Page 89 of The Summer that Changed Everything

“You’ve navigated life the best way you possibly could, Lucy. I don’t think it matters, even if you were wrong. You need to give yourself that kindness.”

“Just in case he didn’t murder anyone.”

“Just in case,” he confirmed. “Beating yourself up over how you handled what happened won’t do any good.”

She switched to her other side, so she could face him. “Your brother hasn’t been here for quite a few years, right? If he’scoming now, your mother must be pretty upset that we’re spending time together.”

“My mother insists coming here was Houston’s idea, that hearing about North Hampton Beach again has made him miss the ocean and want to return.”

“Do you believe her?”

“I don’t know. Houston’s never expressed much interest in returning here. Matter of fact, he’s had only derogatory things to say about this place—that it’s way overrated as far as beaches go, that there’s no good place to party, that it’s just a sleepy little hamlet for parents with small kids. Apparently, he didn’t love coming here while we were growing up as much as I did. He and my mother have been pressing me to sell this place, get rid of it.”

For some reason, Lucy hated the thought of that. “Do you have to listen to them?”

“Not necessarily. As trustee of my father’s estate, I’m in charge. The decision is mine. But they would benefit financially, so it’s difficult to tell them no.”

“That would be a hard decision. This place is special.”

“I was planning on selling when I first arrived, but now... I’d really hate to see it go. I don’t want to make the decision right now. There are too many other things on my mind.”

“You mean likemyproblems. That’s what’s on your mind?”

He nuzzled her neck. “Not your problems.You.Why would I want any distractions? Getting the house ready for sale would only rob me of some of the time we’ll have together this summer.”

She didn’t want to lose that, either. But what if the consequences of spending all that time together turned out to be too painful?

“You have nothing to say to that?” he asked, a grin in his voice, when she didn’t respond.

“I’ve had to weather a lot of things in my life, Ford.”

He sobered. She could hear it in his voice. “But...”

She couldn’t face losing him again, didn’t want a repeatofthat, in particular. But she didn’t want to express so much emotion—wished she didn’t feel it—especially so soon. “Never mind. So... why would Houston have such a sudden change of heart? It has to have something to do with me, don’t you think?”

Although she couldn’t make out his expression in the darkness, he sounded contemplative when he answered. “Possibly. I’m guessing my mother’s told him you’re here. She probably wants to know what’s going on. But he was always big on gossip, loves being in the middle of anything sensational, so I could see your return attracting him even without her.”

“Are your brother and your mother close?”

“Surprisingly, they are.”

“Why is that surprising?”

“They live together in Maryland. It’s not far from where I live in DC, but it makes sense that they’d form a closer bond than the one my mother shares with me. They’re also more alike than she and I are. But she’s complained about him his whole life for not taking more initiative, working harder and accomplishing something. So there’s some frustration and disapproval there, too.”

Lucy remembered Houston coming to the courthouse quite often during the trial the following winter, but a lot of the citizens of North Hampton Beach did that. They’d been up in arms, bent on getting revenge.

In retrospect, it reminded Lucy of biblical stories where a whole village would come out to stone an offender. “Were you more like your dad?” she asked.

“Overall, I guess I was.” He curved closer to her and yawned, giving her the impression he was falling back asleep. But after several moments of silence, he said, “Lucy?”

She let her hand slide up over his forearm, then his bicep and into his thick hair. If she was going to pay dearly for loving him the way she did, she planned to make the most of every moment—memorize every inch of him, every detail. “What?”

“You know this time would be different if... if itcouldbe different, don’t you?”

What she knew was that it was going to rip her heart out when he went back to Christina. “We still have the summer,” she said, reminding herself as much as him.

He sighed deeply. “It won’t be enough.”

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