Another Summer by Georgia Bockoven Page A

case, I was wondering if you could do me a favor?”
    “Sure.”
    “Matt Landry’s coming over in the morning to borrow my surfboard. If I’m not here, would you mind letting him in the garage?”
    Her brief fling with feeling special ended with the realization he’d asked her because she was the only one around in the morning. “Of course.”
    He dug a key out of his pocket and handed it to her. “I’ll leave a note on the door telling Matt to come here.”
    “What time should I expect him?”
    “Somewhere around six–a little before or after. He likes to hit the waves early.” He turned to leave.
    “I hope everything is okay at the nursery,” she called after him.
    “Thanks–me too.”
    Kelly went inside and put the key on the table by the front door. She wasn’t crazy about the thought of seeing Matt again, but it was probably better to get past the initial awkwardness sooner rather than later. Somehow, somewhere she would get back at Donna for her clumsy attempts to hook her up with Andrew and Matt.
    The phone rang. For a fraction of a second her heart soared with the thought it could be Ray. Acutely disappointed at her reaction, she answered with an impatient, “Hello.”
    “Bad time?” her father asked.
    “No, it’s a good time. I was just thinking about something that put me in a bad mood.”
    “You want to tell me about it?”
    “Not particularly.”
    “Okay, then I’ll get to why I called. I have a feeling they could be connected. Ray seems to think there’s something wrong up there.”
    She was speechless. Never, not if it had been written in stone and passed down from on high, would she have believed Ray would call her father to intercede for him.
    “Is he right?”
    “No, he’s not right. I’m fine. Better than fine, I’m terrific. I’m having a wonderful time. The house is beautiful, the beach is beautiful, I’ve made a new friend.”
    “Male or female?”
    “Male.”
    “So that’s it. I assume you told Ray?”
    “What I told Ray was that I was through waiting for him to grow up.” She wished she could see the look on her father’s face. She had a feeling he was smiling.
    “Meaning he’d better grow up fast or that it didn’t make any difference whether he did or not, you were through?” he asked carefully.
    “Meaning it’s over–regardless.”
    “Good for you.” His voice was a verbal high five. After several seconds, he added, “Of course, if you should change your mind, I don’t want you to think I’m passing judgment on Ray. It’s just that–”
    “Don’t worry. It’s not going to happen. The only thing that could make me change my mind would be if I were stuck on a desert island with him.”
    “I’ll do what I can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
    Kelly laughed. “Take care, Dad.”
    “You too. And let me know what you think of this Matt Landry guy when you meet him.”
    “I’ve already met him. He’s everything we’ve heard. We better hope we don’t have to come up against him too often.”
    “You can handle him.”
    While it was wonderful having someone believe in her the way her father did, at times it was a burden. “Right now I’m basing everything on first impressions and what I’ve read in his book. Maybe I’ll find a weakness or two when I get into the class.”
    “Everyone is vulnerable.”
    “So you’ve always told me.”
    “You just have to look hard enough.”
    “Yes, Dad.”
    “Okay, so you’ve heard it all before. That doesn’t make it any less true. Keep me posted.”
    It was her father’s way of saying good-bye. “I’ll do that–as soon as I have something worth reporting.”
    “It’s all right if you just want to call to check in,” he added unexpectedly.
    The warmth in his voice brought a smile. “I’m doing fine. Stop worrying about me.”
    “It goes with the territory. I worry about all three of you girls.”
    Telling him it was long past the time when worry would do any good wasn’t what he