“Of course. She’s always happy to be with Aunt Carly, aren’t you, Dune?” The little light gray dog’s pink tongue licked Carly’s chin, her tail wagging merrily.
“I’m afraid I don’t know how much longer you’ll be here. This match should be over very soon, and if Gabi wins, she’ll play the winner of the first match, so you might be a while.”
“Not to worry. It’s a beautiful day, and anytime I get to sit in the sun and relax is a good day as far as I’m concerned.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you back at the house.”
Hunched over in an effort to cause as little distraction as possible, Ellie made her way around the court.
“It’s just you and me now, Dune,” Carly whispered. “We’re going to have to cheer on Gabi … oh, that was a nice shot!”
Carly watched as Gabi won her match, then stood and applauded when the girl raised her racket in the air in triumph. Gabi scanned the crowd for her sister and, when she saw Carly in Ellie’s place, made a beeline for the sidelines.
“Hey, you got here.” Gabi greeted Carly with a hug.
“Just in time to see you take the match. Good job, kiddo.”
“Thanks.” Gabi looked around. “Did Ellie leave?”
“She stayed as long as she could, but Cam needed her on a job. Actually, she just left a few minutes ago.”
“I told her it was okay if she had to leave. I know they need to have that job done today.” Gabi grinned and scooped up the dog from Carly’s lap. “She didn’t have to rope you into staying with me. I could walk home when it’s over.”
“No roping was necessary. I enjoyed watching you play.”
“Seriously? You don’t mind sitting here alone?”
“Who’s alone? I’ve got Dune.” At the sound of her name, the dog’s bottom wagged furiously.
“If you’re sure you don’t mind …”
“I’m happy to be here. Really.”
“Great.” Gabi glanced over her shoulder at the court. “I guess I’m up in a few minutes.” She took a long drink from the bottle, finished it, and looked around unsuccessfully for a recycling container. “See you when it’s over.”
“Good luck.” Carly put out her hand for the empty bottle.
“I’ll need it.” Gabi handed over the bottle with a thanks, and added, “This girl is freakin’ good.”
“So are you.”
Gabi went off toward the court, and Carly leaned back in her chair, her face held up to the sun. When the match began, she leaned forward slightly to watch. It was clear that Gabi was overmatched by her opponent, who was older and stronger, but she made a good effort, which was exactly what Carly told her when the match ended.
“I did okay,” Gabi admitted, “but she’s the best right now, so I didn’t expect to beat her. I just didn’t want to look lame playing against her.”
Before Carly could assure her that she’d looked anything but lame, Gabi’s eyes lit up and she waved to someone behind Carly.
“My friend Diana is here. Can I go talk to her for a minute?”
“Sure, but …”
“I’ll be right back.” Gabi grabbed Dune’s leash and took off.
Abandoned and now alone in the spectator area, Carly stood to stretch her legs. She drank from the water bottle she’d brought with her, then tucked it back into her bag. While she waited for Gabi to return, she checked email on her phone and was about to respond to one when a shadow crossed over her. She looked up into gray eyes she’d seen once before, and hadn’t forgotten.
“Hi,” he said. “I thought that was you.”
“Oh, hi.” She couldn’t help but smile. “Were you here for the match?”
“No. Just out and about, and I saw you, thought I’d stop and say hello.” He nodded to the court. “You play or just spectating today?”
“Spectating. My friend’s sister had a few matches and my friend couldn’t stay, so I offered to.” She noticed his wet shorts and partially wet T-shirt. “Out and about in the Bay?”
He glanced down at his wet clothing. “Just a little kayaking excursion with my nephew.”
“Did you tip over?”
He laughed. “No. We took a break and stopped at a beach so he could rest for a few minutes.”
“So that he could rest?” she teased.
“Hey, I can paddle from here to Smith Island and not get winded.”
“I guess that would impress me more if I knew where Smith Island was.”
“Ah, you’re not from around here, are you.” It wasn’t really a question.
“No, but I do enjoy my visits.”
“Come here often?”
“Not as often as I’d like.”
“Are you staying here at the inn?”
“No, I’m staying with my friend. She and her fiancé live in town.”
“You on vacation? How long are you here for?”
“I’m not really sure.” She should probably introduce herself. After all, I know who he is, she thought, and I should let him know why I’m here. “I was asked to—”
An out-of-breath Gabi, Dune by her side, seemed to appear out of nowhere. “Can we go now?” She seemed surprised when she realized that Carly was engaged in conversation. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t know—”
“Apology accepted. Now, where’s the fire?” Carly asked.
“Paige just called me. Her dad got a van full of rescued dogs from someplace and Paige has to walk them and she said I could help. But they’re already unloading the van …”
“Okay, got it,” Carly said. She turned to Ford and explained. “Gabi’s friend’s dad is the town vet, and runs a shelter for rescued dogs.”
“Nice,” was all he said.
“Well, it was good to see you again. Maybe we’ll run into each other again sometime.”
“I hope so.”
For a moment, Carly thought he was about to say something else, but instead he merely stepped out of the path so that she and Gabi could get around him.
Carly could feel his gaze on her back almost as far as the parking lot. She’d just reached her car when she heard her name.
“Carly.” Grace was waving from several cars away. “I saw you from the window in my office, and I said to myself, she’s just the person I wanted to see.”
“How are you, Grace?”
“I’m very well.” Grace turned to Gabi. “How’d your match go?”
“Won two, lost the last one.” Gabi shrugged, and then sighed softly, as if she knew her trip to the shelter would be delayed and there was nothing she could do about it.
“Good for you. I heard you were doing very well with your lessons.” Grace turned to Carly. “Our coach here speaks very highly of Gabi. He thinks she shows a great deal of promise.”
“I’ll be sure to pass that on to Ellie.” Sensing Gabi’s impatience, Carly unlocked the car doors. “Was there something you wanted to tell me?”
“I’m almost through with the list of people on Carolina’s list. You know, the list of—”
“People she gave paintings to.” Carly leaned back against the car and gave Grace her undivided attention. “I was going to call you about that.”
“I have a few more names to trace. You know, all of the people on Carolina’s list are deceased, so it’s their descendants we have to identify. I may not be able to trace them all, so I’ll need a few more days. In the meantime, I think I mentioned that I’d like to do a series of articles on you and the proposed gallery. Sort of follow your progress from week to week. We want to play this up as much as possible, you know. Of course, it really is a big deal, but if we can …”
“Yes, certainly. That’s a great idea. I’m going to be meeting with Cameron and Ellie and their subcontractors at the carriage house this week. I expect I’ll be there in the mornings, at the very least. Give me a day or two, then stop over. Say maybe Wednesday or Thursday? By then I should have a good idea of exactly what the work will entail.”