Page 24 of Echoes at Driftwood Cottage

“Dad often did his own thing. He worked a lot. But he spent his downtime in a solitary endeavor, either fishing or hunting. At least that was his story on weekends. I spent more time with my uncle—Dad’s brother—than I did with my own father.”

“The uncle that left you the boat.”

“Yeah. Uncle Bobby. There were lots of times Dad avoided coming home because he and my mother didn’t always see eye to eye on almost everything. They fought a lot when he was home. It was my mother who pretty much ruled the roost. What she dictated was law.”

“Sounds complicated. Few marriages are a sun-drenched walk in the park every day of the week.”

“That’s an understatement.”

“At least your mother tried with the family dynamic. Mine checked out on me years before I came to live with Gran.” She thought about Scott’s theory and what he’d told her earlier about Gwynn kidnapping a child. She relayed that information to Daniel.

He picked up his lemonade. “Wow. Maybe she lost her own daughter. That might explain why she went off the deep end. She couldn’t cope.”

“Then why would she take another person’s child only to screw up so badly and lose custody later?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she saw it as a second chance. Once addiction grabs hold of you, it’s ugly. Sometimes there’s no way out. Your mother lost control and never got it back again.”

“The second chance experiment certainly didn’t work, now did it?”

He got up to clear the dishes. “What do you say we put this aside for the rest of the afternoon and focus on something happier? Let’s take a walk on the beach. You did say you prefer land, right?”

“You’re right. I’m tired of hearing myself talk about all this. A walk on the beach means you get to show off your precious. Your boat,” she clarified, her lips curving. “I’m not a complete shrew.”

“A shrew? Have you been reading Shakespeare?”

Rowan sputtered with laughter. “Petruchio trying to tame the wild Kate? I’m surprised at you, Daniel Cardiff. In the eyes of the modern woman that play reeks of sexism and sexist stereotypes.”

“You’re the one who used the word ‘shrew,’ not me.”

“Let’s see this boat of yours.”

“Really?”

“From land, Daniel. I’m not getting anywhere near the water. Got any binoculars I could borrow?”

On their six-block walk to get to the beach, Daniel avoided the pier, coming in from the south side of the harbor. However, as they got closer to Smuggler’s Bay, within the span of a few minutes, he noted Rowan had gone from teasing and cracking jokes to a wall of silence.

Holding her hand, Daniel led her through the trees to a secluded spot behind the Fannin Marine Rescue Center. The sun was high in the sky, casting warm rays on their faces. As far as the eye could see, the water in the harbor sparkled like a million glittering diamonds. For a moment, the scenery proved serene and calming. But the minute Rowan heard the sound of the waves crashing against the shoreline and caught sight of the boats bobbing in the bay, the tranquility he’d hoped for shattered.

Rowan’s heart rate had quickened. She yanked her hand out of Daniel’s and looked around for a place to sit down. She picked the nearest rock without venturing further out to the jetty and twisted off the cap to the bottle of water she’d brought. After chugging down a big gulp for courage, she patted the rock beside her.

He sat down next to her shoulder to shoulder. An arm went around her back. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

But he noted that she didn’t look fine. Beads of sweat had popped out on her forehead. She’d turned pale. He’d never seen anyone react to standing ten feet from the shoreline like this. “I’m sorry. I thought this was a good idea. Beautiful day. The beach is so close—”

She didn’t let him finish. “It’s a perfect day for a walk. I’m fine, really.” Forcing herself to calm down, she filled her lungs with the ocean air and decided to change the subject. “Which boat is yours?”

He gestured toward a gleaming thirty-two-foot cruiser anchored some twenty feet away. “Avalon. In Celtic legend, it’s the place where they forged King Arthur’s sword.”

Rowan raised her brows and turned to look at him. “A fan of King Arthur would know that Avalon is also where they buried him.”

“That’s one interpretation,” Daniel replied, glad to have her talking. “It’s also known as a place of rebirth and healing.”

“If you say so.”

“You wouldn’t understand the connection between a man and his boat.”

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