“Whatdidn’thappen on Monday?”
“Gonna need a little more than that, man.”
I blew out a heavy sigh. “She’d had a really bad day. The first day of house calls didn’t go great, she can’t drive a stick shift to save her life, she forgot the lunch I made her, and Esther booked an appointment for her catwhileshe was at the senior center for bingo—who does that, by the way?—and didn’t bother to tell Everly. So Everly, who was already running behind, showed up at her house and,surprise, Esther wasn’t there. And now Everly’s thinkingshe’sthe odd one out because she doesn’t know every fucking movement of every fucking resident of Starlight Cove. She doesn’t think she belongs here. Doesn’t think she fits in. And I don’t know how to tell her that the people in town orbit around her like she’s the goddamn sun when she can’t see it for herself.”
Ford’s eyes grew wider the more I spoke. He glanced around at the various guests roaming the property—that was something we hadn’t had to contend with for years—and tugged me off the beaten path and toward the beach. It was cooler out today, with a storm settling in, and waves crashed against the shore, the ocean’s turmoil mirroring my own.
“Okay, first of all, I think that’s more than you’ve said at once in your entire life. Second, it’s not going to help anybody if you lose your shit.”
I blew out a humorless laugh, dropped down onto the sand, and braced my forearms on my bent knees. “I’m in love with her, Ford. If she leaves…”
Fuck, I didn’t want to think about what it’d be like if she left. What my life would be reduced to. Couldn’t even remember what Starlight Cove was before she’d shown up. Before she’d swept into the diner with her way-too-fucking-chirpy-for-7-a.m. voice and her smile that shot straight through my heart and her Everly Voodoo that’d had me wrapped around her finger in less time than it took me to make her favorite grilled cheese.
Ford sat next to me, bracing himself back on his hands and stretching his legs out in front of him. “Does she know that?”
“Everyone else in the whole fucking town seems to. How could she not?”
“Okay, but did you tell her? Or did you just grunt at her like you usually do?”
Well, I’d made her come three times last night, and again this morning in the shower, but somehow, I didn’t think that was what he was getting at.
“I’ll take that as a no,” he said.
“What am I supposed to do? Just drop the bombnow? Tell her I love her after she’s already told me she’s thinking of leaving? She’ll think it’s a ploy to get her to stay.”
“Itisa ploy to get her to stay.”
“You know what I mean. Everyone’s always forced her into her decisions. Hell, she’sherebecause her aunt died and gave her the clinic. If that hadn’t happened, where would she be?” The thought sent a sharp ache through my heart, my gut churning over the very real possibility that I never would’ve known her. “It’s not fair of me to rope her into something if she doesn’t really want it.”
“Wow.” He stared at me, brows raised. “Well, that’s super noble and shit, but this is your happiness we’re talking about too. I get that you don’t want to corner her, but that’s not all this is about. You can’t tell me a part of you isn’t hesitating because you’re scared.”
I looked straight ahead, lips pressed together in a thin line, because fuck yes, I was scared. I’d never in my life had something so important to lose, and now I hadeverythingto lose.
“Look, I know Dad fucked us all up,” he said, “but at some point, you’ve gotta make the decision on if you want to let that steer the rest of your life, or if you want to take control and not let a man who’s spent the past ten years locked away in a single-room cottage instead of actually living be the one running your life.”
I let his words sink in, the certainty of them ringing true. “That’s pretty deep for you. You following some new influencers or what?”
“Nah.” He shrugged. “It’s the romances. I didn’t realize they could go so deep and not just, you know,deep.”
I breathed out a laugh and rubbed the heels of my palms against my eyes. “Believe me, I know. Everly’s already given me an entire dissertation on how romance novels are inherently feminist and help heal traumas in healthy ways. And, you know, they’re hot as hell.”
He laughed along with me, quiet descending between us. Ford and I truly could not have been more opposite, but we knew each other. Wegoteach other. And the silence between us always felt as comfortable as if I were alone.
Eventually, he nudged me with his elbow. “This is where she wants to be, man. She’s happy here. She’s happy withyou. And whether or not she’s told you, she loves you back. God knows why,” he said dryly, “but she does.”
“Maybe. But that still doesn’t solve the issues she’s facing. Even if she miraculously decided to stay, that doesn’t take care of the fact that she’s not going to have enough from insurance to rebuild a home and a business here. The entire reason she came is gone.”
“Well, then it sounds like you need to give her a reason to stay.”
“Great, how do I do that?”
“Fuck if I know.”
I huffed out a laugh and shook my head. “You’re no help.”
“Did you think I’d be? You came to the wrong McKenzie.”
Images of our sister, tackling any situation head on with no concern for things like helmets, flicked through my mind, and I scrubbed a hand down my face. “Fuck.”
