Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“They aren’t complete opposites,” Harry stated, starting in the middle of a conversation, yet I’d known him for so many years that I knew exactly what he was speaking about.
“I know. But they’ll be good for each other.”
“You and your wild ideas, woman. Theo will hate it if he finds out you’re trying to make him a friend.”
“I worry about him. He’s been alone for so long, and not having a friend makes me sad. Besides, Willow is an instant friend for everyone she crosses paths with.”
“Her personality is vibrant,” Harry said, “which means Theo will be annoyed by it.”
I waved a dismissive hand. “Theo is annoyed by everything.”
“Truth.” He held a hand out toward me. I placed my hand in his. His thumb gently rubbed my hand like he’d been doing since we’d met. “It’s a good night,” he said.
“It is.”
“And you’re a good woman.”
“I am.”
He turned toward me and smiled. Oh, that smile. That smile hadn’t changed either. “Everyone’s going to be all right, my love.”
“I know.”
His smile softened as he placed a hand against my cheek. “Everyone’s going to be all right, my love,” he repeated, this time his words so gentle and caring.
My eyes welled with emotions, and I nodded once more. “Yes. Okay. If you say so.”
“And say so, I do.”
He knew I needed the reminder.
I knew I needed him.
He was right about one thing—it was a good night.
CHAPTER 5
Harry
Sixty Years Ago
“Thank you, Mr. Elkhorn. I’ll make sure the dock is repaired and up to your standard. I need to head out there and double check a few things,” I told my newest client.
I’d recently started helping my pops on a few construction jobs, and he sent me off to handle a job on my own for the first time.
Most of the families in Westin Lake knew my family. The Langford name ran wild in town. We were known for our homegrown personalities and for being people who weren’t afraid to get dirty. My father taught me the construction business, and his father taught him, and so on and so forth. There was no question that I’d take over the construction company once the time came.
Even though construction was the last thing I wanted to do deep down inside.
If I had it my way, I’d be a wanderer who lived on a fishing boat and sold fish out of a shack or something. Construction work didn’t make my soul soar like fishing did. But Langford’s weren’t fishermen—we did construction.
“Take your time. There’s no rush. Thank you for stopping by this evening. I know we were supposed to meet earlier, but my daughter just got back from university, and she, of course, was running late when I picked her up,” Mr. Elkhorn commented. He opened the door to the backyard that overlooked Westin Lake. The afternoon sky faded into night as I stepped outside into the breeze of the late spring air.
It was still chilly in Wisconsin as we moved into late May. I wore my worker’s jacket, brown work pants, and heavy boots to keep warm. As I walked toward the broken-up dock, I saw a woman dancing on her tiptoes with her arms waving as she hummed a tune.
She seemed effervescent in the darkening space, as if she were out of place on Earth. She dressed in vibrant colors and wore no shoes, which was alarming. The old dock was seconds from falling apart, and with one wrong step—
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I shouted, hurrying toward the bizarre woman who danced too closely to the edge. She was seconds away from falling into the chilly lake as my arm wrapped around her tiny waist, and I pulled her backward. Her body landed against mine, and she giggled the whole time it happened.
“Whew, that was close,” she snickered as she paused, her hands fell against my chest. She looked up toward me and moved her messy, wavy brown hair out of her face. Her blue eyes pierced me as her full lips turned up. “Who are you?” she questioned.
“A guy who just saved your life.”
“Well, that’s an odd name.”
I smiled.
She smiled bigger.
I liked that.
I liked her smile, and it was bigger.
She was beautiful. The kind of beautiful that didn’t dance its way into Westin Lake that often.
The Elkhorns were new to Westin Lake. The whole town had been gossiping about their arrival, and it was no secret that people were curious about what brought them to town. Mr. Elkhorn said it was simple—he liked the water.
I couldn’t blame him for that. The water always felt like home to me.
I didn’t know that he and his wife had a daughter.
A beautiful one at that.
“You almost fell into the water,” I warned her. “And this dock isn’t safe without shoes on.”
“Well, thank goodness for strong saviors like yourself. I could’ve drowned if you didn’t catch me. Or worse, got a splinter.”