I hit confirm on the final web page and let out a breath. It wasn’t a fortress, but I’d put up a few additional walls between Michael and me. My mail was now being routed from Charlotte to Nashville to Maine and then finally to Anchor. If I just kept changing things around, he wouldn’t find me. And even if he did, I couldn’t imagine him enduring a ferry ride from Seattle, his fear of the water was too intense. Ever since he’d had a scare growing up.

It had been one of the many times my parents had tried to bring us together by going on a family vacation. We’d rented a house on a lake for a week. Fishing off the dock and making s’mores.

Michael had shoved me down when I was taking too long to put on my life jacket, and I’d gotten a nasty gash on my knee. My parents had been examining the injury, trying to decide if I needed stitches when we’d heard a splash. Michael had refused to wait for us any longer and had fallen into the lake while trying to climb onto the boat.

My dad had moved quickly, but Michael had needed CPR to begin breathing again. It had scared him spitless. And he’d refused to go anywhere near water from that day forward. That one incident had given me the only true weapon I had.

I shut my laptop screen and headed for the door. I needed to double-check the generator because the weather report had called for a storm. I started up the path when a familiar voice called out. I turned to see Caelyn waving. Changing directions, I made my way back down the hill. “What are you doing here?”

She motioned to her husband, Griffin, who was in what looked to be an intense discussion with Brody. “Hunter called Griffin because Brody had some questions about what kind of security system to put in. I thought I’d tag along for the ride, hoping I’d get to see you. And here you are.”

I smiled, but my gaze shifted to Brody, wondering if a security system had always been on his list of plans or if it was a new addition after I’d opened up a bit about my brother. “Does Griffin know a lot about that?” Caelyn’s husband had restored his old family farmhouse on Anchor pretty much on his own, so it wouldn’t have surprised me.

Caelyn rolled her eyes heavenward. “He’s obsessed. Could literally talk about it for hours on end. I might have to drag him back to the boat.”

I chuckled. “Then I guess it’ll be a while. Want to come with me to check the generator? Then we can take a walk down to the beach.”