Page 5 of Awake in Cheshire Bay
“I can’t.”
“I leave on bar.” There was a mischievous smile itching to spread across his whiskery face as he dropped the money into a cup.
It could stay there for all I cared. Caroline could take it and buy herself a pretty pair of earrings or something, although I know she did great for tips. However, I also made sure to pay my staff handsomely, so they weren’t dependant on those tips. It kept turn over exceptionally low and my staff were very loyal in return. Win-win for us all.
“There be issues with plane, and we needing accommodations. Point me to Bay Western?” He tapped the top listing on his piece of paper. “Is lovely day to walk.”
The weather had cleared up quite nicely as it had been threatening to storm earlier.
“Sure. Take the road out to the stop sign and turn right, following it around to the next stop sign. Then turn right and follow it to Turtle Crest Landing. Turn right…”
His face scrunched in confusion.
“You know what? Do you have Google maps?”
They would lead him straight there. I punched in the name of the motel on my phone to show him. It was a good thirty-minute walk, but it wasn’t too bad. I scanned down his body and settled on his shoes. Those nicely polished wingtips were going to have a fine layer of dust on them by time he arrived. Cheshire Bay was rustic in its approach to paved roads – as in we didn’t have many aside from the main road in town. The rest were dirt and gravel, and our sidewalks weren’t any better.
“Oh hell. I can drive you, then you won’t ruin your footwear.” The word fancy almost slipped out, but I managed to stop myself from blabbing it.
“You are sure?”
I sighed as I was anything but, however, warning bells weren’t going off, so I took it as a favourable sign. “Yeah, c’mon.” I grabbed my purse and keys from under the bar. “First, I’m going to turn my tracker on, so my friends know exactly where I’m going.”
“Fair enough.”
Yes, it was overkill, but I didn’t know this guy and there were a hundred different things that could go wrong. He could leave my phone on the side of the road and drive me to my death. Or he could kidnap me and hold me hostage. He could harm me in a million different ways.
Or he could also be a decent guy who wasn’t out to get me. Sometimes, I needed to err on the side of trust.
“Truck’s out back.”
We walked around the front of the building, past the stairs leading up to my place. I wasn’t going to mention that of course. I stopped and tapped my key fob to unlock the truck. Before I opened my door, Mr. Welsh was there pulling it open for me.
“Please, I insist.”
“Okay, thank you.” I climbed into it, watching as he crossed in front of the vehicle and opened his side. I pulled the mountain of paperwork into the middle and shoved my key into the ignition as he settled himself and buckled up. The truck rumbled to life, and I put it into gear.
As we drove, I pointed out the road leading to one of several lighthouses dotting the peninsula I lived on, past the school which housed grades kindergarten to grade twelve, and out onto the main road.
“This road affectionately called Main Road, runs all the way north on this section of the island. In the middle, about twenty kilometres or so, there’s a little town called Stewart Surf. It’s even smaller than Cheshire Bay, like a population of two hundred I think, but it’s right on some of the best beaches in the world. If you like surfing, that’s a place to check out.”
“I do not surf.”
Yeah, he didn’t come across as a someone who slipped into a wet suit and paddled beyond the break point to ride the waves. Too bad. Surfing was super fun.
“If you continue to follow the main road back all the way to the north, follow it past the entrance to the airport, you’ll end up in a larger town called Spirit Bay, which if there’s anything specific you require, they either have it or can order it in from Victoria or Vancouver, although the wait times are something else.”
He was listening intently, leaning closer as I spoke.
My mouth kept running off, mostly because the guy was making me nervous, but not in a bad way. Instead, I felt like I needed to share all about my beautiful village to the town’s newest guest. “At the farthest end of the highway, on the absolute tip of this peninsula, there’s a quiet little village called Kung Gadalayáay, which is Haida for Moon Bay. They have whale watching expeditions and some of the best places to watch the moon set into the ocean.”
“I do like whale watching.”
Finally, something. I smiled as I pulled onto Turtle Crest Landing. “It’s a lot of fun, isn’t it? Haven’t gone in years though.”
“Why not?” He tipped his head to the side and studied me. It was a little unnerving to be such a focus of attention.
I shrugged but avoided eye contact. “No time, really. I run my own business so it’s very demanding and by time the busy tourist season is over, the whales have already passed by.”