“Emery,” he said, tipping his head to see her downturned face, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. Especially that night...”
“You had your own battles to fight, Caleb.”
“But no one died. Emery, wow, I should’ve kept in touch.”
“You sort of did until I deleted my social media accounts. And as I recall, you lost your phone in the Gulf.”
He sat back with a soft laugh. “I was so mad.”
“Look at us now. Mature, stable adults. We survived.”
“You survived more than I did, Em.”
“You two want anything else?” Elsie set the bill on the table. “We’re about to close.”
“No thanks.” Caleb reached for the check. “I got this. If I remember right, I owe you one.”
“You finally remembered. Wow, Ransom, I’m impressed. And FYI, you owe me more than one.” She gave him a gentle punch as they walked toward the cashier. “You left me with a twenty-dollar breakfast bill. I had to run home to find money for a tip.”
“What’s your beef?” he said, waving the check at her. “I said I got this one.”
“And the next one,” Emery said. “And the one after that.”
“Whoa now, this shake and maybe a couple of coffees and we’re even. That’s more than twenty bucks plus tip. We have to calculate inflation.”
“Inflation? Dude, I’m adding interest, compounded daily.”
“Compound interest? You’re killing me, Quinn.”
She loved when his laugh rumbled in his chest, and how easy it was to find their old friendship.
He seemed, in some way, unsure of what he was doing in Sea Blue Beach. Yet confident he’d figure it out.
But Emery saw a kind, intelligent, passionate man. One a girl could trust with her heart—if she wanted.
“Can I walk or drive you home?” he said as they exited the diner’s back door and onto the deck.
“Is that your subtle way of asking where I live?”
“Is that your subtle way of telling me it’s none of my business?”
“Goofball. Let’s go. I’m at the Sands.” Emery passed the couple lingering on the deck, talking softly and headed for the Beachwalk.
“Don’t tell me you’re in Cottage 7.”
“I am. I know it seems crazy, but—”
“You want to feel close to your mom.” Caleb moved around her to walk on the beach side.
“Yes. And I thinknotbeing there would be harder than being there.”
They walked under the light of the Victorian lamps and past the dark and quiet food trucks in a comfortable silence.
“So, do you like your stepmom, if I can ask?”
In the peace of the beach, with its humming ocean and wide, glittering sky, Emery finished her story. “I do. We’re friends. She loves Dad, so that’s a win for me. Mom and Dad knew Joanna from their social circles. Four months after mom died, he sat next to Joanna at a dinner party. Dad never thought he’d fall in love again. Joanna was focused on her girls, wary of bringing another man in their lives. But at the dinner, it all changed.”
“Love is a powerful force.”
