He’s surrounded himself with the people I’ve always hoped to meet.
Claire blinked against the thought, eyes falling on Mike, standing beside Jax with a beer in hand. The same man who dropped everything just to help four strangers in the middle of the night. She glanced toward Carter and Trevor, who were already stirring up the crowd.
Fifteen years in Duluth, and she couldn’t name five people who’d do what these men did for her in a single weekend.
Then came Jax’s voice, breaking through her spiral:
“Burgers are hot like the chef—come get some!”
Laughter erupted from the table. Claire smiled, already bracing herself.
“Are we getting some of the burgers or the chef?” Carter shouted.
Trevor chimed in, voice slick with teasing. “I’ll take a bite of both!”
“I feel like no serious conversations happen when you three are together,” Macie yelled over the laughter.
“Laughter is the best medicine,” Trevor called back. “Why do you think we look so damn good?”
The group howled.
Claire laughed too, but not just at the joke.
She was laughing at herself.
Because even in the middle of the laughter, her mind was slipping again. Back to that bedroom. The one with the floor-to-ceiling view. The one that made her imagine mornings wrapped in warm sheets and quiet love. The one that made her wonder.
What if I stayed?
The thought slid in before she could stop it.
I’m a teacher. I have the credentials. All I’d need is to align my licensure and take the North Carolina exam. It wouldn’t be impossible.
It was ridiculous. Completely ridiculous.
She scolded herself. It’s only been a few days.
But her thoughts didn’t listen.
They never did.
She stepped away from the table, down the dock, needing air that didn’t feel so thick with feeling.
From behind her, footsteps. Then warmth.
Jax’s arm slipped around her shoulder, easy, unassuming, like it belonged there.
“I know that look,” he said.
Claire turned to him, smiling despite herself. “What look?”
He exhaled slowly. “The look of change. It’s the same one I had all those years ago—when I fell in love with this place.”
Claire looked out over the sound. The water was a sheet of silver, the sun starting its slow descent toward the horizon.
“I can’t help it,” she admitted. “This place… it’s magic. The island’s always felt special, but this? This feels different. Like I’m seeing the real island for the first time. And it’s making me question… everything.”
Jax nodded, quiet.
