He held up a hand and smiled again. This guy was the perfect person to handle their image problem. He was handsome, kind, and he had a lovely set of very white teeth. At his side, Cody looked miserable and grumpy like a man auditioning to play Scrooge in a community theatre production of A Christmas Carol.

Any director would cast him, too.

“We would like to improve our reputation here and our relationship with the community.”

Louisa forced herself to listen as the master chief explained his hopes for the Coast Guard as it related to the people of Nantucket. Of course the Coast Guard had been a presence on the island for years, but the goal was to integrate more with the locals, the idea being that if they won the respect of the people, the people would be more willing to listen and therefore obey the advice of the Coast Guard.

Advice like “Wear a life vest.”

“You know about Jackson Wirth and our issues there,” he said. “We’ve come under fire, and his family isn’t about to let it go, not as long as their son is in a coma.”

“Would you, sir?”

Duncan paused, a thoughtful expression on his face. “You don’t beat around the bush, do you?”

Cody’s eyes were full on her—she could feel it—and she didn’t like the effect it had on her. Louisa was confident in this space. She knew her business, and she knew what she was good at.

If only that confidence carried over into her personal life, where she was something of a disaster. Sometimes she felt like two people occupying the same body. One, smart and self-assured. The other, full of doubt.

“I don’t like to, no,” she said.

“That’s refreshing,” he said. “Too many people tend to hold back what they’re thinking.”

She dared a glance at the neatly dressed Coastie at Duncan’s side. Cody held back everything he was thinking, didn’t he? Whom did he tell his secrets to?

“You think the Wirth family is justified in their criticism of the Coast Guard?” Duncan asked.

“I think they’re hurting—grieving—and people sometimes say and do things they don’t mean under those circumstances,” Louisa said.

Her mind wandered back to the day after Daniel Boggs drowned.

“This is your fault, Lou!” Cody had shouted at her, face red and splotchy from crying. “You’re the reason my dad is dead.”

Those words still haunted her sometimes. Not only because they stung, but because she believed them. She absolutely believed it was her fault, and she’d spent her whole life trying to make amends for that.

It’s why she had to repair what was broken. She had to bring their two families back together. She couldn’t bring Daniel back, but at least she could try to put the people he loved back together.