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“He bought me coffee once,” I began with a sniffle and a laugh. It was random but a fact I found so innately important to our story. “When I forgot my wallet.”
My dad motioned to the chair, silently asking me to sit, and I did so, needing the comfort he was offering more than I realized.
“He’s a local deputy, a captain actually.”
“That sounds like a very demanding job,” my dad said as he gave me an encouraging smile.
My mother, however, remained stoic and silent.
“It is,” I replied. “But he manages. He runs a lot. It helps.”
I didn’t tell them it also helped with other demons. That was Macon’s tale, not mine.
“He came back to a hometown he hated, hoping to make a difference, but it cost him a lot.” I looked out toward the window again, remembering the haunted look on his face that first day on the patio.
And the overwhelming urge I’d had to erase it.
“He’s thoughtful, surprisingly funny, and smart?—”
“And you love him.” The words came from my mother. They were matter-of-fact, and yet, for the first time since she had arrived, I could feel the slightest warmth in her voice.
“Yes,” I answered without the slightest hesitation, “I do.”
“Is this why you’re staying?” she asked as her guard slightly lowered. “Because of him?”
“No, I’m staying for myself,” I stated. “When I came down here, I had no idea why I was doing this—only that I needed to. At first, I thought maybe I was supposed to say good-bye—sell the house and walk away from something I’d been holding on to for far too long.”
“What made you change your mind?”
“I did,” I answered with a smile. “I thought I was coming down here for Daniel. To say goodbye or heal? But the longer I was here, the more I realized this place had never been really ours. In the few short months we had lived here, I was mostly alone, and that wasn’t his fault—he worked his ass off to make this dream possible for me. But during that time, I had fallen in love with this island.” I remembered all those walks. All those solo expeditions around the island. “And coming back here, I remembered the love I had for this place. The connection. This is home for me.”
“And how does Macon fit?”
Hearing Macon’s name on my mom’s lips made me smile. Not just because her accent made it slightly comical, but because it also made him real.
It made us real.
“He is a bonus. A really lovely bonus.”
“Do you think we can meet him?” my mom asked before adding, “Formally? With proper attire?”
She gave me a pointed stare as her eyes wandered over my wrinkled clothes and messy hair.
I let out a laugh, my eyes still watery. “Absolutely.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Ineeded to run.
There were too many thoughts, too many emotions in my head. The moment I got home, I headed straight for my bedroom, threw on a pair of jogging pants, and bolted out the door.
The instant my feet hit the pavement and my breath accelerated, I pushed harder.
I needed the distance today. I needed the burn and the ache.
I needed?—
Fuck.
