CHAPTER 9
Piper tossed the forward line into the launch, pushed off, and hopped in.
“Not bad for an ol’ girl,” Nat teased, swinging the boat around and heading out into the bay.
Piper rolled her eyes. “You’re one to talk.”
“How old are you going to be this summer?” he teased. “Sixty?”
Piper gave him a wilting look. “The best way for you to remember my age is to take your age—which is sixty-six—and subtract eight.”
“Ouch!” Nat said, shaking his head.
Piper laughed as she pulled her Windbreaker over her head. The early morning air was cool and misty—not great for boating, but they’d definitely been out in worse. She reached for her binoculars and scanned the slate gray water. First Encounter Beach was in Eastham—the next town over—so they’d be there in no time, but the turtle could be anywhere by now, and with the Memorial Day weekend looming, the Bay would soon be full of boats and much more dangerous for a big sea turtle.
As they neared the beach, Nat slowed down and reached for his binoculars, too. They drifted along, scouring the coastline, but the only sign of life was a woman throwing a tennis ball for her dog. “I wish I had his energy!” Nat said, watching the dog plowing into the surf.
“That’s what happens when you get old,” Piper teased.
“I’m still young enough to keep up with you!”
“You think so?” Piper teased as Nat pulled her into his arms. “Hey,” she said. “We’re supposed to be looking for a turtle, you know, one of those reptiles with a hard shell.”
“Actually, loggerheads have soft shells,” Nat said, sliding his hands down her back. “Kind of like you ...”
“Very funny,” Piper murmured. “There are people around, you know....”
“There’s no one around,” Nat countered softly.
Piper looked back at the beach and realized the woman and the dog had disappeared and fog was starting to roll in. “Sheesh, what happened? It’s getting to be like pea soup out here.”
“Mmm,” Nat agreed. “I don’t think we’re going to find our turtle today.”
“I guess not,” she said resignedly. “The tide’s starting to turn, too, so we better head back.”
“What’s your hurry?” Nat asked.
Piper smiled, remembering the time they hadn’t paid attention to the tide because, like now, Nat had been distracting her and before they knew it, the boat had stopped rocking.
“Nice!” Nat teased, shaking his head. “Now, look what you’ve done!”
“Me?” she countered. “You started it!”
“You’re the one who wore that tight, white tank top....”
“You’re the one who didn’t wear a top,” she countered, eyeing his tan torso. She sighed. “What should we do?”
They debated walking to shore, but then realized they’d have no way of getting back to the boat when the tide came in, so, with nothing to do, they followed the receding water, stood on its edge, shed their clothes, swam in the shallows, and as the sun set, made love on the cool, wet sand. An hour later, flushed with lovemaking, they walked back to the boat and watched the stars grow brighter as the coastline—from Boston to Provincetown—blinked to life. They pulled on sweatshirts, leaned against the boat’s windshield, and gazed at the canopy of lights twinkling all around them. Six hours later, they woke up to gentle rocking . . . and one month after that, Piper realized she was pregnant.
“I don’t want to be stranded for twelve hours,” she said. “I have stuff to do—I want to see Sailor’s new place and Elias is coming home tonight so I need to go food shopping.”
“I thought he wasn’t coming home till tomorrow.”
“Change of plans,” she said with a shrug. “He misses his mom.”
“He misses Chloe,” Nat teased with a grin.
Piper laughed. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” she said, knowing how much their son missed Chloe when he was away at college.
Nat pressed against her and she felt how aroused he was. “Are you sure you want to head back right now?” he asked softly.
“I guess I could stay a little longer,” she murmured with a smile. “As long as you’re quicker than the tide.”