Holy. Shit.
Emery blinks. “Wait. How’d you know that? Crazy guess?”
“Sort of.”
Heat fills my body.
I hate talking about Dad’s death. Everyone who says time makes the pain lessen has never lost a parent.
My father wasn’t just my hero. He was my everything. He was the man I wanted to be when I grew up. Until one day, he was gone, and suddenly the dream of being just like him didn’t feel so good.
Emery’s staring at me like I’ve seen a ghost.
Under any other circumstances, I would end this conversation and peace out. No harm, no foul. Because I’m drowning in my past, and I don’t know how to get beyondthat. I’ve never figured out how to, and explaining that to a near stranger feels impossible.
But this woman…she hits different. That’s what I’ve been feeling since I met her, and I’m faced with another crossroads.
The decision to stay is surprisingly easy for me.
I can’t walk away without a fight.
I’ve got to tell her the truth.
If things implode, at least, I can say I tried.
So…I choose to try.
“Here’s the thing—I’m a fisherman too,” I say.
“Really?”
“Yep. I live in Lucky Bay.”
She gasps. “It’s such a small town! I mean, what are the odds…”
“Slim to none. And another thing…”
I reach into my pocket and pull out my wallet. I slide out my dad’s pin and hand it to Emery.
Emery stares at the pin in her open palm before looking up at me. “I don’t understand…”
I force out the next six words. “Lucky Queenwas my dad’s boat.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widen, and she puts her hand to her mouth. “Ohh. Wow.”
I swallow. “Yeah.”
We stare at each other in silence.
Finally, Emery says in nearly a whisper, “Your dad drowned nearly twenty years ago?”
I choke down the waves of emotion hitting me.
“I’m so sorry, Michael.”
Emery’s voice is like an echo next to me.
I never let my dad’s drowning affect me in front of others. I barely allow myself to feel the grief when I’m alone, and always only on the boat. But right now, I’m honest-to-Godabout to lose it. It feels like my present is colliding with my past in a way I never could have anticipated.
