It’s time to take a chance

Evie Hamilton has big plans for Starlight Point, her family’s amusement park. Determined to prove she’s more than a by-the-numbers accountant, Evie is all set to open a brand-new marina and renovate the century-old Lake Breeze Hotel. She’s planned for every possible roadblock...except the handsome, infuriating new fire inspector.

Firefighter Scott Bennett doesn’t want to be the bad guy. But when he looks at Evie’s plans, all he can see are the potential disasters. He wants to help Evie build for the future, but letting go of the past feels dangerous. Almost as dangerous as trusting Evie with his heart.

“There’s no excuse for playing with fire.”

Scott heard the hard edge in his voice but couldn’t help it.

Evie crossed her arms as she continued to look across the bay. Probably waiting for the towboat so she could get out of here as soon as possible. She turned back to him. “Don’t you ever play with fire?” she asked.

Scott felt her words like a punch. Felt the air drop ten degrees colder. “No,” he said. He was sorry he’d tried to be nice.

“So those stories about firefighters being closet pyromaniacs are just rumors?”

Heat crept over his neck and ears like a burn.

“No one I know or have ever worked with,” he said, clipping off the words with deadly deliberation, “would think it was fun to mess around with something that could kill.”

He stopped himself before he said too much.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for visiting Starlight Point as you read Meet Me on the Midway. No matter the season, I believe it’s always a good time for a summer romance!

This is the third of the Starlight Point Stories miniseries. The first book, Under the Boardwalk, follows the eldest of the Hamilton children the first summer he inherits Starlight Point. Jack Hamilton finds true love with Augusta after a roller-coaster romance. In the second book, Carousel Nights, middle child June Hamilton struggles with a tough choice: continuing her Broadway career or coming home to Starlight Point for good. This third book follows the youngest member of the family, Evie, as she finds her place at Starlight Point. Proving herself as more than just an accountant means she has to take risks with the family business. She also risks her heart with a man who stands in her way but sweeps her into a summer romance.

This is my ninth published novel, but I still fall in love with my characters every time. I hope you’ll love spending time with Evie and Scott at Starlight Point. Thank you for reading my book, and please visit me at amiedenman.com, follow me on Twitter, @amiedenman, or send me an email at author@amiedenman.com.

Happy summer, wherever you are!

Amie Denman

Meet Me on the Midway

Amie Denman

www.millsandboon.co.uk

AMIE DENMAN is the author of nine contemporary romances full of humor and heart. Born with an overdeveloped sense of curiosity, she’s been known to chase fire trucks on her bicycle and eavesdrop on lovers’ conversations. Amie lives in Ohio with her husband, two sons, a big yellow Labrador and two cats. She believes everything is fun, especially wedding cake, show tunes, roller coasters and falling in love.

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To my husband, with whom I fell in love many summers ago at an amusement park just like Starlight Point.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

THIS SHOULD HAVE been my big day. Evie Hamilton wore a white linen dress and high-heeled sandals as she stood on the long sunny dock in the Starlight Point Marina. The project she’d dreamed up for her family’s amusement park last summer and worked on all winter was scheduled to open today. The morning weather was perfect. Reporters lined a parallel dock, and a camera crew from the local news station waited. Starlight Point would be on the cover of the July issue of the Roller Coaster Times.

“You look like an advertisement for summer in that gorgeous dress,” Evie’s sister, June, said. “Why don’t you toss your plain navy blue skirts and dress like this all the time? It’s more dramatic.”

“The role of the dramatic sister is already taken,” Evie said. “And nothing is less practical than white linen. If it rains, I’m going to look like a naked waif.”

“You might get a good offer,” June said. She stood next to Evie and smiled and waved at the reporters.

Evie shook her head. “The only offer I want right now is the offer of a signature on our occupancy permit from the local fire inspector.”

“It’ll work out,” her sister advised her. “Cut the ribbon and pretend the whole project is on time and boaters will be eating seafood at the restaurant for dinner.”

“But they won’t,” Evie whispered. “The new fire inspector refused to sign our permit yesterday even though Jack met with him and pled our case.”

“Should have gone yourself,” June said. “You’re much prettier than our brother.”

“I couldn’t. I was meeting with our construction super to see if there was a chance of fixing the supposed violations and widening the fire lane around the restaurant overnight.”

June gave her sister a hug. The sun shone brightly on Starlight Point and happy screams from the roller coasters drifted across the newly renovated marina. Gleaming white powerboats tugged at their dock lines in the gentle breeze and the blue water of the bay sparkled.

New docks for seasonal and transient boaters stretched across the marina, but the gas lines running under the docks were currently dry. Because Starlight Point was right on Lake Huron, there was a new terminal for the ferry that made fifteen round trips a day to downtown Bayside. Just off the docks, a new restaurant and gift shop blended old-fashioned amusement park décor with modern conveniences. A shower house and comfort station for boaters completed the project.

It was all just as Evie imagined it would be. She’d convinced her brother and sister to go along with the plan based on her careful calculations of return on investment. Boaters would dock, fuel up, eat at the restaurant and stay overnight. While they were there, they would buy tickets to Starlight Point and scatter their cash over the amusement park with food and merchandise purchases. It was all part of Evie’s plan to bump up revenues by improving accommodations.

But it wasn’t going to return a dime of investment if they couldn’t open in time for the summer boating season.

“It’s wonderful,” June said.

Evie loved her sister’s optimism, but there was no doubt who was the practical member of the family. “There’s no fuel in the gas docks, the restaurant can’t open for business, and even the shower house for boaters has a red sign taped to the window.”

June shrugged. “Fake it. The reporters don’t have to know the showers are dry and the ovens are cold. Everything looks perfect.”

“I wish Inspector Gotcha would show up. I might take a swipe at him with my ribbon-cutting scissors.” She brandished the oversize ceremonial scissors just for effect.

June laughed. “He’s not going to show his face. He’s probably two hundred years old and loves telling people to get off his lawn. I’m sure his lawn has a sprinkler system and a fire lane precisely twelve feet wide all around it.”

Evie sighed. “I wish the previous fire inspector hadn’t retired halfway through this project.”

Jack Hamilton, suit coat flapping around his six-foot-four body, power walked up to them and put an arm around Evie and June. “How are my two favorite sisters?”

“We’re your only sisters,” Evie said. Although she and June were both tall, their brother cast a shadow over them in the late-morning sun.

“You’d still be my favorites if I had ten sisters.”

Evie smiled. With hard work, she and her siblings had turned around a struggling amusement park and were finally hoping to see profits this year. And they would have if she hadn’t sunk all their money into her big plans.

“Before the ceremony starts and we’re swamped with adoring fans,” June said, “I want to tell you both something.”

“You’re not flaking out and heading back to Broadway are you?” Jack asked.

“My Broadway days are over. You need me here to run all the live entertainment. Besides, what I want to tell you both is—”

“You’re pregnant,” Evie guessed.

“Yes!” June said, hugging her sister.

Jack shook his head and stretched long arms around his sisters. “I have no idea how you already knew that,” he said in Evie’s ear.

She shrugged. “I’m observant. When are you due?”

“January. It’s early yet, but I had to tell you.”

Emotion rushed through Evie like a roller coaster cresting a hill. Jack’s wife, Augusta, was due to deliver a daughter later this summer, and now June and Mel would soon have a baby to add to their family.

What did Evie have? Dozens of guests who’d shown up to witness the grand opening of the Starlight Point Marina.

She took a deep breath. “Showtime,” she said. It’s going to be all show and no substance today.

Evie walked to the end of the floating dock where a red ribbon stretched across three piers. Guests lined up on a parallel dock so they could have a good view, and her speech would easily carry across the thirty feet of water between them.

“Welcome to the grand opening of the Starlight Point Marina,” she said. Quiet murmurs turned to applause and she smiled, flanked by her brother and sister.

“I’m Evie Hamilton, and it’s my pleasure to share ownership of Starlight Point with my brother, Jack, and my sister, June Preston. The past several years have been amazing for our family-owned park, and we couldn’t have done it without the support of the local community. Today we cut the ribbon on phase one of our planned capital improvement projects. When the marina project is totally complete, we will begin a massive renovation of the Lake Breeze Hotel. I won’t tease you with details about that today, but I hope you’ll come back this summer to a press conference where I’ll be glad to share our plans.”

If they are approved by Inspector Gotcha.

A cloud passed over the sun and temporarily shadowed the crowded docks. Evie glanced up. A line of rain clouds on the lake’s horizon were far enough away. She and her siblings would have at least an hour to share refreshments and tours with the local media and invited guests before the rain hit.

Evie smiled brightly and brandished the pair of silver scissors for the waiting cameras. “The Starlight Point Marina is officially open!”

Except it wasn’t...not until the fire inspector synchronized all his smoke detectors. She pictured an old man with a clipboard, a frown and a fire extinguisher hooked to his belt. Whatever his problem was, she could not let him stand in the way of the first project she’d taken on at Starlight Point.

If she wanted to play it safe, she’d hide in her office and tally the numbers in the accounting books. But she was more than a CPA. And she was ready to show her family she had more to offer than just accounting skills.

She cut the ribbon and watched the ends flutter to the water before seasonal employees on the docks reeled them in. This marina project would open. Soon. For today, she was taking June’s advice and making nice with the press as long as the sun shone.

* * *

CAPTAIN SCOTT BENNETT idled the fire truck in the Starlight Point parking lot as he waited for the line of cars to pull out of the marina. Despite his refusal to issue an occupancy report for the marina buildings until a few fire-safety measures were taken, he’d seen no reason to prevent the grand opening ceremony from taking place. The Hamiltons had worked hard on the project and it was a nice addition to the resort.

Except for the fact that someone had treated the fire codes as if they were an afterthought. The realization made him feel ill.

He opened his eyes. Traffic had thinned, cars escaping for drier territory as the skies opened up in a drenching afternoon shower. He pulled onto the outer loop road to drive around the Starlight Point peninsula to the fire station located on the opposite side of the amusement park. In the off season, he might have driven straight across the peninsula, but it was the first day of June and the park was in full swing. No way would he open a gate and drive past the carousel and the hotdog stands. Unless it was a life-or-death situation.

Scott was new to the fire department at Starlight Point and he wondered how many life-and-death situations a mile-long peninsula filled with rides and food stands could have.

Right now, he focused on the road. The ancient windshield wipers on the fire truck smeared the raindrops and a missing piece of rubber left a streak. Scott made a mental note to change the blades before someone got in an accident due to poor visibility. Maybe he should also check the two ambulances, small pumper and pickup that made up the Starlight Point Fire Department fleet.

He squinted through the rain. A woman in a soaked white dress was walking along the outer loop despite the numerous signs prohibiting pedestrians. He activated the flashing lights on the fire truck and pulled as far to the side of the narrow road as possible. He reached across and opened the passenger door.

“Get in,” he said.

The woman was tall and slender. Her hair was probably blond when it was dry, but right now it hung down in dark streaks against her white dress. She held a pair of high-heeled shoes in one hand as she stepped onto the running board of the fire truck.

She leaned into his truck and looked over at him. Her huge smile was like a streak of sunshine and he temporarily forgot she was violating an important safety code. Not something he took lightly.

“I don’t usually accept rides from strangers,” she said.

He reached under the seat and pulled out a roll of shop towels. He tore off three and handed them to her.

“I don’t usually pick up hitchhikers in the fire truck,” he said. “But I can’t allow you to walk along this road. It’s dangerous.”

Her focus dropped to the name tag on his uniform shirt.

A Starlight Point Fire Department patch was sewn on one shirtsleeve and the Maltese cross typical of fire departments across the country was sewn on the other. His navy blue button-down shirt tucked into navy blue pants was the uniform for the safety forces here. It wasn’t much different from the one he wore on shift at the Bayside Fire Department. With two jobs, he lived in a uniform.

“Scott,” she said. “You must be new this summer.”

He watched her towel off her face and bare arms. It was a warm day, but goose bumps covered her skin.

“Seat belt,” he said.

He reached over her, pulled the door shut, and then watched her click her safety belt. Switching off the emergency lights, he scrutinized the side mirrors for traffic as he pulled the truck onto the road.

“This is my first summer at the Point,” he said. “Do you work here?”

She laughed.

He didn’t think it was a silly question considering he’d found her walking along the outer road where pedestrians were forbidden for good reason. The road was barely wide enough for two cars. There was no shoulder on one side where it edged right up to the tall fence surrounding the amusement park. The other side had only stacked boulders between it and Lake Huron. There was no room for walkers or bikers.

“I’ve worked here for years,” she said.

He glanced at her. “You don’t look old enough for that to be true.” He knew he sounded surly, but the rainy windshield was driving him nuts. There had better not be any more hitchhikers on this road. The thought of causing an accident made his gut feel hollow.

“I started very young. My name is Evie, by the way.”

He looked at her again before turning back to the smeared windshield. Evie was an unusual name. He had just heard it somewhere else recently. Where have I run across that name?

“Why were you walking around the point?” he asked. “If you’ve worked here for years, you know that’s prohibited.”

She raised her hands over her head and fluffed her hair, running the long length of it through the remaining shop towel.

“Shortcut gone bad. I was going from the marina to the corporate office and thought I’d just dash across the road and through the gate behind the train yard. But it was locked. So I was walking up the road to the next gate.”

“Why didn’t you go through the guest entrance by the marina?”

“I didn’t have a ticket,” she said. She laughed again.

He had no idea why that was funny.

He tightened his grip on the wheel. “I can take you as far as the gate behind the Scrambler. That will get you close to the corporate office.”

“Thank you.”

Despite the wisdom of it, Scott rued the ten-mile-per-hour speed limit. He turned on the defroster, hoping to clear the windshield, which was now steaming on the inside from their breath. It was going to take at least another ten minutes on the slow crawl around the Point.

“How old is this truck?” Evie asked.

“Older than both of us.”

“Maybe we should get a new one.”

We? She said she’d worked here a long time. Maybe it was the royal we. Or maybe she was crazy. After all, he did pick her up walking in the rain in a see-through white dress.

He was trying not to look at the dress.

“New trucks are expensive,” he said.

“How much?”

Okay, so we’re going to discuss the price of fire trucks. Fine. He could talk about that all night. Or at least for the next nine minutes until he could unload his beautiful but strange passenger.

“In my opinion, Starlight Point should get a ladder truck. Something close to a hundred feet tall just in case of an accident on a coaster. It would also be good in case of a hotel fire. The center structure of the Lake Breeze is ten stories, so you’d need a hundred-foot ladder.”

Evie nodded. “And how much does a ladder truck like that cost?”

“Easily half a million if you buy a new one.”

His passenger laughed.

Doesn’t she realize new trucks come with insurance savings and, more importantly, the potential to save lives?

“There’s nothing funny about fire safety,” he said.

Evie sighed. “So I’ve heard. Sadly, I don’t have half a million bucks buried on the beach or hidden under the Silver Streak.” She swiveled in her seat and faced him. “Can you believe some picky new fire inspector from Bayside is giving us all kinds of grief on the marina project?”

Scott’s insides felt like an ice-cube tray someone was shuffling to break up the cubes. And why was she saying us like she owned the place?

“Grief?” he asked.

“Fussy stuff. Signs, some valve, something about an electrical panel, and a fire lane that’s too narrow.”

“Those sound like serious problems,” he said.

Evie cranked her window down a few inches. Apparently she didn’t care about the stray raindrops coming in since she was already soaked. Maybe it would help the steam problem they were having.

Anything would help right now.

“The previous fire inspector approved the whole plan,” she continued. “Everything. I thought we were fine until the new guy crumpled up my dream project like last week’s newspaper.”

She rolled the window all the way down. Waved at people inside the fence. Waved at more people and called them by name.

Does my hitchhiking passenger know everyone at Starlight Point?

Scott slowed as he approached the hotel gate and came to a full stop when the police officer held up his hand.

The old man stepped onto the running board and leaned in the window. “Thought I saw you in there, Evie. Big day for you with your new marina opening.” The officer patted Scott on the shoulder. “Take good care of my girl.”

Scott pulled away and headed for the gate outside the Scrambler.

“How long did you say you’d worked here?” he asked.

“All my life. My parents owned Starlight Point until a few years ago when my father died. My brother and sister and I run it now.”

Evie Hamilton. That was the name on the paperwork for the marina project. A project he’d stalled after uncovering fire code violations the previous inspector hadn’t noticed or didn’t care about.

“I’m Evie Hamilton,” she said.

“I figured that out—now.” He reached across and shook hands with her without taking his eyes off the road. “Scott Bennett.”

“Nice to meet you. And thanks for the ride. I hope you like working here for the summer.”

“Me, too.”

“Are you full-time somewhere else?”

He wasn’t ready to tell her all about his full-time job. Not while he was trapped in a truck with her. Only a quarter of a mile to go.

Evie leaned toward him and cocked her head, obviously waiting for an answer.

“What I mean is that most of our summer firefighters have other full-time jobs. I was just curious.”

“I’m full-time for the City of Bayside.”

Evie nodded. “I live in downtown Bayside. I just moved into my own place. Maybe I’ll see you there. But I’m more likely to see you around here.”

Scott nosed the truck up to the gate and put on the parking brake.

“Close as I can get.”

“I know. I don’t mind a short walk in the rain. I’m wet anyway.” She picked up her shoes from the floor of the truck.

“You should put those on. You could step on something sharp.”

She laughed. “Thanks for the safety tip. But putting wet feet in wet shoes is almost as lousy as feuding with the local fire inspector”

Evie opened her door and slid out. Gave him a little wave. And slammed the door of the fire truck.

At least she left the window down so he could see in the side mirror as he backed slowly away from the corporate office where he knew he’d be about as welcome as a mosquito bite right now. As soon as Evie connected the dots and realized the fire inspector from Bayside who’d rained on her parade also worked part-time for her own company, he’d better be ready to hand in his employee badge.

Scott thought of his baby sister, twenty years old and working at Starlight Point for the summer. He had to keep this job if he wanted to keep watch over the only sister he had left.

CHAPTER TWO

EVIE TOOK OFF her name tag, dropped it in her purse and settled into her usual seat behind the ferry’s tall wheelhouse. From the backward-facing seat, she could watch Starlight Point slip away. On the short trip from Starlight Point to Bayside, she was just another passenger. Not an owner of the amusement park that had been in her family since before she was born.

Evie loved Starlight Point like she loved her sister’s smile, her brother’s eyes, her mother’s laugh and the memory of her father. But tonight she just wanted to enjoy the twenty-minute-ride home.

Home. The third-floor flat above Aunt Augusta’s Downtown Bakery was still new to her. But she was starting to call it home. Too large a space for one person, the flat had two rooms—a spare bedroom and bathroom—that were completely empty. Her brother’s house on the Old Road at the Point used to be a half-barren bachelor pad, but he’d traded houses with their mother. He was now living in their parents’ house with his wife. Already the rooms were filling with the contraptions that seemed to go with babies, and the baby shower coming up would add even more.

Maybe her empty apartment wasn’t so bad. It was quiet, organized...and the first place she’d ever lived alone.

Evie pulled off the band holding her hair back and ran her fingers through the long strands. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the center island of the ferry, feeling the hum of the boat’s motor. The bay was calm, the breeze light, the June evening warm. If her old blue sedan actually had any life left in it, she’d be missing this beautiful ride and making the daily drive in traffic to the Point.

After a twenty-minute trip, the ferry docked and Evie waited for the other passengers to leave. The moms and dads, friends and teenagers were in more of a hurry than she was. They headed for their cars parked in the wide downtown lot. She hoped they’d had a wonderful day at Starlight Point. Judging from their flushed cheeks and sleepy-eyed kids, it looked that way.

“Good night, Evie.”

She turned. Smiled.

“See you tomorrow, Ken,” she said to the retired navy officer who had ferried Starlight Point guests for at least a decade.

“I hope you never get your car fixed so I can keep seeing you every day,” he said. “Although I could come take a look at it for you if you like. Can’t be much different from a battleship.”

Evie laughed. “I think it’s just the battery. I’ll get it fixed on my day off.”

“Which is?”

“October something.”

Ken smiled and propped a foot on the bench seat. He shoved his captain’s hat back and gave Evie his full attention.

“Running that place over there,” he said, gesturing at Starlight Point and the lights just starting to show against the twilight sky, “is no easy job. Especially for someone as young as you are.”

If someone else had said the same thing, Evie might have bristled. But she’d known Ken for years and knew he wasn’t judging her. She threw back her shoulders and tilted her chin up.

“I’m not young. Ask my feet. They’ll tell you I’m fifty-seven.”

Ken laughed. “When I was your age, the only thing I was good at running was my mouth. Although I learned pretty quick to keep it shut.”

Evie stepped off the boat and tucked her purse under her arm. “Good night, Ken. See you on tomorrow’s run.”

“’Night.”

Evie was several feet away when Ken’s question stopped her.

“Got your new marina open for business? I wasn’t able to come to the grand opening, but I saw the pictures of it in the paper a few days ago.”

Evie’s stomach sank like change thrown in a fountain.

“Almost,” she said. “I’m just short of a few regulations and we’ll be open before summer gets too far along.”

Ken rolled his eyes. “Tell me about regulations. I was in the navy twenty-five years and hope I never see another piece of paperwork.”

It was a beautiful evening, so she took the long way around to the front of her building, which housed her sister-in-law Augusta’s bakery on the street level and condos on the second and third floors. From her third-floor window, she had a view of the bay and Starlight Point.

From a distance. Something she was just getting used to. Growing up, Evie had always wanted to be at the Point. She’d resented moving away, even a hundred miles, to attend college. Always there was a lingering fear that somehow Starlight Point would change while she was gone.

And it had. Her father’s death near the end of her junior year had changed the Point forever. The life she had imagined for herself—working alongside her dad as his accountant and financial expert—disappeared. Instead she and her siblings inherited the park overnight because their mother handed it straight to the next generation. Growing up didn’t seem like such a treat anymore.

It was a responsibility and she was taking it seriously.

On her walk, she passed the Bayside fire station where the four overhead doors were open to the warm evening air. Shiny trucks lined up. Waiting.

Sometimes Evie felt like she was waiting, too.

Right now she was waiting for a certain fire inspector to get the burr out of his boots and approve her paperwork.

Maybe he’s in there.

Evie paused on the sidewalk in front of the wide concrete apron. She knew the tiny office the former fire inspector used was just inside the front doors. She’d been there several times to meet with the former inspector, who’d initially approved her plans. All she had to do was go past the shiny red pumper truck and make a quick right.

She crossed the concrete with the stealth of a trespasser, tempted to glance around to see if anyone was looking. Not that she was committing a crime. She had business there. It was a public building. The doors were open.

When she stepped under the overhang and into the relative darkness of the station, she stopped. The interior smelled like rubber tires, engine oil and something that could only be described as fire truck. She’d spent time in the fire office at the Point when she was growing up, sitting on the engine’s bumper and talking to the firefighters. But Starlight Point was only this quiet during the dead of winter.

“Hello?” she called. A call box was mounted to the inside wall with a note instructing people to press the red button in case of emergency. Getting her marina project back on track and getting her hotel renovation plans approved seemed like an emergency to her, but she was afraid of what might happen if she pressed that button. She pictured alarms, flashing lights and men racing for trucks while they threw on helmets and coats.

That would be too much excitement after a long day working at the Point, where she was in charge of resorts and safety. There, plenty of flashing lights, screaming people on the rides and millions of details competed for her attention. The quiet of the station calmed her mind, but only one thing would solve her problem.

Just as Evie laid her hand on the door to the office of the former fire inspector, a door to her left opened and a firefighter in navy blue from head to toe emerged. Caught.

The man glared at her as if she had burst into the bathroom while he was showering. Scott Bennett. After her ride in the fire truck with him a few days ago, she had made just enough inquiries to know the dark-eyed man who’d picked her up in the rain was also the one who’d picked apart her marina project.

And he’d obviously known who she was, although he hadn’t been brave enough to own up to it in the truck. Maybe he’d been hesitant because he was on her territory.

And she was on his right now.

“You’re just the man I need to see,” she said, attempting to force a cheerful tone.

Although it seemed impossible, his scowl deepened. “Is there a fire or other emergency?”

He sounded strangely hopeful. These guys operate on adrenaline. She would have to remember that.

“My marina needs your approval to open. The boating season is limited. I’m losing money every minute the docks and restaurant are closed. So, yes,” she said. “It may not seem like an emergency to you, but it is to me.”

Scott crossed his arms and looked down at her. Although Evie was five foot ten, Scott had her by several inches. With his broad shoulders and massive forearms, he seemed even larger. Perhaps it was the scowl.

Evie was not going to be intimidated, but honey might be more convincing than vinegar. The man was in the business of helping people, after all. He isn’t the enemy, right? And he had given her a ride in the fire truck on a rainy day.

But only because she was violating the No Pedestrians rule. And she owned that fire truck anyway.

Sigh. Honey. Not vinegar.

“Thank you for the ride a few days ago. Had I known you were the new fire inspector for the city, I would have invited you to my office to talk about our apparent violations.”

“Real violations.”

Maybe honey isn’t strong enough.

“Enlighten me,” Evie suggested.

Scott didn’t move. Arms crossed, he stared her down as if willing her to get out of his fire station.

Evie expected to be arrested for trespassing at any minute. She imagined her mother, old dog in tow, showing up at the police station to bail her out.

“I have an office, too,” he said. “You can come in.”

Such a friendly invitation.

Evie stood her ground. She knew where his office was. He’d have to walk by her to get to it.

Scott carefully avoided touching her as he squeezed past to open his office door. Evie wanted to laugh out loud. She was making him uncomfortable. Of course she was.

He may think he had some pedantic fire codes on his side, but she had been operating under approval from the former inspector. And she was his employer—one of them—for the summer.

Scott flipped on a ceiling fluorescent light, and Evie glanced around the tiny space. Everything about the office said “former closet.” She’d been in there twice before, recognized the empty, dustless square on the desk where the nameplate for the former inspector used to sit. So Scott didn’t have his own nameplate declaring him the King of the Code. Perhaps she’d get him one if he ever made Employee of the Month at Starlight Point.

* * *

SCOTT LEFT THE OFFICE door open so he could listen for any calls that came in over the loudspeaker in the bay. He also felt better having an escape route in case Evie Hamilton was as ticked off as he guessed.

He gestured for her to sit in the orange plastic chair in front of his desk and retreated to take his own seat. And then he remembered the plastic chair was missing a leg. He’d discovered it by the trash bin out back and had intended to repair it in case he had visitors to his new office. There hadn’t been any visitors in the short time he’d been the owner of the office, but if anyone sat in the chair right now, it would flip and toss the person onto the concrete floor.

He pivoted, swooped and caught Evie just as the chair started to tip. She gasped, dropped her purse, and the chair clattered to the floor. Scott held her around the waist as if they had just finished a passionate dance and he was dipping her for a kiss. Her blond hair swung freely and he could see the pulse beating wildly in her neck.

Surprise. Fight or flight. A natural reaction.

His heart rate was at sprint level, too, even though emergencies were part of his daily life.

He pulled her up and let go, keeping only one hand on her arm to make sure she was steady. The last thing he needed was someone getting hurt at the fire station. In his office.

“Take my chair,” he said.

Before she could object, he reached over the desk and picked up his wooden chair. It was heavy, but he swung it up and planted it right behind his guest.

“Sit,” he said. “I, uh, hope you’re all right.”

He bent and scooped the contents of her purse back into the bag. Interesting. Cell phone. Wallet-type thing. Hand sanitizer. Sunglasses. Two name tags, both black. One with her name and one that said Ford.

Who—or what—is Ford?

He handed her the bag. Instead of going behind his desk, he leaned on the filing cabinet next to it.

“Maybe I should come back another time,” Evie said.

Her cheeks were flushed and she sat cautiously on the chair, probably afraid of another trap.

He had her off balance.

He was not going to admit he felt the same way. He took a long, slow breath, willing his heart to return to conversation mode. He shoved away from the cabinet and opened the top drawer.

“I have your file in here,” he said. “The paper part, anyway. The application is on the computer.” He gestured toward a dusty, black desktop computer that was probably old enough to buy them both a drink. Scott spread a construction diagram on the table. “Here’s your problem,” he said, pointing behind the shower house. “There’s a huge cottonwood tree blocking the fire lane.”

Evie spread long fingers over the drawing and leaned in to see it better in the dim lighting.

Her hair fell forward and Scott resisted the urge to touch it. When he’d picked her up in the fire truck, soaking wet, he’d guessed her hair would be this color if it were dry. He was right.

He had no idea why he cared about his boss’s hair.

Except it was brushing the desk in his office.

“If I do something about the fire lane behind the shower house and restaurant, would you allow us to open them both?”

How easy did he want to make this for her? It was clear that Evie Hamilton had only one priority: open her marina area.

He had only one priority, too.

“Almost,” he said. He tried to keep an even tone, but it was clear to him that Evie wanted to get past these obstacles the fastest way. Obviously the loss of revenue was a motivating factor, but it seemed like there was something more going on to make her anxious enough to drop in at the fire station way past business hours. “You need evacuation signage in the restaurant and a check valve on the fuel line. And you’re lacking clearance around the electrical panel that runs the whole building.”

“I had maintenance order the check valve. They’re installing it tomorrow.”

“And the restaurant evacuation plan?”

Evie blew out a breath and sat back in the chair. “I thought the neon exit signs made the emergency evacuation route pretty obvious.” She met his eyes and took a long, slow breath. “But I was wrong. Obviously. Maybe you could help me with the signs.”

“Of course,” he said. “That’s my job.”

Evie cocked her head and drilled him with a long stare. “How long have you had this job? I didn’t even know Marty had retired until the day before my marina was supposed to open.”

Scott shrugged. “He had some health problems and decided to hang it up. I was the only qualified guy here who wanted it.”

And he’d been darn lucky to be in the right place, right time. With a fire science degree in addition to all the required fire training, Scott was one of the few guys at the station who had the résumé for the job. Several of the older men had backed away slowly, hands up in defense when Marty tried to hand the position off to them. They hated paperwork and controversy.

Paperwork and a few terse words are nothing compared to the pain of burn scars from sloppily followed fire codes.

He had jumped at the job as if it were an arrow pointing toward his life’s mission.

“What makes you qualified?” Evie asked.

Was that a polite question or an accusation? He didn’t need to explain himself to anyone.

“What makes you qualified to run an amusement park?” he fired back.

Uh-oh. That was not how he’d intended to sound. His sister had warned him about his tone. She’d be punching him in the gut right now if she’d heard that.

Color rushed to Evie’s face and she stood abruptly. “Please draw up emergency evacuation plans for the areas that need them and put them up. You can do it on company time the next shift you work at the Point.”

“I’m there tomorrow for the afternoon shift.”

“Good. Fine. Thank you,” she said. “You can also check the fuel valve while you’re working for me, and I’ll notify you when the extra inches of clearance are added around the electrical box.”

The way she said inches made it clear she didn’t like making the change. Too bad. She would never have to find that panel in an emergency and shut it down while wearing fifteen pounds of gear and an air tank. That was his job.

“And the tree?” he asked.

“We’ll see about that.”

She picked up her purse and left his office without even a backward glance.

Scott followed her into the station and leaned on the ladder truck, watching her as she walked down the block and entered the front door of her building. She’d mentioned to him in the truck that she’d just moved to downtown Bayside.

Great. She’s right under my nose.

He stood there long enough to see the lights go on in the third-story windows. His mind locked on the sprinkler and standpipe system in that block of buildings, the location of the fire department hookup, the available hydrants along the street.

He couldn’t help it. Seeing danger everywhere he looked was imprinted on him like a scar.

CHAPTER THREE

“TELL ME AGAIN why I should breathe,” Jack Hamilton said.

“You have to,” Evie replied, not even looking up from her desk across from her brother’s. “Your body is smarter than you are.”

Jack put his chin in his hands and stared at Evie. “You’ve always been the calm, rational member of the family, but you’re spending money like it’s your last day on earth.”

“Maybe it is. The mother ship could be coming for me tomorrow. Maybe they need an accountant on their home planet.”

Jack tapped a pen on his desk until the annoying noise got Evie to look up.

“I thought you didn’t want to be an accountant anymore,” he said. “That’s why we hired someone to replace you and you’re off building docks and knocking down our old hotel.”

“I haven’t knocked it down yet. I need permits.”

Evie minimized her computer screen and gave Jack her full attention.

“I love numbers. Accounts. Spreadsheets. Love them.” She sighed. “When I was younger, I thought those things would make me happy for life.”

“But?”

“Dad died and left us Starlight Point. I want to be more than just a number cruncher. Accountants you can hire. What you need is a partner.” She paused and grinned at him. “Especially since you’ll be a family man before the summer is over.”

Jack put his head on his desk.

“Don’t be dramatic. You can come in here and cry about your sleepless nights. I’ll pretend to be sympathetic. I’ll even look the other way if you have puke on your tie.”

“I believe you’d tell me if I had puke on my tie. I hope you would, anyway.”

Evie laughed. “I would.”

There was a knock on their office door.

“It’s Mel,” a voice called from the other side.

“You can only come in if you have doughnuts or good news,” Jack yelled.

Mel Preston swept the door open. The head of maintenance at Starlight Point had married June Hamilton in a Christmas ceremony the previous winter. After the two of them had carried a torch for each other for more than a decade, Evie was much relieved when they’d finally given in to the flames. In her mind, it freed everyone up to get back to the business of running an amusement park. For her part, Evie had no intention of ever being such a ninny in the romance department. It killed on-the-job productivity.

“You don’t have to knock, Mel,” Evie said. “You’re a member of the family.”

“Still can’t believe my good luck,” he said. “I hope your sister never comes to her senses.”

“She won’t.”

“What’s up, Mel?” Jack asked. “Evie and I were in the middle of an important whining session.”

“My brother’s being a baby about having a baby in the middle of the summer.”

“I can add to your problems if you need something more to cry about,” Mel said.

“Do we have problems?” Jack asked.

“I think you should come see for yourself,” Mel responded, his tone losing all its levity.

Jack and Evie jumped to their feet. “Ride problem? Someone hurt?”

Mel shook his head. “Someone’s a pain in the rear.”

Evie guessed who the pain in the rear was before Mel could explain.

“Is it the new fire inspector?”

Mel blew out a breath and made two fists. He tapped them together lightly. “Can’t believe the guy has the nerve to wear one of our name tags while being our worst enemy.”

Jack picked up his cell phone from his desk and shoved it in the interior pocket of his suit coat. “Where are we going?”

“Bennett’s going through the employee dorm with a clipboard right now. He just got done raking one of my guys over the coals for parking in a fire lane while he did an emergency repair on the back of the Silver Streak. Yesterday we caught heck for using a torch near flammable materials. Guess the guy doesn’t know that every single thing in the maintenance garage is flammable.”

Mel’s pickup waited just outside the employee gate near the corporate office. He was parked in the same place Scott had parked the fire truck when he dropped Evie off over a week ago on that rainy afternoon. That was before Evie realized who her chauffeur was.

Jack and Evie got in the truck and Mel briefed them on the ten-minute drive around the outer loop to the employee dorms located close to the marina.

“Fact is, the guy’s right about a few things,” Mel said. “I hate admitting that.”

Sandwiched between the two men in the truck, Evie saw the look that passed between her brother and his best friend of more than twenty years.

“We’ve talked about that dorm before,” Mel continued. “It’s eighty years old. The floors roll. The windows leak.”

“We never promised our summer workers a palace,” Jack said. “It’s free housing.”

Mel nodded.

“But?” Evie prompted.

“It’s not the nicest. I wouldn’t let my son stay there,” Mel continued.

“Ross is six going on seven,” Evie said.

“I know. He thinks it’s fun camping out in the big box our new refrigerator came in. I mean I wouldn’t let him stay there if he was a teenager working here.”

“Why not?” Evie asked.

“It’s not air-conditioned, the bathrooms stink and there are girls living right down the hall. Very dangerous.”

Evie thought about the many times she’d begged her parents to let her live in the dorms with the other summer employees. Although they’d owned Starlight Point, Virginia and Ford Hamilton had required their three children to work regular summer jobs in the park.

Evie had done time running the register in the airbrush art stand, scooping ice cream and sweeping trash off the midways. Her coworkers were her friends and they’d told her about all the fun they’d had off hours in the dorms after playing on the beach and going on rides.

Evie had joined her friends on some of their beach and park adventures, but she’d always been sorry to cross the lot to her parents’ luxurious house on the Old Road abutting the Starlight Point parking lot on the lake side of the peninsula. Her parents had staunchly refused to allow her to bunk with the summer workers. Maybe she knew why now.

“When was the last time you were in the dorms?” Evie asked Mel as they drove.

“Yesterday,” Mel said. “Power went out on the second floor because kids plugged in too much stuff and blew a fuse.”

The three of them rode in silence on the low-speed road surrounding the Point.

“Dad was always afraid the summer employees were going to burn down that old barn someday,” Jack said.

Evie blew out a breath. “Any idea what Inspector Gotcha is writing on his clipboard?”

She pictured him, dark eyes drawn together in a scowl, taping off the doors of the dorm by order of the fire inspector. Her pulse quickened. He wouldn’t close the dorm, would he? Where would their employees go?

What if he found picky infractions as he had at the marina? Two of the three marina problems were already addressed and she had the asphalt truck on order to fix the fire lane. The giant old cottonwood tree that had shaded the marina area for a century was still an obstacle, but she was trying to find a way around it without sacrificing a piece of history.

Soon, her marina would open and she could move on to the hotel project.

If Scott approves my plans.

He had to approve them. Jack was panicking about the money she was investing in the capital improvement projects for the Point. The investment had to start paying off soon or they were all in trouble. Guilt nagged at her. How much was she motivated by planning the next century for Starlight Point and how much was her motivation driven by her own need to prove she was more than just an accountant and a little sister?

Like it or not, getting the exacting new fire inspector to endorse her plans was integral to the success of her project. Making an enemy of him over the employee housing wasn’t wise, and Evie had a lingering feeling that Inspector Scott Bennett was going to make this the most difficult summer of her life anyway.

* * *

SCOTT WAS STUNNED. He knew the former inspector was too friendly with local businesses. Too sloppy. Let too many things slide. Maybe the guy had never seen someone die in a fire that could and should have been prevented.

He took a deep breath and focused on the fire escape at the employee dorm. A lawn chair blocked the door at the top and someone had parked a barbecue grill at the bottom. It mirrored what he’d found inside the dorm when he’d walked through all three floors.

Fire doors propped open. Cooking devices that were illegal and asking for trouble. Posters and fabric decorations covering the walls and draped over lighting fixtures. A shirt hanger dangling off a smoke detector.

The attic spanning the length of the building was filled with flammable junk, probably items left from years of summer employees. Old mattresses. A dresser. Cardboard boxes filled with who knew what. All kindling in the worst case scenario.

If it were a modern building, there would be fire walls dividing the attic to prevent the spread of flames. But it wasn’t anywhere close to being modern. The employee dorm appeared to be almost as old as the Lake Breeze Hotel. The hotel was a different story, one he planned to dig his teeth into another day.

Scott lowered the tailgate on the fire department’s pickup truck. He sat on the tailgate, dangling his legs. It was sunny and the breeze off the nearby lake cooled his heated mind. He began to write the list of corrections that had to be made immediately or he would be forced by a combination of the law and his own conscience to close the dorm.

A blue truck pulled up and three people climbed out. Evie and Jack Hamilton and the head of maintenance, a man he’d already tangled with. Mel something.

Evie’s long hair was pulled back tight from her face. Her green eyes flashed in the bright sunlight.

Her brother was much taller but his grim expression matched hers.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Scott said, resolved to deliver the true but unpleasant news without dancing around it. “We can begin the twenty-four-hour notification period required in the event of closure and condemnation by the fire inspector.”

“Twenty-four hours?” Evie said. “Closure and condemnation?”

Her eyes were wide, mouth open in shock. Jack’s face registered closer to murderous. Mel and Jack stood shoulder-to-shoulder behind Evie, as if they were her enforcers.

Interesting. She appeared to be the youngest of the three, but she was in charge. He had no idea how the Hamiltons operated. He knew there was another sister, but he hadn’t met her yet.

“In the event of actual danger to life or property, I have the authority to close buildings, construction sites, parties and just about anything else,” Scott said. “Michigan law.”

“Is there actual danger here?” Evie asked. She stepped closer, her hip almost brushing the edge of the tailgate. Scott wished she wouldn’t stand so close.

“This place is five seconds from going up in flames. I wouldn’t sleep at night if I owned it or if anyone I cared about was staying in it.”

He saw the glance exchanged between Evie, her brother and her maintenance man. None of them looked surprised.

What was wrong with these people? Were they too busy adding up their cash to make potentially lifesaving upgrades?

Evie held out her hand for his clipboard. Her expression softened just a little. Not a smile. But perhaps an admission that he wasn’t the big bad wolf.

He handed her the clipboard and watched her read his neatly printed list of violations. She flipped to the next page and perused the diagram he’d drawn with marks indicating the locations of the infractions.

Her expression hardened as she read. Lines defined the set of her mouth. When she looked up at him, her eyes were narrowed, brows drawn together.

“These violations have nothing to do with the actual building,” she said.

Scott shrugged. “True. It’s the careless way your employees are living. Probably find the same things on a college campus.”

“But you’re holding us at fault and threatening to close our building.”

Obviously.

“Yes,” he said curtly. “It’s your building.” He took back his clipboard. “You,” he said, pointing to her and Jack, “are responsible for the people living in your dorm, like it or not.”

Evie slid onto the tailgate, only two feet away from him, swinging her long legs. Her skin was bare from her knee-length navy blue skirt to her low-heeled sandals. She had a small scar on the outside of her ankle and Scott was tempted to ask how she got it.

He shook off the thought and returned his attention to his clipboard.

“If we go through the dorm, knock on doors, educate our employees and remove hazards, would you be convinced to let this go?” Evie asked.

Scott glanced up at Jack and Mel, who were towering over him, arms crossed over their chests.

“I wouldn’t be letting it go,” Scott said. “The problem would be solved. And that’s what I want. It’s what you should want, too. Assuming you care about the lives of your employees.”

“Hey,” Jack said. He uncrossed his arms and took a step forward. “I’m not going to stand here and let you imply I don’t care about what happens around here. I care about every single thing that happens at Starlight Point. Maybe you don’t want to work for a guy like me if you don’t get that.”

Evie bounced off the tailgate and took Jack and Mel by the upper arms. She walked away with both of them and had a low-volume conversation. Scott couldn’t see their faces and was probably better off not knowing the direction their discussion took.

The two men got in the truck and left.

Evie turned around and walked straight up to Scott, stopping only when she was almost close enough to touch him. “If you’re willing to go through the dorm with me and set things straight, I’m all yours.”

CHAPTER FOUR

CRISIS AVERTED, EVIE THOUGHT. But when would the next one come? The daily life of Starlight Point was madness. A beautiful madness that ran through her veins like sunshine. And sometimes rain.

The employee dorms would remain open, but she had no doubt Scott Bennett would sweep through with his book of fire codes whenever he thought their guard was down. Following him through the dorm, floor by floor and room by room, made for the most exhausting morning she could remember. With every door they knocked on, her spirits sank because she dreaded the tangle of extension cords they’d find. Or the doors half blocked with furniture. Or the furtive hot plates. Ashtrays. Candles.

It was a disaster waiting to happen.

Scott was right about the reckless habits of summer staff. He was right about the vulnerable condition of the aged building. Of course he was. But there was something bubbling just under the surface of his determination that made her wonder what force drove him and when he would boil over.

She’d watched his smooth, confident stride as he authoritatively made his way down the halls of her building. His stern profile as he’d waited for doors to open. His mouth drawn in a tight line as he’d replaced a missing fire extinguisher in a hallway.

He’d be handsome if his dark eyes weren’t tainted with anger and his square jaw weren’t set quite so sternly. But there’s something about him...

Evie’s shoulders sagged as she passed through the marina gate and headed for her office. The sun shone brightly and the midway was dotted with lunchtime crowds.

“You need ice cream,” Tosha called out, leaning over the counter of her stand. “No one as young as you should look so serious.”

Evie stopped. Smiled politely. She liked Tosha, had grown up with the woman and her pink apron, and had even worked for her the summer she was fifteen. But why did everyone suddenly want to point out how young she was? At twenty-three, wasn’t she old enough to get through a day without a well-meaning old friend trying to offer her an ice-cream cone as if she were a lost child? When Jack had taken over the park a few years ago at the age of twenty-seven, had people offered him lollipops and cookies?

Probably. His sweet tooth was notorious.

“Running Starlight Point is serious work,” Evie said, keeping her tone level.

“Nonsense. Look around.” Tosha swept an arm at the blue sky, which was only obstructed by graceful trees swaying and the cable cars gliding overhead. “Couldn’t ask for anything more than this.”

Evie stopped under the pink awning with an ice-cream cone painted on it. “Do you have mint chocolate chip?”

“Single or double?”

Evie glanced at the clock on the stand’s wall and did the math. “If I have a double, it’ll count for lunch, too. Saves me time in the long run.”

Tosha laughed and shook the water drops off a silver ice-cream scooper. “You always were a practical girl, even when you were a kid. I remember you coming in here with dollar bills clutched in your little hands and figuring out the best deal for the money.”

Evie laughed. “I think you always gave me more than I deserved.”

“No,” Tosha said. “You deserved every ounce.”

Evie slid her hand into her pocket and pulled out a five-dollar bill.

“No way,” Tosha said, handing a two-scoop cone across the counter. “This one’s for luck.”

“Do I need luck?”

“With all the big plans you have this summer, you need luck, time, good weather and ice cream. Not necessarily in that order.”

Evie took a bite of the ice cream and lingered under the awning for a moment. Her eyes fell on a shiny red fire extinguisher mounted on the wall next to the side door of the stand, a giant reflective sticker pointing to it. And there was another reflective sticker on the door that said Exit.

Those signs are serious overkill.

Tosha noticed Evie’s glance. “Like my new safety equipment?”

Evie nodded, reserving comment as she waited for what she knew Tosha would say next.

“I had a visit from the new fire inspector who’s trying to fill out his new boots by puffing himself up. I’m not the only one, either.”

“Didn’t you already have a fire extinguisher?” Evie asked.

Tosha shrugged. “Had a bucket of water. Worked for years.”

“Well,” Evie said. She hesitated, wondering if she should tell Tosha that Scott Bennett was the bane of her existence, too. Maybe not. It probably wouldn’t help, anyway. “I hope you never have to use the bucket of water or the fire extinguisher. Thanks for the ice cream.”

Tosha waved her away and Evie took a walk along the midway. When she was younger, she would walk hand-in-hand with her father and they would play Visitor. He would take off his name tag and they’d pretend it was their first visit to Starlight Point. As a child, Evie thought it was a fun game devised for her entertainment, but she had taken up the habit this summer and realized her father had a brilliant ulterior motive.

As she walked past the theater, she looked at it as if she had never seen it before. Fresh eyes. What if she didn’t own the place? What would she notice? The heavy old marquee hanging over the theater entrance had been transformed during the winter. There were still flashing lights, but it was a computer screen that could be changed quickly to advertise shows, park events and times. No more black letters slid onto a white track.

Was it an improvement? Evie gazed at it. Yes. Her sister, June, would certainly think so. Coming home last summer and revitalizing both the theater buildings and their live shows had been June’s achievement. And she hadn’t slowed down. This year’s shows in the Midway Theater and the Starlight Saloon in the Wonderful West would open in a few days. And they would be even more spectacular than last year’s Broadway-themed performances. The new scrolling sign advertised a “Salute to Summer Extravaganza” with a promise of music and dance to celebrate the season.

June saw the fruits of her labor every day. Her music, choreography, costume choices and overall vision had made live shows more than an afterthought or just an extra offering at the point. Exit surveys from the previous year suggested there were guests who returned just to see the shows. June’s effort and sacrifice had paid off. She had given up her career on Broadway to come home and be part of the family business, and she didn’t appear to regret it for an instant.

What am I giving up if I devote my life to Starlight Point?

The carousel lurched into action with a burst of organ music, and Evie watched the horses blur past, going up and down on the same track they’d been on for decades. She glanced at the concrete beneath her feet. The same path she’d walked with her father for years.

There was no place else she wanted to be, but her path now was not the one she’d imagined as a girl.

* * *

SCOTT HANDED HIS SISTER Caroline a fifty-dollar bill. “That’s for food. If you insist on being a security guard, you should bulk up a little.”

Caroline laughed. Her slight build looked even slimmer in the all black uniform of the Starlight Point Police Department. Only twenty, she wasn’t licensed to carry a gun. Yet. But she could still do foot patrol. Direct traffic. Keep an eye on the summer crowds.

“You’re an excellent big brother,” she said, snapping the crisp bill from his fingers before he could play keep-away. She slipped it into her pocket, picked up a plastic tray and cut in front of him in the cafeteria line. “I’ll report to Mom that I’m keeping an eye on you and you’re behaving very well.”

Scott raised an eyebrow.

“You’re still buying lunch today, right?” Caroline asked.

He nodded as he shoved a tray along the line at the employee cafeteria. “This is probably the only day this month we’ll have the same schedule, so I can afford your grilled cheese and salad.”

Scott took a cheeseburger and fries from under the warming lights, added a pudding parfait from the cooler and filled a paper cup from the soda machine. He paid for his sister’s tray and his and followed her to a table by the window.

The employee cafeteria was industrial in furnishings, but the view from the wall of windows added a shot of beauty. Situated between the employee entrance along the beach and the backside of the Lake Breeze Hotel, the staff cafeteria and recreation center offered glimpses of Lake Huron through the trees. The cafeteria served inexpensive food for the minimum-wage summer workers who lived at the Point and counted on three meals a day.

“Are you still insisting on living in the employee dorm or have you decided to do the smart thing?” Scott asked. He took the radio off his belt and set it next to the tray.

“Living with my overprotective big brother in a bachelor pad in downtown Bayside is the smart thing?” Caroline took her radio off her belt and set it next to his, mimicking his action and smiling at him.

“Safer thing. I almost had to close the dorm a few days ago because of fire code violations.”

“Of course you did,” she said, smiling at him. “I was working at the time, but some of my friends reported a very grouchy fire inspector writing up violations and confiscating their extension cords.”

Scott took a deep breath and reserved comment.

“If I lived with you, I’d have to find a way to work every day,” Caroline said.

Scott chewed his burger and watched his sister squeeze dressing over her salad. “There’s a ferry.”

“Takes too long. Sometimes I might get called in on short notice if something exciting is happening.”

Why does my sister have to be so difficult?

“Like a big fight or a gun-toting maniac,” Caroline added, grinning at her brother.

“You know I hate this,” he said.

“You hadn’t mentioned it.”

“If you lived in Bayside, you could use my truck. I walk to work in Bayside and take the ferry here. How about that?”

“Is that your final offer?”

“I’ve offered you everything I have.”

Caroline reached for his pudding parfait and Scott snatched it. He snapped the plastic lid off and gave her one of the two spoons he’d picked up.

“You’re the best,” she said.

“And you,” he said, sharing his dessert, “are driving me nuts.”

She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “Who do you think watches over me in college?”

Scott sucked in a breath. Caroline only had one year left before she graduated with a criminal justice degree. She was completing her police officer’s training concurrently and, in less than a year, she would be putting her life on the line as a cop.

“You should get a dog,” he said. “A nice German shepherd.”

“I don’t need a dog. I can take care of myself. This job will be great experience and, who knows, maybe I’ll come back next year and work here so I can shoot you if you get on my nerves.”

She dipped her finger into the whipped cream part of the parfait and dabbed a dollop on Scott’s nose. “Or maybe you’ll need me to protect you someday,” she added.

Caroline glanced over at the drink machine where a tall blond woman was filling a soda cup. She waved and caught the woman’s attention as she snapped a plastic lid on her cup.

How does Caroline know Evie Hamilton? And why is she coming over here?

“Evie,” Caroline said as soon as she approached. “Sit with us.”

Evie stopped next to the table but didn’t pull out a chair. “I’m on my way to the Wonderful West to check on a guest complaint about the shooting gallery.”

“Pacifists?” Caroline asked.

Evie laughed. “No. A matter of economy. It seems our machines are eating quarters at an alarming rate. Highway robbery.”

Caroline smiled and pointed at her brother. “This is my brother, Scott.”

Scott locked eyes with Evie and his pulse throbbed in his neck. Her eyes were green like summer leaves. He had noticed them before.

“And this,” Caroline continued, gesturing at Evie, “is Evie Hamilton. She owns the place so you have to be nice to her.”

“We’ve met,” Evie said, her expression neutral.

“Was he nice?” Caroline asked.

“No.”

Evie thinks I wasn’t nice? Was I supposed to be nice about slipshod safety?

“I’m not surprised,” Caroline said. “He’s been known to be too serious. Although the whipped cream on his nose makes him more approachable.”

To his horror, Evie zeroed in on his nose while Caroline took a swipe at him with her napkin.

He had to change the subject.

“How did you two meet?” Scott asked.

“Self-defense training,” Evie said. She pulled out the chair next to Caroline and sat on the edge. “I happened to sit in on the early season orientation for the police department because the safety forces here are under my jurisdiction.”

So that was why she’d wanted to talk about the price of fire trucks. And why she’d been the one to walk through the employee dorms with him. She was not only his boss as owner of the place, she was also in charge of the safety department. His department.

“I was about to take down a guy twice my size,” Caroline said, “but I volunteered to spar with Evie because none of the other guys would touch her.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Scott said. “Who wouldn’t want to risk his job by tossing his boss to the mat?”

Not that he had much room to talk considering how difficult he was making things for Evie and the rest of the management at Starlight Point. Sparring with Evie is not the smart way to keep my job.

Caroline shrugged. “They were probably afraid of losing. Evie’s tougher than she looks.”

In build, Evie was much like his sister. Long, willowy limbs, delicate bones. He pictured one of the burly police officers grappling with her and it made him go cold, just like the feeling he got when he made the mistake of picturing his sister at work.

Evie laughed. “Let’s just hope I’m tough enough to handle kids who lost their allowance to the shooting gallery machines.”

“I hope you have a bag of quarters in your purse,” Caroline said.

“Even better. A preloaded card good for five hundred rounds of ammo. Their trigger fingers will wear out before they run out of bullets.”

Evie took a sip of her soda and settled into the seat a little more.

“I’m curious,” she said. “You two aren’t from Bayside, are you?”

Caroline shook her head. “About an hour away. We used to come here sometimes, though. School field trips and a family trip once a summer.”

“So how did you both end up working here?”

“Scott got a full-time job for the Bayside Fire Department over the winter. He’s my only family in this area since our parents retired and moved to Arizona. They think Scott keeps an eye on me so they can be happy in the sunshine.”

“Lucky for them,” Evie commented.

“I was looking for a summer job and some of the guys in my police academy class told me about working security here. I thought it would be good experience. Maybe I’ll come back and be a bonded officer next year.”

“That sounds terrific,” Evie said. “We could use a full-time female officer on our department. Do you live with your brother in Bayside?”

“No,” Caroline said, sending Scott a crooked grin. “I live in the employee dorm by the marina.”

“Really?” Evie turned a raised-eyebrow glance on Scott. “What do you think of the dorms?”

Scott wasn’t sure if the question was directed toward him or his sister. Caroline saved him by jumping in.

“It’s fun. Like living in a college dorm. But I don’t want to say too much in front of—” she jerked her head at Scott “—you know who. He already hates the fact that I’m living in the dorms instead of staying at his house where I’d be expected to brush my teeth and go to bed at nine o’clock every night.”

Evie laughed. “During the summer, I’m lucky to be in bed by midnight.”

No one said anything for a minute, the silence awkward in the loud cafeteria buzzing with conversations all around them.

He should say something. Ask her how her day was going. Mention the weather. Ask her when the tree obstructing the fire lane at the marina restaurant was coming down.

“I heard we’re expecting a record crowd this weekend,” Caroline said. “I’m on toll booth and traffic duty on Saturday.”

Evie laughed. “Good luck. Saturday mornings around ten are notorious. People have been driving for hours. They’re hungry. The kids in the backseat are picking at each other. They hate the way our cones are set up. They don’t want to pay for parking. It gets ugly.” As she listed the problems, she ticked them off on her long fingers.

“I may ask to be reassigned.”

“No way. We need someone rational at the toll booths when tempers flare,” Evie said. Her smile turned serious. “But you have to be careful. We’ve had officers and traffic attendants hit by cars. It’s a dangerous combination of orange cones, heat, anticipation and horsepower.”

Scott pictured a station wagon mowing down his sister.

“Why can’t you work in Kiddieland instead?” Scott groaned.

“Are you kidding?” Evie asked, meeting his eyes, a smile lighting her face. “You should see the stuff that goes down there. Parents fighting about the strollers, kids cutting in line for the motorcycles. And the crying. Holy smokes. The crying. I stay far away.”

“Little kids give me the willies,” Caroline said. “I’m never having any.”

“You’re not?” Scott asked. When had his sister decided that? Sure, she wasn’t dating anyone—at least not anyone he knew of—but she wanted a family. Didn’t she?

Did he? Maybe it was just an abstract idea right now...

“I’m going to try being an aunt first,” Evie said. “When my brother’s baby arrives this summer, I’ll see how I do at that. Right now, I’m headed West for a showdown. See you later, if I live.”

She picked up her drink, directed a tentative smile at Scott and wound through the tables on the way to the door. Scott watched her stop and exchange quick greetings with several staff members. She left the building and passed in front of the wall of windows, her long blond hair picking up the sun.

“She’s so nice,” Caroline said. “And lucky. I can’t imagine owning this place. What a fun job.”

“I’ll bet it’s harder than you think,” Scott said. “And when did you decide you’re never having kids?”

“Yesterday. When I was stuck on patrol at the entrance of the kiddie coaster.” She shook her head and forked some lettuce. “It was horrific.”

CHAPTER FIVE

“DOES THE TREE have to go?” Evie asked. She shaded her eyes and looked up at the century-old cottonwood that guarded the new marina restaurant building, hanging over it from behind like a protective parent.

“You need a wider fire lane,” Scott said. “The tree is too close. It could block trucks and be a hazard.” He shrugged. “It’s just a tree, right?”

“Yes,” Evie said.

Scott drew his eyebrows together and scowled at her. Why does he have to be so grouchy about it?

“I don’t see why this is a problem,” he said.

“I love that tree. It’s visible all the way across the parking lot from my house.” She paused. “My former house.”

“And?”

“And it’s part of the skyline. Skyline that is not just roller coasters and rides.” She squared her shoulders. “I have happy memories of that tree, okay?”

“Okay.”

Before the restaurant was constructed over the past winter, boaters, day visitors and employees in the nearby dorm had come here for picnics. There was even a storage area for coolers and a dozen picnic tables. Sometimes on summer days when Jack, June and Evie were growing up, their mother would pack a cooler and the family had lunch in the shade of the tree. No matter how hot and sunny the weather was, it was cool and shady under the tree.

She could picture Jack swinging his long awkward legs over the bench. Her sister, June, kicking Jack under the table. Her mother handing out sandwiches, each of the plastic bags marked with a sticker denoting its intended recipient. Evie’s stickers were green, to match her eyes her father said. She pictured her dad taking off his suit jacket and cracking open a soda from the cooler. He’d always stay long enough to eat and talk for a few minutes, but then it was back to work.

Evie had longed for the day when she’d go to work with him.

The family picnics probably only happened three times a summer, but in Evie’s childhood memories, it seemed more often. Her father was gone now. And the picnic tables, too. But the tree remained. A tree that had been on the peninsula before all the swirling rides and flashing lights. It was a piece of history.

“Sometimes,” Scott said, interrupting her thoughts, “you have to let go of the past.”

If he had said it in a negative or even practical tone, she might have bristled. But his words were quiet, as if they were unintentionally spoken aloud. As if he’d meant them for himself.

She glanced at his face. His cheeks and neck were red. The tips of his ears, visible under his close-cropped hair, were pink.

Interesting. What was in his past that made him color up?

“So what are we doing here?” Scott asked gruffly. The moment of vulnerability was clearly over and he wanted answers. But Evie wasn’t going to be rushed or bullied. He was on the clock at her park. On her time.

“We used to have family picnics under this tree,” she said softly, a part of her still unwilling to give up without a fight.

She had no idea why she was sharing that detail with a man whose next question was probably going to be whether they had a fire extinguisher in their picnic basket.

Scott leaned against the rough bark of the wide trunk, waiting for her decision.

Evie let out a long breath and turned her head from side to side, taking in a wide-angle view of the marina. Even with changes, some obvious, some subtle, Starlight Point was still her family’s history. Perhaps she would institute a family lunch with her siblings and her mom at least once a month at the new restaurant. Without a tree shading them, but still a meal together.

Sometimes Evie wished she could stop time and keep everything as it was, but at other times she could hardly wait to see her plans in action. The future of Starlight Point didn’t always mean sacrificing the past...but sometimes that had to happen.

“Since it stands in the way of progress,” she said, willing herself to be the practical columns-and-numbers person everyone thought she was, “I guess we cut it down.”

Mel Preston pulled up in his work truck and joined them under the tree. He studied Evie’s face and shoved his hands in his pockets. Rocking back on the heels of his work boots, he looked up at the spreading branches of the old cottonwood.

“Did you work out a way to keep this old tree?” Mel asked.

Scott crossed his arms and said nothing.

Evie could feel the tension between the two men, but that was silly. It’s just a tree.

She shook her head. “The tree has to go.” She swallowed. The sympathy in Mel’s eyes almost undid her resolve. Mel had been at Starlight Point a long time. He understood.

“Will you call the tree service and make arrangements today?” Evie asked.

Mel nodded. “I’m sorry, Evie. Ever since your father passed, your family has had to make one tough decision after another. But look how far you’ve come.”

Evie put a hand on Mel’s shoulder. “Thanks. Some decisions have been a lot easier than others. I keep reminding myself it’s just a tree.”

“I kissed your sister under this tree almost ten years ago,” Mel said.

Scott tucked his clipboard under his arm and stalked off. He entered the back door of the restaurant.

Evie laughed. “I guess he doesn’t want to hear about family memories or kissing. It’s all by the book for him.”

“Then I’d guess he isn’t having any fun,” Mel said.

Evie smiled at her brother-in-law. “You should take home some of the wood when we cut this tree down. You could make a bench for your front porch and kiss my sister on it the rest of your life.”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“I’m full of ideas,” Evie said. “At least, I try to be. As soon as this project opens and starts putting money back into the bank account, I’ll know how much I can afford on my hotel renovation.”

“I thought you had the whole thing planned out?”

She nodded. “Parts of it. Most of it, I guess. But there’s a wish list. We came in slightly under budget on the docks and restaurant here, but I’m afraid renovating a century-old hotel is going to present surprises.”

Her construction superintendent had already warned her about the mysteries lurking in a hotel built when automobiles were a new invention. Was she making a huge mistake? Gambling on a possible payoff and a hopeful outcome just as her father had?

“First things first,” Mel said. “We’ve got two weeks until the July Fourth weekend, right?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll get this tree down, open up the fire lane and finish moving the wall that’s too close to the electrical panel. The signs in the restaurant got done last week.”

“Thanks, Mel. It’s nice to have the head of maintenance officially in the family.”

“You need all the friends you can get.”

Scott came out of the restaurant and balanced his clipboard on the hood of the fire department’s pickup truck.

“Should we go make nice?” Mel asked.

Evie shrugged. “We could ignore him so he’ll be more productive on the job. He’s on the clock.”

“Which makes it twice as irritating when he writes up violations while he’s on your payroll.”

“Maybe. But I’m still trying to stay on his good side because I need him to sign off on my hotel plans. And sooner rather than later.”

“What’s the rush?” Mel asked. He kept his voice low as they both watched Scott write up his notes.

Evie could guess what he was putting down. Inside that door, an electrical panel still sat too close to an interior wall. By only a few inches, but the inspector apparently considered it too close.

“There’s a tight time frame,” Evie explained. “Especially since we can never count on what kind of winter we’re going to have here. Remember last year?”

The marina project had faced numerous delays because of crippling snowstorms and record-breaking low temperatures. Windchills below zero and snow higher than the bumper of a truck made lousy conditions for working outside and staying on schedule. The hotel project was three times the size of the marina project, and weather-related delays could mean it would fail to open on time. And each day it was closed meant lost revenue. “Demo on the old wings has to start mid-August so we can prepare the ground and pour the concrete foundation before freezing weather slows us down. Even following the tight schedule Dan put together for us, we’ll barely make opening weekend next May.”

Scott turned his attention to the fire hydrant behind the restaurant and then propped his clipboard against the wall, making notes. Even though they were only fifteen feet away, he ignored Evie and Mel. When Mel made a low grunting sound like an angry animal, Evie laid a hand on his arm.

“I’ll go talk to him,” Evie said. “If we can work together, maybe we can get the restaurant open and start making money instead of losing it. And I think the gas lines for the docks are ready to open as soon as tomorrow if I get him to sign the permit.”

“Good luck,” Mel said. He got in his blue maintenance pickup and pulled onto the outer loop.

Evie walked over and leaned against the wall where Scott was still writing with a felt-tipped pen.

“Did you see the new fuel line valve?” she asked.

Scott nodded. Continued writing.

“I’m hoping you’ll sign the permit so we can start selling gas to boaters right away.”

“Signed it this morning,” he said without looking up.

Whew. Her relief was stronger than her irritation at his definite lack of people skills. She wasn’t asking him to dance. She needed his official blessing for her project—a project that would provide jobs for dozens of locals waiting to start work in the marina. She’d tried to put their skills to use in other areas of the resort but it still made for an unnecessary strain on payroll.

“And I’m sure you noticed the wall is being moved inside,” Evie added. Might as well get it all out there.

“Uh-huh.”

Fine. I’ll do all the talking. She really wanted to snatch his pen and his clipboard and toss them into the lake.

“I appreciate the very clear signage you installed in the restaurant,” she said. “If there’s ever a fire in there, I’m sure all our guests will find their way out.”

“That’s the idea.” Scott capped his pen, slid it into his chest pocket and tucked the clipboard under one arm. He looked at her, waiting.

At least he made eye contact. Was it courtesy? Was he only being remotely congenial because she was his boss? How she would love to test that theory by firing him. But she hated to do that to his sister, Caroline, who had apparently gotten all the friendly genes in the family.

Maybe now was the time to mention her next project and invite him to look at the plans early so there would be no surprises. Maybe they could be friends, not enemies.

She risked a glance at his face. A deep vertical line cut a groove between his eyebrows as if frowning was his natural expression. Perhaps not friends. Where was the slightly warmer version of Scott she’d seen as he shared lunch with his sister?

Clearly not evident while he was in Chief Inspector mode.

Still, it couldn’t hurt to plant a seed about her hotel plans. Evie opened her mouth to tell him she wanted to ask his advice on an upcoming project, but she didn’t get the chance. The radio on his hip beeped and Scott pulled it against his ear in one swift movement as if he’d done it a thousand times. His dark eyes remained on Evie as he listened.

“Dispatch to SP Fire. Possible MI, Space Race queue lines.”

Abruptly shifting his attention away from her, Scott raced to his truck, tossed his clipboard through the window, grabbed a large zippered bag and started running.

Evie took off after him, barely keeping pace as they headed for the park entrance at the marina gate. “What’s an MI?” she asked as she ran alongside.

“Heart attack,” Scott said. He keyed his radio and talked as he ran. Evie overheard him discussing whether or not to drive an ambulance onto the midway.

Heart attack. The same thing that had robbed her family of her father three years ago. She prayed the dispatcher was mistaken.

“The park is open,” she said, huffing out the words as she ran. “You can only do that if it’s life or death.”

“I’ll make that decision,” he said.

Evie was about to say something in response such as “I own the freaking park, maybe I’ll make the decision,” but Scott cut her a swift glance as he dashed past the summer employee at the gate.

“When we get there.”

Maybe he was right. That’s why she had him and the other firefighters on staff night and day.

Emotion raced through her as she ran with Scott past the bumper cars and through Kiddieland to the Space Race roller coaster. The coaster itself had been at Starlight Point for over twenty years and initially had enjoyed limited success. Too scary for little kids, not terrifying enough for teenagers or thrill-seekers. To make it more interesting, the ride had been enclosed about a decade ago. The coaster now had strobe lights and special effects, making it feel like a rocketing ride through the blackness of space.

Everything about the ride was dark. Even the queue lines snaking back and forth inside the large steel structure had limited light.

Scott reached the entrance to the ride first and paused to talk to the operator guarding the turnstile and checking the heights of hopeful kids. Evie saw the summer worker gesture inside and explain something to Scott. He raced ahead into the building and Evie followed, willing her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness.

Her breath came in jagged gasps, and she was glad she didn’t have to carry the large first-aid bag Scott had with him. She wondered what went through his mind on the way to an emergency.

They wound through the queue lines, bumping against the silver rails and jostling people. Evie wished someone had thought to turn on the emergency lighting. Searching in the dark in a crowded venue for a person having a heart attack was torture. Minutes could mean the difference between life and death. Why had no one turned on the lights?

She shouted to the worker at the door to hit the emergency lights, but it was noisy and the girl didn’t hear. Evie considered running back and doing it herself, but she didn’t want to leave Scott alone to face whatever they found. She squinted her eyes and tried to focus.

“Where is he?” Scott said aloud. “Fire department!” he shouted. “Anyone know who called us?”

A summer worker ran from the other direction and met them under a replica of a planet.

“I called it in,” the kid said. “A man was clutching his chest and gasping, his wife was crying. But they disappeared. I swear.”

Evie felt sorry for the teenager. He was clearly shocked by what he’d seen.

“Why didn’t you stay with them?” Scott growled. The employee shrank back, looking desperately around, holding up his phone with the flashlight app.

A little boy who appeared to be about ten stepped out of the line, tugged at Evie’s arm and pointed. “I know where they went,” he said. “I saw some people go through there.” He gestured toward an emergency exit that would open onto the beach side of the structure if her orientation wasn’t a complete disaster.

Without hesitation, Scott climbed over the silver rail and headed for the emergency exit. Evie stayed right behind him, clambering through the waiting guests, cell phone in hand, wishing she knew what awaited them on the other side of the door.

Scott burst outside with Evie at his heels. The bright sunshine reflecting off the sand and water blinded them temporarily. Scott was the first to recover. He whirled and dropped to his knees next to the man on the ground.

Evie gasped. The man was about fifty years old. Overweight but not obese. Ghastly gray. Sweating. Clutching his chest. A woman sat on the ground next to him, sobbing. Two pre-teen children stood behind their mother, their faces tearstained and panicked.

Scott zipped open his bag and pulled out oxygen tubing. He turned briefly and handed his radio to Evie. “Call it in, give our exact location and get me an ambulance. Now.”

She dropped her cell phone and took the radio. With trembling fingers, she pressed the button on the side. In all her years at Starlight Point, she’d never had to use a radio in an emergency.

“Dispatch, this is Evie Hamilton.”

“Go ahead, Evie,” a woman said. Evie knew the voice. Louise Higgins had worked dispatch at Starlight Point for years. There was curiosity in her familiar voice.

“I need an ambulance on the beach side of the Space Race.”

“Is this the same call, the possible MI?” the dispatcher asked.

“Yes. Definitely an MI. Beach side emergency exit. Space Race.” Repeating the exact location made her feel better. As if it could bring help faster.

And they needed it.

The man was apologizing, clutching the hands of his wife and kids and telling them he was sorry for every unkind word he’d ever said.

He clearly believed he was dying.

“Tell them to drive the ambulance right down the midway,” Evie told the dispatcher. “Whatever it takes.”

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