Bo woke to the sound of his phone going off. He’d had to schedule his flight to Louisiana, so he hadn’t been napping long. But once he closed his eyes, he’d dropped into a dreamless sleep and felt lethargic, almost drugged, as he was jolted into consciousness by the jingle of his phone. He assumed he’d overslept, that it was Ismay or Jack calling to ask where he was. But when he grabbed his phone off the nightstand, he saw that it was Annabelle Windsor.
No doubt Bastian had called his mother and said Bo had used his key to enter the cottage in the middle of the night with a baseball bat. Bo hadn’t actually planned on hitting anyone with that bat. He didn’t need a weapon to take care of Bastian if it had come to that.
But, of course, Annabelle wouldn’t know his intentions at that moment. Fortunately, she didn’t know his background, either, or she’d be even more upset.
Trying to rid his mind of the cobwebs so he could think straight, he got up as he hit the answer button. He didn’t want to sound as though he’d been sleeping. He put in plenty of hours—he didn’t owe the Windsors every second—but Annabelle was off-island and had no idea how hard he’d worked to fix all the storm damage.
“’Lo?”
“Bo?” she said, her voice full of alarm. “What’s going on? Bastian said you threatened him with a bat last night!”
Bo rolled his eyes. “I didn’t threaten him. There’s been a lot of drama since he arrived. It was to help avoid a fight, not cause one.”
“With Bastian?” she said, sounding properly horrified.
“I think he was on something last night. He was acting erratic, scaring Ismay. She texted me in the middle of the night, saying she didn’t feel safe, and I helped her get out of the situation.”
Silence.
“Mrs. Windsor? I knew you wouldn’t be happy about what happened, but if Bastian had hurt Ismay, whether he truly meant to or not... Well, I would’ve felt responsible if I could’ve done something and didn’t.”
“I see,” she said, suddenly much calmer. “Ismay is with you, then?”
“No. Honey’s daughter broke her ankle, so she had to go to the mainland to help with her granddaughters. Ismay is house-sitting for her.” He didn’t see any point in mentioning Jack. There was enough to explain as it was.
“Then the situation’s been defused.”
“Fortunately.”
“Bastian told me you’re getting involved with Ismay... romantically. Is that true?”
“I’ve barely met Ismay,” he said to avoid a more direct answer. “I’ve only tried to keep her safe while she’s here.”
“Then you’re not the reason she’s broken off her engagement with Remy?”
“Absolutely not,” he said. “That has to do with a video Ismay was sent from a third party showing Remy with another woman.”
She gasped. “You mean...cheating on her?”
He knew Remy wouldn’t appreciate what he was divulging, but it was about time the would-be doctor had to account for his behavior. “Yes.”
“That can’t be true!” she said, raising her voice again.
“She showed it to me. If you want to call her, she can probably send it to you.”
“I don’t want to see it,” she said, sounding as though news of Remy’s infidelity had punched the last of the fight out of her. “She must be heartbroken,” she added softly.
“She is. And then to have Bastian wandering around, coming to her door and trying to get in after one in the morning... It was unnerving.”
“I bet,” she agreed. Then she got quiet, and Bo thought she might be weeping.
“Mrs. Windsor? Are you okay?”
He heard her sniff. “Yeah. I—I just don’t know what to do.”
“Don’t worry. I have things under control here. I’ve repaired all the water damage, and I’m just about done with the fence—”
“I appreciate that,” she said, but she hadn’t even let him finish, so obviously she didn’t want to hear about it right now. Her mind was elsewhere.
“I hope you’re not upset about what I did. I couldn’t see any other way around it.”
“I’m grateful to you for handling things as well as you did,” she said. “But...that’s only a small part of the problem.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I just... I don’t know what I ever did to deserve the children I got,” she replied. Then she disconnected, because she’d probably already said more than she intended.
Stunned that she seemed to believe him over Bastian, he sank back onto the bed. He half expected her to call again, take it all back. But that didn’t happen. He received no calls and just one text. From Matilda.
When will you be in Louisiana?
He was taking the first flight off the island in the morning. He’d had to put together a patchwork of travel plans in order to arrive by nightfall, but he wouldn’t let Chester, the one person who’d looked out for him, go without help if he needed it. But Bo wasn’t going to tell her that. He was afraid he’d show up at Grand Isle and she’d be there waiting for him.
Ignoring her message, he shoved his phone in his pocket and went into the bathroom. He had to pick up Ismay and Jack in fifteen minutes.
“Jack’s doing better,” Ismay said, obviously relieved.
Bo watched her brother dive into the surf. It was the warmest day they’d had so far on Mariners; the storm that’d hit the island felt like a distant memory. “I’m happy to hear it. Hopefully, that trend will continue. Has he heard anything from Ashleigh?”
“I haven’t asked. He seems better able to cope if we don’t talk about it.”
Bo straightened his towel over the soft warm sand. There was something else they hadn’t talked about, and that was what they’d done in his bed last night. Bo thought she might want to address it now that they had a few minutes alone, but so far, she’d avoided the subject. “Annabelle called earlier,” he said.
Her lips parted in apparent surprise as she looked over at him. “You picked us up almost an hour ago, and you’re just mentioning this now? Please don’t tell me she fired you...”
“Surprisingly, no. She was upset, but once I explained what happened, she just got...quiet and sad. I think she’s coming to realize she can’t always stick up for her sons, that her loyalty and desire to protect them has maybe been misplaced.”
“What makes you say that?”
He told her about the conversation, how Annabelle had started to cry and what she said right before she got off the phone.
“That’s not like her, right? To be that self-aware?”
“Not really. It felt like she made a bleak realization, that she could no longer pretend her sons were admirable or even that she could trust them to behave as they should.”
“Did you tell her about the duffel bag?”
Jack came up for air and went back under the waves as Bo locked his arms around his knees. “I didn’t. I wasn’t going to base that decision on one uncharacteristically honest and transparent reaction.”
“You’re afraid if she learns what’s inside that bag, she might try to protect Bastian from...whatever should be coming to him?”
“Damn right,” he said. “Especially when she has a history of covering for his inadequacies and bad behavior.”
She adjusted her sunglasses. “So do we go to the cops?”
“I think we have to, don’t you? Then whatever happens next will be up to them. At least we would’ve done our part.”
She pursed her lips. “You can’t get involved. The police are going to need to talk to me anyway, since I found it. There’s no reason to drag you into it.”
She made a good point. But going to the police meant alienating herself from her prospective in-laws for good. And who could say how Remy—or even more concerning, Bastian—would react.
Jack was breathing heavily as he walked up the beach and shook the water out of his hair before dropping down on his towel on the other side of Ismay. “That felt good,” he said.
“Is this the first time you’ve ever been in the ocean?” Bo asked.
“Yeah.” Jack leaned up on his elbows as he watched all the activity around them—the sunbathers, swimmers, dog walkers, joggers, and children playing in the sand. “But I now know one thing—I want to live by the ocean. Maybe move out to California, near Is. But I’m not sure what I’d do there.”
“We could live together,” Ismay said. “You could get a job while I start my practice.”
“I think I’d like that,” he stated matter-of-factly and got up again. “Anyone want a hot dog?”
“We just ate,” Ismay pointed out.
“I know, but I’m starving again.” He grabbed his towel and dried his hair before dropping it and trotting off to the food trucks.
“Appetite’s coming back,” Bo said.
“Another good sign,” Ismay responded.
They watched a boy playing fetch with his dog for a few seconds. Then Bo said, “I have to go out of town first thing in the morning.”
Ismay’s eyes widened. “You do?”
He nodded. “Just came up. I made my travel plans after taking you and Jack to Honey’s this morning.”
“Is something going on?”
“That uncle I told you about? He might not be well.”
“So you’re going to Louisiana...”
He nodded.
She adjusted her bracelet to bring the little jewel around to the front. “How long will you be gone?”
“It’ll depend on what I find when I get there.”
“The Windsors won’t give you any trouble for leaving, will they?”
“I don’t think so, especially if Jack will finish the fence for me. I’ll pay him, of course.”
“I bet he wouldn’t mind doing that at all, and he won’t let you pay him. Not with all you’ve done for us. Anyway, he said the hard part’s already been finished.”
“I’ll ask him. I texted Annabelle, and she didn’t seem to have a problem with it. But I’ve never used any vacation days. Or sick days, for that matter. So it’s not like she can accuse me of taking advantage of her.” He’d had nowhere else to go. It was easiest to hide from his past right here.
“Considering how mad Bastian must be, maybe it’s a good time for you to be gone.”
“He’s the reason I wish I didn’t have to go,” Bo said. “I don’t want him harassing you.”
“I’ll be okay. Jack’s here. I don’t think he’d dare bother me.”
He nodded, but if Bastian was what Bo thought he might be...
He couldn’t even let his mind go in that direction. His uncle Chester needed him.
“Will you take an Uber to the airport? Or would you like me to drive you?”
“If you want to drive me, you could use my truck while I’m gone.”
“You wouldn’t mind?”
“Not at all.” He’d actually feel better knowing she had some wheels.
Bo searched the crowd near the hot dog stand for Jack and saw that he’d already eaten his hot dog and was in line for an ice-cream bar. “About last night...” he said, thinking he’d better tackle that subject while they still had a few minutes alone.
Ismay immediately started playing in the sand. “I’d rather not talk about it. Not yet.”
“Okay.” He figured he’d given her the opportunity; she didn’t want to talk, so he’d let it go. But in the very next moment, he heard himself say, “Is there any chance you’d like to come back tonight?”
When she twisted around, he could tell she was checking to make sure Jack wasn’t within earshot. “Okay,” she whispered. “I don’t see how it could hurt anything now.”
Ismay waited until the house was quiet before slipping out. Even though it wasn’t far, Bo had insisted she not walk to his place alone, so he was waiting for her, but he didn’t speak when he saw her. He just took her hand and kissed her knuckles before leading her silently through the warm night to his place.
Once he let them both in and they were no longer out in the hushed stillness of the night, that hesitancy to speak was broken. “Are you all packed?” she asked when she saw a suitcase set off to the side by the entryway.
He moved it so they could get into the kitchen. “Packed and ready to go.”
Bo took out two glasses, filled them with a white zinfandel and handed her one. “I wish I weren’t leaving,” he said, leaning against the counter. “The Windsors are used to getting whatever they want. I don’t trust Remy to let you go without a fight.”
“I’ll be fine,” she insisted. “If he’s been cheating on me, he can’t care too much about me.”
“With people like Remy, it’s not about caring. It’s about owning, controlling. He might feel as though you wronged him by not letting him have everything he wanted—or fly into a rage for holding him accountable instead of accepting his excuses.”
Ismay was beginning to worry about staying on the island herself. Remy could be so persistent. Bo didn’t know him nearly as well as she did, and yet...it seemed, in some ways, as if he knew him better. What was Remy going to do when she finally drew a line? “I’ll get through it,” she said. “And hopefully you won’t be gone too long.”
“I’ll get back as soon as I can.”
She was eager to feel his hands on her body again, his mouth on hers, but he lingered over his wine.
“There’s just one other thing...” he said.
She set down her glass. “And that is...”
He grimaced. “You know I’m not a viable alternative for...for a serious relationship, right? I’m a loner. And my job is here. Or I might have to move back to Louisiana. California isn’t a possibility.”
It was a big dose of reality, one she hadn’t expected to come at this particular time. “Right. And you’re saying this now because...”
“Because I think it’s only right. The last thing I’d ever want to do is hurt you.”
“Got it.” She stood. “You should probably get a good night’s rest, anyway. I think I’ll go back to Honey’s.”
His stricken expression told her that was the last thing he wanted. “I’m sorry.”
“No problem.”
“I wouldn’t have said anything but... I didn’t think it would be fair.”
She slipped past him to get to the door. “I appreciate the honesty. I really do.”
She opened the door to go, but he said, “I don’t want you out there alone. I’ll walk you.” He put down his glass, but once he met her in the open doorway, he took both her hands and looked down at them without making any move to go out.
“What?” she said.
“I care about you,” he murmured. “And I want you. There’s no question about that. I just...don’t want to be the worst thing for you.”
He’d been ultra-cautious even the first time. She remembered how he kept telling her she should turn him away. That, along with his sincerity, made her soften. “I can’t make any promises, either,” she admitted. “So maybe we should just take it one day at a time.”
He nodded, seemingly relieved that she wasn’t angry, and kissed her forehead before stepping onto the landing. She knew she should probably follow him out. She could still take him to the airport in the morning if she stayed at Honey’s. And if she didn’t, Jack would probably realize they’d been together. But she didn’t want to squander any of the time they could spend together, especially if it was so limited. So she tugged on his hand to stop him, and when he turned back, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.