“Yeah.” He reached down, scooped up a fistful of sand, and let it fall slowly back to the ground like the soft stream of an hourglass.
“That’s really nice of you.”
He made eye contact. “Nice?” His jaw tightened. “It’s my duty. Ever since Daniel died, it’s felt like something heavy on mychest—a kind of responsibility I can’t shake, no matter what goes on.”
“While it’s wonderful of you to offer your sister help, I wish you didn’t have so much guilt over what happened. From a bystander’s point of view, it was a case of wrong place, wrong time.”
“Even still, it’s become my obligation. The funeral was barely over before people started looking at me with a renewed sense of what my purpose was. Some offered sympathy, others offered suggestions, but the message was always the same:You’re the one now.I was suddenly supposed to become something I’d never prepared for. A guardian. A father. A steady hand in a life that had just been torn apart—which I can’t stop believing was my fault.” He looked into the blackness of the Gulf.
Emily followed his line of sight, but the darkness was so vast it was as if someone had turned off her vision.
“When Winston went out in the storm, all I could think about was his safety and that Julia could lose a second family member on my watch. Already, I don’t sleep well.”
“I understand not sleeping well,” she said, turning to face him.
She hadn’t planned to say anything—he was almost a stranger, a quiet presence on an otherwise empty beach. But as the flames danced, something inside her wanted to tell him how different he’d made her feel. So she started to.
Patrick said nothing, just listened, his face calm and open, the firelight casting gentle shadows across his features. It wasn’t comfort she was seeking, just a place to unload the weight of it all while letting him know he’d made a difference. Somehow, with the quiet murmuring of the Gulf behind them, it felt safe to do just that.
She shrugged. “Maybe this change was God’s way of shifting the path I’d set for myself. I’ve thought about it sometimes—usually when I’m lying in the dark.” This would be her go-to answer, she’d decided, for when she went back to school next year and her colleagues wanted to know what had happened. “What’s on your mind now that Winston’s safe and sound?”
“Most nights I just lie there, staring at the ceiling, wondering how I’m supposed to do this. Winston will need me, but my career keeps growing, taking more and more of my time. But when I look at him, I see a kid who’s looking back at me like I might be the last thing that makes sense. Raising my sister’s kid doesn’t come with a set of directions, and I want to do it right. I don’t get a do-over.”
“Given how much he loves you, I don’t think you need any directions,” Emily said.
“That’s actually what terrifies me.” His chest rose with his breath. “It’s in the quiet moments—the way he waits for me to speak, the way he hangs on my words like what I say matters. And even though I don’t feel ready, I’m trying. For him. Because ready or not, he needs someone. And I’m the closest thing to a father he’s got.”
Emily put her hand on his for an instant, sending his attention down to their fingers. She drew her hand back, worried the touch was too intimate.
“I’m honored you shared this with me,” she said, “since I know how much you enjoy your silence.”
He allowed a small smile to emerge.
“So, whatdidmake you tell me? You barely know me.”
“I don’t know. You’re easy to talk to.”
“Well, that’s good, I guess.” But then she pressed him. “What, exactly, makes me easier to talk to than other people?”
He looked directly into her eyes, as if searching for something. Her heart pattered at the sincerity on his face.
“I don’t really like silence, actually. It just makes things simpler for me. I don’t have to dive into my feelings if no oneis there to make me. But you walked in that day we met with your sincere smile and all your questions.” He looked into the flickering flames in front of them. “I thought, ‘If I don’t cut her off now, she might be trouble.’”
“Trouble?”
His smile reached his eyes. “I’d rather not elaborate.” A huff of laughter escaped with his words.
“No, seriously. Tell me. Do I look like a menace of some sort? Am I high maintenance or something?”
Fondness lifted his features. “Definitely not any of those.” He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing in the weighted silence. “You’re as kind inside as you are attractive.”
Emily had to work to make her mouth move, but she didn’t have a clue what to say. It had been a long time since she’d heard a compliment, and his candor floored her.
When she didn’t say anything, he pursed his lips and bent forward, leaning on his knees.
“Sorry,” she said, scrambling. “Your honesty took me off guard.” Patrick didn’t look at her, so she got off her chair and squatted in front of him. “I like what you said,” she told him softly.
His eyes met hers.
