Pieces of Us - Carrie Elks Page 0,57

her father happy, to be a better wife for Josh whenever he criticized her. Sometimes it felt as though she had so many plates spinning, if she took a moment to breathe they would crash to the ground. It was exhausting. She hadn’t realized how much, until she’d walked off the airplane and driven into Angel Sands.

Yeah, she still had challenges to face. The pier was still losing money, and it would take a hell of a lot of work to make it profitable. And then there was her relationship with Griff. It brought her so much pleasure – in more ways than one – but the scars from her divorce were still raw. She didn’t want to be hurt again.

But those things all felt surmountable. They were little foothills compared to the mountains of problems she’d left behind in New York.

She loved being here. It really was beginning to feel like home.

And a lot of that was thanks to the big guy who’d be in her bed right after midnight.

19

A loud bang on the front door jolted Autumn out of her dream. She blinked her eyes open, looking around the darkened room. She was wearing the lingerie she’d bought and nothing else, having put the pretty bra and panties on after the shower she took when she got home from her night out with the girls. She planned to give Griff a sexy surprise.

Another bang on the door knocked some sense into her brain. That had to be Griff. Had she really fallen asleep while she was waiting for him? Those margaritas were stronger than she thought.

She grabbed her robe and wrapped it around herself, then slid her feet into those gorgeous shoes she knew were going to make Griff’s eyes pop out. But before she made it to the living room, she heard a shout.

“Griff, are you in there?”

Why the hell would Griff be talking to himself? She shook her head to try and clear away the muddiness of her sleep. Thank god she had enough sense to tie her robe up tightly and kick off those shoes, because when she opened the door, Lucas was standing on the top step, wearing an Angel Sands Fire Department t-shirt and dark blue utility pants.

“Hi. What’s going on?” Autumn asked, her voice croaky and deep.

“Is Griff with you?” Lucas looked over her shoulder. She noticed a tic in his jaw.

“No.” Autumn frowned. “He’s supposed to get here a little after midnight.”

Lucas’s face paled. “It’s three a.m.”

Three a.m.? She looked over her shoulder to the clock on the driftwood side table, but couldn’t make out the hands.

“I fell asleep.” She frowned. Had he changed his mind? “Come in. Let me check my phone.”

She pulled her robe tightly around her as Lucas followed her inside, all too aware of how little she was wearing underneath. Not that Lucas would look – he was too in love with Ember to even notice another woman – but she was embarrassed at being caught wearing so little.

Her phone was next to her bed, and she quickly unlocked it with her thumb. There were no messages at all, just three big numbers telling her it was exactly 3:21 a.m. More than three hours after he’d promised to be here.

“He hasn’t left any messages,” she told Lucas as she walked back into the living room. She pressed the phone symbol next to his contact details. “I’ll try calling him.”

“I’ve been trying for the last hour. I went to his place and let myself in with the spare key. He’s not there.”

“You went to his place to look for him?” she asked, frowning. “Why?”

“We got a call from the Coast Guard. They found a boat half submerged about five miles off the coast. It belongs to one of Griff’s dad’s old friends, and I wanted to let him know before anybody else does.”

“Was there anybody on it?” Autumn asked, her voice tight.

Lucas shook his head. “They said it was empty.”

She swallowed hard, rolling her lips between her teeth. “Griff said he was crewing for an old friend tonight. Helping him take a boat up the coast.”

“Did he say who it was?” Lucas asked urgently.

She shook her head. Her throat felt so tight it was hard to talk. “He just said an old friend. You don’t think…”

“It was Sam?” Lucas blew out a mouthful of air. “It seems too much of a coincidence not to be. Let me talk to the Coast Guard, okay. Tell them there are two