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honored if you
would have dinner with me while you're in town. Are you free on
Friday?"
    Sabrina's eyes widened. Robert Hall asking
her for a date? Well, dinner. Her lips parted as her breath
hitched. "It depends upon Rose. How she's doing by then. Why don't
I give you a call later this week?"
    Robert pulled a small silver case out of the
inner pocket of his expensive suit coat and withdrew a business
card. Using a slim Cross fountain pen, he scratched a note on the
embossed card. "Here's my cell phone number if you can't reach me
at the office," he said, holding out the card.
    As Sabrina reached for it, he cupped her
hands. Leaning forward, he brushed a soft kiss upon her brow.
"Again, I am sorry Rose is ill."
    A bit stunned by his closeness and sudden
attention, Sabrina could only lift her head and nod. He squeezed
her hands gently, then let her go. Whether it was small-town
friendliness or something more, Sabrina's knees nearly buckled. She
busied herself tucking the business card into her back pocket. She
watched as he approached the woman at the counter, spoke for a
minute or two, then patted the woman's hand. One again, he reached
into his suit pocket and this time extracted some folded documents.
He placed them on the counter then left the shop, but not before
glancing across the stacks to Sabrina. She flushed as he caught her
eye. Busted , she thought. Pretending she hadn't been
watching, she lifted her hand in a gesture of farewell.
    Frozen with indecision, Sabrina looked at the
bookcase in front of her. Why was she here? What was it she
wanted?
    A few moments later, the shop owner ambled
over and extended a hand in greeting. "Welcome to East of Eaton.
Are you looking for anything in particular?"
    Sabrina blinked a few times, as if clearing
her vision. "I'm looking for books on sailboats."
    Erica pointed towards the back wall. "There's
not a lot on that topic since we're a mountain town, but I do have
a couple. They're in the sports and recreation area."
    Sabrina thanked her and wandered in the
opposite direction. Eventually she made her way back to the sports
section and perused the book titles. There were a couple of
illustrated books on tying knots, another book on trailer sailing,
and yet another on fixing old boats. She picked up the ubiquitous
yellow-and-black, how-to manual for "dummies" and leafed through
the pages. She opted for the handyman book and the how-to manual,
then browsed her way to the popular paperback novels. She pulled a
couple bestsellers off the shelves, piled them on her growing stack
of books and headed for the cash register.
    This time, a petite elder woman worked behind
the cash register. Her nametag identified her as "June Duval." She
beamed at Sabrina as she placed the books on the counter. The shop
owner, Erica, wandered over while June Duval rang up the sale.
    "I see you found a few books," she said,
glancing at the titles.
    Sabrina nodded. "Yes, thanks. You're right,
there's not much on sailing but I did find a couple novels since
I'll be in town for awhile."
    "Robert tells me your grandmother is Rose
Windham. I hear she's in the hospital. I hope it's not
serious."
    Sabrina frowned, her eyes bright again with
unshed tears. "I hope so too," she whispered. She nodded her
thanks, accepted the paper bag of books and quickly exited the
shop.
    On her drive home, she thought about
crushingly handsome Robert Hall. She felt a thrill of excitement at
the idea of dinner out with him. Did he know of her schoolgirl
crush? Would he be flattered or feel harassed?
     
    * * *
     
    Several days passed with out any clues on the
lost Zephyrus sailboat. She created accounts for all the major
Internet sailing forums and read comment threads. She placed
classified ads in several New England newspapers and even hired a
private investigator, hoping that he could find some records, any
that hadn't been destroyed in the fire.
    Rose, who agreed to stay in the hospital
temporarily, monitored her granddaughter's