Page 21 of Secret Sins

It died in my throat when I saw Bailey standing on my postage-stamp-sized stoop.

"Oh, are you heading out?" Why did she sound disappointed? Moreover, why did I like that she sounded disappointed?

"How did you . . . I didn't give you my address."

"Oh, that's easy. The only places with openings fill up quickly, and I heard from Jeremy, who heard from Charlotte, that someone had moved in here."

"What the fuck." There was no point asking it as a question, because the answer was obvious. "I'm hiding in plain sight."

"Guess so." She shrugged. "I don't have your phone number, so I apologize for showing up unannounced."

"I don't have a phone." Heidi moved behind me, bumping my legs. "She's ready to go out, so can we walk and talk?"

"I'd love to." Sticking her hands in her pockets, Bailey waited while I locked up.

We'd walked almost three blocks before I finally spoke up. "I thought I'd let her play in the surf tonight."

"You know, I don't spend as much time at the water as I should."

Squinting in the glare of the falling sun, I focused on Bailey. My words stuck in my throat when I saw the way the orange light played off her skin. She fucking glowed, reminding me again of why I shouldn’t accept whatever she’d been trying to offer.

We reached the boardwalk railing, and I still hadn't drummed up the nerve to say anything else. I followed Bailey through the gate and down to the sand, remembering when we were last there; I'd turned around to speak to her, and she'd disappeared. There was a part of me that had wanted to ask her to stay, and a part that had wanted to be alone. The choice had been taken from me, which I thought was for the best at the time.

But now, we shared a comfortable silence. Well, mostly. My brain never quite stopped, always keeping an eye out for who else was in the surrounding area. Only a handful of people walked ankle-deep in the chilly water, and they were farther down the strand.

"Sometimes I hate the ocean." Her tone had become musing, and I gave her space by watching Heidi sniff at every shell and pebble we passed. "Knowing my parents were lost to its depths, to the call of the waves, and the hidden treasure beneath."

The idea was disheartening. "They died doing what they loved, right?"

"That's what they tell me. Charlie was an excellent fisherman, and Sarah was not only his companion on the water but a great fisherwoman in her own right."

"How old were you?" Since Heidi strained at the end of her leash, I unhooked it and let her go.

"Nine months."

"Damn," I murmured. "Truly a baby."

Barking and jumping headfirst into the surf, Heidi brought a smile to my face.

"How long have you had her?"

Blowing air through my lips, I tiptoed along the truth. "Years. Uh, six, give or take."

"She's incredibly well-trained," Bailey commented.

I hummed.

"Riley would care for me while my parents were working."

My shoulders dropped at her change of subject, and I felt the corners of my mouth turn up in appreciation. "So you knew her before she became your de facto parent."

Glancing around, Bailey seemed to make a decision. Plopping in the sand, she brought her knees up in front of her. "She was my mother's best friend, ever since she moved here from Alabama as a teenager."

Sitting beside her, I stressed over how much room to leave between us. Not close enough to touch, but not so far that it insulted her.

"Riley is quintessentially southern, full of quirky sayings and a thick accent."

A trawler came into view, the sunset outlining the rigging and the bright red hull cutting through the water. Bailey waved, which was returned with the blowing of the ship's horn.