Page 91 of Fire and Rain
“That sounds perfect. There’s a low-pressure system arriving sometime that evening, so I’ll get here as soon as I can.” Sean took her hand. “Just be careful when you drive around town, okay? CGIS might have lost Charlie’s trail, but that doesn’t mean he’s left the island.”
Agent Santee had kept Eden and Sean up to date. Every time her phone buzzed, Eden hoped for the good news that they’d caught Charlie. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”
From the bedroom came the sound of sirens as interpreted by Maverick. “Wooooo! Woooooo!”
Eden couldn’t help but smile. “He loves it.”
“I had a feeling he might.” Sean stood, released her hand. “I’ll get that crib stored in the garage and put the tools away. Thanks for lunch.”
“You’re welcome.” As Eden cleaned up the dishes, she willed herself to focus on the holiday and not worry about the future.
ChapterTwenty
July 4
“Mommy?”
Eden opened one eye to find Maverick in bed beside her. “Hey, buddy.”
They’d gotten home from Maria’s at one this morning, with Chris following in his truck just to make sure they were safe. Maverick had loved Chris’ fireworks but had fallen asleep hours before the official Kodiak show. He looked fully rested and ready to take on the day.
Eden needed sleep, but she would have to settle for coffee.
She got up, started the coffeemaker, and pulled together a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, tuning into the morning news to hear the forecast.
“A low-pressure system is expected to move into the area by this evening, bringing seventy-knot winds and heavy rain.”
Damn.
They probably wouldn’t be able to spend the night on the boat, not with hurricane-force winds. Eden loved sleeping while being rocked by gentle waves, not being tipped into the ocean. But that’s just how it was.
In Alaska, people made plans, but weather was king.
She set a plate on Maverick’s tray with his little fork. “We’re going to go out on the boat with Sean today to catch fish. Won’t that be fun?”
“Fishies?”
“That’s right.” She took her first sip of coffee and almost moaned.
Today was going to be a busy but fun day.
When she’d done the dishes, showered, and dressed, she started getting everything together for the trip. She kept the fishing gear organized and ready to go on a moment’s notice. But she also needed to think about meals. She would need snacks, drinks, and something for dinner in case they got skunked and caught nothing.
She made a quick run to the grocery store, then came home and stowed the drinks and food in the fridge. By then, Maverick was hungry for lunch. She made grilled cheese sandwiches for both of them and sliced an apple to share, while Maverick chattered about the fireworks.
“Fiewook go boom!”
“They were loud, weren’t they?”
Eden hadn’t heard from Sean yet, so she imagined he’d had a busy night and was asleep. That gave her time to refuel the boat so they could head out when he got here. But she’d never gassed up alone with Maverick. She wasn’t sure she could watch over him while also piloting the boat to the fuel dock and filling the tank.
She sent a quick text to Natasha asking if she could drop Maverick off for an hour and got a quick response. “Come, Maverick, let’s go see Summer and Willow again.”
It was a twenty-minute drive to Natasha’s.
“I’ll be back within the hour.” Eden watched as Summer and Willow welcomed Maverick, who was wearing his firefighter helmet.
“Sounds good. We’ll be here when you get back.”
