front door.
Irritation surged through my veins, but I held it in check as I answered through clenched teeth, “No, it’s not because of Gage. Noah simply isn’t the right guy for me.”
When she opened her mouth to respond, I cut her off by adding, “But that doesn’t necessarily mean Gage is right for me, either. Although he is a really nice man, and you should give him a chance before making assumptions about him based on unsubstantiated rumors.”
“Did you know that your precious Gage Tavish went to prison for murder?” Mom practically spat his name before finishing her question and sitting back to gauge my reaction to her bombshell news.
My eyelashes fluttered as I tried to absorb her words. Of course, they might not be true, but Gage had referred to himself as an ex-con. Was he also a murderer?!?
10
Gage
I had no right to dream of a real, romantic relationship with lovely, friendly Avery Biggs the way my mind and heart insisted on imagining. She was way too good for me––in every way. She deserved to be with an upstanding, smart, and successful man, like my half-brother.
Even though I knew I should step aside and let her find the happily-ever-after ending she deserved with Noah, I couldn’t help wishing––no matter how irrational it was––that she could somehow choose me over him.
It didn’t make sense. What would she see in a high school dropout and felon, who had seen and done the unsavory things that I had experienced during my lifetime? She would be appalled if she knew the full truth about me.
No, sweet Avery should have a doctor by her side, who could support her in the manner she deserved. She should be with someone she would be proud to call her husband. I would bring her nothing but shame and embarrassment as the town’s rumor mill churned with suspicions about my seedy past.
Knowing these truths and accepting them were two different things. No matter how much I rationalized to myself that Avery should be with Noah, I still didn’t want it to be true. I wanted her for myself––more than I’ve ever craved anyone.
I wasn’t dumb, despite what some people believed. I knew that everyone suspected me of every little crime that had happened in Brunswick Bay Harbor since my arrival, but what could I say to defend myself? I sure didn’t want them to start poking into my criminal history, or I would have to tuck tail and leave town shrouded in shame. Whatever rumors that happened to be flying around about me were bound to be better than the ugly truth.
I’d moved here hoping to escape my past, having no idea that Noah had the exact same idea. Imagine my surprise when I learned that we’d each taken our share of the inheritance after Grammy’s passing and returned to settle in the one place we’d managed to find a sliver of happiness during our troubled childhoods.
Evidently, neither of us could completely escape our pasts. Despite the vastly different paths we’d taken to get here, we’d both been led back to the same place. As would be expected, Noah was a respected, welcomed member of the community, while I was viewed as a suspicious drifter, who didn’t belong and never would. No wonder the man wanted nothing to do with me. I couldn’t blame him for that. I would do nothing but taint his stellar reputation.
Although I’ve always tried to act tough, I saw the wary looks and hushed whispers that inevitably happened when I came near. I would never admit it to anyone, but it hurt that people made so many assumptions about my life before ever even speaking a word to me. It felt like I was fighting an uphill battle on a speeding treadmill that would never let me make any headway.
I guess it was my own fault. My time in prison had left me gruff looking. I had too many tats and too much facial hair to be viewed as a gentleman. Bulking up my body had been a survival instinct on the inside. The meaner you looked, the greater your chances of being left alone. That was really all I wanted… to be left alone… until I met Avery.
That blasted woman had me picturing living in a quaint, clapboard house with a front porch swing, a handful of kids as cute as Scout running around, and even a pet or two––like the sweet kitten we’d rescued together. I’d never pictured myself as a