Page 75 of Sea Glass and Second Chances (Carolina Cove 3)

“You’ve been through hell with Mama, and everyone has been here for you—except for him.”

“He was here.”

“For what? An hour? Two? Yet at the first hint of trouble, he bolted for the door.”

“He had to get back for a gala I was supposed to attend with him. And he had a luncheon the next day.”

Dara crossed her arms over her chest and glared, but Devon glared back.

“So you’re okay with being Mama in that weird little scenario? Letting Ted do whatever he likes while you’re left accepting whatever pieces he throws you?”

“Don’t you dare stand there and—”

“Fine. I won’t,” Dara said, yanking open the door. “But years from now, when you’re more miserable than ever, remember you have no one to blame but yourself.”

Devon stayed in the office long after Dara departed because it took that long to regain control of her anger.

Her mind replayed the argument until she wanted to pull her hair out from frustration.

Why did Dara think she should be the one to drop everything and move back? Dara had worked remotely the entire last week. She could keep doing that until her assignment was over and she returned to Wilmington.

But, no, Devon was supposed to give up New York and Ted and move back to the island?

Desperate for some comfort, she called Ted and waited for him to answer. “Pick up, come on.”

The call went to voicemail, and Dara’s statement about accepting whatever time Ted gave her came to the forefront once again as she hung up.

Her phone chimed and she looked at the screen to see Ted’s face. He’d called her back. And the fact it meant so much was… kind of sad. “Ted, hi.”

“Hi, yourself. Did you get a good response from Stewart?”

Taken aback, she hesitated. “Yes, but… How do you know about that? I just got off the phone with him a little while ago.”

“I made some calls,” Ted said. “Justin pointed out that it would help to have you back on camera leading up to the vote.”

So once again he’d pulled strings, and her call hadn’t even been necessary? “I thought Justin didn’t like me,” she said dryly, “considering my family drama.”

“He wants what’s best for me, Devon. It’s his job. You can’t blame him for getting antsy with everything happening there.”

“Yes, well, it’s still going on, so what’s changed?”

“You got Connor Sennett involved, that’s what. No way would he take the case if he didn’t think he could win it. The fact that he’s made such a name for himself both in the courtroom and as a writer definitely helps.”

“How do you… How do you know about Connor? I haven’t talked to you since that happened,” she said, irritated in the extreme that Ted hadn’t called her back despite her voicemails. She’d only received a few texts of can’t talk, going into a meeting, at an event.

His low chuckle sounded in her ear.

“Don’t be upset with me, sweetheart. With everything happening there, Justin thought it would be best to keep someone around.”

“What does that mean?” she asked. “Ted, do you have someone watching me?”

Oz lifted his glass toward the computer screen in front of him, toasting the rough draft of the book finished two full days ahead of his deadline.

With Rayna back home safe, he’d thrown himself into writing, both to meet his goal and to focus on something other than the woman driving him crazy for the second time in his life.

The last half of the draft had rolled from his mind, his fingers flying to keep up the pace. His gut told him he’d produced a solid story, though, and other than a quick read through to find misspellings or dropped words due to the rush of typing, he was good to go.

His gaze shifted from the screen to the window facing the beach and the Atlantic, zeroing in on Devon as she walked down the boardwalk to the bridge leading over the dunes to the sand.

---