Page 12 of Come Sail Away
When they passed by the baseball stadium entrance, she asked, “Have you ever been to a game there?”
“Yeah, once with Clay and Lacey not long after it opened. I sang the national anthem to kick off the game. The Barefoot Bay Bucks is a minor league team owned by some local billionaires, I think.”
“Very cool.”
“The place we’re going isn’t much farther. The rise off to the right is Barefoot Mountain. It’s more like a hill compared to the Santa Monica Mountains,” he said with a chuckle.
She couldn’t help but like the sound of his laughter, no matter how many times she told herself not to listen.
Once they passed the rise, he veered off the road onto a dirt path and through some scrub oaks and woods.
“I can see why this is ahiddenbeach,” she teased.
“I believe the land is actually owned by Casa Blanca Resort. As you can see, it’s not fenced off or anything. Part of me hopes they won’t develop it.”
“Yeah. It’s nice to leave some of the natural habitat.”
The path ended where the tree line met the sand, with the water just beyond that. The waves gently lapped at the shore. “That’s the one thing about the Gulf that’s so different from other places—the water is usually so calm. In the Pacific, the waves would plow you right over, they’re so hard and forceful.”
She laughed. “And cold!”
“True. But warm is always better.” He paused a beat. “How about we eat, and afterward, we can take a swim if you want?”
“Sounds perfect.”
She followed him to the trunk as he opened it. “Let me carry something,” she said, wanting to help.
Sully handed her a thin quilted blanket covered in a swaying-palm-tree pattern while he carried the cooler the resort had prepared. They selected a spot near the water and set up their picnic.
She unpacked the cooler filled with gourmet wraps, fruit, a relish tray, and brownies for dessert. “Hmm, the resort really treats their customers well.”
“Definitely.”
Enjoying the sunshine and surf, they devoured their lunches. “How about a walk before we swim?” Sully suggested when they’d finished.
She smiled. “Great minds think alike.”
They started walking toward the Gulf. “Sometimes when I come here, I just walk around and explore. That’s how I discovered this place. I actually walked around from the resort. It’s pretty much all beach from there to here. You would just keep going around to the west.” He motioned in front of him with his arm.
She bent and picked up several beautiful shells. “When I was a kid, I had a huge shell collection. I kept them in a special box and my favorite ones I displayed on a long shelf.”
“What? No space and Star Wars stuff all over your room?”
She laughed. “No. I’ve always been into more biology-related things. Though, I have to admit, I even named my microscope. Erwin.”
“Really?”
“What about you?”
“Posters of my favorite music artists—Michael Bolton, Aerosmith, Bryan Adams.”
“NowI’mnot surprised.”
He took hold of her hand and turned her to head back to the blanket. His hand felt strong…andright. For this moment in time at least.
“Where do you live now?” she asked. “You mentioned LA, but that’s a huge area.”
“Actually, I have a home in Glendale, a bit north of LA. I also have a small apartment in New York City. But I travel around so much, it doesn’t really matter where I live.”
