WHEN WARREN CHAMBERS SHOWED UP next to the cutter, Cody shook his hand, all the while wondering if he had the answers to the questions that kept Cody up at night.

So many questions about his dad, about Maggie’s money, about the memorial on the beach and all the things he didn’t know about his parents.

His eyes drifted over to where Louisa was setting up trophies with some guy who’d just shown up. He’d managed to keep her in his sights all morning, and her comment about his busy night out had gotten under his skin more than he would’ve liked. What did she mean by that?

As he faced Warren, he noticed the man had the same bright-blue eyes Louisa had. He spotted JoEllen chatting with a group of ladies, all of them dressed up and half of them wearing big sun hats and sunglasses.

“Good to see you again, son,” Warren said, his hand firmly wrapped around Cody’s. “Looks like you’ve done a good job of getting people to come out and support your cause.”

“That was all your daughter,” Cody said. “She’s pretty amazing with people.”

“She is.” Warren eyed him. Could he see the admiration Cody felt? Could he see more than the admiration he felt? “She’s pretty amazing in general.”

Cody nodded. “She is.”

“Are you settling in out there at Brant Point?”

They made small talk for a few minutes, something Cody had prepared for that morning on his drive over. He generally despised small talk, but now that it was part of his job, he’d decided to at least make an effort.

It came so naturally to Louisa, chatting with people she didn’t even know. He supposed that was because Louisa was genuinely interested in everyone and everything. Everyone had a story, and she wanted to know what it was.

“I hear you’ve been teaching Louisa how to sail?”

“She’s catching on, sir,” Cody said. “Mostly.”

That was a lie. Louisa would never make it in the Coast Guard; that much was clear. After the week they’d had, he wasn’t sure she’d even make it as a passenger, but he had given her two easy jobs, and he planned to do the rest. They wouldn’t win, but he’d get to be near her—that was worth more than some trophy and bragging rights anyway.

“Is that . . . ?”

Cody followed Warren’s eyes across the yard and saw a tall man with silver hair, wearing a lightweight tan suit, a crisp white button-down, and what was certainly a very expensive watch on his left wrist.

“Sir?”

Warren turned fidgety as the other man waved a hello. “What is he doing here?” He muttered the words under his breath. And then, all at once, his entire demeanor changed. “Ted, didn’t expect to see you here today.”

Ted? Ted Kauffmann?