amounted to anything if I’d stayed in Haley’s Bay. This place was suffocating.”
The words rushed from his mouth before he could stop them. He’d never said these thoughts before. Weird. He was more careful and reserved around strangers. Around people he knew, too.
She tilted her head, attention fixed on him. Her focus unsettled him. He was used to being deferred to. Most bosses were. Emma must not have gotten the memo.
Of course she hadn’t. She consulted with parents and left when they didn’t agree. A free agent unused to following the chain of command. Like him when he’d started his business. How unexpected.
“What?” he asked finally.
“You...” She pursed her lips, full and unglossed.
He prepared for a lecture. Wanted to hear what she had to say if she didn’t drag on for more than a minute or so.
“...couldn’t have done a better job at getting away and making something of yourself.”
The praise filled him with unexpected warmth. Most people complimented him, but AJ never knew if they meant the words or were trying to suck up to him. Emma didn’t seem to be the kind of person to belong in that second group. “Thanks. There’s more—”
She nodded to him, as if encouraging him to continue. “More what?”
Damn. AJ balled one of his hands. He didn’t know why he kept telling Emma things. He didn’t let his guard down around anyone, friend or employee. Fresh-smelling hair and pretty smile aside.
“More I want to do. Places to visit.” Not what he intended to say, but the words were true and the perfect way to change the subject. “Are there places you’d like to travel?”
“Anywhere.”
“In the world?”
She nodded. “The farthest from Portland I’ve been is Puerto Vallarta. It’s hard to get around the flying.”
“You flew today.”
“To help Libby.” Emma’s gaze returned to the view out the window. The limousine followed the road along the bay toward his grandmother’s house. “I should have suggested driving myself and meeting you here, but I was so worried about Libby I wasn’t thinking straight.”
He knew the feeling being with Emma. “When it’s time for you to return to Portland, my driver will take you home.”
She glanced around the limousine, taking in the multiple screens, leather seats, bar. “This is your, um, car.”
AJ nodded. “Charlie drove down from Seattle this morning. I never intended on flying to Haley’s Bay, but I didn’t want to leave Libby alone in New York. She’s too valuable to me. If I’d known she hadn’t been feeling well before we’d left on the trip, I never would have taken her along, but she hid her abdominal pains until they became acute. I waited for her mother to arrive, made sure she was settled and comfortable, then flew here with a couple stops along the way.”
“Oh.”
The surprise in the one word spoke volumes. Emma Markwell had thought the worst of him. She wasn’t the only one, especially here in Haley’s Bay. “You assumed I left Libby in the hospital alone.”
“Maybe.”
“That means yes.”
Emma stared up at him through her eyeglasses, her cheeks red and a contrite look on her face. “It’s nice to know you didn’t. Leave Libby, that is.”
Not a full compliment, but better than being slammed for something he didn’t do. Still, he liked the idea of making Emma squirm since she’d done the same to him. “You’re backpedaling.”
“Not really.”
“I’m a nice guy.”
Emma raised an arched brow. “Are you always nice?”
Damn. “I try to be.”
“Trying doesn’t always work.”
“No, but I can tell myself I didn’t set out to be a jerk.”
“Is this something you tell yourself often?” she teased.
Her sense of humor had returned. She would need every funny bone with his family. “You’ll be able to answer that question on Sunday.”
“That sounds like I should be worried.”
“Maybe.”
Emma laughed. “Guess I deserve that.”
The limousine pulled to a stop. The engine turned off.
AJ glanced to his right. His grandmother’s Victorian stood peacock-blue and proud across a lawn of manicured grass and blooming flower beds. His heart beat like a halyard on a mast. “We’re here.”
“Wow. Your grandmother’s home is perfect. Even with the water right here, the house is what shines.”
He recognized the awe in Emma’s voice. A familiar sense of reverence—of home—brought an unexpected smile to his face. “The house has been in our family for generations.”
Emma’s eyes widened. “That’s a long time to stay in one place.”
“Coles have lived in Haley’s Bay since the Civil War.”
Her gaze bounced from the house to him. “The house isn’t that old.”
“My great grandfather bought the house ninety years ago. He liked the view of the bay.”
“Let me guess, he was a fisherman.”
“And boat builder.”
Emma looked over her shoulder at the bay. She took her time, allowed her gaze to absorb what she saw. “Lovely.”
The dreamy haze in her eyes and a soft smile on her face made her lovely, too. He shook the thought from his head. “The view from the second floor is better. You can see the harbor.”
Charlie opened the door.
AJ motioned for Emma to go first.
She slung her bag over her shoulder and clasped the plastic handle on the cat carrier. Moving toward the open door, she looked like she might topple out of the car. He didn’t need her to get hurt. One personal assistant in the hospital was enough.
He took the carrier from her. “I’ve got the cat.”
Her gaze met his then she looked away. “Thank you.”
AJ followed her out and stood on the sidewalk. Vividly painted terra-cotta flowerpots full of colorful pink, purple and yellow blossoms sat on each step leading to the wraparound porch. His sister Bailey’s creations, he was sure, the sight comforting as his grandma’s crocheted afghans. He only hoped his dad wasn’t part of the welcoming committee.
AJ gestured to the steps. “After you.”
Halfway up, Emma stopped. “There’s a swing.”
The breathless quality to her voice surprised him. He peered around her to see the white slotted-back, two-person bench hanging from thick silver chains. “Looks like my grandmother replaced her old swing. She used to love to drink tea out here and watch the boats. Guess she still does.”
“We had a swing.” Emma took the last two stairs. “Boy, did we abuse that thing. My mom got so mad at us.”
A bright, toothpaste-ad smile lit up her face.
AJ’s chest tightened. Emma looked so lighthearted and happy. She should smile more.
He joined her on the porch. “Us?”
Something—not panic, perhaps surprise—flashed in her eyes. “My, um, older brother.”
“My younger brothers and I played on Grandma’s old swing all the time. Had to fix it more than once after climbing and hanging off the chains.” He set the cat carrier on the porch. “We used to stand on the backrest and swing to see how high we could go. We also jumped off the seat to see if we could clear the porch rail and bushes.”
She leaned over the rail as if estimating the distance down to the lawn. “Sounds dangerous.”
He bit back a laugh. “You sound like a nanny.”
“Occupational hazard.” Her amused gaze met his. “But you can’t tell me no one got hurt.”
He pointed under his chin. “I have a scar to show for the fun we had. My youngest brother, Grady, has two.”
