Eve climbed in after a few minutes and turned to smile at them briefly. “Ready?”
“Ready,” Zoey told her.
Bubba nodded.
He wasn’t a nervous flier, and he’d been in more than his fair share of helicopters, jumbo jets, and even small, private planes like this one. So he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. If he could sleep for the few hours it would take to get them to Juneau, he’d arrive in a much better frame of mind. Which was important, since he had a feeling it would take all his patience to deal with the lawyer, his brother, his dad’s business partner, and the countless other people who would want to know everything he’d been doing for the last thirteen years.
He wasn’t even there yet, and Bubba was already feeling claustrophobic and wanting to leave. As much as he regretted not making the effort to see his pop before he’d died, he didn’t regret not spending more time than necessary in the stifling town where he grew up.
Seconds after he felt the plane’s wheels leave the tarmac, Bubba was out. Sleeping the sleep of the exhausted.
Chapter Two
Zoey couldn’t rest. She glanced over at Mark and saw that he was fast asleep, and quickly turned her attention back to the window next to her. She didn’t even see the beautiful landscape. She’d seen it her whole life. Instead, she was lost in the memories in her head.
God, Mark Wright hadn’t changed at all since she’d last seen him thirteen years ago.
Okay, that was a lie. He’d changed all right. For the better. He was still tall, around six feet, just like his twin. But even though they were identical, she could easily tell them apart. For one, Malcom was a bully, and there was something in his eyes that screamed “asshole.”
Mark’s eyes were full of secrets and pain, but there wasn’t an ounce of jerk there that she could see. Yeah, he’d said some rather insensitive things back at the airport, but he’d apologized for them almost immediately. She couldn’t remember a time when Malcom had ever said he was sorry for anything he’d done.
Then again, she hadn’t exactly been Miss Congeniality in the airport either. She felt bad about that. Being a bully wasn’t who she was. She’d apologized, but she still felt bad about it. Maybe she’d immediately acted bitchy because she was used to having to harden herself to deal with Malcom. But Mark wasn’t like his brother, she knew that from the first apology that had left his lips. And that wasn’t the only difference between the brothers.
Mark was a lot more muscular, and his shoulders were broader than Malcom’s.
Sighing, Zoey rested her forehead on the cool window. The only reason she’d agreed to go out with Malcom all those years ago, when she’d been young and dumb, was because she’d had a crush on Mark. She’d thought that maybe since they looked alike, going out with Malcom would be just as good. She’d been very wrong.
Shuddering when she thought about the night she’d dumped him, Zoey wanted to kick herself all over again. Malcom wasn’t anything like Mark. He’d taken her out to eat at a fast food place then driven her up to Lena Beach to hang out and talk. But of course, once there, all he’d wanted to do was get his hands up her shirt. When she’d pushed him away, telling him she wasn’t ready and didn’t want to have sex with him, he got angry. Called her a prude and a tease. He’d actually kicked her out of the car and left her there. She’d had to call her mom to come get her, which was embarrassing and humiliating.
Of course, at school the next week, she’d heard the rumors Malcom had spread about how he’d fucked her and what a terrible lay she’d been. She didn’t care about the rumors, except for the fact that Mark would have heard and possibly believed them.
At the time, she’d wondered how in the world she could still have a crush on someone who looked exactly like the asshole who’d humiliated her and left her stranded.
Luckily for her, Mark had always hated gossip. Everyone knew that. And while it didn’t stop the whispering about her, sixteen-year-old Zoey had been relieved at least her crush probably didn’t assume she was a shitty lay.
At that point, she hadn’t known if she was good or bad at sex, as she’d never had it before. She’d been saving herself. But once Mark left town to join the navy, she realized her chance with him was gone. He wasn’t coming back. She knew that as well as everyone. The only thing that made her feel better was that she hadn’t given her virginity to Malcom as some sort of consolation prize.
When she’d seen Mark in the airport, she’d been shocked, although she shouldn’t have been. Of course he was coming home for his dad’s funeral. Colin Wright was as good a man as Mark was. He’d constantly talked about how proud he was of his Navy SEAL son to anyone who’d listen, and most of the time, that had been Zoey. She’d kept Colin company, as well as keeping his house clean and tidy. She was his confidant and friend.
Thinking about Colin and the heart attack that seemed to come out of nowhere—after they’d both thought he was finally on the way back to being healthy after an extended illness—depressed Zoey all over again.
She didn’t have the most exciting or prosperous life, but she’d been satisfied. She’d gotten her associates degree in business from the local community college. She worked part-time in one of the tourist shops near the cruise ship docks, but that was only in the summers. Her work for Colin made her happy, and had given her plenty to do through the winter months.
But now that Colin had passed away, she’d have to make some tough decisions. Honestly, the main reasons she still lived in Juneau was because of him. She’d liked him enough to not pack up and head to Anchorage when he’d asked her to stay. He’d seemed lonely and sometimes depressed, and Zoey couldn’t bring herself to leave.
She had no idea what he’d bequeathed her in his will, but she assumed he’d left just about everything to his sons. Which meant Malcom would probably kick her ass out of the house before the week was out.
After they’d dated, Malcom had never liked her. Even though he’d been way out of line, trying to force himself on her, he’d somehow twisted everything to make it seem as if she was the one who’d done him wrong. He only tolerated her being around because his father liked her.
She could move to Anchorage to be closer to her mom, but that didn’t really appeal either. Zoey really wanted to see more of the world.
There had been a time when she’d wanted nothing more than to get married, have babies, and stay in Juneau forever. Her mom had itchy feet—always had, always will—and she hadn’t stayed anywhere for long during the first fifteen years of her daughter’s life. So Zoey had made a conscious choice to stay in the place where she’d graduated from high school, craving the stability.
But after years of hearing about Mark’s adventures in the navy from Colin, she’d slowly but surely started feeling as if she were missing out.
She’d never been to the beach—a warm beach, that was. Had never been to Disney World. Never seen the Grand Canyon. So many things people took for granted, she’d never even thought about doing.
Until now.
In many ways, Colin’s death had freed her. Yeah, her money situation wasn’t ideal, but maybe she could find a job in Anchorage and save up enough money by living with her mom briefly, then moving to the lower forty-eight.