Page 40 of When Summer Returns

“Alive,” he corrected gently. “Without walls.”

Jessie’s pace slowed, her expression thoughtful as she considered his words. “Walls serve a purpose,” she said finally. “They protect what’s vulnerable.”

“They also keep everything else out.”

“Maybe that’s the point.”

Luke stopped walking, turning to face her directly. The moonlight caught in her eyes, transforming them to luminous jade. “Is that what you want, Jess? To keep everything out?”

A flicker of uncertainty crossed her face, quickly masked by the practiced composure he was coming to recognize as her defense mechanism. “I don’t know what I want,” she admitted. “I thought I did—closure, selling my share of the bar, returning to my life in Savannah. But now…”

“Now?” he prompted when she fell silent.

“Now everything’s more complicated than I expected.” She resumed walking, as if physical movement might help organize her thoughts. “Tell me about your life, Luke. The parts I missed. What happened after you joined the Coast Guard?”

Luke recognized the deflection but allowed it, understanding her need for space. “Spent four years on search and rescue operations, mostly along the Eastern Seaboard. Saw some incredible things, some terrible things. Learned that the ocean gives and takes with equal measure.”

“Dangerous work,” she observed.

“Sometimes. But necessary.” He matched his pace to hers, memories surfacing with unexpected clarity. “There was a hurricane about twelve years back—Delilah. Category three when it made landfall near Charleston. We got a distress call from a fishing vessel that had ignored evacuation orders and gotten caught in the outer bands.”

“What happened?” Jessie asked, genuinely interested.

“Five-man crew, engine failure, taking on water. We launched in conditions that probably should have grounded us—winds over sixty knots, waves the size of buildings. Couldn’t use the helicopter because of the wind shear, so we took the response boat out.”

Luke paused, the memory of that night still vivid—the howling wind, the vessel pitched at a dangerous angle, the terror in the fishermen’s eyes as they’d transferred to the rescue boat one by one.

“We got them all off safely, but on the return journey, a rogue wave hit us broadside. Nearly capsized us, swept one of the fishermen overboard. I went in after him.”

“You went into hurricane waters?” Jessie’s voice held disbelief tinged with something like awe.

“Training kicks in.” Luke shrugged, though there had been nothing casual about plunging into that raging sea. “Got to him before he went under, managed to get a line around us both. Crew pulled us in.”

“You saved his life.”

“That’s the job.” He met her gaze, seeing the genuine admiration there. “Coast Guard motto: ‘So others may live.’ Simple as that.”

Jessie was silent for a moment, absorbing his story. “I can see why it suited you,” she said finally. “You always were the hero type. Even back then.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Luke replied, though the moonlight couldn’t hide the slight color in his cheeks.

“I would,” she insisted. “Remember when those mainland boys cornered me at the marina that summer? You took on all three of them without hesitation.”

“They had it coming,” he shrugged, dismissing the memory of split knuckles and a black eye he’d worn for a week after.

“Or that time at the Rusty Anchor when Mack Donovan and his friends decided I shouldn’t be there. You stood between me and trouble then too.”

“Donovan always did need lessons in manners,” Luke said with a hint of the old fire.

“You’ve always been the one people count on,” Jessie observed, her voice carrying a weight of realization. “The one who runs toward danger instead of away from it.”

“Always was,” Luke agreed softly. “Always will be.”

The simple declaration hung between them, weighted with meaning that extended far beyond physical protection. Jessie looked away, her gaze fixed on the horizon where ocean met sky in a seamless blend of silver and black.

“I wish—” she began, then stopped herself. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It matters,” Luke countered. “Everything about what happened matters, Jess.”

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