Free Stay With Me, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge Novels Book 5) by J.H. Croix Page B

Depending on where we find the fish, we can stop for lunch. Customers usually love it.”
    Jessa’s sensual, full lips stretched in a wide smile, sending another jolt of heat through him. “Oh! This is so awesome!” She clapped her hands together and skipped a few steps.
    A wash of joy rolled through Eli, a feeling somewhat foreign to him. His childhood hadn’t offered him much time for simple pleasures. While he loved the outdoors on a pure, visceral level, he sought them out as an escape, almost a meditation of sorts. He savored the affinity with nature and the calm he found there. Jessa’s excitement was contagious. He grinned at her.
    “Well, sounds like today will be fun for you. Have you ever been fishing?”
    She nodded quickly. “Yup. I mostly grew up in Bellingham, Washington. It might not be Alaska, but there’s plenty of fishing there. My dad took us out fishing when we were kids. I won’t pretend I’ve had tons of experience, but I had a little. I knew enough to know I’d better wear rubber boots.” Her grin flashed again when she held a booted foot aloft.
    He chuckled as they reached the top of the docks. Jessa paused at his side and took a deep breath. Her hand held to her chest, she stared out over Kachemak Bay. Eli followed her gaze. At just before six in the morning, the sun had started its rise roughly an hour before. It had yet to crest the mountains, although its rays stretched skyward—pink and gold streaking above the backdrop of the jagged peaks.
    Light glimmered on the water as it rolled softly in the dawn. The tide was coming into shore in rhythmic waves. A gust came off the water, carrying the briny scent of the ocean with it. The peace Eli sought whenever he was near the ocean came with the breeze. He settled inside, even with Jessa’s effervescent presence beside him. He glanced over to see a look of wonder on her face. Her silvery-gray eyes were wide. She took another audible breath and turned to him, her eyes catching his.
    “It’s so beautiful here,” she said softly. “Morning is the best time for a place like this.”
    He nodded wordlessly, unable to look away from her. Her eyes held his for several beats before her hand fell from her chest. “I suppose we should go, huh?”
    Eli could have stood there all day with her, but her question snapped him back to reality. He scanned over the docks and saw their customers were already on the boat. He could see Ryan and Cliff helping load gear into the boat. The moment with Jessa had felt so peaceful, he hadn’t even heard the usual summer commotion on the docks. Otter Cover Harbor was a bustle of activity all summer long with boats following the tide in and out. At the moment, many charter companies were readying for their daily run, while a few larger commercial fishing vessels were also busy with activity. Voices carried over the water, mingling with the calls of seagulls. He glanced back to Jessa and nodded. “Yup. If we don’t get to the boat soon, Ryan and Cliff might take off without us.”
    They started walking again. Once they stepped off the stairs, the industrial floating docks rocked softly in the waves under their feet.
    “Cliff’s the guy I met the other day, right?” Jessa asked.
    “Yup. He works for me. Ryan’s my little brother. He’s here for a visit.” Eli had considered how to explain Ryan before and figured the basic truth was the simplest explanation. He wasn’t ready to go into more details with Jessa just yet. Since Cliff had known him for a few years and Ryan had never visited in that time, Eli had offered him a little more detail, but he wasn’t too fond of talking much about his family. All these years, he’d hoped geographic distance would allow him to keep a barrier between his childhood and his adulthood. With Ryan showing up, he was struggling to come to terms with what that might mean for that barrier.
    Minutes later, they were at the boat. Ryan quickly jumped onto the dock and took the