Page 8 of The Fate of Us

You and me forever.

Kyle

I throw my head back and laugh, my voice carrying into the wind, mixing with the sound of the waves. It’s almost magical, bringing a melody to my head.

I laugh until I start to cry as I crumple the letter back up and shove it in my pocket. I don’t know what I ever saw in Kyle. I guess I was just naïve and in love. But I know better now. I know I won’t ever let a man have that kind of power over me again. Seven years wasted, thinking I could have forgiven him.

What a dick.

He is the worst person I have ever let into my heart.

Into my life.

And if I had known Becca was the one he was cheating on me with, I would have let her have him.

I wipe the last tears I will ever let myself have over him.

Being back in this place has given me the clarity I need. Maybe I should move here. Continue to live this peace I have found in such a short time. But leaving Noah makes my heart heave. Just thinking about not seeing him again leaves me nauseous. But I don’t want to admit the feelings I have for him yet.

I should text him.

I should call him.

I know he is going crazy over the fact I left without as much as a note. Hell, his ex-wife gave him more. But deep in my heart I know he knows I’ll be back. He knows better than I do when I need space.

By now, Jed has talked to him. And I hope he can forgive me for leaving with such haste.

I stand and stretch as I head inside to grab more coffee. I cross through the tiny living room into the outdated kitchen and pour a cup from my aunt’s percolator. I smile thinking of how many times I bought her a real coffee pot and each time she would return it. She loved making her coffee the old-fashioned way. And I don’t blame her now, the taste is better, or maybe it’s just the memories.

I hear a car door slam and glance out the window to see a black SUV barely visible through the tall beach grass. I blink a few times, swearing I am hallucinating when I see the top of Noah’s head.

There is no way he could have found me. Is there? Did I even tell him about this place?

I search my memories as I recall the conversation we had about sanctuaries. But I know I never told him exactly where it was.

My mind must be playing tricks on me.

Maybe I do need him more than I think I do.

I grab my coffee cup and head back to the porch, choosing to sit on the rail instead of the old rocker I pulled out of the storage shed next to the cottage.

I sip my coffee as I glance back and forth from the water to the path that leads to the road. My mind and my heart battling. My heart wanting the glimpse of a man I saw to be the man I am falling for. While my mind is telling me I am a crazy person and hallucinating.

I look back out to the ocean and take a deep breath as my hands go back to the necklace around my neck. Today is the day I am letting go of every piece of my past.

The sound of footsteps on the worn-out boardwalk my great-uncle built pulls my eyes back toward the road.

My heart clenches when I see a man wearing a Beaufort County PD shirt. Not the police officer I want to see. I bite my lip in worry. Who would be looking for me here? My parents didn’t even know that Great-Aunt Sheila left this place to me, they weren’t close to her at all. Even my sister doesn’t know and she spent almost as much time with me here as a kid.

A soft breeze floats through the porch as a shiver rolls down my spine. I pull my cardigan over my bare shoulder and stand, scared of whatever news might be coming to me.

But then I see what I thought I was for sure dreaming about.

Behind the officer is a tall, husky man with light brown hair and blindingly blue eyes. And those eyes are focused right on me.

My stomach flips and my heart seizes.

I drop my coffee cup on the deck, not caring about the shattered ceramic as I skip down the few steps to the boardwalk.

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