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He ran like his ass was on fire and was out of breath when he reached the station and went inside. He looked around but didn’t see his favorite blonde anywhere. After scanning the crowd one more time, he went to the information desk to ask when the last train to New York was.
“About fifteen minutes ago.”
“Are you able to tell me if someone was on it?”
The clerk shook her head. “Sorry, I can’t.”
Dune nodded. “Thanks.”
He walked around for a bit, hoping Caroline had missed that train. He went down to the platform and walked the length, looking at the people who lingered there. None of them were her. The more he thought about her leaving, the more his heart broke. What Speed had said to him didn’t make sense. He had never referred to Caroline in any such way, so where did she come up with it? Dune had been honest with her about his past. He had no reason to hide anything from her.
He climbed the stairs back to the station and took one last look around before exiting. As he made his way through the parking lot and toward the dock, he saw Bryant, his nemesis. The life drained from Dune. He knew, without even asking, that Bryant was behind all of this.
Dune charged toward him, hoping to scare him, but Bryant sat there, stoic.
“What in the fuck did you do?”
Bryant smirked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Bullshit,” Dune spewed. “This screams of something you’d do. You’re always trying to make my life as miserable as yours.”
Bryant said nothing.
“You know, it’s one thing to be a shit in high school, but we’re adults. At least I am,” Dune said. “This crap you pull, showing up in town every couple of years, acting self-righteous. No one buys it.”
“Well, someone must’ve,” Bryant said. “Or you wouldn’t be here.”
Dune placed his hands on the picnic table and seethed. “What lies did you tell her?”
Bryant had the audacity to ignore him. Dune slammed his hand down. “Answer me.”
A slight shrug and a sigh. “The truth.”
“The truth? Or the truth as you and your sister see it?”
Again, Bryant was silent.
Dune pushed away from the table and paced with his hand readjusting his hat. He went toward Bryant and leaned onto the table again. “This obsession you have with me, that your sister has with me, has to stop. In all the years I’ve known both you, I’ve never ever slept with her. I don’t care what she says. Her child isn’t mine and you have the DNA test to prove it. DNA doesn’t lie. It’s not my fault that your sister couldn’t take no for an answer,” Dune said with a sigh. “You know damn well I never touched her, never slept with her. Never even called her. Why you continue to believe her, when the truth is black and white, I’ll never understand. And the fact that you think it’s okay to lie to people?” He shook his head. “You both need help.” Dune walked toward his boat, angry that some petty high school bullshit ruined his chance at happiness.
Dune had his phone to his ear as he walked toward his boat. He nodded at the captain of the water taxi and pointed to his phone, hoping to convey that he didn’t have time to stop and chat. Dune pulled one rope tie from the cleat, hopped onto his boat, and then pulled the other, all while the line on the other end rang. He sighed when Caroline’s voicemail picked up.
“Caroline, baby. Please call me. We need to talk. Just . . . get off the train and call me. Tell me where you are, and I’ll come to you. Baby, please. Don’t leave like this. Don’t leave me because of what that man said to you. Please, Care Bear.”
He hung up and directed his boat toward his dock. When it came into sight, he motored past it and headed toward the cottage. Maybe Speed was wrong. Sure, he saw Caroline there, but she was just there to get her return ticket and the luggage Speed saw wasn’t hers and belonged to someone else.
Dune grasped at straws. At anything to keep his mind from the inevitable. He didn’t want her to leave, not now, not ever, even though he knew he didn’t stand a chance in hell in keeping her in Seaport. Caroline was destined for greatness way beyond some captain of a tourist company could give her. Deep down, he was okay with that, with knowing they were different, but they’d always have the summer to remember each other by.
Only, if she left, he couldn’t imagine what went through her mind, especially if Bryant was the one speaking to her. Just knowing he was the cause of this turmoil made his blood boil. That guy and his sister have been nothing but a thorn in Dune’s side since the day they moved to the island. Bryant liked to stretch the truth by telling people he grew up with Dune and his brothers, but the truth was, Bryant visited the island for vacation, like many others. Then his family decided to move here when Bryant and his sister Rhonda were in high school.
