“You’re never going to say it. You’re too polite.” Ashley grinned at the thought of it. “But the main thing is that we’re not going to let a bunch of people we don’t even know force us to hide.”

“No.” Joanna’s voice was stronger. “We’re not.”

“And yes, they wrote horrid things, but if we stay indoors, then they win.”

“Yes.”

Ashley looked at her. “And we don’t want them to win.”

“We definitely don’t.”

Resisting the temptation to punch the air, Ashley bit into a strawberry instead. She and Joanna were a team. On the same side. “So that’s agreed, then? I am going to come back and stay in your amazing beach house, and in return I’m going to force you to hang out in cafés, and go shopping, and run on the beach and do all the stuff you’ve avoided doing. And if anyone so much as looks at you in a way you don’t like, I’ll give them a piece of my mind. I’ll give them a statement.”

“Do you intend to use anything other than four-letter words in your statement?”

“That depends on how they’re behaving.”

Joanna smiled. “I should have employed you to handle the media years ago. Or maybe as my bodyguard.” She was more relaxed. She seemed to have forgotten that she was sitting on the deck in full view of anyone who happened to be passing. Ashley hoped a news van full of reporters wasn’t about to speed into town and change all that. She didn’t want Joanna fleeing back into her nest. It was good to see her sitting in the sunshine, a foamy coffee on the table in front of her. It made her feel good to know she’d played a part in it.

Joanna had protected and helped her, and now she was determined to protect and help Joanna.

“I’ll handle the media. You don’t need a bodyguard. You have Greg, Nate and Mel fighting in your corner. You should have seen them. They called a ton of people, spreading the word around town that if anyone saw anyone suspicious, anyone with cameras, they were to call.” She saw Joanna’s expression change.

“They did that?”

“Yes, I heard them. I had no idea you still had so many connections here. You said you hadn’t been back in ages.”

“I haven’t.”

Why not? Ashley couldn’t figure that out. “I’ve always wanted to be part of a community. Where I grew up, everyone just minded their own business. I bet you knew everyone growing up here?”

“Yes.” Joanna toyed with her cup. “Everyone.”

“It must have been great. So now you’re no longer hiding, there must be a ton of other people here you can reconnect with.”

“Not really. Twenty years is a long time. We’ve all moved on.”

And yet these people clearly cared for Joanna. Didn’t she know that?