"I lived far away from here for a long time. I was gone nine years before I came back. I was in Portland, Los Angeles, and San Diego. But when my dad retired, he urged me to come home. I had no intention of taking his old job, but the island worked its magic, and here I am."
"Enforcing the law instead of breaking it. How ironic. You rebelled so hard against your dad."
"I did. But it turns out he always wanted what was best for me. I finally realized he was trying to protect me, not just ruin my fun. I grew up."
He had grown up, and he was even more attractive than I remembered with his sandy-brown hair and boy-next-door looks. He'd always had a warm, friendly, persuasive smile. He'd talked me and Melanie into doing a lot of things we shouldn't have done, just because he always made everything sound fun. Not that we'd ever done anything that bad, but we'd certainly broken a few laws back in the day. Luckily, Ben had always known how to avoid trouble.
"So, what are you up to these days, Willow?" Ben asked.
"I sell real estate in San Francisco."
"You don't do photography?"
"No. It wasn't something I wanted to do after Melanie vanished."
He nodded, a somber expression entering his gaze. "I get that. We all grow out of things. And you shouldn't do anything you don't want to do. If real estate is your new passion, that's cool."
"I don't think I have a passion anymore. I just have a job. Is the law your passion?"
"It is," he said with a laugh. "Hard to believe, I know."
"It's unexpected. What do you like about being the sheriff?"
He thought for a moment. "I enjoy taking care of the people on this island the way my dad did for over thirty years. I like having the power to make a difference in someone's life."
"That must feel good. I have little power over my life."
"You always have power. Even if it's just the power to not take control."
"When did you get to be so philosophical?" I asked with a smile.
"Probably about ten years ago."
I met his gaze, feeling the old connection between us grow stronger. "It was hard for me to come back here."
"I know. You loved Melanie so much."
"I really did. But I let her down. I left her on her own that night. That might have been the reason she—"
"You don't know that. I've looked at Melanie's file. No one saw her after four o'clock that day. You weren't supposed to meet her until eight. We have no idea where she was or what time she disappeared. Her mom didn't notify the sheriff until the next morning when she realized Melanie hadn't come home the night before."
"I just don't see how anyone could have taken her from the bonfire or a crowded location. It had to have happened when she went to meet me at Five Falls, but I never got there, because I was drinking." I paused. "With you."
"I shouldn't have let you get that drunk." A regretful look entered his eyes.
"You didn't force it down my throat. You just invited me to a party, and I wanted to be there." Ben probably thought I'd wanted to party with him, but I'd really gone because I knew Drake was going to be there.
"You weren't used to doing shots. I should have looked out for you. But I wasn't very good at even looking out for myself. I made some poor decisions."
"Me, too."
"It's another reason I wanted to go into law enforcement," he added. "I wanted to save some other stupid kids from doing stupid things."
"How's that going?"
He gave me a small smile. "Not particularly well. Now, I know what my dad was up against. Off season is a hell of a lot easier than summer. The more tourists, the more trouble."
"Speaking of trouble, I think Drake is going to ruin Kelsey's wedding. He still believes one of us knows something. Now that we're all back in the same place, he thinks he's going to get someone to talk. How he intends to do that worries me."
"I know Drake is still searching for the truth, but he always liked Kelsey. He wouldn't want to hurt her."
"I'm not sure he cares if she's collateral damage. Can you talk to him, Ben? You've known him a long time. Can you tell him to leave it alone? Or maybe arrest him until after the wedding?"
He smiled. "I can't arrest him, but I can talk to him. Drake is a good guy, Willow. He might try to grill you and your friends, but it won't go beyond that."
"I hope not." I paused as a motorcycle roared down the street, then parked in the loading zone in front of me. A guy got off, pulling off his helmet and shaking out his long blond hair. As he hit the sidewalk and came under the streetlight, he paused, and then a sheepish expression ran across Dillon Petrie's face.
"Uh-oh," he said. "I didn't see you there, Ben."
"Dammit, Dillon, how many tickets do you want this week? I already pulled you over for speeding," Ben said. "You know you can't park there."
"I'm going to be one second. I'm just grabbing something from the liquor store. I'll be in and out, and there's no other parking."
"Move the bike."
"Come on, dude. We've been friends forever."
"And we're still friends, but I'm on duty."
"Fine. I'll move it." Dillon's gaze moved to me, and then a startled gleam entered his eyes. "Wait, a second. I know you." He snapped his fingers. "Willow Kent. Wow, you look awesome."
I smiled. "Thanks. How are you, Dillon?"
"I was doing better until I ran into this guy," Dillon drawled. "Can you believe he turned on us and became a cop?"
"It surprised me."
"And you're stalling, Dillon," Ben interrupted.
"Just hold on one second. Is your sister really going to marry Gage Chadwick? What is Kelsey thinking?"
"That she loves him."
Dillon shook his head in bemusement. "She could do so much better."
"Gage is a very successful man," I said.
"Gage might be successful, but he's always been a prick," Dillon said. "Tell her Ben."
"I don't know Gage anymore. Neither do you." Ben's words were guarded. "He could be a different person now."
"Guys like Gage don't change."
"Some people change," Ben argued. "Maybe not you, but other people do. You need to move your bike, Dillon."
"Fine, I'll move it. I'm really missing your old man. He wasn't such a hard-ass with little things." Dillon put on his helmet and headed back to his motorcycle. A moment later, he roared away.
"So, Dillon is still breaking the rules," I said.
Ben's expression was tense. "Yes. And everyone I grew up with seems to think they get a pass on unacceptable behavior."
"They're probably testing you."
"They're definitely testing me."
"What does Dillon do now?"
"An assortment of jobs. He still works for Party Planet, setting up events. He also works for his uncle, delivering fresh fish to the local restaurants. He plays guitar, gets high, goes surfing, gets high, same as always…"