Page 6 of The Bridges I've Burned

“Take the time,” she pressed. “You deserve it, and I want you here. You can stay in one of Macon’s rentals.”

Macon Green was Marin’s fiancé—better known as Sheriff Green if you were in Hyde County, North Carolina. He’d won the position in a special election after the previous sheriff was sent to prison for a whole bunch of illegal shit.

He also happened to be married to Macon’s ex-wife.

Scandalous, right?

And people say nothing ever happened in a small town.

After dropping my purse on the counter, I quickly kicked off my heels and headed to the fridge. Opening the door, I grabbed the half bottle of pinot grigio and poured myself a healthy glass before heading to my office.

Sliding into my ridiculously expensive leather chair, I opened my laptop and pulled up my email. I had about a dozen or so new messages and answered the slew of questions that had come in since I’d left the office. It wasn’t lost on me that I was replying to email after I already set up my out of office reply for vacation.

I took a sip of my wine and continued, working through a few more things as the wineglass emptied and the hour slipped by. Eventually, I looked up at the clock and closed my laptop, knowing I was putting off the inevitable.

I needed to pack.

I also needed to make a call.

Okay, I didn’t need to make the call. But I should.

She might care to know where I was going to be for the next three weeks.

Who am I kidding?

Letting out a sigh, I pulled out my phone and stared at it for far too long. “Just do it,” I told myself.

I tried to remember how long it’d been since I’d talked to her. Six weeks? Seven? Longer? I’d made the suggestion to come visit over Easter, but she’d said there was no need and to just save the money.

As if I was pinching pennies in my luxury condo and Louboutins…

I swallowed the lump in my throat, looking over at the small picture frame that sat at the corner of my desk. My heart ached as I looked at his lazy smile as he hung his arm around my shoulders, messing with the tassel of my graduation cap.

I’d always wanted to be just like him.

He was effortlessly good at everything. He had the sort of charm that couldn’t be faked. You couldn’t help but be a little blinded by his presence. In a house that always felt cold, he was still the favorite.

I’d never understood why.

Until he’d died.

I gathered up the courage and dialed the number. It rang and rang. I let out a heavy sigh, feeling defeated until, finally, I heard a hesitant voice on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mother,” I answered. The title felt all wrong, but what else was I supposed to call her after all these years?

A pregnant pause filled the silence. “Elena, how are you?”

So formal. So polite.

“I’m well,” I replied, looking up at the ceiling as I sat and leaned back in the chair. I pulled my legs to my chest and turned my body away from the picture of Daniel. “I am actually leaving for Ocracoke tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

“Marin is getting married?—”

“I know,” she cut me off. “We were invited.”

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