A Great Catch by Lorna Seilstad Page B

counters, the sun sat low on a bluff. Hues of pink and purple stained the dusky sky. A breeze twisted the silvery leaves of the maples and carried a whiff of popcorn from one of the street vendor’s carts.
    “I guess I’d better take you home.” Carter, who sat beside her on a park bench, wadded the waxed paper from his sandwich into a ball and stood up. “After all, I did make a promise, and the last thing I want right now is to get your grandmother angry.”
    She dabbed her mouth with her handkerchief. “Right now?”
    He held out his hand and kept hold of Emily’s after he pulled her to her feet. “I want to be on her good side since I’d like to see you again. That is, if you want to.”
    She dropped her gaze to the cobbled path at her feet. “I’ve truly enjoyed today, but I don’t know. We’re so different.”
    “Emily.” Placing a finger beneath her chin, he tipped her face up. “Differences can be good.”
    “And sometimes they can drive a wedge between people.”
    “I’m willing to take a chance, aren’t you?” His caramel eyes flickered with the dare.
    She ducked away, taking a few steps toward the path.
    He fell in step beside her. “You’re just contrary by nature.”
    “I am not.”
    He raised an eyebrow. “Prove it.”
    “How am I supposed to do that?”
    “Say yes.”
    She stopped on the path and turned to him. “To what?”
    “Go to a play with me Monday evening.” He paused. “Unless you’re afraid.”
    “Me? Of you?” She yanked her gloves on and met his eyes. A cocky grin creased his face. Emily sighed. “Fine. I’ll go.”
    “Good.” He chuckled, soft and low.
    “What?”
    “That was easier than I expected.”
    She slapped his arm. “Carter, I was being serious. We’re very different.”
    “I happen to think we’re more alike than you realize.” He took hold of her elbow and urged her toward the dock.
    “How?”
    “That’s what we’re going to start finding out—Monday night.”
    No amount of prodding made Carter disclose what he meant as they made their way to the dock. Once seated beneath the canopy of the electric launch, she glanced at him. Sure of himself, he sat with his face to the wind as the boat left the shore. It wasn’t an arrogant confidence, though. Rather, it was a quiet acceptance of who he was, and it made her like him all the more.
    Her heart skipped a beat. Was she making a mistake? Her head told her yes. He was everything she was not. Their beliefs, their futures, even their families were so different. But the warmth pooling in her heart told her to take a chance.
    When he cocked his head in her direction and grinned, the last of her resolve melted with the dying daylight. She knew her answer. This once, she’d cast her vote with him.

11
    “There must be some kind of mistake.” Carter pushed the ledger across the Grahams’ outdoor breakfast table. The canopy of trees overhead rustled as Mrs. Graham leaned close, and a few maple seeds whirled to the ground. He pointed to the column of figures. “The bank’s quarterly statement isn’t matching the book here at all.”
    Mrs. Graham poured a second cup of coffee from a pansy-covered china pot. “I’m sure my books are correct. Perhaps the bank is in error.”
    “I certainly hope so. I’ll check into it tomorrow.” Even the breeze, fresh this morning after last night’s rain, did little to chase his concerns away. Carter closed the book and glanced toward the door of the cabin as it squeaked open. Aunt Millie and Aunt Ethel, each dressed in printed cotton morning dresses, stepped off the stoop and hobbled across the damp grass.
    He kept his gaze on the door, waiting for Emily to join them. No sign of her. Disappointment hardened his jaw. He stood and pulled out chairs for the two women joining them.
    “Emily’s not here. She got up with the chickens this morning.” Aunt Millie beamed like a schoolgirl. “Not that we have chickens. We don’t, of course.”
    Aunt Ethel sipped