Page 123 of Night Hawk
She rounded the front of the tent, and Clay sat at a small table set with appetizers, a bottle of sparkling grape juice, and tall crystal glasses filled with the juice. He was dressed in his usual attire, but it looked as if he’d spent time on his appearance after exiting the wind as every hair seemed to be in the right place.
Clay got up and looked at Drake. “Thanks for bringing Toni down here.”
“Welcome.” Drake looked at her. “See you at dinner.”
She nodded, and he spun to leave, kicking up sand as he walked.
“Hi.” Clay crossed over to her with a glass of the juice.
“Hi,” she said back, feeling a bit awkward. “What’s going on?”
“Since this is kind of our first date, I thought we should do something special.”
She hadn’t considered this a date, but he was right. It was a date. She took a sip of the sparkling juice and grabbed a cracker with cheese to busy her hands.
He looked out the opening. “I was hoping for clearer weather, but you know it’s Oregon in winter. Typical fog and rain.”
“But you like it that way.” She held the cracker but couldn’t take a bite as her mouth was too dry, so she set it down and sipped the juice instead.
“I do when I’m struggling with something big. But I’m not struggling with anything right now. My mind is clear. I know what I want.” He lifted his chin and held her gaze.
“Me too. I’ve finally accepted the loss of my parents. Lisa helped with that. She’s so strong and her faith unwavering.”
Clay frowned. “I hope they’re going to be all right. My family and I are praying for them.”
“It’ll take time and therapy, but I think they’ll do okay.” She set down her juice and took his hand. “It was very sweet of you to offer your place to them.”
“I just wanted to help.”
“Which tells me so much about you. You’re a wonderful guy, and as I get to know you better, I know I’ll discover so many more things to prove that.”
His face colored, and he brushed a hand over it as if trying to erase his embarrassment. He put his drink on the table and drew her closer, looking like he was going to kiss her, but didn’t. “You ready for your surprise?”
“This isn’t it?”
“No.” His expression morphed into uncertainty, and he led her out of the tent.
The mist had stopped, but it was still cold and foggy. A perfect day at the beach.
He rounded the corner of the tent, where a stocky man held the reins for two saddled horses.
“This is my friend, Davis,” Clay said. “He owns stables nearby and agreed to let us take his horses for a ride on the beach.”
She went to the closest horse, a black beauty, and caressed her neck while looking at Clay. “Do you know how to ride?”
Davis snorted.
“Hey,” Clay said. “I’ve been on a horse a time or two.”
“Uh-huh.” Davis grinned. “And off a time or two.”
Clay chuckled and looked at Toni. “It’s possible I’ll get thrown, but I still want to ride with you.”
“Then let’s get going.” She climbed onto the horse’s back and looked at Davis. “What’s her name?”
“Charm.” Davis rested his hand on the black and white horse’s neck. “And this is Blue, the safest horse you can find. He won’t spook or take off. Perfect for Clay.”
Toni stroked Charm’s neck and watched while Clay mounted his horse. Clay was tentative and looked nervous, but the horse stood rock solid. Clay obviously didn’t ride, even had bad experiences, but he remembered what she’d said about wanting to ride on the beach, and he was doing this for her. Her heart was so full she didn’t know if she could handle all the goodness.
