Free Small-Town Girl by Jessica Keller

snagged the receiver and answered the phone. After only a minute he swiveled his chair so his back was facing her. The phone cord wrapped around his side as it pulled taut.
    â€œWhat? I have a hard time believing— You can’t do this to us. You can’t keep squeezing the last penny out of every person who rents at your dock. Someday you’ll have competition. Someday—” Brice scrubbed his hand down his face, turned around and slammed the phone back down.
    â€œBad news?” Kendall offered an apologetic smile.
    His gaze bounced back to her and he schooled his expression, dropping the snarl that had pulled at his lips so his mouth relaxed. “How do you even know the Atwoods?”
    Oh. So he was launching right back into their conversation about Evan. She didn’t want to lie but also couldn’t share about her partnership—the whole reason she knew Claire. “Claire stopped by Love on a Dime the other day.”
    â€œOf course she did.” Brice snorted. “Right in front of Evan.”
    Okay, this line of conversation was going nowhere fast. For future reference, don’t ask Brice about Evan. It doesn’t go well.
    Redirect him. “Are you having problems with the dockyard?”
    He laced his fingers together and put them behind his head. “He’s jacked up the prices again. How does he expect any of us to make a living if he keeps finding loopholes in the contract so he can up our fees?”
    Kendall twisted the water bottle around and around in her hands as she spoke. “If you don’t like the terms for this dock, can you move your boats somewhere else?”
    â€œNot if I want to stay in Goose Harbor.” He dropped his hands to his sides, and his shoulders slumped. “He owns all the docks.”
    â€œAll the docks?” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “I find that hard to believe. There are docks all along the shoreline.”
    â€œPrivate, residential docks, yes. But I can’t work out of those. There are laws and codes that have to be followed. Besides, none of those docks are dug deep enough for these bigger ships.”
    That made sense. “I guess I don’t know a lot about shipping.”
    He tugged off his baseball hat and ran his fingers over his close-cropped hair. “If I had my way and enough money, I’d petition the city board for the right to dig another dock and I’d charge better, fairer fees to anyone who wanted to dock their boats there.”
    â€œThen why don’t you?”
    â€œLike I said, money. But these cruise tours are going to help. I have a good feeling about them.” He used his baseball hat to point at her. “You just might be the key to reaching my dream.”
    Kendall’s breath caught. He was only talking about his desire to build an additional pier, but still, warmth curled in her chest at the thought of being a vital piece to anyone’s dreams.
    * * *
    Seated behind the steering wheel of the freshly painted paddle wheeler, Brice watched as Kendall ushered in the guests for their first-ever sunset cruise. She’d asked him to dress nice, so he’d worn a starched button-up with his least-worn-out pair of jeans and the leather shoes he usually reserved for church. He’d even cracked open the hairstyling gel his sister had given him last Christmas. When he left his cabin, he’d thought he fit what Kendall wanted.
    Then he saw Kendall.
    On clicking heels she seemed to all but float from guest to guest, complimenting them and making sure they were comfortable before the boat left port. Her hair was curled in a way that made her look like a movie star, and she wore a black dress that whispered back and forth against her knees as she walked. Dangling bracelets and a long necklace completed her look, but she hadn’t needed the adornments to catch his eye. Brice could hardly look away.
    Earlier in the day they’d met and