I didn’t. I barely saw them at all. I’d tried when I got back from college. Did a couple of family dinners. But each one included a pitch from Dad on taking the MCAT so I could apply to medical school and join his practice, and Mom’s subtle digs at my clothes and hair. The final straw had been when my mother had wailed, “Why can’t you just be more like your sister was?” when I refused to be set up with one of her friend’s sons. I saw them only in passing now. And it was always awkward.

I didn’t want to go there with Ford. It would feel too much like the way things used to be. I pushed to my feet. “I’d better get back to it. We’re about to open.”

A muscle in Ford’s cheek flickered. “Of course. I’ll be right in.”

I headed for the bar, leaving Ford to sit and stare at the ocean—just like he’d leave me one day soon.

11

FORD

The bell over the door of The Mad Baker jingled as I pushed inside. My palms dampened as I took in the familiar sights and smells. I’d mostly been avoiding my old haunts. Hell, I’d been avoiding the shops in town entirely. They all held reminders of Violet. Of Bell. But my conversations with Bell and the guys the other day had been a wake-up call. I didn’t want to lose her.

Lose her wasn’t exactly the right phrase. She’d been lost to me for over a decade, but seeing her again…I knew I didn’t want that to turn into forever. She might not be able to forgive me for the accident, for not facing her afterward, but maybe I could worm my way back into her life. And if there were any remnants of the girl I used to know, her stomach was a great place to start.

“Lordy be, is that you, Ford Hardy?” Jules Bloomington, the owner of The Mad Baker, stepped out from the kitchen. Her hair was all white now instead of the salt-and-pepper I remembered, her face a little more lined, but her smile was just as warm as it had always been. She rounded the counter and held out her arms. “Get over here and give me a hug, boy.”

Something in my chest loosened a fraction as the older woman wrapped her arms around me. “Hey, Jules.”

She squeezed me hard and then released me, smacking me upside the head as she did so. “What were you thinking, staying gone so long? We missed you around here.” Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “That shadow of yours missed you especially.”

Heat crept up the back of my neck. “I haven’t been ready to come back.”

“You ready now?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest. But I’m here.”