Persuaded (9 page)

“It’s
nothing a little ice cream won’t cure,” she assured him. “We were hoping they
had some down at the marina.”

“They
do. I was just about to head down myself to get some close-ups of the boats.
Would it be weird if I walked with you?”

“Not
at all,” she said, hoping that her skin wouldn’t betray her flush of pleasure
at the idea.

He
beamed. “My name is Eli,” he offered, thrusting out a hand.

“Hanna,”
she answered, taking it.

“Well,
that’s a relief,” he said. “It would have been really awkward if your name was
Banana.”

Hanna
laughed. “My nephew couldn’t say Hanna when he was little, and it just kind of
stuck.”

The
boys had done their best to wind the kite string back up though on completion
of the task the spool looked more like an unraveled ball of yarn.

“So,
Eli, are you here for the summer?” Hanna ventured as they began walking toward
the marina.

“This
is home for the time being . . . I travel a lot with my job. What about you?”

“I came
to spend the summer with family,” Hanna said, keeping her answer just as vague
as his.

“So
where is home, then?”

“Harbor,
Oregon. It’s close to Brookings—just a few miles from the California border.”

“Ah. I
love the northwest. Oregon has some of the best rocky beaches in the U.S.”

“It
does,” she concurred with a smile. “You wouldn’t think the scenery would vary
much from coast to coast, but it does.”

“Yes,”
he agreed.

“So .
. . what are the other stops on your tour?”

Eli
looked confused, and Hanna clarified, “New England harbors?”

“Oh,
right,” he said, shaking his head as he laughed at himself. “I’m not sure yet.
I kind of decided to just start here and work my way up the coast.”

“Sounds
like a good plan.”

 They
were at the marina now, and Eli turned to Hanna. “What was the name of the boat
you were looking for again?”

“
Laconia
,”
she answered, relieved that her voice didn’t crack on the
name.     

“Captain
Wentworth’s boat,” CJ put in helpfully.

“Is
it?” Eli asked, feigning more interest than he probably felt for CJ’s sake.

“Yup,”
CJ answered. “He’s gonna teach me to sail it too.”

“Lucky
you,” Eli said, exchanging a look with Hanna. “Do you remember where the boat
was before?”

CJ’s face
scrunched up as he tried to recall. “This way!” he declared, shooting off like
a rocket.

Hanna
picked up Walter, who would only fall trying to keep pace with his brother, and
the adults trailed at a slower pace.

After
snapping a few pictures of surrounding boats, Eli said, “So these energetic
little guys are your nephews, I take it?” There was something in his voice that
Hanna couldn’t name, but she sensed there was more to the question.

“Yeah,
my sister’s kids.”

“It
must be nice spending the summer with family . . .”

“It’s
a good break from my job,” Hanna qualified. “What about your family?”

“I
don’t see much of them,” Eli said, then continued when Hanna gave him a
questioning look. “I come from a long line of doctors and lawyers . . . let’s
just say they weren’t keen on my career choice.”

“I
didn’t mean to pry,” Hanna began, but Eli waved her off.

“It’s
okay, you didn’t. If anyone’s prying, it’s me.” He smiled over at her, then
added, “I just figured I should make sure these weren’t
your
kids before
we went any further.”

So
Hanna had been right, and there was more to his questioning. The realization
didn’t make his curiosity intrusive, but flattering.

“I’m
single and childless too, just in case you were wondering,” Eli added without
looking at her. “And if you weren’t wondering, then just forget I said that.”

Hanna
laughed without restraint, and it felt amazing. Since Derick had made his
appearance on the beach that first day, Hanna hadn’t felt much in the way of
happiness.

They
followed CJ down dock after dock, to no avail. When Walter’s head began
drooping on his aunt’s shoulder and CJ had lost his enthusiasm for the hunt,
Hanna suggested they see about the promised ice cream.

“We’d
love you to join us, Eli,” she ventured. “My treat.”

“Of
course I’ll come with, but you don’t need to pay.”

“Please,
I want to. It’s the least I can do since you fixed the kite.”

Eli
considered her through narrowed eyes. “Well, when you put it like that . . .”

“I
do,” Hanna insisted, veering off toward the marina store.

The marina’s
chocolate/vanilla twist cones were taller than any ice cream cone should be.
The boys got more ice cream on their faces and clothes than in their mouths.
Grateful that she had thought to put baby wipes in the beach bag she’d brought
along, Hanna cleaned the boys up and then turned to Eli.

“We
should probably head back home,” she said regretfully. “You
do not
want
to be around when Walter’s nap is delayed.”

“I’ll
take your word for it.” Eli chuckled. “Nice to meet you, Hanna. Maybe we’ll run
into each other again.”

“Maybe,”
Hanna said, feeling more than a little hopeful. “Thanks again, Eli.  Good
luck with your photos.”

He
nodded, gave her one last winning smile, and then went back outside and began
snapping pictures of the boats again.

The
walk back to Uppercross wasn’t nearly as unpleasant as it should have been with
two exhausted kids—the sun seemed brighter, the water clearer, and the sky
bluer.

Maybe
her fantasy summer—the one she’d given up on when Derick Wentworth entered the
picture—wasn’t so out of reach after all.

ELEVEN

MORTIFIED
and MUMMIFIED

Anne hoped she
had outlived the age of blushing; but the age of emotion she certainly had not.

—Jane Austen,
Persuasion

No sooner
had Hanna come through the front door of Uppercross than Mary met her in the
entry with a stressed look.

“Where
have you been? I was worried sick!”

“I
took the boys down to the harbor,” Hanna answered. “Sorry, Mare, I didn’t think
to text you.”

Mary
took Walter out of his aunt’s arms. “It’s okay, Hanna. It looks like this guy
is ready for his nap,” she said, taking him upstairs. “I’ll be right back.”

“Banana,
can I play the Wii?” CJ asked.

“Go
ask your dad,” Hanna answered as she followed him into the kitchen, removed her
hat, and tossed it onto the counter. CJ, evidently spying his dad through the
back door, bolted out onto the sand. Ella sat at the kitchen table painting her
fingernails.

“Isn’t
it a gorgeous day?” Hanna said as she poured herself a glass of lemonade from
the fridge and sat down at the table.

Ella
watched her for a moment, a hesitant smile lighting her face. “I guess. Where
have
you
been?”

“Flying
kites and getting ice cream cones.”

“It
looks like you finally got some sun.”

Hanna touched
a hand to her cheek, not minding if Ella attributed her color to a sunburn.

“Okay,
out with it,” Ella said. “You’re grinning like an idiot.”

Hanna’s
lips twitched in a condemning sort of way before she could help it. Taking a
deep breath, she said carefully, “I met somebody today.”

Ella
sat up as if she’d been electrocuted. “Somebody? Like, a guy?”

Hanna
nodded, biting her lip to hinder yet another telling, dumbfounded smile.

“Ooooooh,
is he cute?”

After a
pause, Hanna relented. “He’s really good-looking.”

Squealing
like a schoolgirl, Ella clapped her hands and leaned forward. “What does he
look like?”

“He
has curly hair and dark eyes and dimples . . .”

Ella
clapped a hand over her mouth, but the questions continued. “How did you meet
him?”

“I was
trying to put that stupid kite together, and he was taking pictures close by.
He saw me struggling and offered to help.”

“Oh,
that is soooooo cute,” Ella whined just as CJ came through the door and plopped
in front of the TV. He was followed by his father, and to Hanna’s horror,
Derick.

“What’s
all the squawking about?” Charles asked.

“Hanna
met a guy today!” Ella informed the whole room.

Hanna
immediately regretted confiding in Ella. The circumstances would have been
mortifying enough on their own, but the fact that Derick was hearing it all
made it so much worse.

“A
guy?” Charles repeated. “Like, a guy-guy?”

“Don’t
sound so shocked,” Hanna answered defensively. “It’s not like they’re extinct
in this part of the world.”

Charles
laughed at her answer and launched the same barrage of questions his sister had
moments ago. Hanna’s aim now was to downplay at all costs.

“It
was nothing,” she said, shrugging. “He was photographing the boats and saw me
struggling with that stupid kite. He fixed it, that’s all.”

“And
then he had ice cream with us,” CJ added unhelpfully.

The
little snitch
. Wasn’t he supposed to be completely engrossed
by his game?

“Who
had ice cream with you?” Mary asked, joining them from upstairs.

“A guy
Hanna met at the marina,” Charles supplied.

“Like,
a date?” Mary said. “While you had the boys?”

Hanna
was losing her grip on the situation. “No, not like a date! The ice cream was
to say thank you for fixing the kite, that was all.”

“Did
you get his number, Hanna?” Ella asked. “Tell me you got his number. Did he ask
for yours?”

“No
and no,” Hanna answered through her teeth.

“If
he’s photographing the harbor, I bet we could run into him again . . .” Ella
suggested.

“Is he
a professional photographer?” Charles asked.

“Is he
a local?” Mary added.

Hanna’s
face was positively aflame now. She didn’t know whether to answer or burst into
tears. Before she could do either, a familiar voice joined the melee.

“You
guys are worse than parents on prom night.”

Hanna,
along with everyone else, looked up in shock. Derick’s words were tinted with
disapproval, but the disapproval didn’t seem to be aimed at Hanna. It was for
her family, injuring her with their oblivious sport. His eyes touched hers for
just an instant, and in that instant Hanna understood perfectly what he felt
for her: pity. She didn’t know whether to be thankful for his intervention or
more embarrassed still, so she tore her eyes from his. Derick’s tactic had
worked though, as the focus in the room shifted to him.

“I
don’t know about you guys,” he said, turning toward the door, “but it’s too
nice out to stay inside. I’m going for a swim.”

Ella
jumped up, always game for any suggestion of Derick’s, and Charles went upstairs
to change. Mary followed Derick and Ella out the back door, leaving Hanna alone
in the kitchen.

There
was something almost soothing about the isolation. Exhausted by the bipolar
nature of her emotions from the day’s events, Hanna decided that an afternoon
nap was in order. After closing herself in her room, she mummified herself in
her blankets and rolled onto her side.

As her
breathing slowed and a cocoon of pleasant numbness enfolded her, Hanna found
herself thinking of the selfless act of her rescuer. To her surprise, there
were no kites or ice-cream cones in the recollection, but sea-green eyes and a
voice speaking her defense.

TWELVE

FIREWORKS

She found that
to retentive feelings eight years may be little more than nothing.

—Jane Austen,
Persuasion

Despite
Ella’s urging over the next several days, Hanna was able to avoid a return trip
to the harbor, which was step one in what had come to be known as “Project
Eli.” But, on the 4
^th
of July Hanna found herself out of excuses.
Every year Old Lyme held a sunset sailboat parade in the harbor, followed by
fireworks over the water. Add to this the preliminary family-friendly
activities like face painting, free twist cones, and a performance by the New
England Fife and Drum Corps, and Hanna lost all hope of opting out. Besides,
she already felt as if she spent most of her time hiding in hopes of avoiding a
certain someone, and she didn’t want to miss out any longer.

Her
only comfort was that Ella would probably be too distracted by her own romantic
plight to pay much attention to Project Eli. The thought was poor
consolation—Ella spent about ninety percent of her time with Derick and talked
about him for the other ten. As much as she tried not to notice details, Hanna
couldn’t help observing that Derick and Ella had now progressed to the
hand-holding stage of their relationship. She should be used to the sight by
now, but it still sent a shard of pain into her chest every time she saw it.