“Are you kidding? She deserves to feel hurt. She did this to us.”
“Stop shouting,” his father said, still calm.
Cody spun around. “I need to get out of here.”
“Where are you going?” His dad followed him into the hallway.
“For a walk.”
“The winds are strong tonight,” Dad called down the stairs. “Stay out of the water.”
Now Cody blinked back tears as he tossed aside a stack of printed emails and pages of documents with numbers on them. It would take some time to sort through everything, but he’d give it a shot. He didn’t have anything better to do.
Three hours later, after combing through many pieces of paper that made very little sense, he found a bank statement dated three weeks before his father died. It looked like all the other bank statements he’d already sifted through, but this one showed something out of the ordinary—three large cash withdrawals from his parents’ joint savings account, all within a few days. Oddly, these withdrawals were for uneven amounts. Instead of $50,000, he’d withdrawn $52,675. Instead of an even $25,000, Daniel had taken out $25,382.
His father was used to dealing in large sums of money, but it was strange, Cody realized, that he’d made the withdrawals from the personal account, leaving it nearly empty. Worse, there was no paper trail to indicate where the money went. Only withdrawals for cash.
Cody picked up the card he’d found affixed to the cross and turned it over in his hand.
Miss you, Danny. IOU.
Was JoEllen Chambers somehow connected to these cash withdrawals? Was she the one who’d left this note? Warren was on the island, which meant his wife likely was too. And this crisp white card looked brand-new.
He set the card down next to the bank statement and wondered if opening up that box was another mistake. Because if what he was thinking had even a shred of truth to it, this secret wouldn’t only devastate his mom; it would devastate Louisa.
No matter how angry he’d once been with her, he never, ever wanted to hurt her.
Letter in Louisa’s mailbox the morning after the dinner of disaster:
Louisa,
The master chief informed me of your hourly rate. Enclosed is a check to cover the cost of last night’s meeting. I apologize for wasting your time. In giving it more thought, I’ve decided some things are better left buried in the past.
Cody
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CODY STOOD ON THE DECK OF THE LARGE CUTTER, overseeing the maintenance of the ship. Most of the guys understood that maintaining their equipment was part of the job, and as such, these kinds of workdays could draw the crew closer together.
So far, the only one complaining was Seaman Aaron Jessup.
This guy might be the perfect person to take his frustration out on. After yesterday, Cody needed to blow off some steam.
He was just about to make a strong point to the seaman when someone called his name from behind. He turned around and saw a young seaman recruit named Carlos standing on the dock with a gorgeous redhead who looked seriously out of place.
“Someone here to see you, sir,” Carlos called out.
The other guys whistled, and Cody ignored them. “Take a break.”
“I got a feeling our break isn’t gonna be as good as your break,” one of the guys hollered.
Cody shot the guy a look that shut him right up, then met Louisa on the dock, dismissed Carlos, and did his best not to meet her eyes. She saw straight through him, and right now, he wanted to keep his thoughts to himself.
He especially didn’t want her to know that he’d had a dream about her last night. He’d pulled her from the water, and the moment she recognized him, she wound her arms around his neck and he’d kissed her without a single moment’s hesitation. The kiss had been enough to wake him—breathless and disappointed when he realized it wasn’t real.
Those weren’t feelings he could allow.
He made a point of looking over her head.
“Sorry to bug you at work.” She leaned around him and waved to the guys, who were undoubtedly staring at them.
“Do you need something?” It was painful to be so short with her, but it had to be this way. He couldn’t risk letting her in.
“I came to clear the air.”
He raised a brow. He’d forgotten this about her. She had this overwhelming need to say every thought that popped into her head, regardless of the consequences.
It was seriously cute.
She shifted. She might pride herself on speaking her mind, but it made her nervous. Funny she hadn’t outgrown that. “You saved my life, and you might wish you could take it back, but there it is, you’re a hero. And I did something really awful to you a lot of years ago, and I wish I could take it back, but there it is, I’m a jerkshovel.”
“A what?”
“A jerkshovel. It’s like a really big jerk.”
“It’s nice to know you’re still making up words.”
“I can’t stand how weird things are between us,” she blurted. “I know we aren’t friends anymore, and that’s my fault. I know that on July 30, you’re not going to be standing at Brant Point lighthouse or sharing your golden birthday wish list with me. I know you blame me for your father’s death. And I’ll never be able to explain how much I regret that night. I was young and immature, and Nate was older and he paid a lot of attention to me, and he said you and I weren’t a good match because I was more mature than you, and I think I let him get in my head. Then I got swept up in—”
“Louisa—” He cut her off. It all sounded so juvenile now, but the consequences had been disastrous.
“I’m really, really sorry, Cody. Tell me what to do to make it up to you.”
He kept his gaze steadily above her head. He could feel her words drawing him in—winding themselves around his core. It had been a long time since he’d let anyone get close to him. Actually she’d been the last person he’d let get close to him, and it hadn’t worked out so well. He’d be smart to remember that.
He straightened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t pretend,” she said. “You’ve been awkward and standoffish with me since you got back.”
“I’m fine, Louisa.”
“Then why did you leave that note in my mailbox? Why did you give me this?” She reached into her bag and took out the check he’d written her.
What was he supposed to say—that he’d left it because he didn’t want to owe her anything? He didn’t want to owe anyone anything.
She shoved the check into his chest. “I told you I didn’t want your money.”
He took the check and looked away, just in time to meet the eyes of the men on the boat, none of whom were minding their own business. They all hurried back to work.
“I told you I wasn’t trying to help you as part of my job,” she said. “I want to be your friend again.”
He looked at her then. “I don’t really have friends.”
Her shoulders slumped so slightly he almost didn’t catch it. She searched his face, getting too close to the places he kept hidden, the places he didn’t want her to see.