Page 13 of Ebbing Tides

“A friend?”

I glanced again at Lido. He looked at me exhaustedly, like he, too, was already tired of my shit.

“Yeah. A friend.”

“What friend?”

“Chuck … I mean, Charlie,” I quickly said. “He works at the—”

“I know who Chuck is. He wants to go out for dinner?”

She seemed dubious. Like she knew there was something I wasn't saying.

“Yes,” I answered astutely.

“Okay,” she said slowly, disbelieving. “Well, it shouldn't be—”

“I'll just tell him it's not going to work out,” I hastily cut in, panic washing over me. “Don't worry about it. Another time.”

“Oh my God,” she said with a laugh. “What's going on with you? I was just saying it should be fine. What day? What time?”

There was sweat now dotting along my forehead as I rolled toward the gate. Charlie hadn't come out yet. It was stilllocked. On the outside of the gate, I saw the daytime guard—a new guy, and I couldn't remember his name—and clenched my fists. Charlie must've slept in. It didn't happen frequently. But I guessed with his sister-in-law in town and her kids …

A knot formed in my gut, and I tightened my grip on the wheel.

“Um, I'm not sure. He didn't give me a date or time, just that he wanted to know if I could, uh …” My voice trailed off as Charlie’s truck pulled up alongside mine.

He looked frazzled—his hair pulled back in a sloppy-looking knot with flyaway strands framing his face and his beard looking even scruffier than usual. He offered a half-hearted wave, and I rolled down the window as he approached.

“Hey, sorry about the wait. The kids have been bouncing off the walls since five a.m., and I lost track of time.”

I smiled, remembering Lizzie and Jane and how their excitement would have them in bed late and awake early.

“A week at Uncle Charlie’s must be a good time.”

He snorted and rolled his gaze toward the gate. “I'm not sure I'd call it a good time, but, sure, let's go with that. Anyway, were you able to, uh, find out if you're available?”

My eyes darted toward my phone, sitting in the center console. Grace was still on the line, and I knew she had to be listening.

“Yeah, I'm available,” I said, then awkwardly cleared my throat before adding, “Did you … um … did you have a day and time in mind for us to—”

“Melanie doesn't have anything planned, as far as I know, so anytime would be good, I think. Stormy's really the mastermind behind this whole thing, but she was thinking that, you know, maybe we could …” He shrugged, blanketing his face with a sly expression. “Make plans with her and then say,Oh, it's not gonna work, but our friend Max doesn't have anything going on.”

I huffed an uncomfortable laugh, already dreading whatever my sister would have to say once the window was closed. “Right. Yeah. That works for me. Any day is fine. I just need a heads-up.”

He looked at me sidelong, a mischievous smile on his face. “What about tomorrow?”

I blew out a tight breath and nodded. “Yeah,” I said, my voice choked. “Tomorrow works.”

“Awesome. Okay. I won't keep you any longer. Get some sleep. I'll see you later.”

“Yeah, man,” I said, unsuccessfully shaking off my trepidation and worry with a weak smile. “Have a good day.”

He rapped his knuckles against the truck before beginning to walk away, and I rolled up the window and waited, breath held and fists clenched tight. Dreading what my sister would say. Praying she'd at least be gentle.

“Sorry about that,” I muttered as Charlie ran to the gate and unlocked the chains holding the heavy iron shut.

“It's okay,” she replied.