“You know I can’t forget it,” she said.
He faced her then, and he wished he hadn’t. He wanted to kiss her. He remembered the way her kisses made him feel—invincible.
Was she remembering too?
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” she said.
He glanced down at her hand on his arm, and she quickly pulled it away. He instantly noticed the absence of her soft skin on his. He wrestled with the desire to take her in his arms right there and show her just how much he’d missed her.
“Cody?” Her eyes pleaded with him. Who was he kidding? He never could say no to Louisa.
“I don’t even know, Lou.” He paused. “Maybe it’s nothing, but your mom called him Danny. She was the only person I ever heard call him that.”
“I’m sure other people called him Danny. It’s not an uncommon nickname.”
“But not often, not like your mom.”
She looked away.
Cody shifted. “I know it’s a long shot, but could your mom have left this note?”
“Even if she did, does that mean they were sleeping together?”
Of course not. Why would he jump to that conclusion? It was a pretty big leap. “There’s something else.”
Her brow furrowed. He tried to ignore how cute that made her look.
“After my dad died, we found out he’d basically drained his savings account. He had some money tied up in investments, but not enough to live on. Not enough to keep Seaside. It was so shortsighted for someone so smart.”
Louisa didn’t respond, but he could practically see her trying to make sense of it.
He went on. “And I discovered this week that the amounts he withdrew were strange. Why would someone take out three different large sums of money in odd amounts? Why $52,675 and not $53,000? Why $25,382 and not $25,000?” He’d memorized the sums. Sometimes he’d think of the numbers out of the blue, repeating them over and over as if doing so would force them to make sense.
Again, Louisa frowned. “That doesn’t sound like him.”
No, it didn’t. Daniel Boggs was nothing if not perpetually prepared. He was a planner. He was a thinker. He was smart and responsible. Leaving his family with so little was the most out-of-character thing he could’ve done. Which was likely why his mother had gotten so angry, so bitter over the whole thing. She’d clearly created a scenario as to what had happened to that money.
Had that story involved JoEllen Chambers? Was that really why their families had fallen out?
“There must’ve been a reason,” Louisa said. “Did your mom ever say anything?”
“No. If she knew anything, she didn’t tell us. But she was angry about something.”
Louisa found his eyes. “She thought he was cheating?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, but she didn’t even want to pack up his office. She wanted to leave him in the past. And you know how much she loved my dad.”
Louisa’s face fell. “She didn’t pack up his office?”
“No. That box I brought over the other day was all I was able to save.”
“I’m sorry, Cody,” Louisa said, “that things turned upside down for you.”
He swatted the apology away as if it didn’t matter. “It’s fine. I joined the Coast Guard. I was a good swimmer, and I—” He stopped short of saying he wanted to save lives. He wouldn’t tell Louisa that he’d joined so he could prevent the ocean from beating him ever again. And he definitely wouldn’t tell her the academy wasn’t his first choice. “I sent all the money I made back to my mom. It wasn’t much, but it helped. She got a job. Marley got a job. We made it work.”
“But I’m sure it was different than you were used to.”
He let himself look at her for a split second, then realized she’d done it. She’d found a way in. Somehow she’d gotten him to open up about the one topic he’d had no intention of discussing. “I need to go.”
“Maybe I can help?”
He stopped, hand on the door handle of his Jeep. “You can’t.”
“I can talk to my mom. I’ll know if she’s lying. She’s never been very good at that.”
“Just drop it, Lou,” he said. “You don’t need to deal with this.”
But he could tell by the look on her face that asking her to drop anything was an exercise in futility.
“Just let it go,” he said.
She shrugged.
“Louisa.” His tone sounded stern, like a warning, but Louisa wasn’t afraid of him.
She turned and started for Maggie’s house. “I’ll let you know if I find anything out.” She gave him a quick wave and went back inside.
Cody couldn’t help but feel a twinge of relief that for the first time in a long time at least he wasn’t alone.
Today 9:35 PM
Louisa: When is our first sailing lesson?
Cody: I thought you traded me?
Louisa: I tried. The fundraiser has a no-return, no-exchange policy. All sales are final.
Cody: Who made up that rule?
Louisa: Well . . .
Cody: Bet you’re wishing you weren’t such a stickler right about now, eh?
Louisa: Tomorrow?
Cody: I’ll meet you at the marina at dawn.
Louisa: What time is dawn?
Cody: Look it up, sailor. You’re in my world now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
LOUISA HADN’T SLEPT WELL. The nightmare was back, and this time Cody pulled her from the water and then threw her back in. She awoke sweaty and gasping for air.
If this continued, she really might have to get professional help.
The regatta was less than two weeks away, and now, because of her impulsiveness, she not only had to plan all the details; she also had to train for the race. She knew she wouldn’t be much of a partner, but she didn’t want to embarrass herself.
She’d done that enough already for one summer.
She arrived at the marina at exactly 5:07 a.m., just in time for a truly spectacular sunrise. As she trudged up the dock toward the water, she spotted Cody in a small sailboat, borrowed from a client of Louisa’s. He noticed her and waved.
At least that was something.
The knowledge that their birthday was quickly approaching bounced around in her mind, as if there were a clock ticking and the alarm would go off on that exact day. For so many years she’d built up their pact, and only now did she realize it was because a part of her hoped—even with so many years of silence between them—that on their birthday he’d keep the promise they made.
It was a foolish hope; even she knew that. But without it, she had to admit defeat, and now—especially now that she’d seen him again—she wasn’t ready to do that.
“Morning,” she said.
She wouldn’t tell him how she’d stopped by her parents’ cottage last night, full of rage. She wouldn’t tell him they weren’t there, but she’d left three messages and two texts for her mother to call her back. And she especially wouldn’t tell him that so far, in spite of the emergent tone of said messages, she’d received nothing but silence from JoEllen Chambers. Because then he would know exactly where she stood with her own mother—somewhere in the far-off distance. And that was a tiny bit too personal for 5 a.m.