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pressed his lips to her ear. 
    “What are you doing?” she gasped.
    “Whispering sweet nothings in your ear,” he
replied, laughing delightedly.  “Look up at the grandparents,” he urged.  “It’s
a good thing your grandma doesn’t have a gun.”
    “You’re right about that,” she confirmed and
squinted to see the older couple’s faces.  “Hey!  You’re grandfather is smiling
like the cat that swallowed the canary.” 
    Brady laughed delightedly.
    She gave him a searching look.  “He’d better not
be thinking about making a move on my grandma!”  She gulped.  “He wouldn’t… 
Would he?”
    Brady flashed a high voltage smile.  “Who do you
think taught me my moves?”
    Her eyes widened and she spun on her heel. 
“Grandma!  Wait!” she cried.  She plowed through the thick sand.
    Brady hurried after her and brought her to a
stop.  “Stop, Amanda!  They’ll bolt.  I was only kidding about my granddad. 
He’s a good man with sound values.  And we have to do this right.  If they take
off, we’ll never catch that darned Olds.”
    She paused for a brief moment, her mind racing. 
He suddenly seemed earnest and sincere.  “Okay, what should we do?”
    “Let’s start walking back.  Maybe if we can cut
across the sand to a stairway this side of the car, we’ll be able to cut them
off at the pass.”
    They had no sooner started walking than the old
couple began hurrying toward the car.  “Brady, look!  They’re practically
running.”
    “They’re definitely on to us,” he said wearily. 
“This needs to end here and now.”
    He stopped and pulled his phone from his
pocket.  A gust of wind suddenly struck them, blasting them with flying sand. 
“Ah, shoot!  My phone!”  He gave a frustrated growl, but began texting his
granddad.
    “What did you say?” Amanda asked.
    “I asked them to meet us on the boardwalk.  I
told them this nonsense needs to stop here and now, and that you and I are
sorry if we’ve neglected them.”
    “Okay, maybe that’ll do the trick.”
    “I hope…”  He abruptly shook his head.  “They’re
driving away,” he muttered.  “What exactly do they want from us?” he wondered
aloud.
    “I don’t know,” Amanda said with a sigh.  “But
we’d better get back to town.  Maybe they’re heading back to the retirement
home.”
    “Do you think?”
    She shrugged.  “It’s possible.  Maybe your
apology did the trick.”  She made a worried face.  “I should apologize too.” 
She promptly texted her grandmother, apologizing for neglecting her and
promising to make amends.  “Okay, done.  I think we’ve probably gotten through
to them.” 
    Brady nodded and took her hand.  “Let’s walk
back to my car.”
    Amanda gave him a curious glance, and then
dropped her eyes to their entwined hands.  Brady had taken her hand as if was
the most natural thing in the world to do.
    Curious.

Chapter Five
     
    “Oh, this seafood is divine,” Liz said,
seemingly savoring the delicious Dungeness crab.
    “I’ve always been partial to Dungeness crab,”
Ike said.  “My wife always favored King crab though.”
    Liz watched his face.  The mention of his wife
had set a pensive, faraway look in his eyes.  “You loved her very much, didn’t
you?”
    He nodded.  “She was my best friend,” he said,
smiling.  “I lost her eight years ago.”  He shook his head.  “Sometimes I find
myself expecting to see her coming around a corner.”  He gave a
self-deprecating laugh.  “Imagine.  She’s been gone so many years and I still
get a feeling of surprise when I realize she’s really gone.”
    “You had a good marriage?”
    He nodded.  “We did.  As I told you, I worked
too hard, but we’re from the generation where it was expected.  She was always
a trooper.  I still miss her.”
    “I know you do,” she said, smiling softly.  She
was quiet for a moment, but roused herself.  “Ike, have you ever seen the movie The