Yeah.Even in high school, Buck and his brothers had displayed an over-the-top kind of confidence that had been couched in helpfulness and honesty. They’d been legendary; almost folkloric, which obviously fed their egos. Those Boy Scout attributes were why it had hurt so damned much when she’d found out what Buck had done.
Before today, though, Bobbie hadreallythought she’d put it all behind her. She believed she’d successfully moved on.
But seeing him…
Old wounds had once again opened. Pain had bubbled to the surface. And who did she have to talk to about it? No one, except…
Bobbie sucked in a deep breath. Right in front of her was a woman who was holding out her hand, if Bobbie only dared to take it.
“I, umm, might just take you up on your offer. But for now, I’m going to leave it. I need a chance to process, and my sailing time will do that. Alone on my boat, on the ocean… That’s where I do my best thinking,” she admitted.
“I totally get it,” Everlee nodded sagely. “Mother Nature is often times the best medicine when you feel the need for a little clarity.”
Good.Everlee wasn’t going to push, and that would give Bobbie time to figure out just how she wanted to play this.
“I will add one thing, though. Don’t be surprised if…” Everlee paused.
Clearly, she was conflicted, so Bobbie tipped her head, encouraging the woman to continue. “If what?”
“If things aren’t exactly as you were led to believe back then,” she finished solemnly.
Everlee’s eyes met Bobbie’s with a gravity that gave her pause before her new…Friend?Therapist? …delivered a second kicker.
“For everyone’s sake, all I ask is that you keep an open mind.”
CHAPTER 5
To Buck,the day had already seemed endless with all its meet-and-greets, minor clothing malfunctions, and other trivial crises. Add to that a bit of small-town drama when Spencer’s childhood sweetheart Stacy had shown up to wish him well and had ended up bawling all over Tabitha?
Yeah.
Soap opera time, and the actual wedding hadn’t even started yet.
Which sucked. Buck needed distraction. Walking down the aisle as best man would provide that because…
Every time he turned around, either Bobbie, or a reminder of Bobbie slapped him right in his face. That would have been okay, sort of, but she refused to evenlookat him. It had soured his mood.
Still, not the entirety of the day had been bad.
One by one that morning, his brothers—who weren’t local—had started trickling in, and Buck loved his siblings.
Seifer had arrived first, looking all tanned and fit from his skiing expeditions all across the globe. He was having a very good time for himself; making a name in skiing circles, much to their mother’s frustration. But Seifer was such a schmoozer, thathe hadn’t even batted an eye when confronted by their matriarch with questions about his future plans. The youngest of the clan, having watched the rest of his siblings for years, knew just how to get around his mother’s ongoing displeasure over him not yet graduating college. Which is what she was aiming for, sooner, rather than later if she had her druthers.
Buck knew it was in Siefer’s plans to continue skiing on his parents’ dime as long as he could, not only studying whatever fit his schedule, but taking to the slopes for his school, as well. His advisors at the college seemed more than okay with that arrangement since Seif kept winning awards and acclaim for them.
Ellen Sothard had tried to corner Siefer more than once for a serious word when he’d first arrived, but other than getting a few comments in edgewise, his mother had been picked up, swung around, then kissed repeatedly on her cheeks; Seifer’s learned way of dodging any serious palavers. Their mother, much to her irritation, had yet to find “alone” time with her son to vent the full extent of her displeasure.
Seifer was, even now, skirting around the opposite edges of the barn from their mom.
Julian had been the next to show up, and he, of course, was a known quantity at the Sothard’s dinner table. Being stationed at the Air Force base in Bangor, he was most times just a few miles away from a home-cooked meal. When he was…away, nobody knew exactly where the Air Force sent him.
Julian was an enigma. Everyone in the family knew he was some kind of stealth expert—as he’d proven when Tabitha’s had been stalked—but none of them knew his exact job, and he was always, purposefully vague. All Buck knew was that Jules was nearing reenlistment time, and he wondered if his brother would re-up, or…
It would be really nice if Jules joined him, Spencer, and Tabitha in their new dive business. Julian had been showing more and more interest as they’d progressed with their plans, so Buck was hopeful.
Vincent and Trask were the last in the door that morning, having arrived on the red-eye from California. Although Vincent was Navy, and Trask was a Marine, the two—being the oldest—lived on the same coast, were tight, and had flown in together.
It had been more than two years since Buck had seen Trask, and the oldest of his siblings was looking a little…gray.
