There wasn’t much else I could do. I realized I had to accept defeat. I may never finish clearing out the house or sell it. Maybe I should call one of those estate companies and have them liquidate everything for me.

The thought of having complete strangers go through Aunt Lindy’s personal items didn’t feel right. I couldn’t do that to her.

I may have let her down the last few years of her life, but I didn’t have to let her down in death.

My shoulders sank as I stared into the bottom of my glass of wine. I sat on the back porch, watching boats cruise past.

I wondered how many times she had done this before she’d died. Sat in this exact wicker rocker and watched life sail by. I took another sip and reached for the chilled bottle next to me.

It was the kind of sunset I was going to drink through. I didn’t see any other way.

I heard the familiar sound of tires on gravel and looked up when Blake’s truck rolled into view.

I hadn’t seen him in a few days. I thought it was for the best. Things had gotten too messy. Too complicated. Too hard.

“Thought you’d already have your suitcase on the porch,” he barked, walking toward me, taking huge strides.

“Hi to you too,” I sassed.

But my chest tightened when I saw him. His T-shirt clung to his chest and it was hard to look away from the sculpted lines of his arms. Damn it. Why did he always have to be so hot?

“So you’re just going to run away again?” he accused. There was fire in his eyes.

He stood six inches from me and I could feel the heat radiating from his glare. It poured off his body in ripples of fevered anger.

I made the mistake of looking up.

“How did you know I was leaving?”

“Just answer me. Are you taking off and selling Lindy’s house?”

I placed the wine glass down and rose to meet him. “What difference does it make to you?”

“Because I actually give a shit about this island. I care if developers come in and get ahold of this property. I know you don’t. You can’t get out of here fast enough.”

My hands flew to my hips. “I don’t get how you can pretend to know so much about my motivations.”

He snorted. “Baby, I know every play you’ve ever made.”

My spine tingled. A shiver ran from one shoulder to the other. He had no idea what he was talking about. And I was just tipsy enough to tell him to get the hell of my porch.

“If you’re done lecturing me about the sanctity of the island, you can go. I don’t need this.”

“I’ll pay you for it.”

“What?” My eyes almost reeled back in my head.

“What do you want for the house? I’ll pay you cash.”

I shook my head. “You are not buying Aunt Lindy’s house.”

“Why not? You sure as hell don’t want it. You’ll take any excuse to get off this piece of sand.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it? Isn’t that what you did eight years ago?” His eyes bored into mine. “You ran. You took off. Let everyone down. And you never looked back. Don’t pretend you give a fuck now. I’ll buy the house and then we can make sure we never run into each other again. Deal?”

“Stop. Just stop it, Blake.”

“Why? Did I push you too hard toward the truth?” His lips formed a snarl.

The wine whirled through my empty stomach. “You want to know what happened? Is that what you want?” I baited him, when I knew I shouldn’t. But I was on a roll and couldn’t stop myself.

He chuckled. “I know exactly what happened. But sure, tell me.”

He mocked me. He belittled me. He pushed me to the edge and I came out swinging.

“I was pregnant, Blake. I was pregnant with your baby.” The words slipped from my lips and the porch was suddenly quiet. The only thing I could hear was my heart beating so loudly it filled my ears with the sounds of thumping blood.

“That’s a lie.”

I hung my head. One tear slipped and then another. I fell into the rocker. Eight years of hidden secrets and anguish came pouring out. Eight years of lies. Eight years of loneliness. The humiliation and the fear pooled in my stomach. I was twisted in knots of anguished emotion.

“It’s not a lie. It’s what happened. I was pregnant. We were going to have a baby.” My soft words lingered between us. “I left the island pregnant, Blake.”

I looked up into his gray-blue eyes. They were cloudy like the sea when rain washes over the waves.

“Sierra.” He dropped to his knees.