Small-Town Girl Read Online Free Page A

reference. Nicely done.” She sent him a wink.
    Brice inched toward her. “Your idea?”
    Kendall scooted so she was facing him. “Sunset cruises.”
    â€œYes...we’re doing one tomorrow.”
    â€œNot just tomorrow. What if we had a planned sunset cruise every single week?”
    His eyes grew wide. “You and me?”
    â€œWell, yes, we’d both be there, but I’m talking about hosting it as a tourist activity. Every Friday night— Scratch that.” Kendall gathered up her hair and bunched it at the nape of her neck to keep the wind from whipping it around. “I’m sure there are better things you want to do on your Friday nights than spend them with me. Any night of the week would work really, as long as it was the same night each week so people could count on it. We’d charge a set fee and host a sunset cruise out onto the lake.”
    Brice rocked a bit and leaned onto his elbows. He worked his jaw back and forth for a minute.
    She’d gone too far, hadn’t she? Presumed upon this poor man who was now trying to find the kindest words he could to let her down. She always did this, didn’t she? Plowing ahead before thinking things through had only ever gotten her in trouble. And it made her a risk that most men didn’t want to be around. Like dynamite. They never knew when the risk would be too great or her ideas lead to failures.
    This trait was probably what had driven her father to walk out on her and her mother when she was only six. Too much energy. Too many ideas. Too many failures.
    Brice still hadn’t spoken up. She needed to take him out of his misery. “I shouldn’t have spouted that out like that. You don’t know me, and I know nothing of your boating company. And the cruises probably wouldn’t work, so—”
    He finally sat up. “I think they will.”
    â€œYou... Really?”
    â€œThere are some smaller, fancier boats in my fleet. I bought them on a whim at an auction without knowing what I’d do with them. They could work really well for something like this.”
    â€œYou don’t think my idea is silly?”
    He shook his head. “Not at all. It might be the answer to the prayer I hadn’t prayed yet.”
    â€œIs that even possible?”
    Brice nodded solemnly. “God knows what we need.”
    Kendall flattened her hands against the cooled sand. “When should we start?”
    â€œLet’s rein this in for a minute. How about we go on our cruise tomorrow and get a better idea of everything before making plans? Deal?” He rose to his feet, dusted off his pants and then held out a hand to her, helping her stand.
    â€œDeal.”
    They walked silently down the beach until they reached the edge, where they parted ways.
    â€œI’ll see you tomorrow.” He headed toward the shipping yard.
    â€œUntil then.” She waved over her shoulder and headed home for the evening with a lighter step. Perhaps Brice Daniels was right. Maybe God answered prayers people hadn’t prayed yet.
    Even hers.

Chapter Two
    K endall had changed her outfit. Six times.
    It’s not a date.
    In the end, she opted for comfort over style and wore leopard-print ballet flats paired with skinny jeans and a charcoal tank top that had some fancy draping across the front.
    This morning after unpacking her condo a little more, Kendall had headed to Love on a Dime, where she’d spent the day drafting a press release and brainstorming other ways to get the word out about her business now that it was officially open.
    Next she’d looked up Brice online, since she’d forgotten to get his number last night, and found surprisingly little information. Unless he used a false name online—and he really didn’t seem the type—he had no social-media accounts. His shipping business was called, get this: Brice Daniels. Just his name. At least that had made the number to his