How was it he could understand, and so exactly? That, she thought, was the magic of him. “My father was killed in the Gulf War. I thought he was invincible. He’d always seemed to be. Everyone said he was a good soldier, but I remember he was a good father. He would always listen if I needed to tell him something. He was honest and fair, and had this code of honor, a personal one that meant more than all the rules and regulations. He . . . God.” She turned her head to study Zack’s face. “It just hit me, how much you’re like him. He would have approved of you, Sheriff Todd.”

“I’m sorry I never got the chance to meet him.” He turned the scope toward her. “Why don’t you take a look, see what you can find up there?”

She lowered her head toward the viewer, scanned the stars. “You’ve forgiven me.”

“Let’s say we’ve made some progress.”

“Good thing for me. Otherwise Ripley was going to kick my ass.”

“And she’s a hell of an ass-kicker, too.”

“She loves you. I always wanted a brother or a sister. My mother and I were tight, and I guess we got tighter after we lost my father. But I always wanted a sister. You’d’ve liked my mother. She was tough and smart and full of fun. Started her own business from the ground up after she was widowed. And she made it work.”

“Sounds like someone else I know.”

Her lips curved. “My father always said I took after her. Zack, who I am now is who I was before. The three years between, they were the aberration. You wouldn’t recognize the person I became during that lost time. I barely do.”

“Maybe you had to go through it to get where you are now.”

“Maybe.” The light through the scope haloed as her eyes misted. “I feel like I was always headed here. All those moves when I was growing up. I’d look around and think: No, this isn’t it. Not yet. The day I crossed over on the ferry, and I saw the island floating on the water, I knew. This is my place.”

He lifted their joined hands, kissed the back of hers. “The day I saw you behind the counter in the café, I knew.”

The thrill rocketed up her arm, and straight into her heart. “I’ve got baggage, Zack. I’ve got complications. More than I can tell you. You matter to me more than I thought anyone ever could. I don’t want to mess up your life with my problems.”

“From where I’m sitting, Nell, it’s too late to worry about that. I’m in love with you.”

Another long thrill rippled through her. “There’s so much you don’t know, and any one piece of it could change your mind.”