That didn’t go as planned. I’m not sure what the plan was, but her sprinting away from me wasn’t part of it. And I’ve got no idea if I shou—

“What the hell did you say to her?”

Holy fuck, I step to the side, away from the unexpected voice, and just about off the freaking dock.

“What the—” Deep breath. My heart is battering the inside of my ribcage even though I recognize my brother’s voice almost immediately. “Where did you come from?”

He laughs. “Saw you chatting up the girl, and thought I’d stay out of the way. So I took a seat the next slip over.” He drops a worn duffle bag on the dock and steps forward, clasping my shoulder. But I pull him into a hug. Damn, it’s good to see him. Even if he did almost startle the piss out of me.

After we step back, he nods toward the Harborwalk. He’s got a beanie on, and underneath it, eyes the same color as mine evaluate the situation.

“Although maybe the interruption would have been better,” he says.

“Yeah, that didn’t go like I’d imagined.” I run my hands through my hair, and then drop them like she’s not bothering me.

“You gonna go after her?” Sebastian asks.

Yes, that’s exactly what I want to do. But should I? She ran from me. She pretty much ran from me the first time we met too. She keeps running. Which makes it obvious that I shouldn’t keep chasing her. But I want to. So damn desperately. Like she’s a gale pulling me forward.

“Someone should go after her.” He stares in the direction she went, tilting his head.

Oh, fuck no. I know that look. “Not you.”

I snag his duffle and turn, haul it up the ramp, and drop it as soon as we’re aboard. It’s his bag, so I’m not sure why I’m carrying it. Other than to pull him away from staring after her. Elly. There’s something achingly familiar about her name. As familiar as a slip knot—I could close my eyes, and my fingers can still do the work. Everything about her is that familiar even though I can’t fully place it.

Sebastian follows me up the ramp, his attention on me, as if he’s trying to figure something out. “Seriously, man, what the hell did you do to her?”

“I remembered her name.” Why would remembering her name set her off so much? There’s so much mystery to her. The way she looked at me earlier tucked in my comforter—there was nothing shy or confused about it. It’s like she’s two different people. Or maybe one person stuck inside another. Almost like Russian nesting dolls. I set my hand on the gunwale to keep from raking it in my hair. It’s probably sticking out in every direction. Kind of like Elly’s.

I remembered more than her name. I remembered her. We were chasing after that red kite. That’s why she’s so familiar. We must have played together as children.

“Do you remember her?” I ask.

Sebastian shakes his head. “Should I? Didn’t really see her that clearly with the whole running away thing. Besides I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about things back when.”

“Yeah.” I try to keep myself still. Something about the day’s events make me keep wanting to move. Or maybe it’s that Elly isn’t anywhere in sight anymore. Now that I can’t see her, I wish I’d gone after her. She’s disappeared somewhere behind the old lighthouse.

“For fuck’s sake, Dean.” Sebastian laughs. “Are you going to go after her?”

“No,” I say after a minute. “She’s run from me twice. I can take a hint.”

Sebastian nods. “Seems like the smart choice.”

An uneasy silence fills the space between us now that we don’t have Elly to talk about. It’s not there all that often. Usually Sebastian and I pick up wherever we left off. Maybe it’s because I’m so out of sorts, but I don’t think it’s just that.

He scans the deck and then the masts. “You changed the rigging.”

“I’m surprised you noticed.”

He grunts out a laugh. “Was that a dig?”

“Nothing more than an observation, man.” I nod toward the duffle. “You staying here?”

Sebastian scans the deck again. What is going on with him? It’s like everyone in the world has become a freaking puzzle. I can handle one stunning mystery woman, but I don’t have the desire to play mind games with my brother.

“Out with it.” I step back a few paces. “Something’s clearly on your mind.”

He stops scanning and crosses his arms over his chest. “What the hell am I doing here? Actually, scratch that for now. Let’s step back even farther. What the hell are you doing here?”

I blink at him. I didn’t expect that. “You saw the complaints. Our father can’t run this charter anymore, so—”

“So sell it, use the money to put that asshole in a cage somewhere, and get back to sailing or whatever you want to be doing.”

I run a hand over my neck and before I know it, I’ve mirrored his stance: arms crossed over my chest and scowl getting deeper by the second. “You want to sell her?”

A soft breeze comes from the northeast and wood creaks, the boat shifting subtly. But I can feel every movement, just like Sebastian can.

He sighs, unfolding his arms. “Look, if you really want to run the charter, then fine. And I’ll come help for the summers. I usually end up crashing with you for most of the good sailing months anyway. But is this really what you want? Running this thing every day and dealing with…” He waves a hand toward the ticket hut. “We got away from him, Dean.”

I bounce a little, feeling the wood give slightly, not sure whether to be grateful or annoyed with my brother’s ability to nearly read my thoughts. Except he’s missing something.

“I don’t know if I can sell her,” I admit.

“She’s just wood and cloth.” His voice is low, and I can’t tell if he really believes that or not. Maybe he does. Like I said, he’s never been that attached to much of anything—always floating from one thing to the next.

“Don’t you feel it?” I ask him. “This boat, this town. It’s like stepping into a memory.” One a long time ago—before our father became the asshole he is.

Sebastian shoves his hands in his pockets. “Have you seen him?” His jeans are frayed on the bottom, and he’s wearing a Rock Falls sweatshirt, which is this little Colorado college he went to for the last year. The first time he managed to complete an entire year without dropping out to head off somewhere climbing or sailing. There must have been something keeping him there. A woman, I’d bet.

“I’ve seen him a few times,” I admit. “And I’m supposed to hire this caretaker for him. The place he’s staying gave me a list, and I called, but couldn’t find anyone. If I can’t find someone, then I’m going to have to do it myself. Starting Friday.”

“So you’re going to take care of him.” His voice drops low at the end.

“No.” I uncross my arms to shake them out. “I don’t know. I need to figure it out.”

Sebastian reaches down to pick up his bag. “We’ll figure it out, man. Are you staying here or on the Neverland?”

“I sold the Neverland.” It was bad saying it to Dev, but it’s worse saying it to my brother.

Sebastian stares at me for a long moment, and I’m not sure if I want to guess at what he’s thinking.

He finally shrugs it off. “Then guess I’m staying here. Dev in town?”

“He should get back early tomorrow. He’s stopping by Salt’s to pick up a new gooseneck. I had to order one in.”

“Gooseneck?” Sebastian walks across the deck and peers at the bottom of the mast. “Fuck, man.”

“That’s pretty much been my constant thought over the last week.”

“Fine, we’ll switch it out tomorrow.” He picks up his duffle and slings it over his shoulder, turning and pointing at me before he gets to the hatch. “But then we’re going out, brother. You look like you could use a drink.”

“Yeah, sure.” I start to follow after him and then turn to take one last glance toward the lighthouse. Can’t help it.