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“Didn’t find her?” Wilson asked.
He shook his head slowly, trying to process the situation. His eyebrows were drawn in tight, forehead furrowed, and jaw clenched. He was worried and angry, a feeling that rolled through him in hot and cold waves. “Nope. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m concerned and pissed. This doesn’t feel very good.”
“No, I can’t imagine it does.”
Dune had hoped that four beers would be enough to purge his thoughts of Caroline, but it was to no avail. The amber liquid had become a kind of self-medicating ritual at this point, but it only made him more despondent. His heart ached as he thought about how quickly things had changed between them; just days ago, she had been a constant presence in his life. And yet, in a few mere hours, she was gone, without a single word as to why.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the feeling that he’d done something wrong, and yet he knew he hadn’t. They’d been so happy together, or at least he thought they were. If only she would talk to him, he might find some clarity, but until then, the mystery of her sudden departure would continue to haunt him. He took a long sip of his beer, his mind racing with questions that needed answers.
caroline
All night, Caroline had stared at the door, her thoughts in a spiral, as she waited for Dune to come back. She’d second-guessed whether she should’ve answered the door when he pounded on it earlier. Her hand had been poised on the lock, ready to flip the dial, but she hesitated, and then he was gone. It took him seconds to give up on her. On them.
The things Bryant told her shouldn’t have surprised her. Deep down, she knew Dune was a player, but not to the extent Bryant portrayed him as. No one gets the nick Captain Blue Balls without being the town playboy. The story he told her about how the name came about didn’t make sense. At least, not now. She hated that she believed him. More so, she hated that she fell for him because now she was paying the price with the ache in her chest.
What was she supposed to do now? She knew better than to get involved with anyone. Her life had a map, and they expected her to follow it. They being her parents. Well, mostly her dad. Mom often went along with whatever her husband said because keeping the peace was more important sometimes. Caroline would still leave Seaport as planned. So why get involved with someone? Why let her heart fall for a local?
She sighed heavily, knowing she made the right choice not to answer when Dune knocked earlier. He had never once mentioned being anything other than friends. Never introduced her as more than a friend. Yet, she had it in her head that they were more than friends. That was her mistake. Bryant all but confirmed this as well.
And then there was Bryant, and how she believed him. At first, she refused, and figured the man sitting across from her had a bone to pick with Dune. He did. But there was more to it. The warning tone in Bryant’s voice gave her pause. She’d fallen for Dune, and now she paid the price with the ache in her chest that formed whenever she thought of him.
How would things be when she saw him around town? There was no way in hell she’d go back to work for him. She liked to think of herself as a strong woman, but even she had a breaking point. Caroline took a deep breath and wiped away a tear before standing up and going into the kitchen to make some coffee. She needed all the caffeine she could muster after a fitful night’s sleep.
The sound of a motor echoed through her kitchen. She went to the sliding glass door and slid it open, stepping out into the cool morning. Whoever motored by wouldn’t be able to see her, and she doubted she could see them, but she looked away. Was it Dune? Would he come back once the sun was up? Something deep inside of her told her he wouldn’t.
But why? Why wouldn’t he come to check on her? To see why she ignored him.
He had shown her he cared, especially when he went above and beyond with turning Carter’s into a place to dance. Did he do that for everyone? Or something similar? Did he always extend an overboard kindness to strangers? Or was she the only special one? Dune made her feel as if she was.
Then why did her heart hurt so much?
“It’s because you’ve had this thought in the back of your head from day one,” she muttered into the darkness.
