His father knelt down in front of him. “We’ve loved staying with Louisa and her family, kiddo, but we wanted a place that was all our own.”
His eyes traveled left toward the small cottage on North Road. “So this is ours?”
Dad nodded. “All ours.”
“I have my own room?”
“Yep.”
“Cool!”
Dad laughed. “Cool!”
Seaside quickly became their safe haven. For several years, it was the place they’d escape to not just for summers but whenever Dad needed a break from work or when their family needed to “recalibrate,” as Mom said. The little cottage got a lot of good use in those days.
But then everything changed. Everything good turned to dust right there in that cottage on North Road.
And now his master chief wanted him to go back to that exact place and check in with the woman responsible for all of it.
CHAPTER SIX
MAGGIE LEFT FOR THE STOP & SHOP AROUND TWO to pick up everything she would need to make dinner for them that night. Louisa had insisted that Alyssa go along, mostly because she needed a solid thirty minutes without someone fussing over her.
And to collect her thoughts after her near-death experience.
“The doctor said I was lucky,” she’d said absently, only half-realizing Maggie was listening.
The old woman scoffed as she gathered up her shopping bags. “You tell that doctor luck had nothing to do with it. We don’t believe in luck any more than we believe in pots of gold at the end of Nantucket rainbows.”
“I believe in pots of gold,” Ally quipped, but Maggie only stared at Louisa.
Lou got the point, and she couldn’t argue. It sure did seem like God had heard her prayer for a miracle and answered. In a very masculine way.
Had she even said thank you? She’d gotten out of the habit of praying. She was too busy working to make sure God was proud of her. She’d made so many mistakes—she figured she still had a few years of work left before she and God could have a proper conversation.
Now, lying on the couch under a worn-out old quilt she’d picked up at a yard sale during one of her trips to the Cape, Louisa closed her eyes and let her mind wander.
What if she hadn’t prayed? Would God still have sent Cody? Why Cody? Did that mean something? What if Cody hadn’t spotted her out there? Surely she wouldn’t have lasted much longer. What if she’d drowned? How long would it have taken someone to realize she was gone? What if . . . ?
A knock on the door shut off her unproductive line of thinking, though one last question popped into her head as she slipped her legs out from under the quilt and stood.
What if I never recover from this?
She knew she’d almost died. She wouldn’t take that lightly. But it made her wonder why God had chosen to send her a hero when so many other people likely prayed that same prayer and he stayed silent.
People like Daniel Boggs.
She expected the door to open any second and for Maggie or Alyssa to walk back in, but whoever had knocked wasn’t making a move for the doorknob.
She reached the door and opened it, unable to stop the gasp that escaped when she saw Cody Boggs standing on her porch wearing navy-blue pants, a short-sleeved blue button-down, and a hat that cast a shadow over his beautiful face.
He took the hat off and tucked it under his arm, then trained his gaze on her. “Should you be answering the door?”
“Should you be knocking on it?”
“I thought maybe someone else would be here.”
She leaned against the door, partly because her knees had gone weak, and gazed up at him. She easily remembered the first time he’d kissed her. All she could think was I’d do a better job kissing back now that I’m older.
“Nope. Just me.” She couldn’t be sure, but she thought he might’ve glanced down at her left hand. Did she dare hope he cared whether or not she was still single?
Eric’s face popped into her mind. He’d been handsome in a pretty, preppy way. She hoped Cody never found out about Eric. She’d been such a fool. He’d think so much less of her if he knew how she’d changed herself to become the woman she thought Eric wanted her to be.
“Did you want to come in?” she asked.
He shifted, an uncomfortable expression behind his eyes, and only then did she remember where they were standing.
“Oh, wow, Cody, I’m sorry—”
He held up a hand. “I’ll come in for a minute.”
Her house on North Road—her sweet, adorable, charming cottage—had once belonged to Daniel and Marissa. She hadn’t forgotten, of course—it was why she’d bought the place. That was why she’d named it Seaside again and had a new quarter board made so everyone else knew it too. It just hadn’t occurred to her in that moment, given her weak knees and shortness of breath.
As stifling and difficult as her memories of this morning were, she’d relive them a thousand times over if it meant Cody could go without reliving the memory of the night his dad drowned.
Should she tell him so?
He’d stepped into the entryway, and she closed the door behind him. Now what? Did she give him the tour? Did she tell him she’d made his old room hers and turned the master into a guest room—because I like sleeping in the same place you used to sleep and because I couldn’t bear to take your parents’ bedroom?
“Do you want something to drink?” she asked.
“I want you to lie down.” He motioned toward the couch.
“I really am fine.”
“Yeah, I know, but your body went through a trauma. When all that adrenaline gets out of your system, you’re going to crash. Someone needs to be here with you. You said Maggie was going to look after you.”
“She is,” Louisa said.
“Where is she?” Their eyes met for a split second, and he squeezed the cap a little tighter. She could tell because his knuckles turned white. In a flash, she wanted to know everything he was thinking, even though she was certain it would sting a little.
Unless he was thinking, Oh, Louisa, you really are the love of my life. Let’s put the past behind us and start again. That certainly would not sting.
Odds of that? Slim to zero. No, never mind. She didn’t want to know what he was thinking.
The memory of water holding her under like a bully at a child’s pool party invaded her mind, and she forced herself to take a deep breath.
You’re safe now.
She looked at Cody. She was safe because of him. An inexplicable knot formed at the back of her throat, and she turned away as her eyes clouded over. She would not cry in front of him. Not today. Not ever again.
She sat down and closed her eyes, willing away the tears, and when she opened them, he was standing beside the couch, holding the old quilt.
She felt the skin of her forehead crease in confusion as he gently laid the blanket over her lap, then sat across from her. His kindness stunned her. Shamed her. She didn’t deserve it. Yet it sent a tingle through her body like a shock wave.
“What are you doing here?” The words came out as an accusation, which was not her intent. “I mean, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
He cleared his throat. Probably biting back an angry retort. “I didn’t expect to see you here either.”