Page 68 of Catch and Release
She smirked at him. “You’ll have to tell me your deep, dark secrets next. It can’t just be me.”
“Fine. A question for a question. Answer mine and then I’ll answer yours, Greene.”
“You’ll answer two of mine.”
“You drive a hard bargain,” Shawn said, then stuck his hand out to shake hers.
She laughed, then put her hand in his, sending a shock of electricity down his body that he desperately tried to ignore.
“I moved a lot growing up,” she said. “This place was my only constant. I came here every summer. It’s where I grew up. Where I learned to ride a bike. Where I took my first steps. Where I had my first kiss.”
Her eyes darted to him nervously.
“This house is the only place that’s been a real home for me through the years,” Willa continued. “And I’ve always had this pipe dream that I’d move back here and start my own yoga studio. Teach some classes for seniors, do some classes on the beach for tourists.”
Shawn felt a pang of guilt for how he’d acted when she tried to help Grams after her fall. Clearly Willa knew what she was doing. This dream of hers only made it more obvious.
“I like the slower pace of life here,” she whispered. “I feel like I can hear myself think when I sit on this wharf. And there’s something almost carnal about catching my own food that makes me feel… not just satisfied, but empowered. Like I don’t need anyone else but me.”
“I know what you mean,” Shawn said.
She smiled at him. “So it’s my turn now.”
He groaned internally. “Give me your best shot.”
“What do you like most about running the bait shop?”
He was sure she thought that was an easy question, but there was more to it than she knew.
“My grandfather started that shop,” he said. “It was a project he started later in life. He’d been able to retire relatively early and still had some energy in him, I guess. So I grew up learning the ins and outs of the business and helping him out. People always came in asking him for advice. Where should they go if they wanted to catch flounder? What kind of bait should they use off their wharf? Which rod was best for a beginner? I thought he was the coolest man alive when I was a kid.”
Shawn was quiet for a moment, and he could feel her eyes on him.
“When I was 13, he told me I could take over the shop for him when I grew up, but shortly after that was when the dementia came on. It was slow at first, but by the time I was 15, he didn’t always know who I was. I was working there during the summers, but I was worried the business wouldn’t make it. Luckily, some locals helped keep it alive until I was 18. That’s when I took over.”
He held her gaze for a moment, mesmerized by the compassion in her gaze.
“The business was a wreck when I took over, to say the least. And I didn’t have a formal education. Didn’t go to college. So I just researched how to run a business, watched YouTube videos about bookkeeping, and experimented with some things. I started doing the chartered boat tours a year later. I honestly didn’t think the business was going to survive, so it was my last shot at keeping it alive. And I made more money in the first month of summer than I had the rest of the year combined. I knew that’s when I had something good going.”
Shawn closed his eyes.
“It reminds me of my grandfather. That’s what I like most about the shop. People come to me and ask the same questions they asked him, and I get to help them do something I love. The chartered tours are really just to keep the business alive. I make good money from them, but what I love most is the day-to-day of the shop. I can still feel my grandfather in there sometimes.”
Willa was silent for a moment, then said, “I think that’s the most words you’ve ever said to me at once.”
Shawn opened his eyes and belly-laughed, trying to avoid the creeping feeling of self-consciousness that crawled over him whenever he was vulnerable.
“So what’s your other question, Greene?” he asked.
“Well, I’m assuming your least favorite thing is the tourists?”
He felt his jaw involuntary clench. He blew out a breath, then set his fishing rod down.
“It didn’t used to be that way,” Shawn said. “For the record, I don’t hate all the tourists. There are some tourists who come here to experience the Bay, and I love showing them around. Families, groups of friends—those can be really fun. Especially with kids who are learning to fish. Those are my favorite groups.”
He grinned. “And not all of the women are like the one you saw at the shop the other week. Most of them take no for an answer. But after a few drinks, they get bolder. And they’re always drinking on the boat. But yeah, to answer your question, it is my least favorite part. Dealing with the women who shamelessly flirt with me, or the men who think they know better than me. It’s worth it, though. I’d deal with a thousand terrible tourists to be able to take one great family on a tour.”
“You said it didn’t used to be that way,” Willa said. “What changed?”