Hunter and Ethan shared a look, but Ethan spoke. “Caelyn has custody of her siblings. Got it when she was just twenty-one. She was drowning, trying to make it work those first couple of years. Bell and Kenna came back as soon as they graduated. Hell, they practically lived with them for a year.”

I swallowed hard. I’d missed so damn much. “Why does Caelyn have custody?”

Hunter stiffened on his stool. “The state took the kids.”

“Those parents always were a waste of space,” I muttered.

Ethan’s expression hardened. “Understatement of the century.”

My gaze traveled to the back door. That now-familiar pull had returned. Why the hell hadn’t Bell told me that she’d been the one to renovate the bar when we’d gone over the expenses from the past few years? My gut twisted. The better question was why would she? She didn’t trust me. Wanted me out of her life as fast as humanly possible. I could leave her the bar at the end of summer. I could give her the island then, too. But I wanted to earn her forgiveness first. Her forgiveness and, hopefully, even her friendship.

I pushed to my feet. “I’ll be back in a few.”

Hunter’s brows drew together. “Where are you going?”

“I need to talk to Bell about something.” The look on my brother’s face was not a happy one. I bristled. I still hadn’t figured out what was going on between the two of them. If they were friends or more. But it didn’t matter. I had atoning to do, and he wasn’t going to stand in my way.

10

BELL

I collapsed into one of the wrought iron chairs on the back patio, rubbing the spot between my breasts. Tears burned the backs of my eyes. Everything was a swirling mess of emotions. Life turned on its head by one single action. One person returning.

Not only was I in a fight with Hunter, but there was a longing within me that I hadn’t felt in years. A grief that had dulled, suddenly flaring to life again in vivid technicolor. It wasn’t grief for my sister, but for my friend. A yearning for the man that was now right in front of me. I’d put the loss of him to rest long ago, but it was as if seeing him again had brought it all back. He was right there, close enough for me to reach out and grab. But I’d never be able to keep him there.