Part of me wants to scream. He’s bitter that he’s taking the blame for something he didn’t do, yet he doesn’t want me to turn myself in to the police. He’s mad that I didn’t tell him I was grateful, but he doesn’t want my pity?

I squeeze my eyes shut and admit, “I’ve done a lot of stupid things in my life, but I’ve never screwed anything up this badly. I want to fix this. Let me fix this.”

When I open my eyes, he’s looking at me. Contemplating. Silent.

“I’ve really got to get back to work,” he says after a moment, in a gentler voice, encouraging me to stand. “And you better go before my parents see you up here and start giving me shit. You aren’t the only one who’s getting bombarded with questions about us hooking up, and ‘no girl is worth ruining your life for,’ all that.”

My cheeks grow warm. “But that’s …” I sputter something that sounds nearly like a complete word, but my brain glitches, and I can’t quite get it out. I try again. “Ridiculous.” There! Got it out. “I mean … right? No life-ruining. No hooking up. I mean, obviously.” I manage a hollow laugh, suddenly nervous. “We don’t even know each other anymore.”

Sharp and serious, his eyes dart over me from beneath a fan of dark lashes—the quickest of looks, buried in a blink.

That look makes me want something I shouldn’t want.

“Better go now,” he says. “Let’s not give them a reason to speculate any more than they already have.”

“Let’s not,” I agree. “This disaster is already large enough as it stands.”

But as I head back down the ladder and sneak across the boatyard, eager to put both physical and emotional space between me and Lucky and this whole tangled mess, his words drum in my temples along with my pounding pulse. And I realize something.

He’s lying too.

His parents don’t know that he didn’t throw that rock. They don’t know that he’s covering for me. That seems significant. I just can’t figure out why.

But I’m going to.

Chapter 7

COAST LIFE IS THE GOOD LIFE: This etched glass sign is posted by the entrance to the lone quarterly magazine headquarters in town. The brick building also houses the local newspaper and sits on the historic town common next to Summers & Co Department Store. (Personal photo/Josephine Saint-Martin)

Chapter 7