Page 33
“Yeah, I’m partial to it.”
She smiles at me, and her mossy green eyes appear even brighter down here near the water. “I can see why. The beach is why I never wanted to leave Charleston, even after my grandfather died. Though, I won’t lie and say I never thought of it.”
“Where would you go?”
“A small town somewhere. I’ve always wanted to live in a place where everyone knows everyone, you know? I think it could be so fun to walk down the street and know your neighbors.”
“It has its moments.”
She smiles at me. “Oh?”
Laughing, I take a deep breath. “There’s a woman in town who seems intent on marrying off every single man within the town lines. Now that the rest of my team is married, she’s turned her attention on me.”
Dahlia laughs. “You don’t sound too happy about the idea of dating.”
“I’m just not built for it, I guess.”
“For what?” she asks. There’s no mocking in her tone, just a genuine interest.
“Let’s just say I have some trust issues I haven’t worked through.”
“I can understand that.” She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, then tilts her face up toward the sky.
I study her profile, drinking in the sight of her standing here near the water. There’s this light that surrounds Dahlia. A beauty that is far more than skin deep.
And it’s messing with my head.
“So how long have you lived in Stormwatch Landing?”
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you questions?”
She grins at me. “Sure, but then it would feel like an interrogation, and I am currently trying to avoid reality.”
Laughing, I turn back toward the water. The waves are calm today, completely unlike the storm within me.
“About a decade,” I tell her.
“What brought you here?”
“Zane. He was in charge of the Navy SEAL team I was a part of. When we got out, the rest of us just followed him. We had nowhere else to go, so it seemed like the logical choice.”
“By the rest of us you mean Sawyer, Garrison, and Weston?”
“Well, Weston grew up here, too. He and Zane were best friends.”
“That’s really neat.”
“Yeah, it was nice to have a...” I stop. “A family.” The word stirs up the darkness within me. The same shadows I’ve been trying to outrun most of my life.
“I bet. I certainly miss mine.” She takes a sip of her coffee.
“What was your grandfather like?”
“He was one of a kind.” She smiles wistfully. “Kind, loving, but also strong and smart. When my dad left, he kind of stepped into the father figure role in my life.”
“How old were you when he left?”
“Six,” she replies. “Though he hadn’t been a huge part of my life even before he bailed. He was an angry man.”
