Trusting His Promise (Love on Sanctuary Shores #5)

Chapter 2

“I’ll go get these cleaned up for you.” Jo ran her hands over the smooth, speckled scales of the large steelhead trout that topped the healthy load of fish her cousin Max and his buddies had caught today, then closed the cooler.

“I forgot you clean them too!” Nolan, the unabashed clown of the group, dropped to one knee and grabbed her hand. “Marry me?”

Jo laughed. These guys had been coming to the island to fish nearly every summer for years, so she was used to Nolan’s antics by now.

Still, her face grew warm under the unsought attention. “Sorry.” She pulled her hand out of his.

“Aw, come on.” Nolan didn’t get to his feet. “You didn’t even give me a chance. I promise that if you clean the fish, I’ll always cook them.”

“Tempting.” Jo smirked. “But I don’t believe in promises. Besides, if I married every man who proposed the moment they learned I clean fish, I’d have way too many husbands.”

The other guys roared, and Nolan grinned and jumped to his feet. “It was worth a shot. Think of all the free fishing I could do.”

Dad glanced up from where he squatted in the boat, stashing lures in the in-floor storage compartment. “For you—I’d charge double if you married my daughter.”

Jo shook her head as the guys laughed again. “Come on, I’ll fillet these for you, and you can take them over to Fresh Catch to have them cooked up.”

She grabbed the cooler handle, lifting it enough to tip the boxy container onto its back wheels. The guys’ footsteps followed her as she pulled the cooler down the pier toward the shore.

She pushed the wild strands of her windblown hair back toward her ponytail with her free hand. Goodness knew what people must think about the messy state of her hair every time she came back from a trip on the lake.

Then again, she supposed people didn’t worry much about her messy hair when she had given them plenty of other things to judge her about.

Not that anyone ever said anything out loud.

“Excuse me.” A man’s voice from right in front of her made her nearly jump off the side of the pier.

“I’m so sorry. I was lost in thought—” Her tongue froze as she looked up, and she wished for a moment that she actually had jumped off the pier.

Because there was no mistaking the man who stood in front of her.

Beckett Knox.

The day he left the island had been the best day of her life.

So what was he doing back? On her island? On her pier?

Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter to her. He didn’t matter to her.

“Excuse me.” She tried to maneuver around him. But he moved to block her.

She couldn’t prevent the exasperated sound that escaped her lips. “Beckett, please move.”

“So you do remember me.” His blue eyes sparkled, though Jo couldn’t tell if it was with amusement or mockery.

She rolled her eyes. “I do. And I need to get through. Please.” It took all her effort to get the words out past her gritted teeth.

“Is there a problem?” Nolan stepped to her side, all traces of his earlier goofiness gone, and Jo closed her eyes. She knew he was trying to help—but this was the very opposite of helpful.

“Hey.” Beckett held out his hand to shake Nolan’s. “I’m Beckett. I grew up on the island with Jo. Congratulations to you both.”

Jo stared at him. Congrat—

Oh no.

Fire raced up her neck and over her face. He had seen Nolan’s fake proposal, and he thought . . .

“Thanks.” Nolan swung an arm over Jo’s shoulder.

Jo clenched her jaw. Now was not the time. And Beckett was definitely not the audience.

“Nolan, stop.” She shrugged out of his embrace. “He’s a fishing charter client,” she said to Beckett—not that she owed him an explanation. “He wasn’t really proposing. It was a joke.” She glared at Beckett, daring him to make one of his horrible comments. The fact that she’d received yet another fake offer was just the kind of ammunition he loved to use.

“Oh.” Beckett’s brow wrinkled, but he shrugged. “Listen, can I talk to you for a second?”

Jo shook her head. She’d already spent more time talking to him than she ever wanted to again. “I need to go get these fish cleaned and filleted, so . . .” She gestured for Beckett to let her pass on the pier.

“It will literally only take a second,” Beckett said evenly. “Can she catch up with you guys?” he asked Nolan.

Nolan gave her a questioning look, and she nodded with a sigh.

“Thank you.” Beckett let the guys step past.

“Think about that proposal,” Nolan called over his shoulder. “It doesn’t have to be a joke. I really do love your fish cleaning skills.”

A sound that may have been a smothered laugh came from Beckett, and Jo whirled on him, anger surging through her chest. Hadn’t he done enough to ruin her life already? Couldn’t he just stay out of it for good? “Look, Beckett. I have nothing to—”

“Ah, you’re early.” Dad came up next to Jo and reached a hand out to Beckett. “That’s good. The fish are really biting today, so we’ll hit them while they’re hot.”

Beckett gave Jo a confused look but shook Dad’s hand.

“No, Dad. This isn’t a client. You remember Beckett Knox?”

Dad frowned in thought.

“We graduated—” Jo started, but Dad cut her off, his face darkening.

“The only boy who ever made my little girl cry.”

Beckett blanched, and Jo nearly choked on her inhale. Someone please tell her she had heard wrong. She would rather have said yes to Nolan’s proposal than let Beckett know he’d made her cry.

“I— Uh—” Beckett stammered.

Under other circumstances, Jo would have reveled in seeing him at a loss for words. But right now, she was too busy contemplating whether she could jump into the nearest boat and hightail it for Canada.

“So what brings you back to Sanctuary?” Dad asked, his voice harder than Jo had ever heard it. He had a reputation as one of the friendliest people on the island.

“Oh, I’m— Uh, we’re filming my new movie here.” Beckett’s eyes flicked to Jo, and she kept her expression carefully blank. If he was looking for someone to gush that he was a movie star now, he’d have to seek elsewhere. She’d never even watched one of his movies—and she never would.

“So you’re not moving back?” Dad asked, and Jo nearly cheered. She needed to know the answer to that question, but there was no way she was going to ask it.

“No, sir. We’ll be here for two months or so. Maybe a little longer, depending on how things go.”

“Well, we’ll let you get back to your movie making.” Dad took Jo’s arm and firmly led her around Beckett, who didn’t say another word.

Jo didn’t either. She was trying to figure out how she was going to avoid leaving the house for the next two months so she wouldn’t have to see Beckett again.