Holt stared at her for a long moment, weighing her arguments against his instinct to keep sensitive information within the smallest possible circle. Finally, he nodded with obvious reluctance.
"You're right," he admitted. "I think between the four of us, we can cover more ground and approach this from multiple angles. There are more eyes to watch for threats and more expertise to draw from."
He paused, and June could see him working through additional concerns. "But this also means..."
"That there are more of us who could get hurt," June said softly, understanding exactly where his thoughts were leading. "I understand the risks, Holt. But we're all adults, and I think we're capable of making informed decisions about what we're willing to face. We're all trying to protect the people we love."
"Yes," Holt said with a heavy sigh. "You're absolutely right about that."
He dropped his hand from her arm, and June immediately felt the loss of that physical connection, though she tried not to analyze why his touch had been so comforting.
"Speaking of the people we love," Holt continued, "we need to have a serious conversation about Rad and Willa."
June felt her heart lurch and her breath catch in her throat as dozens of possible interpretations of that statement raced through her mind.
"What about them?" she asked, her voice slightly higher than normal. Her eyes widened as one particularly concerning possibility occurred to her. "Are they in a romantic relationship with each other?"
"What?" Holt said, looking genuinely surprised by her question. After a moment, he gave a short laugh that held no real humor. "That would be something, wouldn't it? Our children falling in love with each other."
June swallowed hard, her throat suddenly feeling dry as dust. "Yes, it certainly would besomething. But I'm fairly certain that Rad is developing feelings for Margo, based on the way I've seen him look at her."
"Yes, I've noticed that too," Holt agreed. "What I wanted to discuss is the fact that I think we need to tell Rad and Willa about about us."
"What about us?" June asked, perhaps a bit too quickly, as nervousness began to creep into her voice. "There is no us, Holt. I mean, we're just friends now. Colleagues working together on an investigation."
Her anxiety level increased as another thought occurred to her. "Is someone in town spreading rumors about us spending time together? Because if people are talking, then maybe?—"
"No," Holt interrupted, shaking his head. "I haven't heard any rumors or gossip. What I mean is that we need to tell them about our past marriage. Willa obviously doesn't know anything about me or my connection to her family history." He paused and swallowed before continuing. "Rad knows that I was married before Lillian, but I've never told him any details about that relationship."
"So he doesn't know you were married to me," June realized, trying not to focus on how much that omission hurt her feelings. She hadn't told Willa anything about her first marriage either, so she could hardly blame Holt for keeping the same information private.
"Exactly," Holt confirmed. "And I think it would be better for them to hear the truth from us rather than discovering it through town gossip or old photographs or someone else's memories."
June nodded, recognizing the wisdom of his suggestion even though the thought of having that conversation made her stomach clench with anxiety.
"Yes, I agree completely. It's definitely better that they hear it from us directly," she said, managing what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I'm actually surprised they haven't heard about our history already, to be honest."
"You're absolutely right about that," Holt said, his eyebrows shooting up as he considered the apparent anomaly. "It is quitestrange for this town. Usually, everyone knows everyone else's business going back three generations."
"We've probably just been lucky and Rad hasn't been living here very long," June rationalized, though she could hear the uncertainty in her own voice.
"Yes, I agree we’ve just been lucky or the town thing they already know," Holt agreed, though his frown deepened as he considered the situation. "It is strange, though, how our children both ended up living in Sandpiper Shores. What are the odds of that kind of coincidence?"
"I know," June agreed, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the hospital's air conditioning. "Sometimes fate works in mysterious ways."
The silence stretched between them for a moment as both of them contemplated the implications of their shared history and their children's current situation.
Finally, June's eyes drifted toward Margo's room door. "I should go check on Margo and see if she needs anything. Knowing her, she's probably trying to convince the nursing staff to bend a dozen different hospital regulations."
"Of course," Holt said. "Do you have a way to get home tonight? I know you came here with Dean, but he seems like he's planning to stay with Lacey."
"Actually, I have Carmen's car," June replied, making a slightly sheepish expression. "Dean and I sort of borrowed it without asking when we realized that Lacey and Margo were missing and not answering their phones. We had to get into town to find them."
"Thank goodness you did," Holt said with genuine gratitude in his voice. "If you and Dean hadn't realized something was wrong and gone looking for them, the outcome tonight could have been very different."
"I don't want to think about what might have happened if no one got to them when they did," June said with a shudder.
"Since you have a car available, could you give me a ride back to the lighthouse?" Holt asked. "I came here with Tom, but I don't want to wait around for him to finish his business at the hospital."
