up. “Do I look like a pirate?”
Willa cocked her head, her dark hair hugging her jaw. “I think you look like a pretend pirate.”
The man met Sean’s gaze. Amusement danced in his eyes. “Is that so?”
Willa’s head bobbed. “Yes, because you have long hair and a beard and your skin is brown. But you don’t have a patch on one eye. Or a parrot on your shoulder.” She sniffed. “Or the right hat.”
“Willa, honestly,” Sean muttered.
He merely smiled. “A parrot and an eye patch, huh?”
“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers,” Willa blurted.
The man stuck out his hand. “Well, that’s good advice, then. I’m Nathan Malone. Now we won’t be strangers anymore.”
Willa looked at Sean, and she nodded her approval. Willa shook his hand. “My name is Willa Jane Jacobs, and I’m five and a half.”
“Nice to meet you, Willa,” Nathan said. He glanced again at Sean. Waiting.
“Uh, sorry. Sean. Jacobs,” she said hastily. She could use her manners even though she had no intentions of getting to know her neighbors, or anyone else on the island. She and Willa were here for a short time. Nothing more. The very last thing she wanted was to become friendly. With anyone.
When Nathan held out his hand, she accepted it and gave a hesitant shake. She didn’t hold his hand for long. But enough time, though, to notice how rough it was. Strong. Definitely the hand of a working man. Or a pirate. “Sorry, we were just—I’m in the middle of cooking.” She glanced behind her, to where her potatoes awaited her, then looked back at Nathan.
“Right,” Nathan answered in a slow drawl. “Dining alfresco with the dolphins.” He reached for a foil-covered plate that he’d set on the top step and handed it to Sean. “Since we’re neighbors, my granddad insisted on sending over these cheddar biscuits. He swears they go with anything.” Nathan shoved his hands into his pockets. “Welcome to Cassabaw.”
Sean gave a nervous smile. Oh, God. Hope he’s not waiting around for an invitation to eat with us!
“Hey, Nathan. You wanna dine alfresco with us and the dolphins? Mama, can he?”
Ugh! Willa Jane! Panic nearly choked Sean at Willa’s casual invitation. She didn’t want him—or anyone else—to join them. The less Nathan Malone knew about her and Willa, the better off they would all be. To have dinner with him? That would lead to questions. Answers. Neither of which was Sean willing to do.
* * *
NATHAN WATCHED SEAN’S wide hazel eyes. She all but scrambled to give her daughter an answer. He decided to end her misery.
“Thanks, but I can’t,” he said to Willa. Then he glanced at Sean. He couldn’t help but wonder what her deal was. Had he done something she hadn’t liked? Maybe she was socially awkward. Either way, her eyes had glazed over with what he perceived to be pure panic at the possibility of him sticking around for supper. “I’ve got to head out.” He inclined his head toward the foil-covered plate Sean now gripped so tightly her knuckles were white. “I’ll let you girls get back to it, then.” He threw a smile at Willa. “No longer strangers, right?”
“Right!” Willa said excitedly. “Bye, Nathan!”
Nathan gave a wave and made his way down the narrow, shell-and-sand path that led to the road. He ran the half mile home. As his lungs expanded, contracted and the salty low-tide marsh seeped into his nostrils, his thoughts stayed on the woman and her daughter. He recalled how he’d happened upon them wearing fairy wings, jumping around the cemetery catching fireflies. That image didn’t fit the way she’d panicked at the thought of him eating supper with them. Not that he would have accepted anyway. Even before Willa’s impromptu invitation, it had been pretty evident Sean didn’t want him there.
This newcomer seemed edgy—not usually a characteristic of an off-islander. Typically, they wanted to be involved. Almost...like they wanted to become a local, he guessed. But this pair was different. Cautious. At least, Sean was. Willa, on the other hand, seemed like she was ready to take on any and everything that came her way. What a funny kid. And those fairy wings were... Damn, they were adorable. He couldn’t help but wonder where Willa’s father was. Deadbeat? Or just dead? Had to be, not to take part in their lives. Some men had it made and just didn’t realize it.
Regardless, it wasn’t his place to wonder. Or worry. He’d done his duty. He’d delivered the biscuits and he’d been neighborly.
Jep was waiting for him on the front porch.
Nathan inwardly groaned as he took the steps and sat on the last one, leaning against the pillar. He hadn’t wanted to approach Sean and Willa. Hadn’t wanted to go to their home. He hadn’t wanted to take them those damned biscuits. It’d all been Jep’s idea. It’s the neighborly thing to do, son. Yet despite his reluctance to visit the Jacobses, Nathan’s desire not to cross Jep Malone superseded his desire to keep a distance from women in general. He was polite when he encountered any woman. Speaking to them when they ran into one another in public was one thing. Specifically delivering homemade biscuits to a woman’s home was altogether different. That went beyond politeness and into some murky area that led to connections and relationships. Thing was, his grandfather knew it. Knew it well, too.
“You gonna let me sit here all day, or are you gonna tell me what’s what with them two?” Jep asked.
Nathan met his grandfather’s always-fiery gaze. “I wasn’t exactly welcome.”
Jep blinked, pushed his USCG cap farther back onto his head and rubbed a particular spot with his thumb. “Huh. Go figure. Probably your sunshine personality.” He furrowed his white eyebrows. “What does that mean, boy?”
Nathan watched a dragonfly land on the top of Jep’s cap. “She seems scared of something, maybe. Eyes all wide, always looking around. Like she was expecting to see someone she didn’t want to see. Didn’t have much to say at all. I could tell she wanted me gone ASAP.” Nathan picked up a pebble on the step then tossed it into the yard. “You should’ve seen her face when her kid asked me to eat with them.” Nathan shook his head and looked at his grandfather. “Pure terror.”
“Huh.” Jep’s eyes narrowed as he inspected Nathan. “Might be that bushy appearance you keep, son. You look like some crazed killer.”
Nathan grinned. “Yeah, maybe I do. Her kid ratted her out. Told me her mama said I could be a stalker. The kid said I looked more like a pirate.”
“She’s right about that,” Jep agreed with a croaky laugh. “Well. Guess we’ll have to try harder. No sense in letting them two little gals sit over there in that musty old house with only the ghosts, gulls and fiddler crabs for company.”
Nathan studied Jep’s profile. “Why are you always trying to play matchmaker, Gramps? Can’t you leave well enough alone?”
Jep guffawed. “Youth. Wasted on the young, I tell ya! In my day, a man would see a pretty girl and take it upon himself to make the first move. You, on the other hand, seem not to have caught on to that.” Jep leaned forward in his rocker, and his expression, with those big eyebrows stretched upward and eyes rounded, nearly made Nathan burst out laughing. “It’s called courtin’! Look it up in the dictionary.”
Nathan fought a smile. “We have Google now, Jep.”
“Bah! Google, schmoogle. Them two gals are all alone over there.”
“Might be how they want it,” Nathan argued. “The mama seems set on being left alone. I myself kind of like it that way, too.”
Jep pushed up from his rocker, and the bones in his knees crackled and popped. “Like I said. Try harder.” He paused and eyeballed Nathan. “And it don’t matter what you want, boy. You’re as lost as they sound. You at least got a name, didn’t you?”
Nathan