I looked out to the horizon, the sun hanging low in the sky. God, I missed her. Her unshakable belief in me, in my worthiness. The comfort of her presence. The Gables had been my home for so long, but it was Harriet’s presence that had made the estate so special. “They don’t want me to have The Gables.”

“It doesn’t matter what they want.”

“They’re going to fight me on it. And they always fight dirty.” I could only imagine what they would’ve put my beautiful baby girl through if she had been born. It would’ve been ugly and cruel if their actions during my pregnancy were anything to go by.

Crosby’s board bumped mine, my gaze jumping to his. “They’re not going to get The Gables. They might try to make this ugly, but they won’t win. I promise.”

I gave him a smile. But it was a sad one. He didn’t know the true ugliness of the Abbot family. I did. “So,” I said, searching for a change of topic, anything to steer us away from the ghosts of my past. “What’s on your agenda this weekend? Flinging yourself off a cliff? Running with the bulls?”

Crosby chuckled. “Actually, I have a date.”

I froze. I didn’t want to admit that the heat coursing through my belly might be jealousy. “Do you, now?”

“I do, indeed. Want to join us?”

I reared back, almost losing my balance on the paddleboard.

Crosby dissolved into laughter, trying his best to stay upright. “Oh, God. The look on your face is priceless.”

“You’re an ass, you know that?” I started paddling away from him.

“Wait, don’t be mad. I really do want you to come to the aquarium with me.”

I glanced over my shoulder. “You and who else?”

“Zoe. She’s nine and would love to meet you.”

My paddle stuttered in the water. “You’re friends with a nine-year-old?”

Crosby rubbed at the back of his neck. “I volunteer at Shelter Island Child Alliance. Zoe’s my buddy right now.”

It was one of those moments where your world tilts on its axis. It was just a slight movement but one that allowed me to see things from a completely different viewpoint. “How long have you been doing that?” The Alliance was an amazing organization. They’d helped Caelyn get custody of her siblings and had given all of them the support they so desperately needed in those early days.

Crosby began paddling again, and I followed suit. It was as if he didn’t want me to study him too carefully while we covered this topic. “I started not long after I moved to Anchor, so…almost four years.”

“You never talk about it.” I’d never once heard him mention the Alliance or volunteering. Bell and Ford hadn’t brought it up, so I doubted he’d told them either.