Well, what about that one?” Olivia said after she’d watched him walk down the boardwalk and back toward the cabins.

Opal had watched, too, but didn’t want Olivia to know and she turned back to the cash register just as Olivia spun to look her in the eye.

Ever since Olivia and Fred Wharton had gotten married before Thanksgiving, she’d tried to get Opal to go on a date. She’d pointed out just about everyone, from Andrew, the engineer at the ranch, to Noah, the assistant with the rock climbing center. They were all nice guys, but she’d preferred to be alone.

“That one?” Opal asked as she pretended to add things up on the cash register. “He’s a person, not just someone for you to shove at me. And I just met him. He could be married for all I know.”

“Nope, no ring.”

“Olivia!” Opal said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Olivia’s green eyes softened, and she tugged on her emerald necklace. Her black hair was covered with a knit cap, but her ponytail shone as it hung down her back. Opal had always thought her older sister was beautiful, but since she’d married Fred, there was no denying it—she was even prettier than usual.

“Now, Opal, you know I just want you to be happy like Fred and I are,” her sister said as their dad rounded the corner and grabbed his eldest daughter in a hug, and Olivia squeezed him right back. “Hi, Daddy.”

“Hello, darlin’,” he said as he stepped back and looked at her. “Boy, howdy. You look prettier every time I see you.” He looked from Olivia to Opal and back again. “And you two look more like twins every day.”

“Huh,” Opal said and leaned against the wall, her arms crossed over her bright pink sweater.

“Almost.” Olivia pulled off her gloves and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a velvet box, holding it out to Opal. “Look what I found.”

Opal knew immediately what it was. She hadn’t been able to find the emerald necklace and earrings her mother had given her since Olivia’s wedding. They had matching sets and they were very precious to both of them. She’d looked all over when she’d moved back to the ranch with her dad from Olivia and Fred’s house, but had never found them.

She reached out for the box and held it to her chest, her eyes misty.

“Thanks, Olivia. Where did you find them?”

Olivia waved her hand in the air. “Oh, Fred and I were cleaning out the room you stayed in and found them under a chair.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Opal said. “I’ve been so upset about it.”

“I imagine,” Allen said as he patted Opal’s shoulder. “Your mother picked those out special for you girls. Said they’d make your eyes look especially green, and they do. Just like hers.”

Opal sighed at the sadness in her father’s voice and looked at her sister as he turned back toward the printer.

Olivia shrugged her shoulder and mouthed, “Sorry.”

Opal smiled. Her dad was okay for the most part—she should know, as she’d lived with him ever since her mom died. He just had sad times, as would be expected, when sudden reminders came up. For the most part, his memories of their mother were lovely, and they talked about her from time to time. It was times like this, though, that she was glad she could be there for him.

As their father disappeared around the corner, Olivia leaned her elbows on the counter and looked Opal right in the eye.

“What’s wrong with that one? I’ve tried to get you to date someone for the four months you’ve been here. You need to...I don’t know, meet people.”

Opal took a step back and swept her black hair behind her ear as she glanced at the back room.

“You know as well as I do that I have other things to do,” she whispered.

Olivia’s eyes widened and she stood up. She whispered back, “You don’t mean Dad, do you?”

Opal studied her fingernails. They’d both lived through the trauma of their mother’s death—well, all three of them, really—but Olivia had left for college shortly afterward. It was Opal who’d stayed, lived at home, worked with her dad—and made him breakfast every morning.

Sure, he was a grown man, but she knew she gave him comfort and she just wasn’t ready to change things. It had been a big enough change just to sell the business and move to River’s End Ranch. Now wasn’t the time to rock the boat.

“How’s Fred?” their father asked as he rounded the corner in to the gallery and the printer whirred.

Opal was grateful for the reprieve and looped her arm through her father’s as Olivia squinted in her direction. At least that conversation was over for now—if she was lucky.

“Great. Fred’s great, and Gillian and Aaron are happy as clams,” she said with a smile.

“Are they heading out to the ranch this weekend?” Allen asked as he reached for a form to mark the pictures he’d already printed. “The weather’s supposed to be great.”

“I’m not sure,” Olivia said. “They’re getting ready for the cruise.”

“Ah,” Allen said. “Sounds lovely. I’m a little envious.”

“Dad, really? I thought you were happily single,” Olivia said as she pointedly glared at Opal.

“Now, Olivia, don’t get any wild ideas. I am—well, not happily single, but I’ve grown accustomed to it. I have Opal, here, to take care of me. What more could I want? When I said envious, I meant for the sea and the sun. It’s cold here still,” he said as he returned to the back room.

“See, I told you,” Opal whispered when he was out of earshot.

“Well, that’s just silly. He doesn’t mean it like that and you know it.”

Opal crossed her arms. “What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be at the bank?”

She loved her sister, but she’d had enough of her meddling for the moment and wanted to get on with work. The sooner she was done, the sooner she could check out her own pictures on her huge monitor at home and see if she’d caught anything in the frames she’d taken earlier that morning.

Olivia turned away, her black ponytail swinging as she did. “I had a doctor’s appointment. I’m heading there now, but thought I’d stop by and say hello to you two. Not that it was helpful.”

Opal laughed. “It’s always great to see you. Are we on for trivia this week? Our team’s turning out to be pretty good with all of us. We might even win sometime.”

Olivia leaned forward and peered out the window, down to the end of the boardwalk at the Old Town.

“Sure. We could use another person.” She jerked her thumb in that direction and Opal peered over the counter to see what she was pointing at.

Bernard stood at the end of the boardwalk, his camera on a tripod. Now that she thought about it, she’d seen him a few times around the town, taking pictures, but she hadn’t thought much of it. Lots of guests took pictures to memorialize their vacations, but he’d been around longer than most. Maybe he wasn’t a guest, but she didn’t know for sure.

“No, I’m not asking anybody anywhere. Topic closed,” Opal said as she straightened and went back to her pile of receipts.

She looked over to see Olivia’s green eyes trained in her direction.

“Okay. Far be it from me to meddle in anyone else’s business. Bye, Dad,” she said as she tugged on her gloves and headed out the door. “See you all next Thursday at trivia.”

Opal breathed a deep sigh of relief as Olivia took herself and that topic outside. She was busy. She had pictures to take, a gallery to run, a dad to cook for...the last thing she needed was more complications.

And she was fine with that thought, until she looked down the boardwalk to make sure Olivia had gone and saw her talking to Bernard. Far be it from her to meddle, huh?