Page 32 of All Along The Watchtower

“Ah.” Points to me for making that a noncommittal noise instead of the scream I’d have preferred. My throat felt tight, like I was trying to swallow sand. I jerked my head toward the backyard. “Talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure.”

He beat me to the door that led out to the back patio, opening it like a gentleman and waving me through. I ignored the height and breadth of him as I passed, though it was harder than it should have been. Ignored, too, the fit of the gray henley over the muscles the Navy had apparently honed to perfection. The scent of his soap—something clean and masculine—drifted past as I moved by him. I didn’t quite manage to ignore the ink peeking out from the sleeves he’d shoved up to his elbows, revealing muscular forearms that spoke of years of physical labor. When had he gotten all those tattoos?

Focus!

Ford shut the door and placed himself between me and the house. Deliberately blocking Peyton’s view of us because he thought I was going to lose my shit on him? It wasn’t the worst idea in the world, considering the way my blood pressure had just spiked through the roof.

I kept my voice low, though my fingers itched to grab his stupidly broad shoulders and shake him. “Here? You’re telling me that of all the rental property available on the island, you had to choosehere?Next door to me?”

“Peyton chose. I figure she’s had few enough choices the past several months. It was something I could give her. And she likes you.” His voice was maddeningly reasonable, those eyes watching me with an intensity that made my skin prickle.

Well, what the hell could I say to that? Her situation tugged at something deep inside me that I didn’t want to examine too closely.

“Though, to be completely fair, it may also be because she loves your dog, and she hasn’t managed to wear me down enough in a week to get her one.” His mouth quirked up on one side in that half-smile that used to make my heart flip. Still did, damn it.

I felt my lips twitch. No.No.I was not going to smile. The kid was a little operator. I had to respect that about her, the way she’d managed to get exactly what she wanted without actually asking for it directly. But this was a fucking disaster. It put the man I’d done my level best to forgetright here,in my space, where I couldn’t avoid him or the memories that came with him.

Ford folded those massive arms, rocking back on his heels. “Look, I know this isn’t what you’d have chosen. I’m sorry about that. I’ll try to keep Peyton out of your way.”

Any urge to smile evaporated, and I shot him a fulminating glare, anger rising hot and fast in my chest. “Don’t you dare. She needs to know she has allies. Whatever… issues there are between us, she can count on me.” The words came out fierce and protective, surprising even me with their intensity.

His face softened with gratitude, his eyes warming in a way that made my heart stutter. “Thank you.”

I didn’t want praise for doing what was simply the bare minimum of being a good human. “I don’t want your thanks, Ford. Just do right by that kid.”

“I’m doing my best.”

I nodded. I knew he would. Family was everything to Ford. It always had been.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but I was already moving past him, reaching for the door. My fingers trembled slightly on the handle as I tried to ignore thegravitational pull of him. “I need to collect Keeley. I’ve gotta get cleaned up for work.”

With one last quick goodbye to Peyton, and an absent, “Good luck with the move,” to them both, I made my escape back to my own house, practically running down the wooden steps.

But the moment I shut myself inside, I collapsed back against the door, my heart hammering against my ribs like it was trying to break free.

How the hell was I going to survive having him right next door?

CHAPTER 16

FORD

“I’ll be here after school to pick you up.” Sutter’s Ferry was small enough Peyton could walk home from school, but a lot could happen in a mile and a half. If the day went badly—if some asshat teenager decided to pick on her the way Zack had picked on Bree—I wanted to be there to do damage control. The thought of her getting bullied made my jaw clench. I might be new to this whole parenting thing, but protecting her was an instinct I didn’t have to learn.

Did Peyton’s massive eye roll mean I was doing something right as a parent? God, I hoped so. Every interaction felt like navigating a minefield.

“Right. Bye.” Without actually looking me in the eye, she joined the stream of kids walking into the school. She gripped her backpack straps so tightly her knuckles were white. I watched her disappear into the crowd, fighting the urge to follow her inside like some helicopter parent. Instead, I forced myself to stay put, reminding myself that hovering wouldn’t help either of us.

Damn it. I knew she was nervous, and I didn’t know how to make that any better. Maybe I could pick up ice cream for post-school therapy? Hell, I should probably look into actual therapyfor her. Maybe for us both. This was a huge transition, and we were both feeling our way blind. A professional couldn’t be a bad thing. I’d add it to the list that was already a half mile long. For now, I was going to do the first thing I’d done purely for myself in more than a week.

I turned toward the coast road that followed Pamlico Sound all the way to the far north end of the island, past the maritime forest and the intertidal marshes that Willa was turning into a wildlife sanctuary for the wild horses that roamed this end of Hatterwick. A trio of them wheeled away from the road as I approached, trotting back into the woods. This end of the island was otherwise uninhabited, except for Sutter House, the ancestral home of the island’s founders. Willa had inherited it from her grandparents when they passed, along with pretty much everything else associated with the Sutter legacy. She and Sawyer had moved in after they eloped last year.

Sawyer had done a lot of work updating the place, and it showed. The three-story shingle-sided house with multiple gabled roofs stood proudly on its perch above the beach. The multitude of windows shone, and the white trim stood out, crisp and bright. It was one of the few structures on the island that had never been wiped out by the hurricanes that frequently battered the Outer Banks. I knew Sawyer would do everything in his power to see that remained true.

I parked in the crushed-shell drive that curved out front and headed for the side door leading into the kitchen. The door opened before I could knock. Sawyer took one look at me and smirked. “You gonna need something stiffer than coffee?”

“Little early for bourbon, so I’ll take the coffee and be grateful.” I trailed him inside. I’d been out here just once before, for a party they’d thrown when all of us got back on island for our delayed holiday celebration. God, had that just been a couple of weeks ago? “Where’s your bride?”

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