“You did?”

He smiled and nodded. She had the sweetest voice. But he noticed that as they continued to ride on, she remained silent. He’d made her self-conscious and for that he was sorry.

A little way down the road, Ethan slowed his bike. “Do you mind if we stop?”

“Not at all.”

They both climbed off their bikes and left them at the side of the quiet road. They made their way over to the bluffs that looked down upon the rocky shoreline as the ocean came crashing against the rocks before rolling back out to sea.

Ethan moved to one of the large rocks and sat down. Hannah joined him.

He drew in a deep breath of fresh salty air. And then he slowly blew it out. “You know it wasn’t until I came to Bluestar that I could take an easy breath.”

“The island does have healing qualities.” Hannah’s voice was soft but the ocean breeze carried her words to his ears. “I’ve spent a lot of time staring out at the water, wondering why bad things happen.”

“Did you find any answers?”

She shook her head. “Only that time helps lessen the pain.”

He’d noticed a plaque at the fire station for Chief George Bell, Hannah’s father, who’d died in the line of service. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“My father was out on a call. It started as a brush fire but by the time the fire department arrived, the barn was on fire. There were horses inside the barn—they were crying out for someone to save them. My father was that someone. He went in to save the horses and…” Her voice cracked with emotion. “He got all of the horses out but before he could get out, the roof caved in…”

Ethan reached out, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to his side. This explained why she’d been such a stranger around the firehouse. He wasn’t sure how long they sat together, staring out at the power of the sea.

He had some idea of what her father had gone through, but luckily, Ethan had made it out of his near miss but not without the scars both inside and out. And this was just one more reason why it was best not to get caught up in a relationship. He didn’t want to hurt someone the way Hannah’s father’s death had hurt his family.

She pulled back and gazed into his eyes. “Thank you. I don’t normally fall apart like that. But then again, I don’t normally talk about what happened to him.”

“It’s okay. I understand…probably more than most.”

She nodded. “Because you’re a firefighter too. How do you do it? How do you put your life on the line, time after time?”

He leaned on his hands that were stretched out behind him as he tried to come up with an answer that she wanted to hear. He was drawing a blank. He didn’t think there was anything that would make this right for her.