JT was pretty sure Emma’s knuckles were white as he pulled his boat out of the boathouse.

“What about Bo?” she asked when they were clear, and he opened the throttle slightly. If he continued at this rate, it would take them almost thirty minutes to get to shore. He figured distracting her with conversation would allow him to open it up even more.

“He likes roaming the island. He has a large doghouse at the back with everything he needs. I installed one of those automatic water bowls for him a few months back. He has the best dog beds, better than my own mattress.” He glanced at her and saw that she was hanging on his every word. Her fingers, on one hand, were twisted around the life vest in a death grip. Her other hand held onto the railing in front of her seat. “Want to drive?” he asked, deciding to take a different approach.

“Me?” She almost squealed it out. “No!” She shook her head quickly.

He placed his hand over hers on the railing and slowly pulled her fingers free. Then he pulled her up close to him. Their bodies bumped as she slowly took the spot in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her and kept her from falling over as she gripped the wheel.

“This is the throttle.” He took one of her hands and laid it on the shifter. “All the way forward, we go faster. Towards us, we slow down. The middle ground is neutral.” He put the boat in neutral. “Backwards puts us in reverse.” They moved slowly backward and she squealed once more.

“Okay.” She glanced back over her shoulder until their eyes locked.

He was smiling, and she stopped as her eyes narrowed.

“You scared me on purpose,” she accused.

“No.” He held in a chuckle. “I’m trying to distract you from being scared,” he admitted.

When her eyes moved down to his lips, he started moving the throttle forward, his hand still placed over hers.

Her head jerked towards the front, and she held on as they started moving again.

“The left side of the boat is called…”

“Port, and starboard is the right,” she supplied.

“Good, see, you already know more about boating than most.”

“Doesn’t mean I like it,” she said softly.

“The front is the bow, the back is the stern,” he continued. They were now at his normal cruising speed, and she hadn’t tensed again in his arms. He smiled. He continued to talk to her about everything he could think of that had to do with boating. He told her about the ferryboat, and how he’d won it in an auction shortly after he’d bought the island. Before he started ferry service between the mainland and the private resort, East Haven, the only way to the resort was helicopter or by chartering a private boat. Most of the wealthy didn’t like leaving their expensive cars parked miles away on the mainland when they vacationed.

“So, one of the first things I did was negotiate a deal with East Haven to deliver guests and their cars when they call.” He helped her slow the craft down as they entered the mouth of the small inlet that held the docks near the edge of Silver Cove. “Now that Sarah owns the place, she’s asked for something a little more permanent. It seems a lot of the guests enjoy day trips into town for shopping.”

“Sarah?” she asked as he turned the wheel and let the boat coast into his slip.

“Rowan’s cousin.” He moved around the bow and stopped them from hitting the dock. He tossed the line over the post and locked them in place, then easily jumped onto the dock. “Toss me the rope.” He pointed and smiled when Emma tossed it so he could pull in the stern and tie it off. “See, you’re a natural.” He held out his hand for her to take so he could help her across the small space.

“It’s a lot easier when I’m distracted,” she admitted when her feet were solidly on the dock. “Besides, I kind of liked driving.”

They made their way down the docks. His slip was one of the farther spots out, and it was like a maze since they’d added the new sections last year, a true sign that Silver Cove was growing.

“Did you grow up in Silver Cove?” she asked when they reached land.

“I was born a few miles south of here in Portland. I grew up in the same house that my mother did. She still lives there. Her parents retired to Florida and gave her the house just before she married my father.”

“Are they still alive?” she asked.

“My grandfather is. He’s on his second wife, met her shortly after my grandmother passed. Betty is the only reason my granddad is still around.” He smiled. “He was lucky to find two women in his lifetime to love.”

“You said your mother still lives in town. Did she find someone… after your father left?”

He was silent for a while, trying to decide what to tell her. “After Lori’s… death, my mother retreated into a deep depression,” he said as they walked further into town. She scanned the town, taking in everything. Tourist season was in high swing and the streets were crowded. There were rows of cars trying to make their way through the tight streets, but for the most part, locals walked or biked everywhere and tourists parked and followed suit.

“I’m sorry to hear that. When my father died, it took me weeks to just get out of the house.”

“She’s doing a lot better now that Kayla and CJ are in town.”

“How did Lori die? You told me back in California that she died, but just now… I get the feeling you held something back.” She tugged on his hand until he stopped and looked down at her.

They were standing in the middle of town, near a massive water fountain with a statue of a mermaid leaning against the leg of a fisherman. The statue had been put up in the early sixties when the town had suffered through a dry fishing spree. The statue had quickly become the town’s good luck charm when the following season was one of the best on record.

“She was murdered.” He felt his stomach turn at the memory. His eyes moved around town as if searching out the culprit. He knew someone somewhere knew something more about the night his sister had been torn to pieces.

“That must have been terrible for your family,” she said when he started walking again. Every time he thought back to that night so many years ago, he felt a need for movement.

“It’s what broke my family.” He turned on Main Street and slowed his pace when he noticed Emma had fallen behind. “My father left the day of the funeral. My mother retreated into her mind, and my sister… I abandoned Kayla to her own defenses.” He stopped again, this time just outside of Serenity’s Attic.

Even the brightly colored store couldn’t lift his spirits after talking about what had happened.

Emma’s hand rested on his arm. “I’m sure you did what you had to in order to get through the pain yourself.”

He reached for the door handle and nodded quickly. “So, I’ve been told many times.” He motioned for her to enter and followed her inside.

* * *

Emma was not only pleasantly surprised at the bathing suit options in the colorful store, but she was pleased with the prices as well.

The fact that Kayla, JT’s sister, was the one who was working at the store had been a surprise. A pleasant one, as it turned out. JT had made the introductions and then quickly left her in Kayla’s hands while he ran down the street to the hardware store for a few things he needed for the deck and upstairs projects.

When the door shut behind him, Kayla burst out laughing.

Emma glanced over at her, her eyebrows up in question.

“That was the most flustered I’ve ever seen my brother.” Kayla chuckled and pretended to wipe tears from her eyes. “Okay, now I have to get to know you.” She held out her hand once more. “I’m Kayla. I have an almost four-year-old son, Connor James. I am engaged to Rowan, the town’s doctor.” She smiled and sighed and instantly Emma could see love flood her eyes.

“JT told me your mother lives here, too. Do you live with her?”

“No, CJ and I moved in with Rowan a few months back.”

“How’s your mom doing? JT said she had a really hard time after Lori died but that she’s doing better now.”

“Yeah. For a while there, she rarely left the house and had become a hoarder. We helped her get the house cleaned up. Having CJ around has really changed her attitude.”

“I’m so glad to hear that. Is CJ here with you full time, or do you share custody with his father?”

“No, his dad recently killed himself.” Her voice turned sad.

“I’m so sorry.” Emma took Kayla’s hand. “Your brother was just telling me about Lori.”

Kayla sighed. “I guess depression runs in the family.”

There was a moment of silence. Then Kayla shook her shoulders and jumped around a little. “Okay, all the bad juju is out of my system. Let’s shop.” She smiled.

Emma took an instant liking to Kayla. She spent the next forty minutes trying on swimsuits and sundresses, and letting Kayla lather lotions on her until she found one she loved.

By the time JT came back for her, she was the proud owner of three new swimsuits, a few bottles of hair care products and lotions, several blouses, and two new sundresses, one white and the other in a soft teal.

Kayla had made her promise to join them for dinner that following weekend at her and Rowan’s house, which she had eagerly agreed to after listening to stories about the man and her son, CJ.

She had watched JT closely around Kayla and got the impression he was almost scared of his sister. When they were almost a block away from the store, she asked him about it.

“Are there problems between you and your sister?”

JT stopped and looked at her. “No, why?”

She shrugged. “It’s just… the way you act around her is very… stiff.”

“Stiff?” he asked as he started walking again. “How so?”

“I don’t know, you didn’t give her a hug or… anything I always imagined big brothers would do around their little sisters.”

He glanced over at her. “I guess I still feel…”

“Like you abandoned her?” She repeated his words from earlier. “How so?”

He stopped just outside a small grocery store and looked down into her eyes. “After my father left and my mother…”

“Became a hoarder?” Upon his look, she added, “Kayla told me.”

He nodded. “She was left alone in the house with someone who was emotionally absent. She was only thirteen. I was eighteen. I should have…”

“What? Raised her?”

“Something. I should have done something more.”

“From what Kayla said, each of you dealt with Lori’s death in different ways. She needed to feel like her mother needed her. Like someone needed her. You felt like you had to find Lori’s killer.” When he gave her another look, she nodded. “Kayla is more perceptive than you give her credit for.”

He ran his hands through his hair again and glanced around the street once more. Again, she got the impression like he was looking for something… someone. “I couldn’t find out anything back then. I was just a kid.”

“Does that mean you’ve found something out about Lori’s death since then?” she asked.

His eyes returned to hers. “Later,” he said softly.

She nodded, then sighed. “Kayla loves you. She doesn’t hold a thing against you, you know.”

He shook his head. “I…”

“You are her big brother, whom she looks up to and adores. You should give her a hug and kiss her when you see her. She misses you.” She took a step closer and moved the bags he was holding for her aside to lay her hand on his heart. “The real you. Show her how you feel about her.”

He swallowed, then nodded quickly.

“Now, if you’re done playing shrink”—he took a deep breath and smiled down at her—“I was thinking of getting a pie and some ice cream for dessert tonight.”

She smiled. “Chocolate cream pie? French vanilla ice cream?”

“As you wish.” He opened the door for her and bowed quickly.

As she started to walk by him, she reached up on her toes and placed a quick chaste kiss on his lips.

“A man who quotes Princess Bride, opens doors, carries bags for me, and gives me chocolate.” She sighed loudly. “Marry me,” she joked as she sailed through the open doorway.