me, but you did—and I have no intention of losing.”
Her face fell. “Cody, I don’t think I can—”
“Louisa. Enough excuses. You can let this thing control you or you can take control of it. This is a mental battle.”
“Well, I’m losing,” she said.
“And I’m here to help. Go change.”
Finally she relented. She left him standing in her office feeling out of place. This room used to be a cozy little family room where he and his parents and sister, along with Louisa and her parents, would spend their evenings playing board games or, if he was really lucky, video games. Their television had been hooked up to a DVD player and a gaming system but only got local channels with an antenna.
Maybe that’s why he still preferred books to TV and quiet to noise. His parents had loved their simple life, so he supposed it made sense that he, too, would grow to love a simple life.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he took it out to reveal a text from his mom.
Call me when you have a minute.
He didn’t talk to his mom often, but he knew without asking that she wouldn’t love that he was spending time with Louisa. Why did he feel like he was betraying her simply by being here?
He shoved the phone into his pocket without responding and looked up in time to see Louisa walk back into the room.
She wore a pair of shorts and a tank top over her swimsuit, and she carried a towel. “Is this appropriate attire for whatever you have in mind?”
He forced himself not to smile at her, though he really, really wanted to. He wanted to pull the elastic out of her hair and let those long red waves fall down around her shoulders and then bury his face in them. Instead, he just nodded and pushed open the door, thankful for the fresh air that served as a dose of reality.
She jogged to catch up to him. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
“What if I refuse to get into your Jeep until I know where you’re taking me?” She stopped and planted her feet. She really could be maddening when she wanted to be.
He faced her. “Then I guess you’ll miss out.” He was starting to learn when to call her bluff. Obviously a good choice because seconds later she was jogging to catch up to him again. He opened the passenger door and motioned for her to get in.
“I can open my own door, you know.” She hopped up onto the seat.
“Right, but you know that’s not how I was brought up.”
Her eyes softened. “I know.”
He started the engine. “Ready?”
“I’d be more ready if you told me where we were going.”
He pulled out onto the road. “Where’s the fun in that?”
She looked out the window. “I didn’t realize we were having fun.”
He glanced down and noticed her hand on her lap, and he pushed away the desire to reach over and pick it up. She wore rings on three of her four fingers. Only her ring finger was naked.
He’d given her a ring once, a plain silver band. He didn’t have money for anything else, but he told her it was a promise ring. He promised he’d love her forever. And he would have too.
He’d dated other women, but his lifestyle didn’t lend itself to a long-term relationship. He liked to keep things simple and uncomplicated. That way nobody got hurt.
That’s what he should be thinking about right now, not the way the sun highlighted her skin or the way she was beautiful without trying.
Louisa had this quiet confidence he didn’t see in most of the women he met. Maybe that’s why he wanted to help her overcome this new fear of the water—because she seemed unafraid of everything, and he wanted her to stay that way.
He envied her that.
He drove down Polpis Road, drinking in the serene scene in front of them. He couldn’t be sure, but as they passed underneath the trees that led into Quidnet, he might’ve heard her exhale for the first time since he arrived at her house.
Her body had gone from rigid to relaxed, and it occurred to him he was still waiting for that to happen to him. He’d been a ball of nerves from the second he arrived back on the island.
“I know where we’re going,” she said.
“Sesachacha Pond.” He kept his eyes on the road.
Was she thinking about the time they rode their bikes out here and