If for Any Reason (Nantucket Love Story #1) - Courtney Walsh Page 0,48

long time.”

“Really? Aren’t most people your age married?”

Emily shifted. Yes. They are. “I don’t think marriage is for me.”

“I thought everyone wanted to get married.”

“Not everyone, I guess.” If she were honest with herself, maybe Emily would’ve had a different answer. But some days being honest was too hard.

“I was the only bridesmaid,” Jolie said. “Because I’m Mom’s favorite person. She wanted me to know that even though she’s got Rick now, it’s still me and her, just like always.”

Emily had glanced at Hollis, who, unfortunately, looked very much like someone she would want to be more than friends with. He was wearing a plain gray T-shirt that looked like it had been worn a thousand times and a pair of navy board shorts. She couldn’t imagine he wore flip-flops very often, but today he pulled it off. Then there were the trademark aviators and baseball cap—not his team, she noticed.

“How often do you see your dad?” Emily asked.

Jolie swiped the photos until another one appeared. “Oh, hardly ever. He’s a baseball star. We used to see him more—well, I did. He never wanted to marry my mom. She says they might’ve been a mistake but I sure wasn’t.”

“No, of course not.” Emily chewed on that for a minute. “So you’ve never lived with your dad?”

“He was always traveling,” Jolie said matter-of-factly. “Then after he had his accident, we never saw him. Mom said he wasn’t himself and that he needed time to get better. I think he even forgot my birthday that first year.”

Emily had read about the accident. In fact, she’d gotten almost obsessive about it. Hollis had been driving when another car ran a stop sign and T-boned him. He’d shattered his hip and the doctors were afraid he might never walk again. Baseball looked like something in the past, but somehow he came back.

That’s when they started calling him “Miracle Man McGuire.” For a while, it seemed like he’d made a full recovery, but could those injuries have been the reason for his retirement? He wasn’t really that old.

Emily glanced at him, and though she couldn’t see his eyes behind the sunglasses, she felt him looking back at her. What was he thinking about his daughter befriending Emily the way she was? Was he worried about what she might say?

Or had fame and fortune turned Hollis into the kind of person who didn’t care?

“If I tell you a secret, do you promise not to tell my dad?” Jolie looked at Emily, her blue eyes intent.

Emily wanted to say, “Of course you can trust me,” but what if Jolie told her something Hollis needed to know?

“I don’t know if I can keep secrets from your dad, JoJo.”

The girl smiled. “You called me JoJo.”

“Should I not?”

“’Course you should. We’re friends.” Jolie’s grin was toothy, and once again Emily was struck by her authenticity. “My secret isn’t bad. It’s just that I don’t think my dad really wanted me in the first place.”

Emily’s heart wrenched, the pain of that feeling all too familiar.

“Oh, kiddo, I don’t think that’s true. You heard Mr. Williams—your dad loves you.”

Jolie shrugged. “I think if you really love someone, you find every way you can to be with them. That’s what Rick told Mom. I heard them talking about it. He wants to adopt me.”

Emily glanced at Hollis. Did he know any of this? “Wow, what do you think about that?”

“My dad’s a great baseball player,” Jolie said. “But he’s not a very good dad. Rick said that too. That’s also the part you can’t tell my dad.”

For the rest of the afternoon, those words echoed so loudly in Emily’s mind she could hardly wrap her head around them. She didn’t know Hollis anymore, but she never would’ve guessed he was the kind of guy to not take care of his family. It was the exact opposite of what had been modeled for him.

He had so many people—“his people,” as Jimmy had said. Didn’t he know how lucky he was?

At the same time, as angry as that made her, didn’t he have the right to know if Jolie’s stepdad wanted to adopt her?

By late afternoon, the sun had worn everyone out, including Jimmy, who had successfully given them the perfect day out on the water.

They’d motored out around the sound, stopped to admire Brant Point lighthouse, grazed on packed lunches and snacks from Bartlett’s Farm, and soaked up every drop of sunlight.

Emily spent most of the day with Jolie, though groups shifted throughout the