She looked heavenward in exasperation. Down in her stateroom she had a stack of botanical literature she was itching to get back to, and ripping the bandage off this wound seemed needlessly painful if all Patrick wanted to do was count the reasons he was too proud to be a part of her world.

“What good does that do if you’re too stubborn to believe we can be together?”

He glowered at her. “Yes, I’m stubborn, and I want to use that to help you. Gwen, don’t you know that I want to give you the world? I don’t have much to offer. The only thing I’ve got is my strength and my brain and my ability to clear obstacles out of the way. Let me fight this battle for you. I’ll get your house back.”

She sighed. She didn’t want her house back, she only wanted his heart. They needed to talk, but hollering this conversation so that everyone in the marina could hear was too embarrassing, even for her.

“Stay right there,” she said. “I’m coming down.”

It took a while for a crew member to lower the gangway. She didn’t realize until she picked her way down the steeply angled ramp that she was still barefoot and wore only a robe over her nightgown. The planks were rough beneath her bare feet, but she scurried across them until she stood before Patrick.

He looked tired and sick at heart. “Why did you give away your house?” he asked. “You can’t tell me that you wanted to, because I won’t believe it.”

She touched the side of his face. “There is a little girl I love very much. I want her to have a happy childhood, and she will have one there. I was glad to give her the house. That house isn’t what I need. It never was.”

He clasped her hand to his cheek. “You once said that I was letting my pride stand in the way of doing what’s right.”

“I remember.” She took her hand back and withdrew a few steps. She would have made any sacrifice for him, and the fact that he wasn’t willing to bend even a little for her would probably always hurt.

“I don’t feel very proud right now,” he said on a ragged breath. “I feel humbled by the fact that you had the strength to walk into a new world. Unafraid. Fearless.”

She choked on a laugh. “Does it look that way? I’m not. I’ve had butterflies in my stomach ever since I decided to go back to school. I bought a new place to live on Boulanger Avenue and will move in as soon as the plumbers are finished.”

His eyes narrowed in disapproval. “Mrs. K, that’s not exactly a safe neighborhood.”