“And low tide.” We stood there staring at each other for a moment longer than neighborly friendliness suggested. “So, how has your week been?” he asked, leading me to the blanket.

“Full of Steve, and choices, and diner food,” I replied, crossing my legs under me and sitting next to Finley. “You?”

“Work and urchin-chasing,” he said, digging containers out of the cooler and tossing a wink at Finley. “Maybe I could introduce you to Christina. She’s Hastings’s wife. Super level-headed, nice, all that. Owns a shop in town, since you’re stuck there for another week or so.”

“I have friends,” I said defensively.

“Here?” he questioned, handing me a plastic container.

“Well, no. I have Mia and Joey up in Nags Head, and Sam will be back in a couple of weeks to spend the summer with me. She had to fly home to Colorado so she could take care of a couple things and grab more clothes. The rest of my friends are, well, a lot of other places.”

“Well, it never hurts to have more friends, and I’m happy to hook you up.”

I thanked him, and we devoured our snacks while Finley regaled me with tales of her week. She’d baked cookies with her grandmother, then visited the aquarium and the ship museum, and taken a kiteboarding lesson.

“On the ocean?” I asked, letting my mouth hang open in overexaggeration.

“Yep! I had a vest on. No biggie.” She brushed a handful of red curls behind her ear, revealing a smattering of freckles that hadn’t been there last week. “Can I go search now?” she asked Jackson, already bouncing on her knees.

“Stay close,” he instructed, and she was off, racing toward the water.

I helped Jackson pack up our picnic, secured the bag to a large rock, and then we headed toward where Finley walked along the waterline.

“Okay, see where the sandbar has a little break in the middle?” We paused where a shallow rivulet of water ran through the bar.

“This is the riptide?” My eyes narrowed as I studied the water running from the pool in the sandbar back to the ocean. “It’s so small.”

“Sure, right now. Bring in the tide, and the amount of water it’s sucking back out grows exponentially.”

“Seems right.” I scanned the sand on the bank, hoping to find another piece of glass to add to my collection. “I mean, it’s always the things that look harmless that end up wrecking you, right?”

He studied my face for a handful of seconds before nodding. “Yeah, I guess you could say that, if you’re the kind of person always looking for the riptide.”