Is It Any Wonder (Nantucket Love Story #2) - Courtney Walsh Page 0,71

your fault.”

But she didn’t know. She didn’t know that his father’s words had nearly kept him out of the water, but he’d made a purposefully rebellious decision, one he would change a thousand times over if he could.

He stood. “I should go.”

“No.” She stood and faced him. For a few long beats, neither of them spoke. It was as if, in that space of time, there were no words—not a single thought forming in his mind.

The past drifted away, and all that was left was Louisa. Her soft skin. Her red hair. Her barely noticeable freckles that would surely pop once she got more sun.

The air sizzled between them, and the only thing he could think of was her lips, full and pink, and the way they might taste.

“It wasn’t your fault,” she whispered again. “And I know your dad would do the same thing again if given the choice.”

He didn’t want to think about that right now. He’d been trying not to think about it for days.

“I have to go.” He didn’t like the way she made him feel, unsteady on his own two feet. Like he could fall at any moment, like she might even be there to catch him. He didn’t wait for her to respond. He walked around her toward the door, aware that she followed close behind.

Of course she did. This was Louisa. They’d almost shared a moment—she was going to see it through.

“Do you really think my mom and your dad were having an affair?” she said to his back.

“Forget it, Lou. Pretend you never heard me say that.” He’d almost reached his Jeep when she grabbed his arm. He forced himself not to think about how it felt to be touched. In recent years, he’d rarely allowed that from anyone other than the people he was rescuing. When they clung to him, it was out of sheer terror. What would it feel like to have someone cling to him simply because they wanted him?

“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