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The sun was setting, and it was cold. Even though it was summertime, Florence was in the middle of Oregon on the coast and it didn’t get too many hot days, and itrarelyhad warm nights. It was manageable, and a person got used to it, but it wasn’t balmy like the California Coastline.
It was also sparsely populated, which was great. There’d been many times she’d taken the walk from Driftwood Shores Resort all of the way to the North Jetty and back and only see one or two other people walking. It was so different from the beaches of California. It was very nice and refreshing.
She heard shoes clicking on the dock before she realized she was no longer alone. Startled, she looked up and then her heart froze. He didn’t move closer, stopping about ten feet from her as he looked at her with an expression she couldn’t quite read.
The wind had picked up and her hair flew around her face so she brushed it back as she gazed at Bass. He’d found her. She’d never told him she used to live in Florence. Even if she had, how had he managed to find her here . . . atthisdock?
“Hello, Ella,” he finally whispered. He moved over to her and took a seat with only a foot of space between them.
He was calm and collected as he took off his shoes and socks and rolled his jeans up before placing his feet in the water. He winced when his skin touched the cold water. Even in the summer, no one would ever describe the lake water as warm. It was tolerated, and kids who grew up in the town were used to it, but it wasn’t a balmy place to swim. She liked that about the lake. It was good for sore feet after a long walk. Her feet were most likely pickled by now, she’d had them in the water for so long.
“How?” she asked, unable to form a clear sentence.
He smiled at her, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. She didn’t know how to take it.
“You described this lake a few times to Nana Bee,” he told her.
She’d only been gone for four days. She’d packed her meagre belongings she’d had at Bass’s house the day before she was leaving. She’d then seen the attorney, signing over what she’d been able to. She’d gone home and went to bed, waiting for Bass. She’d needed one final night with him. Their lovemaking that night had been intense.
She’d wanted to take every memory she could when she left. Bass didn’t know she was leaving, but he must’ve sensed something because it had been just as hot and wild for him as it had been for her. Getting up at the crack of dawn the next morning and gazing down at him as he’d slept had been one of the saddest moments of her life.
She’d had to drag herself from his room . . . and his life. She’d known she was doing the right thing. She’d hoped someday she could contact him and have a conversation, but she’d assumed that would be years down the road. She hadn’t expected him to bother tracking her down. She certainly hadn’t thought he’d find her in four days and be sitting next to her in her sacred childhood place.
“The letters?” she asked, confused.
He shrugged. “I had some copies,” he told her almost with defiance.
“Copies of letters?” She might sound like a parrot but she was confused. She wasn’t sure what she felt with him sitting there.
Part of her wanted to fling herself into his arms. Another part wanted to get up and run.Allof her missed him. She’d hoped the feeling would eventually go away. This was so much harder than she’d imagined it being. She loved this man . . . loved him enough to let him go. It was difficult to do when he’d come looking for her.
“You told Nana Bee this was your favorite place to come to when you were hurting. I hoped it was where you’d be,” he said after a few more seconds.
She didn’t push him on remembering every detail from the letters. She wanted to know why he was here. He didn’t say anything and she tried to make sure she formed the right words before spitting out something she might regret.
“Why didn’t you talk to me?” he finally asked.
Tears sprang to her eyes. It was so much harder than she’d imagined it would be. It was so hard to not see him for days and then not immediately jump into his arms. From the moment she’d met the man, chemistry had brewed between them. The longer she’d been around him, the stronger the power and scope became. For a short time, she had the right to jump into his arms, had been his as he was hers. She missed it already.
“I couldn’t. I needed to go, and I knew it would be hard,” she told him.
“I don’t want you gone,” he said. “I want you to come back home.”
“It’s not my home,” she told him sadly.
He was quiet for several moments. “Okay then, we’ll find a new home.”
She stared at him in shock. What in the heck was he talking about? She didn’t know what to say to that.
“I understand this has probably never happened to you before, and I promise I didn’t do it to hurt you. It was the right thing to do. Nana Bee asked me to make sure you and Rafe and Shane were back together. I did that, or I was a part of it. My job is done. I don’t regret a moment I shared with you, but my family has hurt you enough. I had to go away.”
“Do you think anyone blames you? Me? Rafe? Lia? Rachel?” he asked.
“They should if they don’t,” she told him.
“No one blames you for what your father did or who he was. It’s also not your fault how evil your aunt is. Some people are terrible and you must not take that on your own shoulders. Forgive yourself for your perceived sins. I won’t tell you not to have them because you have to work that out, but all of us love you.” He paused for a long moment. “I love you.”
Her breath was stolen right from her body at his words. They’d never spoken those words before and she had to process them. She wanted to shout that she felt the same but her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth and her heart thundered so loud she couldn’t hear anything. She had no doubt things could either go very well or go straight to hell. She was very aware the choice was in her hands.
