But I wasn’t sure he’d ever be at peace with what the people of this island said about him. And what did that mean for our hope of a future?

32

BELL

“Where are you going?”

“To the pantry to get more napkins. Is that allowed, warden?” Each word came out through gritted teeth. The past two weeks, my life had turned into a jail cell. Every single person in my orbit seemed to have taken overprotective to a new level.

Hunter brought his crew in for lunch every single day, sometimes coming back for dinner, too. Kenna came by to check on me before and after work. And Ford had instructed the entire Catch staff to not leave me unattended for a moment. This was why Caelyn was giving me the evil eye as I headed down the hallway.

“Does no one else see how sexist and ridiculous it is that I can’t be left unattended for sixty seconds? But, apparently, it’s just fine for Ford to be out on his own?” He’d left this morning to pick up supplies for the bar in Seattle, and he’d gone completely alone. “He’s the one that someone tried to kill.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, tears filled my eyes. “Shit, shit, shit!”

My emotions were on overdrive, and I seemed to cry or yell at the drop of a hat. Maybe I was PMSing. I hoped that was it, because I refused to become this crazy person forever. Caelyn pulled me into a hard hug. “I’m sorry, honey. I know this is a lot. We’re all just worried.”

After I’d stayed in one of Ford’s guest rooms for two more nights, and he was free of his sling and on the road to recovery, I’d told him I was going back home. Ford hadn’t been happy. In fact, he called nightly to make sure I had locked all my windows and doors and set the alarm. We’d gone from sharing a scorching kiss to me feeling like he saw me as a little sister again. Sure, he touched me, even brushed his mouth against mine, but those lip touches only came in private, away from anyone who might cast judgment. And they were missing the heat of that first embrace.

Part of me was relieved by the sudden reprieve, but mostly there was a crushing sense of disappointment, of loss, for the thing I’d never had to begin with. I stepped out of Caelyn’s embrace. “I’m going to shut myself in the closet for at least sixty seconds and get my shit together. Do you think you can keep the sharks at bay in the meantime?”

Caelyn grinned. “I think I can handle sixty seconds. Much longer, and Hunter’s going to start asking where you are.”