Page 9 of Mine to Protect

And when he parked his boat at the dock and had his brothers over to his tiki bar for a night of poker, it felt as though it was exactly where his life was supposed to land. He belonged in this spot. Nowhere else—even though he felt a twinge in his heart that something was missing.

But it was still weird to be a homeowner. Even stranger that he’d started driving his Jeep more than his motorcycle. The idea that he wasn’t strapped to his bike had hit home a couple of times.

His daredevil ways weren’t so much a death wish mentality as they were a way to avoid the realities of life. What’d started out as pushing the envelope as a kid had become a way to cope with the pain of a broken heart. After Key West, he’d realized that his eldest brother, Seth, had been right when he’d said that Rhett was letting life pass him by. His adventures, while amazing and accomplishments he should be proud of in his life, no longer gave him the same joy. They no longer soothed his aching heart.

However, he didn’t know what settling down looked like for him because no one he’d dated made him feel the way Shelby had.

If he were being completely honest with himself, not even Krista had that effect on him. Of course, he’d loved Krista. That went without saying. But something about Shelby reached deep into his being and touched him in ways no one else ever did or could. He’d tried to forget her, but it’d never happened.

And the truth was, he never wanted to. Even if he spent the rest of his life alone, he was glad that he had the memories of Shelby.

“I don’t think your mom likes me.” Shelby took her food basket filled with a lobster roll and waffle fries and followed him to a picnic bench on the river. The Hungry Turtle had to be his favorite spot in all of Lighthouse Cove. As a kid, his big brother, Seth, would often take him fishing right off the fixed bridge. And on the days they didn’t get even a single bite, Seth would treat him to his all-time favorite: clam strips and curly fries. It was only fitting that he would buy a house in a neighborhood not too far from this spot.

“It’s not that at all.” Rhett dug into his food. He hadn’t had anything to eat in hours. “She’s got a lot on her plate right now. Besides, missing persons cases are tough. If they don’t have a good lead in twenty-four hours, the trail can become cold real quick, making her job even harder.”

“And then no one is looking.”

“I hate to say it, but that’s a fact.” He had a lot to discuss with Shelby, but he didn’t want to get into the plethora of questions his mom and brothers had given him, not to mention his. Right now, he felt like dealing with the past. While he didn’t feel as though she owed him anything since he had his answers for why she left, it seemed he owedheran explanation for why he’d ghosted her for five years. “All things considered, you look good.”

“So do you.” She smiled.

“You could have called me when you first thought your brother went missing,” he said. “And you should have called me last night. I would have answered, and I certainly wouldn’t have turned you away.”

Her blue eyes picked up a ray of sunshine and lit up like the sky on the brightest day of summer.

He held her gaze, allowing himself this moment. His chest tightened, and it became difficult to fill his lungs with the salty air. He remembered lying in bed and staring into those orbs for what seemed like hours. When he first met her, twinges of guilt had haunted his thoughts. He’d bought her a drink at a tiki bar in part because she was the prettiest girl in the place, but also because she had a deep sadness about her, and he wanted to do his best to cheer her up.

He told himself it was because he understood the kind of emptiness that’d stared back at him from across the room, and misery loved company. In the first few hours of their initial meeting, he had only pure intentions. However, that’d quickly turned to lust, and it was mutual. Even though she’d never admitted it, he knew without a doubt that she’d been using him to drown her sorrows. He’d had no idea what her problems were at the time, and for the first week, he’d tried to convince himself that he didn’t care.

However, the more time he spent with her, the more she mattered, and that meant he needed to push her away. He couldn’t afford to swap one obsession for a new one.

Because that’s what Krista had become. He hadn’t been in love with Krista anymore. He’d become attached to theideaof her and refused to let her go. He’d used his unique skills to find out things about Krista, and the more he did that, the more he hated himself.

It bordered on stalking. He’d been ashamed of his behavior and needed to separate himself from it all. He didn’t talk about it much, but he held onto what he’d thought was his love for Krista like a badge of honor, and all that did was make him a bitter old man before he turned thirty-eight. Now that he was forty-three, he refused to be that person, and even though Shelby had always been in the back of his mind, he chose to live and not dwell on someone he couldn’t have.

Or at least not live the last five years like he was dying.

“To be honest, I thought about looking you up for advice regardless.” She nibbled at her food.

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because you never called.” Her voice was neither combative nor sad, at least regarding him and his lack of communication. He shouldn’t take it personally. She had a lot on her mind.

“I felt kind of foolish for thinking you would,” she said with a layer of emotion.

He swallowed. He could use the excuse that he’d deleted her contact information all he wanted, but the truth of the matter was, he’d been too much of a chickenshit to use his great detective skills to find her. Because if he had, that meant he hadn’t learned anything from the insanity of chasing Krista.

He wasn’t a stalker. Never had been. He’d loved a woman deeply, and she’d ripped his heart to shreds. And then dangled her love like a carrot in front of him, constantly teasing him, bringing him back, telling him that she’d made a mistake and wanted to make things right between them.

For two years after the initial breakup, before she got engaged but after she’d moved in with her new man, Krista would call him, crying about her boyfriend and how stifling the relationship had become. How controlling he was and how he bordered on abusive. She would tell Rhett that she was scared and didn’t think she could leave. He’d beg her to get in her car and, a couple of times, shediddrive back to Lighthouse Cove.

Both times she’d told Rhett that she’d broken up with her boyfriend, and Rhett had believed her, welcoming her back into his bed.

Big mistake. Because she went back to the guy weeks later, and Rhett worried for her safety all over again. However, it was all bullshit. She’d simply gotten cold feet.

“I was going through some stuff at the time.” He mentally slapped himself upside the head as if he were a small child and his mother had caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. What had been going on in his life was no excuse for blowing someone off. He could have told her the truth. He could have been a man and been honest about his emotions.

“So was I.” Her lips pursed.

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