a few additional walls between Michael and me. My mail was now being routed from Charlotte to Nashville to Maine and then finally to Anchor. If I just kept changing things around, he wouldn’t find me. And even if he did, I couldn’t imagine him enduring a ferry ride from Seattle, his fear of the water was too intense. Ever since he’d had a scare growing up.
It had been one of the many times my parents had tried to bring us together by going on a family vacation. We’d rented a house on a lake for a week. Fishing off the dock and making s’mores.
Michael had shoved me down when I was taking too long to put on my life jacket, and I’d gotten a nasty gash on my knee. My parents had been examining the injury, trying to decide if I needed stitches when we’d heard a splash. Michael had refused to wait for us any longer and had fallen into the lake while trying to climb onto the boat.
My dad had moved quickly, but Michael had needed CPR to begin breathing again. It had scared him spitless. And he’d refused to go anywhere near water from that day forward. That one incident had given me the only true weapon I had.
I shut my laptop screen and headed for the door. I needed to double-check the generator because the weather report had called for a storm. I started up the path when a familiar voice called out. I turned to see Caelyn waving. Changing directions, I made my way back down the hill. “What are you doing here?”
She motioned to her husband, Griffin, who was in what looked to be an intense discussion with Brody. “Hunter called Griffin because Brody had some questions about what kind of security system to put in. I thought I’d tag along for the ride, hoping I’d get to see you. And here you are.”
I smiled, but my gaze shifted to Brody, wondering if a security system had always been on his list of plans or if it was a new addition after I’d opened up a bit about my brother. “Does Griffin know a lot about that?” Caelyn’s husband had restored his old family farmhouse on Anchor pretty much on his own, so it wouldn’t have surprised me.
Caelyn rolled her eyes heavenward. “He’s obsessed. Could literally talk about it for hours on end. I might have to drag him back to the boat.”
I chuckled. “Then I guess it’ll be a while. Want to come with me to check the generator? Then we can take a walk down to the beach.”
“You’re a godsend. If I hear one more word about cameras or wiring, my eyes are going to cross.” She let out a whistle, and Griffin’s gaze shot to her. “Shay’s giving me a tour. I’ll be back later.”
Griffin paused for a moment and then nodded. “Be careful.”
“Pretty sure I’m not going to get eaten by a bear.”
Griffin shook his head, but his lips twitched as he turned back to the conversation. But Brody’s eyes remained on me, his gaze intense. I fought the urge to squirm under the weight of it. Instead, I issued a wave and turned away. “It’s sweet how Griffin is with you.”
Caelyn snorted. “Sweet but a little over the top. I swear he’d wrap me in bubble wrap if he could.”
My heart ached at her words. God, I wanted that. Someone who wanted to step between me and all the bad things in the world. Not because I couldn’t handle my own battles, but simply because they loved me. “A little bubble wrap isn’t such a bad thing.”
Caelyn glanced over at me. “I guess not. So, how are things here? The new boss?”
“Different. But good. I think Brody and I are becoming friends. I mean he’s still my boss, of course. But since he’s actually on the island all the time, and there’s no one else here, we hang out.”
She waggled her eyebrows at me. “Hang out, huh?”
My cheeks flamed. “Not like that.” But I couldn’t deny that thoughts of what that might be like had been running around in my head for weeks now. It would be dumb, so incredibly stupid to go there with him. But thinking about it was a different story.
“He watches you. Not in a creepy way. In a sweet one. Like he’s looking out for you.”
My insides warmed at the thought. “He’s a good guy.”
Caelyn let out a humming noise of agreement. “He