“What did you do?”

Lily stormed into his bedroom the following night, after Violet didn’t show up to the open house like she said she would. Not only was Lily disappointed, but he was too. He was hoping she’d show herself and prove him wrong.

He still felt sick about what had happened the day before. His gut churned when he recalled the look on her face. He had the underlying sense that, no matter what it looked like, he was the one in the wrong and he’d made a terrible mistake.

She’d told him she loved him. Well, she hadn’t exactly told him, but she had, and her arrow had hit its mark. He’d felt her admission clear down to his soul, and he felt ten kinds of a fool for not admitting that he felt the same.

He should have told her that even if she was packing to leave, he wanted her to stay.

More than that, he was prepared to give her something to stay for. He wanted to be the thing she could always come back to, even if she needed an adventure. He wanted to be invited on her adventures and have them come back together.

He wanted her to be someone Lily could count on.

Then she hadn’t shown up to the open house, and he knew he’d not only ruined what he had with Violet, but he ruined it for Lily too.

“What did you do?” she repeated, her eyes red from crying. She was holding up her little iPod, where she texted often with Violet and her other friends.

“I don’t know, Lil,” he admitted. “I thought I was protecting you.”

“You ruined it!” she cried, her little fist clenching at her side. “She was my only friend.”

“I’m sure she’s still your friend.”

“She said she wasn’t sure that was a good idea. She said you wouldn’t like it.”

Lily held out the phone and he read Violet’s last message.

I love you, Lil. You know that. But your dad doesn’t think our friendship is a good idea right now. He wants to make sure you’ve got good role models and let’s face it, I’m not that girl.

“Why would you do that?” Lily’s lip wobbled and a tear streaked down her cheek. “She’s the only one that gets me.”

He shook his head. “I…”

He had no answer for her. The more he said the words out loud, the less sense they made.

“Please, can we go see her. You can fix it. Please, Dad.”

He checked his watch. It wasn’t that late. Violet would still be up. Maybe he had a chance of fixing what he’d not only broken, but smashed to smithereens.

* * *

Violet looked at the moonlight as it reflected on the water under Pearl Ridge. It was hard to tell what were ripples from the ocean’s surface and what were tears, threatening to fall from her eyes.

It stung, there was no doubt about that.

She knew he’d be a tough sell, that he thought she was a flake, but she thought they were working past it. To see him just ignore everything he knew about her, everything she’d shown him in their time together, hurt.

It more than hurt. It crushed her.

Never one to back down, she’d stood up for herself. Only when Gabe had finally driven away did she allow herself to implode and cry her heart out. Mere hours later, she’d shown up at her parent’s boat, with a bottle of wine in hand and a sob story for the ages.

“How’re you doing, V?” her mother, resplendent in a white dress under the moonlight, asked as she sat across from her.

Her mother was the most beautiful woman she’d ever met. Nearly ageless, her long red hair hung in a braid down her back, her big, blue eyes solemn as she watched her daughter blubber into a wineglass.

“Living the dream,” she replied, her usual sarcasm falling flat.

“I can see that.” Iris poured the last of the wine into her own glass and sat back, looking out over the dark sea. “How’s Lily taking things?”

Violet looked down at her phone automatically, the screen dark since she’d turned it off hours ago. Lily’s pleading messages had been overwhelming and Violet’s heart broke the more she read them.

Eventually, it had just seemed easier to say her goodbyes for now, and let some dust settle.

“I don’t think she’s feeling any better than I am.”

“And she doesn’t have her mother to cry to, now does she?”

“Or a bottle of wine to drink,” Violet pointed out, guilt clawing at her. Gabe had been right. Lily was the one in the middle of their argument, and there was nothing either of them could have done to protect her from that.

“Do you think the wine helps?” Her mother arched a brow.

“It isn’t hurting.” She spun the empty glass between her fingers.

“I can’t imagine there’s anything that could hurt you as much as your heart right now, is there?”

“No,” Violet whispered. “I don’t imagine there is.”

“Why didn’t you just tell him, Violet. It wouldn’t have been a big deal to tell him you weren’t leaving.”

“He thinks I’m a total flake, Mom. Every single thing I do just proves it more in his eyes. To him, I’m irresponsible because I forget my phone. I’m careless because I cut my finger. I dream too much and laugh too loud. My head is in the clouds and I always have one foot out the door.”

“Sounds a lot like your father when I met him,” Iris commented.

Violet watched a small, secret smile stretch across her mother’s lips.

“What do you mean?”

“You know I never really knew much about my father. He was never a part of my life. Your Gram and I, we were a team, a lot like Gabe and Lily, actually. She worked so hard to build a life for me here in Fortune’s Bay. Something I could hold onto, you know. A foundation.”

Violet nodded, seeing the similarities.

“It all made so much sense,” Iris continued. “Marrying Marx and building a future here. Until the second I laid eyes on your father.”

“Swimming in the ocean like a merman,” Violet recounted the story she’d heard a million times.

“He was a dreamer.” Iris’s laugh was warm, like just the memory of that moment heated from the inside. “Traveling with no real direction, exploring the world. I was so jealous, but terrified to reach out and grab what I wanted.”

Violet scoffed. “Somehow, I doubt Gabe is sitting around terrified of what we have going on.”

“Put yourself in his shoes, V. Think of him as me and your Dad. He wants you, but he’s been working for something his whole life. He’s been building this thing with Lily for years, seeing exactly where he thinks their lives are going to go. And here you come, a whirlwind of life experiences that don’t fit into that puzzle at all.”

“That’s nice,” Violet muttered.

“He wasn’t expecting you, Vi. Some people take a little longer to figure things out.”

“Some people stick their feet in their mouth every time they open it,” she countered. “I might love the fool but I have no intention of letting him squash me at every turn.”

“Nor should you,” Iris agreed.

“Ivy said I can catch a ride with you guys, down to her place, to stay a while. I might take her up on it. I don’t think I can stay here anymore.”

“You don’t have to decide right away. We’ll be here for a couple days, anyway.”

“Well, I certainly have no intention of going back into town. If I run into Lily, I’ll change my mind. If I run into Gabe, I’ll end up in jail.”

“I was going to ask if you ladies needed more wine, but now I don’t have to.” Reed Hart exited the boat’s cabin, a bottle in his hand and a sympathetic smile on his lips. “Talk of going to jail always means more wine.”

“Ha-ha,” Violet deadpanned. “You should have more sympathy for me. I’m you.”

Reed looked to his wife for clarification as he poured them all some wine. She explained the situation, likening Violet to Reed when he and Iris met.

When she finished, Reed clinked glasses with Violet. “To the world’s dreamers. May we always know who our home is, if not where.”

Violet thought on his words for a moment and dismissed them. She didn’t want optimism while she wallowed. She wanted commiseration and pitchforks.

She looked at her parents who were sending each other heated stares and knew their moment of parental advising was over.

“Gross,” she murmured as she stood. “Thanks for all the help. I’m going to bed.”