Waterfront Weddings Read Online Free

Justin’s neck. “I missed you, too.”
    A cry came from down the hallway. “The baby’s awake.” Samantha sighed. “Have him back by three, ’kay? He’s staying with my mama the rest of the weekend, and I need to get him over there before supper.”
    “Sure.” Although if it were up to Justin, he’d keep Colton forever.

    Luke wiped a trickle of sweat from his forehead and slapped his ranger hat back on his head. It wasn’t officially summer, but it was as hot as an oven outside. He hated to think of how it would feel in July.
    “Excuse me,” a woman said from behind him.
    He turned and flashed her a polite smile. “Can I help you?”
    She held up a cell phone. “Would you mind taking our picture?” She motioned toward a man holding a little girl who couldn’t have been more than two. “It’s our first vacation as a family,” she explained.
    He took the phone. “Sure.”
    The family stood beneath a large flag pole. “Get as much of the fort and the water as you can,” the woman called.
    Luke grinned. Every tourist wanted the same picture in nearly the same spot. He was such an old pro at this by now he could practically work for Olan Mills. He counted to three and snapped the picture.
    “Thanks,” the woman said.
    Luke handed her the phone. He watched the couple fawn over the little girl. The woman pulled out a bottle of sunblock and rubbed it on the girl’s face. The child squealed and wrinkled her nose.
    He couldn’t help but smile. Part of him wanted to tell the parents to relish those moments. He knew all too well that those happy times could quickly be replaced by sad ones. Life really was a vapor.
    “Hey, Luke,” his supervisor called from the entrance to the bookstore. “You got a minute?”
    He nodded. “Yes sir.” He walked toward the older ranger. He’d worked at Fort Sumter for three years now and still had a hard time figuring out if Walter Young liked him or not. Mr. Young was a man of few words, not unlike Luke’s daddy.
    “With it being the end of the school year, we’ve got several school groups scheduled for the next couple of weeks,” Mr. Young said. “You always have a good rapport with the kids, so I want you to take care of them.”
    Luke nodded. “Yes sir.” Relief washed over him. Every time he was summoned by Mr. Young, he was always afraid he’d messed up somehow. “I’d be glad to.”
    “You can check the schedule inside. I think there will be six different groups coming. Just do a basic introduction and answer their questions.”
    Luke knew the drill. “Will do.”
    Mr. Young turned and went back inside without another word.
    Luke sighed. It wasn’t even lunchtime yet. This day was dragging on forever. He’d like to chalk it up to the fact that he was looking forward to playing with his band later. But he knew that the main reason the day wasn’t going well was because of the way he’d left things with Summer. He didn’t know what to say to her anymore.
    He watched another couple laughing and walking hand in hand. He wasn’t sure if he and Summer would ever get back to that point. And deep down, after everything they’d faced, he wasn’t even sure it was possible.
    His cell phone vibrated. He pulled the phone from its holster and glanced at the screen.
    Rose.
    Luke shoved the phone back in the holster. His sister had left two voice mails in the last week, but he hadn’t listened to either of them yet. As long as he didn’t know what she wanted, he wouldn’t feel any obligation toward her.
    “Can you tell me how many cannons were here during the battle?” A man asked, startling Luke.
    “Sure.” Luke went into his canned speech, thankful for the distraction.

Chapter 4
    A shley clicked S END on an e-mail. From the amount of inquiries they’d had lately from people wanting to hold their weddings in Charleston, it looked like they were in for a busy year.
All the more reason for me to be a real business partner
. She glanced at the clock.