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ChapterSeven
The day of the funeral dawned bright and early. Devon watched the sunrise from the sand, noting the small group of locals on the left of the pier who filmed the event with their phones for those not lucky enough to live at the beach.
She watched the short clips every day as she got ready for work, enjoying the devotional the hostess shared to start the day off right.
She wondered what the verse was today. Maybe something on honoring one’s spouse. Wouldn’t that be ironic.
Devon slid her sunglasses off her head and onto her nose when the sunbeams burst over the horizon and blinded her. And even though she knew she ought to return to the house to get ready for what the day had in store, she couldn’t bring herself to stand.
Not when it meant acknowledging the fact she’d never see her father again. Nor was he the man she’d always believed him to be.
Shocked as she was by his behavior, she couldn’t paint him as all bad. She’d spent eighteen years in that house, and while her parents had obviously put on a good show for oblivious teenagers focused entirely on themselves, she now saw how flawed they both were.
Ten years had passed since she and Dara had both left home and moved out on their own, but still her mother had stayed. Given that, her mother’s co-dependency and her father’s narcissistic behavior were the perfect storm for what had taken place, as well as her mother’s reaction to her father’s death.
“Do you miss it?” a low voice asked from behind her.
She didn’t need to turn around to identify the source. “You’re up early.”
“I’m more productive in the morning after a long walk,” Oz said as he lowered himself to the sand beside her.
She didn’t turn her head or shift her gaze from the sun streaming over the water.
“So Rayna Jo got her memory back,” he said, referring to the text Dara had sent out to the group last night. “How’s she doing?”
“I’m not sure,” she said honestly. “After the initial rush, she went back to being very quiet.”
“She avoided dealing with it at first. Now that she remembers, she has to do it for real.”
“I suppose.”
“She’s not the only one struggling with this.”
Oz nudged her side with his elbow.
“Hey. You ever going to look at me?”
She bit back a groan of unease. She’d hoped some time on the sand would calm her nerves for the day ahead. Instead she felt them unraveling even more as she wondered if Ted would attend or not. “What do you want from me, Oz? I’ve apologized for how I handled things.”
“I’m not after an apology, sweetheart.”
“So what is it you’re after? After all these years, what do you want?”
“Same thing I’ve always wanted. You.”
She sucked in a sharp breath and turned her head toward him so fast a muscle in her neck twinged. “What?”
Oz’s blue eyes met hers, and despite her sunglasses, she felt the intensity all the way to her soul.
“That can’t be all that surprising. All I’ve ever wanted is you, Devon. When are you finally going to see that?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but since she didn’t know what to say in response, she snapped it closed and turned her attention back to the surf.
That was why he’d kissed her?
“Okay, you obviously weren’t prepared for that revelation, but it doesn’t change the truth of it. I didn’t chase after you when you left for New York, but it wasn’t for lack of wanting to.”
“That was ten years ago.”
