I turn away and blink up at the sky, breathing past the weight in my chest. I close my eyes until the heaviness subsides. Until I remember there’s more to my life than Jamie Matthews.
When the world feels steady again, I stand up and brush the sand off my legs.
Behind me, Jamie stirs and scrambles to his feet. “Noa,” he says, as if his voice alone can draw me back. “Please don’t hate me.”
I shake my head, swallowing the lump in my throat. “It’s fine,” I manage, even though it’s not. “We’re cool.”
The tide rolls all the way up to our feet, washing over my toes. I look down at the receding water, dragging sand with it—slipping away from us. I can’t help but think it’s a sign.
When I turn back to Jamie, I’m struck by his sadness, the way there’s something broken underneath that he’ll never say.
I don’t need him to be in love with me anymore—I’ll survive that. But I am glad he’s here. I still like being around him. Truth is, I could never hate him.
“Hey,” I say softly, drawing his attention. “You still look good on that board, you know.”
The corners of his mouth turn up slightly. “I had the best teacher.”
“You really did.”
A horn sounds, sharp and distant, and we turn to see Jamie’s boat gliding toward the dock. I expect him to look relieved, but instead, his eyes narrow, already tracking the damage. His gaze snags on the bow—scraped, bruised, but floating.
Honestly, it’s not as bad as it looks. Nothing fatal.
We head out onto the dock to wait, watching Shawn at the wheel while Tech balances on the side. He throws out the fenders as theyslow their approach, and the vessel gently slaps against the dock before groaning to a halt.
Tech tosses me the line, and I catch it on instinct, fingers working the knot automatically. I’m aware that Jamie’s already pacing, his footsteps echoing across the wood as he checks the damage.
“It’s superficial,” I call to him. But if it were my boat, I’d be pretty upset too.
Shawn cuts the engine, and there’s a loud cranking noise. Jamie immediately snaps his attention that way, and I wince. Okay, it’s bad.
Tech jumps onto the dock, and his eyes are wide as he darts them around.
That’s suspicious. And probably not a good sign.
He immediately comes over, taking my arm to lead me away from Jamie. “We need to talk,” he says.
“Okay…” I say, fresh worry warming my skin. “Is this about his boat?” I lower my voice. “How screwed up is it?”
“It’s nothing,” he says, but then pauses. “Actually, it’s fucked up, but that’s not what we need to talk about.” He holds a breath, his gaze sparkling with excitement. “I… found it, Noa. We found it.”
“Found what?” I ask, glancing toward Shawn. She’s still at the wheel of the boat, although I’m not sure why. “What’s going on?”
Tech bites his lip as if not wanting to say it out loud, and the anticipation is killing me.
He smiles. “I found Rum Runner Island.”
“Again?” I ask with a laugh, and wait for the real answer.
“I mean it this time,” Tech says. “I have proof.”
My stomach drops, little prickles racing across my skin. “What kind of proof?” I ask.
“When we were picking up the boat,” he starts, “Shawn and I were talking to a few of the coast guard dock workers, Chasers from CapeHope. They asked how we found Rum Runner, and I told him we didn’t. It was just a jail, and not even the right island. They exchanged looks, so we pressed a little, and turns out—Rum Runnerisout there. It was so close, Noa. We just missed it somehow.”
I find that hard to believe. “We didn’t miss it,” I say. “We wouldn’t have missed an entire island.”
“They confirmed it’s there,” he tells me. “They’ve never personally looked for it because the coast guard has some kind of agreement with the state, but they swore to us.” He pauses. “Also, they think it’s haunted,” he adds as if that’s a given. “But they told us how to find it. It’s been in the marsh all along. They think someone purposely tried to hide it. Changed the way the water flowed, closed off the route so no one would pass by there again.”
