Page 7 of Keeping Secrets

She was off limits.

If it weren’t for extenuating circumstances, the minor detail of her being his best friend's little sister was an obstacle that Travis would gladly vault. He knew that Nick would be okay with them seeing each other if that were the right thing for Keely. But it wasn’t, and he wouldn’t.

Travis was damaged goods. He was a convicted felon, technically, and he had no idea where he would be a year from now, a week from now. It could so easily be a jail cell.

Worst of all, Adam was Keely‘s ex-boyfriend.

He didn’t imagine that she harbored much affection for the man who had gotten her hooked on drugs and used the resulting addiction to turn her against her family, but he couldn’t imagine her shock at learning that Travis had been the one to push Adam off of that cliff – albeit unintentionally.

The subject of Adam’s death hadn’t come up when he was around Keely and Nick and Chloe. God knows that Travis wasn’t going to bring it up, and Nick wasn’t. And the girls hadn’t. So he had no idea how Keely had reacted to learning that her ex had met his end at the bottom of a cliff.

Maybe she had been relieved. Maybe not.

All he knew was that she deserved better than Adam.

And she deserved better than him, too.

CHAPTER 3

"You’re doing great, Keely," Michelle told her between bites of her fish tacos.

"Thank you." She sipped her lemonade and turned to look out over the vast expanse of ocean to her left.

Keely had grown up relatively close to the Pacific Ocean and had spent plenty of Saturdays at the beach growing up, but living right at the edge of civilization still felt novel and extraordinary.

The Pacific Coast Highway was perched on the cliffs at the end of the country, with all of North America on one side and nothing but wide blue sky and inscrutable ocean on the other.

Her sponsor had driven out to meet her in Half Moon Bay, which offered the closest Narcotics Anonymous meeting to Keely’s new home. They had walked from the meeting to the nearest restaurant to catch up before going their separate ways.

Michelle was nearly ten years sober, a mother of two, and a successful business owner. Even with all of that going on, she made time for her.

Keely was deeply grateful for her sponsor’s generosity, but there was still a sharp edge of shame to the gratitude that she felt. What had she done to deserve the forgiveness and grace that she had been offered?

Well. She took a breath and settled herself. If she hadn’t earned it yet, there was still time.

"There’s a really cool nonprofit in Pelican Point," Keely said as she pushed the last of her rice and beans around on her plate. "They fix up old houses to make them habitable so that people can afford to stay in their hometown. Or come back. I was thinking that I could help with that. To keep me busy."

"Very cool," Michelle said.

"Chloe works with them. You know, my brother’s girlfriend? She’s not the building type, but she runs their social media and designs the T-shirts and stuff. Her friend Nat started the thing."

"Sounds like a great way to get involved with the local community. But maybe after you find a job?" Michelle prompted gently.

"Yeah, I’ve been looking. There are no ads up for jobs in town, but I’m going to try it the old-fashioned way. Go door to door, see if anyone’s hiring."

"Ah yes, like we did in the olden days."

Keely grinned. "You know what I mean."

"We passed a couple of Help Wanted signs walking to the restaurant just now."

"I’d rather not drive up here every day if I can help it."

Michelle cocked her head to one side and looked at her with open curiosity. "It’s a pretty drive."

"It is," Keely acknowledged. "That’s not what I mean. I don’t mind the drive. I’d just rather get a job in town, you know? Meet my neighbors. Feel like I’m a part of things."

"That makes complete sense. I hope you find something."

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