I wondered what that would be like. I hadn’t had any friends like that. Even before I’d lost my family, we’d always been somewhat set apart. Maybe it was because of the press’s fascination with us. Or that my father’s parents had more money than God. But we’d always been careful with who we let into that innermost circle. So careful, it was really only the four of us. But we’d liked it that way. The only problem was that once they were gone, I’d been totally and completely alone.

“Thanks for having us over.” Ford extended a beer to me.

I took it, taking a healthy sip. “No problem.”

His gaze met mine, a sort of understanding there. “It can’t be easy to have us invading your space.”

I glanced around the back deck and yard. Crosby and Hunter manned the grill, teaching Will the finer points of cooking chicken and steak. The girls were chasing Luci around the back lawn. And Caelyn, Bell, and Kenna sat huddled in chairs. Every so often, a cackle of laughter would escape their group. And each time it did, the tension that had been running through my body since our guests’ arrival eased a little bit. “She needed this.”

Ford followed my line of vision. “She did. Don’t get me wrong, Caelyn’s tough. All the girls are. But they need each other. They’ve been each other’s family more than their own blood for a long time.”

“I’m glad they have each other.” But I couldn’t help a flicker of jealousy. It made no sense to be envious of the friendship Caelyn had with Bell and Kenna. But I wished I could’ve been there for her all along. That I was as woven into her life as the women next to her were.

“And I’m glad she has you now.”

I turned my attention back to Ford. “I just want her to be safe. There’s a better chance of that here.”

He raised a brow. “That all you want?”

“Are you trying to dig gossip out of me right now?”

“That would be Crosby. He’s worse than the island knitting circle. Anything you tell him will likely have made its way around to half the island’s residents by morning.”

I made a mental note not to tell Crosby anything important. But even as my mind filed away that reminder, my gaze traveled back to Caelyn as if she had some invisible hold on me. “All I can tell you is that I care about her. Where it goes from there, I’m honestly not sure.”

“I think you’re good for each other.”