"I still can't believe she's so young and yet going to be in the same grade as Samuel. It blew my mind when she told me."

  Silas inhaled and sighed, the sound heavy and deep to his own ears. "The summer program made a special allowance for her age so she could join in. The school hopes it'll help the transition this fall."

  "I can't imagine testing out of a grade, much less multiple grades."

  "Yeah, me either. I'm not sure it's a great idea for her socially to advance, especially since it's a new school for her, but I don't want to hold her back intellectually."

  "I'm just amazed by her. My grades were passable on a good day."

  She winced and shook her head, and Silas wondered at her thoughts. "What?"

  "Nothing."

  "Come on. You can't do that to me after I just fed you the ultimate steak."

  "Mmm. That's true. What is it about eating out here by the water that makes everything taste that much better?"

  She shoved herself upright in her chair and turned toward him, lowering her sunglasses down her nose so he got a good look at her eyes.

  "The face is because I still feel so bad for ruining her first day of the program." She lowered her voice. "None of that would've happened if not for me cutting you off. I am so sorry. I promise I've learned my lesson. Won't happen again and I hope you won't hold it against me as far as whether or not you hire me to watch her."

  Silas read the sincerity in Carolina's expression and nodded. "It's over. And if I've learned nothing else about Luce, it's that she's resilient. Once she calmed down, she was okay."

  Carolina held his gaze a long moment before repositioning the sunglasses. "Good."

  "I mean it. Staying with you yesterday was a huge step for a kid like her."

  "A kid like her? Why do you say it like that?"

  Silas didn't really want to bring down the mood by discussing such heavy details, but if he wound up hiring Carolina, she should probably know how things were with Lucy. "Lucy has a lot of anxiety," he said. "She's had panic attacks and issues ever since her mom left us."

  "Oh."

  Silas tried to judge Carolina's response but had a hard time because of the sunglasses.

  "Um, how long ago was that?"

  "Three years."

  "She was a baby."

  "Five. But, yeah, too young emotionally even though she was always ahead of the curve intellectually. She understood far more of what was happening than she was ready to handle."

  "I remember Ireland—my sister—saying Sammy had nightmares after his dad left. It was really rough on them both, especially since his dad doesn't come around much. Dominic—Ireland's fiancé now—has done wonders for Sammy. Does Lucy's mom spend time with her? Contact her on birthdays? Christmas?"

  Awkward conversations like this one were what made things hard. Finding that balance between how much to share and what to hold back. Baggage was baggage regardless of the weight. "No. In the package she left for us, Tara wrote she thought it would be best if she didn't see either of us."

  "Package?"

  "Yeah. A large envelope that contained divorce and custody papers she'd already signed, and a new book for Luce. We haven't heard from Tara since the day Lucy found her packing her bag."

  Carolina stared in his direction for a long moment and he could only guess at her thoughts. Why had Tara left? Was it him? Something he'd done? What was so bad that a mother would abandon her child? Leave a marriage?

  "I'm— Excuse me."

  Silas watched as Carolina shot out of the chair toward the water and waded into the depths. He felt Jake's stare and look of concern at Carolina's abrupt departure, but he wasn't sure how to respond.

  "Don't just sit there, doofus, go after her. We've got Lucy."

  Silas got up and slowly walked across the sand, taking his time to try to formulate a conversation restarter since he'd screwed the last one up so badly. "Cooling off?"

  "Oh, yeah."

  He was taken aback by her tone, but even more than that, he was shocked when Carolina turned to face him and her chin trembled with emotion. "Whoa. What's wrong?"

  She ducked down in the surf and walked backwards, away from the shore. "What's wrong? How can you not be angry twenty-four seven? It's bad enough she did that to you, but what kind of person does that to their kid? That sweet little girl"—her voice cracked but the wind carried the sound away—"is so precious. It's unthinkable to me that anyone could just pack a bag a-and walk away. Did you know she wanted to leave? Wanted a divorce?"

  "No."

  "Were you happy?"

  "I thought we were. Carolina…" He took hold of her elbow and drew her to him when the waves forced them closer. They were chest deep now and he shifted his hands to her arms and up, over her shoulders to her neck, all the while telling himself to keep his hands off the potential sitter. "I told you so you'd understand if Lucy had a panic attack. It's about more than the moment. She's doing better now, but every now and again, when she's stressed, they still occur."

  "I'm glad you told me. What your ex did to Lucy—to both of you… and what Rich did to my sister and Samuel… People suck."

  She was furious on his behalf. On her sister's behalf. And like it or not, her response drew him to her because when people heard the story, most of them shrugged and said that's just the way life was now, like changing partners equated to changing shampoos. "Carolina, that anger you feel is justified. It's good because it means you're a good person who hopes for the real kind of love."

  "I don't know about that. I mean, what hope? To get my heart broken?"

  "Are you that afraid of risk?"

  "Aren't you?"

  Jake's words about not letting Tara's betrayal keep him from finding someone came to mind. At least he and Carolina were in agreement when it came to this. "Whatever happens, the important thing is to get up again after we get knocked down. Your sister is engaged again, right?"

  "Yeah, but what if Dominic does the same thing as Rich or your ex?"

  "Then she'll get up again. It's not easy but it's what we have to do. Lucy, too."

  "It's just so unfair. How are you so calm about it?"

  He felt Jake and Ann watching their every move, so he gently steered Carolina a little deeper in the water between the shore and the sandbar farther out so that they could float and talk and look like the other couples playing and enjoying a beautiful day instead of discussing something as treacherous as life. "I wasn't. Not in the beginning—until I realized I had the one thing that mattered most and she needed me. Lucy wasn't okay. Her too-smart brain couldn't process what had happened. She was just starting to make progress with her therapist when the hurricane hit last year."

  She was quiet a long time, floating. "I admire you, you know. You and Ireland. That you're still standing after all of that. And reasonably sane."

  "Not too uptight?"

  "Well…"

  He grinned and lunged for her, pulled her back to his chest, and relished the feel of her against him as he braced them for a wave. "All things work for good—"

  She lowered her head down his upper arm to see his face. "That's my mama's favorite verse."

  "You look shocked that I know it."

  "I kinda am."

  He laughed at her honesty. "I'm no choirboy, it's true. Angry doesn't begin to describe how ticked off I was that everything bad kept happening to me. And all those church volunteers cycling through the area to help afterwards? I wanted to tell them where they could shove their benevolent spirit."

  "So what changed?"

  She relaxed in his arms and he began pulling her through the water toward the sandbar, her legs tangling with his every now and again. "Jake was a volunteer and we started talking. He offered me a job and told me to meet him at this house going up on the island. I took one look and I swear it was like the freaking thing mocked me."

  "Mocked you? Why do you say that?"

  They made it to where the sandbar canted up out of the water and half crawled out of the surf to plop down along the edge. He grabbed handfuls of wet sand and began making a dribble castle, as Lucy called them. "Because every beam and board in that house had a scripture written on it. Jake told me it had started with the owners writing on the boards every night after the crew left, to bless the house, but then the owners told the workers they could write their favorite verses too."

  Carolina's lips parted in a smile. "I've heard of that house."

  "A lot of locals have."

  "So what happened?"

  "Well, there I am, staring at all of these verses day in and day out. I'd lost everything. But I realized I had to make a choice. Stay down for the count or get up. Lucy tested out of her grade about the same time Jake found a rental on the island for us. It was a better school, great location. Timing-wise it all worked out like… it was meant to happen that way all along."

  Carolina rolled onto her stomach and propped her chin on her folded arms. "Abandonment, divorce, a hurricane, a flooded house, and a new school. And it was meant to happen?"

  "Why not?"

  "I think the better question is why? I mean, I'm glad you can see it that way. I'm just not sure I'd be able to."

  "Ah, that part is simple. You have to choose what you're going to believe. Is life against you or working out for you? Now that I've had some time to process things, I'm glad Tara left. It's better this way."

  "Better?"

  "I can't complain."

  "Dude, you lost everything."

  "Yeah." He reached out and nudged the sunglasses she'd worn into the water down her nose so he could see her beautiful eyes. "But look where I am now."

  Chapter 12

  "You need some sunscreen."

  "Mmffpt," Carolina replied a half hour after wading back to their spot on the North End. She and Silas had built a dribble castle compound complete with moat and then splashed and played in the water. Now she lazed beneath the sun drying out, sleepy-cozy on a towel atop the soft sand.

  "If you don't do it, I will. Can't have you burning."

  "Mm."

  "Is that an invitation?"

  Was it? Her loose hair and folded arms hid her sleepy grin but she couldn't help herself. She liked this tough yet playful side of Silas. Their sandbar conversation had lowered some barriers and made her believe that maybe—just maybe—there were still some good guys out there.

  She frowned at the thought just as Silas flipped the plastic cap of the sunscreen bottle. Seconds later, Silas's shiver-tastic hands smoothed over her neck and shoulders, and she couldn't stop the moan that emerged, even though it should've been a protest at the familiarity. Shouldn't it?

  "Feel good?"

  Oh, did it ever. Though she questioned the wisdom of giving him the privilege. Silas gently dug his thumbs into the muscles where she notoriously carried tension and took her breath away. She bit back a moan. Even her fingers dug into the sand but nothing could stop the pleasure sounds that escaped.

  Silas's chuckle revealed his orneriness. He knew pressure points and wasn't afraid to manipulate them. And, boy, could he ever.

  "Yo, Silas! We going or what?" Jake called.

  She didn't want Silas to stop, but he needed some guy time and she needed to regain her muddled senses to ponder the surprising shift between them. "Mmm. Your boss is waiting."

  "I'm not on the clock today."

  "Mmm." Oh, that felt so good! "G-go. Have fun. I've got Lucy."

  He eased the pressure with a lingering stroke down the center of her back before lightly swatting her behind. Yeah, not a boss-employee move at all. Was today turning into… more?

  "Don't fall asleep and get burned. I'll be back in a bit to take you out on the water, okay?"

  A nod was all she could muster after the goo-ish puddle he'd turned her into. And despite the urge to curl up and sleep as deeply as the sun-and-swim-tired Lucy did next to her, Carolina shoved herself up onto her elbows and turned to watch Silas don a life jacket as he entered the water near Jake's Jet Skis.

  "Girl, you should see your face. That color's not from the sun."

  Carolina laughed and dipped her head so her hair would hide her red cheeks.

  "He likes you, you know."

  Yeah, well, after the last couple of days, she liked him, too. Oh, Caro, what are you getting yourself into? "He's… a nice guy."

  "I'm glad you see that," Ann said, her gaze shifting to where the guys zipped along the shoreline. "I haven't seen Silas this relaxed since… ever. You're good for him."

  Carolina rolled onto her side. "Well, that comes from the beautiful day."

  "Maybe. Or from the fact he's enjoying himself with you."

  "I am, too. Enjoying myself, that is. Thanks for the invitation."

  "Sure, but… Carolina… go easy with them. Enjoying each other's company is fine, but they've both been through a lot."

  She nodded, unable to do much else. "He told me."

  "Really? Interesting," the woman said.

  "What is?"

  Ann shrugged but smiled. "Silas isn't much of a sharer."

  "Carolina!"

  She turned toward the water and saw Silas waving at her to come join him.

  "There are extra vests in that bag there," Ann said, pointing. "I don't like the water, so you go ahead and have fun. I'll keep watch over Lucy."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Positive. Just remember what I said, okay? If you're not interested… don't let him think you are."

  Seconds later Carolina climbed onto the back of the Jet Ski behind Silas and held tight as he idled out to deeper water before gunning the throttle. She laughed and squealed as they hopped the waves and bounced along the water, zigzagging across the area until Silas lifted his hand in Jake's direction and took off toward Masonboro Island.

  Silas bypassed the popular spots where boats anchored and people lazed about in the sun and kept going, finally slowing the motor and steering them toward an empty spot of sand. The area was devoid of people, and once they got to shallower depths, Silas cut the engine and they anchored the Jet Ski.

  "Look!" She ran for the grass where the island canted upwards and carefully plucked up her treasure. "It's perfect! And no critter inside."

  "Let me see."

  She turned and found Silas right behind her, his words tickling her ear as he settled his forearm on one shoulder and grasped the hand holding the conch shell with the other. He shoved his sunglasses up his head and flipped the shell over to check the underside, examining it thoroughly.

  "Looks like a great find."

  "Thanks to you. I love coming out here but rarely get the chance."

  "I thought you might like it. I heard you tell Luce you loved to shell hunt."

  She tilted her head back and smiled up at him. She caught her breath, recognizing the look Silas wore. She might not have a lot of experience with men, but she knew when one wanted to kiss her. A thrill shot through her and she waited and, yeah, even secretly hoped. A second passed, two, and Silas lowered his head and brushed her lips with his. Sweet, gentle. Easygoing. He tasted her as though he had all the time in the world before gently turning her and pulling her closer to him.

  The life jacket she wore made skin-to-skin contact impossible, but he deepened the kiss and she wrapped her arms around his neck, spread her fingers through his short hair, and shivered at the prickling sensation of it sliding over her skin.

  Just when the world teetered and she didn't think she would ever breathe normally again, Silas lifted his head and ended the toe-curling kiss. Only then did she hear the catcalls and whistles hailing from a passing boat.

  "We should go back."

  "Five minutes." She smiled up at him and stripped off her life vest, revealing the red bikini beneath. "Best shell gets to drive us back?"

  Silas's gaze swept over her and after a moment, he nodded.

  "You're on."

  Chapter 13

  Silas lifted his hand and waved at Lucy as Carolina drove by on the brightly lit golf cart that night. The fireworks were about to start, and after several hours of driving back and forth with Lucy strapped into the passenger seat, Carolina's party wares could be seen blinking up and down the boardwalk.

  He finished off the bottle of water he carried after a day of sweating in the heat and tossed it into the recycle bin, waiting for his girls to finish their final loop before parking. He might have known her all of a week, but Carolina had officially gotten under his skin. Now he wasn't sure how to proceed seeing as how dating his childcare worker could only end in disaster when—if—things went south.

  But the smiles, the glances, their heavy conversation about his ex and Carolina's reaction to it, the way she played with Lucy… At some point he'd crossed the bridge of curiosity in regard to her energetic, free-spirited zaniness to something more. Lucy getting close to Carolina as a babysitter was one thing, but how wise was it to let Lucy get close if he wanted to date her? He straddled a fence and wasn't sure which side to land on.

  He'd conceded the best shell win to Carolina but only because riding behind her on the Jet Ski meant he got to hold on to her curvy hips and small waist as she drove the Jet Ski as wildly as she drove her little Bug. Carolina exuded all that was fun, intriguing, and beautiful with a mix of southern charm and wit he found irresistible.

  "The po-po are eyeing you because of how you keep staring at them."

  "Wh—" Silas turned to find Jake grinning at him, and Officer Bobby Binet at Jake's side. "Oh, hey, Bobby. Didn't see you walk up."

  "So I noticed. Do I need to be concerned Carolina's stalker fears are true?" Bobby asked, struggling to maintain his serious expression.

  "Nah," Jake said. "Spotted them kissing earlier so I think they've come to terms. Right, Silas?"

  Silas ignored Jake's sly grin and took the ribbing in stride. "Don't you two have better things to do than give me a hard time?"

  Jake and Bobby looked at each other before shrugging and shaking their heads. "Nope," they said in unison.

  They made small talk and waited until Carolina and Lucy pulled the cart up to the pier house and out of the way minutes before the fireworks began.

 

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