Family Trees Read Online Free Page A

most people did their best to stay on Nic’s good side, Shelby saw something special in her from the day they met in the eighth grade. Shelby broke through Nic’s rough façade and appealed to the softer side of her personality, which surprised no one more than Nic herself. In return, Nic gave Shelby a shot of spontaneity during the most unlikely moments.
    Shelby shrugged her shoulders. “Come on, we’re shoving off.” She took a few steps away from the boarding ramp, with Nic in tow.
    â€œThen I guess you don’t know anything about that tall guy who was standing in the doorway? The one who watched you run all the way over here?” Nic challenged, gesturing toward West Bay Outfitters with a tilt of her head and raised eyebrows.
    â€œWho?” Shelby watched the crewman work the hydraulics to haul up the stern ramp.
    â€œAre you serious?” Nic exhaled with impatience before taking hold of Shelby’s shoulder to get her full attention. “Good God. You really don’t know.”
    â€œYou mean the guys at John’s shop?”
    â€œYou tell me.”
    Shelby shrugged out of Nic’s hold to allow a family of four to emerge from their car and shuffle toward the topside viewing deck. “I ran into some tourists when I was leaving. I mean literally . Slammed right into them.” She pointed to one of the crewmen, who appeared to be having difficulty untangling the last bowline. “Nic, maybe you should go help that guy.”
    â€œNah, he’ll get it soon enough.” Having worked on the Madeline Island Ferry Line since high school, Nic handled herself on ferries better than most men three times her size. “I love you, Shel, but sometimes you really don’t have a clue. It’s okay to flirt back once in a while. To accept a little attention. Hell, to even notice the attention would be a step in the right direction.” She cupped her hands and yelled out to whomever was in earshot, “Hey—who here thinks my friend is gorgeous?” Shelby cringed upon hearing a few meager whoops and whistles coming out of a rusted-out van with open windows. Pitiful.
    â€œI don’t know what you think you saw. Really. It was nothing.” The man at West Bay Outfitters was a tourist. Another guy passing through town. Someone like that was the very last thing she needed. She had seen it far too many times. Visitor who spent short vacations or extended summer stays in town, sparking summer romances that burned out by autumn. Or, in the case of her mother, Jackie, a brief encounter that resulted in pregnancy. When her mother’s future skidded to a catastrophic stop, just weeks into her freshman year at a California college, Shelby’s life was forming. From the moment of Shelby’s birth, though she had played no part in sealing her mother’s fate, Jackie mothered her daughter with a resentful heart and regarded her as little more than a reminder of her sordid mistake.
    The idea of catching a tourist’s eye? Shelby would have no part in it. If Nic was right, then he’d set his sights on the wrong local.
    The ferry’s engine powered up, churning water into a powerful boil beneath the hull. Shelby could feel the vibration beneath her feet. The sound intensified as sturdy metal chains clanked and lifted the stern lift gate. The crewman, recognizable in his casual khaki pants and blue Madeline Island Ferry Line shirt, returned to set the gate locks. “Morning, Nic!” he called over.
    â€œHey, Derrick! You on all day?”
    â€œYep. The Island Queen today. Nichevo tomorrow. You?” He joined the women, the ferry now in motion.
    â€œI’m off for a few days,” Nic replied. “Remember Shelby?”
    He wiped his hands on the sides of his khaki pants and then, as if unaware of what to do with them, crossed his arms awkwardly across his chest. “Yea, of course—hey, Shelby!”
    â€œHey.”