“Well, your old room is here and ready for you whenever you come back, angel,” my dad said, loud enough to be heard over a freight train, and I pulled my phone away from my ear with a cringe. I’d tried to tell him a hundred times he didn’t need to yell if they were on speakerphone, but it never seemed to get through.
“Great, thank you,” I said, desperate to end the call. “I have to go—my phone’s about to die. But I’ll call you both on Sunday. Love you.”
I didn’t wait to hear their responses before I ended the call and dropped my phone back into the cupholder.
“Since your battery says it’s at seventy-two percent, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you’re having parent woes,” Addison said.
“Something like that.”
“You want to talk about it? I’m no Beck, but I won’t growl or bark at you, so that’s something.”
I huffed out a laugh before the smile slowly slipped from my mouth. “They just haven’t accepted that I live here. And now, after the fire, they’re assuming I’m moving back.”
Addison’s brows lifted. “Are you?”
“No!” The answer came out automatically, but as she stared at me, clearly trying to gauge if I was leaving something unsaid, I wondered if that was true.
My mom had a point—my familywasthree thousand miles away. The only person I’d made a solid connection with in this town was Beck, and who knew if what had happened this morning would screw that up. Even though I’d been here for years, I still didn’t quite feel like I fit.
But I also didn’t want to leave.
I’d loved this town since I was a little girl. I loved the festivals and the colorful residents. I loved that I didn’t have to lock my doors and could walk on the beach at midnight if I wanted to. I loved that the people here looked out for their own. Case in point, the bags currently filling up the back seat of Addison’s car with very little use of Beck’s credit card.
But were those reasons enough for me to stay?
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
EVERLY
The diner closedearly on Wednesdays, so there were no customers to contend with when Addison dropped me off before heading to the main inn. The resort was busier than I’d ever seen it, and several guests strolled along the shore and walked the winding path through the cottages. I was thrilled for Beck and his family that the resort had had a bit of a break after several years of barely getting by. They deserved it.
There was no place in Starlight Cove that made me feel as content as this place did. It was why I ran here instead of around town. It was quiet enough to think and so peaceful, it was hard not to feel at home.
I turned, ready to gather my things and head up to Beck’s apartment, but I did a double take when I saw Mabel—an older resident and Starlight Cove’s self-proclaimed investigative reporter, always ready at the scene to get the scoop for her infamous Facebook Lives—hiding in the bushes behind the diner.
With raised brows, I lifted a hand to wave, but she ducked farther into the brush, as if even the thickest foliage would’ve been able to hide her in all her fuchsia jogging suit glory.
I shook my head and reached for my bags, but before I could get far, Chief Brambert pulled up in front of the diner. He was a nice, if gruff, older man, probably around my dad’s age, with dark skin and a thick beard but not a hair on his head. After I’d performed emergency surgery on his dog, Martha, shortly after I’d moved here, he’d been nothing but kind to me. But my stomach still bottomed out at the sight of him.
He stepped out of his truck, still wearing his uniform. “Hey there, kiddo.”
“Hey, Chief Brambert,” I said, trying to hide the slight shake in my voice over the fact that this man was about to reveal my future.
“Aw, come on now, Everly. You know it’s just Jim.”
“Okay, Jim. Did you…” I swallowed down my apprehension over what his answer might be and asked, “Have you been to my house?”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m here. I was going to give you a call but thought this might warrant an in-person chat. Talked to Jana down at the bakery, who said you’re staying out here.”
I flattened my lips together and nodded, my nails pressing crescent moons into my arms from where they were crossed over my chest. “Yeah. With Beck.”
“Good. That’s real good. I’m glad you’ve got a place to stay because… Well, there’s no easy way to say this—”
“Hang on just a minute, Chief!” Mabel called, shuffling in our direction as fast as her short legs would carry her, her phone pointed toward us. “Want to be sure I catch all of this for the Live…”
“Mabel, I’m not sure now’s the time for this,” Jim said.
“Oh, nonsense.” Mabel swatted her hand through the air. “The residents need to know if we’ve got an arsonist on the loose, setting fires and burning down beautiful, much-needed businesses. And the historical home!” She pressed a hand to her chest. “Oh, I can’t even believe someone would set it on fire. And while Everly and her sweet dog were inside!”
