Page 128 of Somewhere You Belong

I don’t really keep in contact with Jason anymore, but Mandy and I have remained close. In fact, she feels more like an older sister to me than a mom most of the time. No one in my life has ever seemed to fill that gap, this hole of not knowing where I came from or allof the memories I lost with my parents being gone. And the older I got, the more comfortable that hole became, until the letter from Mr. Sheppard showed up.

“I got a letter about two months ago from a man that knew my parents,” I start, filling her in on what led me to Carrington Cove. When I tell her about the details of the letter and who it was from, I watch the goosebumps pebble on her skin.

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah. Tell me about it.”

Her mouth is hanging open for a few seconds before she finally clears her throat. “I…I honestly had no idea about any of this, Willow,” she says, pleading with her eyes for me to believe her.

“I figured. You’ve always been pretty honest with me.” I shrug, focusing my sight on the cup of coffee in my hands.

She nods, bracing herself for me to continue. “So you went down there…”

“Yes. I had to meet with his attorney that sent the letter, and that meeting left me with an even bigger surprise.”

“What did he say?”

“The man left me a house.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “A house?”

“Yup.” I take a long drink of my coffee. “It’s old, and needed a lot of work, so I’ve been working remotely down there for the past two months, overseeing the renovations. The house was finished this week, but…”

She narrows her eyes at me. “But what?”

I shake my head, thinking back to the conversation with Dallas last night, how close I was to having a future I wanted with someone. Finally. “There’s something about that place, Mandy. It’s right on thebeach. It has vacation home written all over it. Even just standing on the front porch and looking out over the ocean…I don’t know…”

“Are you thinking about keeping it?”

“This week I decided I would.” I meet her eyes. “Because I also met someone down there.”

“Oh.”

Smiling even though thinking about Dallas makes my heart ache, I say, “His name is Dallas. He’s a former Marine who now owns a restaurant and bar. He’s stubborn and bossy, strong and funny, and…”

“You want to be with him.”

My lips start to tremble again. “I did.”

Her brow furrows. “Did?What happened?”

“His dad is the man who left me the house. The house Dallas has wanted foryearsbut had no idea it belonged to his father. Last night he found out his mother and I had been keeping the truth from him.”

“Oh my.” She takes a sip of her coffee. “I take it things didn’t end well then…”

“No, they didn’t.”

Mandy studies me from across the living room. “You know, Willow. I get why you are the way you are—”

“And what way is that?”

She smiles softly. “Closed off. A workhorse. Impenetrable.”

“Okay…” I bite, feeling defensive almost instantly.

“You are that way because it allows you to maintain control. You’re the one who gets to make the decisions about what you do, where you go, who you see. But this is one decision that was made for you, and I can tell it’s rattling your resolve.”

I huff out a laugh. “That’s putting it mildly.”

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