“I know you are not yelling at me for your own fuck-up, Paisley Bateman. None of what’s going down right now is my fault. And I get that your emotions are high, and rightfully so, but you’re just going to have to let those suckers take a backseat to Morgan’s for once.”

I couldn’t see either of their faces, but Paisley’s indrawn breath said it all.

“And if you can’t do that,” Sam’s voice softened, “if you honestly can’t listen to the pain she’s in without trying to fix it, then you might need to pack up that beautiful baby and your handsome husband and take them home until you can. You can’t fix this, and she’s not asking you to. She’s just being honest for the first time in years and letting you know where she’s at. And I know you want to help her. I know you love her, and you’ve never intentionally hurt her. We both know that this is one giant mess made by some pretty all-around shitty circumstances, but that doesn’t change the fact that Morgan got lost and left behind.”

My breathing regulated with Jackson’s steady heartbeat as Sam gave me the time I needed to calm down. His arms felt so good around me. Safe. Secure. He held me like I was something he cherished, because he did. God, I didn’t deserve this man who held me carefully as I cried out my grief for another.

“I never wanted this to happen,” Paisley said softly.

My heart ached at the misery in her voice. I never wanted this, either. Never wanted my feelings to harm her. Never wanted to lose Will. Never wanted to tangle my heart up in another flyboy I’d have to bury.

“None of us did.” Sam answered. “But you can’t help her right now, as good as your intentions are. And as much as I value our friendship and the bond we all have, I can’t stand here and let you slap a let me make this better Band-Aid over a festering, infected wound just because it’ll help you sleep tonight.”

My eye caught on the invitation to Will’s ceremony as it dangled from Jackson’s fingers, and I felt that same rage bubble to the surface. Maybe letting the fire out of my soul hadn’t extinguished it but fed it instead.

“I need to regroup.”

Jackson nodded once. “Well, as fun as this is, we’re going to take a little break and feed my daughter’s guinea pig.” Jackson tilted his head and looked down at me. “We might need to feed the turtle, too.” He took my hand, put himself between my closest friends and me, and started to walk us toward the dune.

“Are you coming back?” Paisley asked, her voice breaking. “Do you want us to go?”