Page 43 of Into the Light

“What do you mean? You just said it yourself—you changed your life around. You got out of East Boston, and made something of yourself.”

“Yeah, a fisherman.”

“Yeah, a fisherman. A successful, hard worker, who’s respected in this town.”

He looked at me like he disagreed, but I stood my ground.

“Raf, you’re the best man I know. There’s a reason I’ve had a crush on you all these years.”

He leaned forward to kiss my shoulder, but I kept going.

“If anything, your past makes your present even more of a success story.”

“I don’t know if I agree. But I’m too selfish to give you up, so I’ll have to get used to it.” He pulled me to him and we kissed again.

This time, it was a tender meeting of our lips. A sweet and gentle union. It was, all at once, everything and nothing like I’d imagined. And my heart melted for the man I’d grown to love.

What started as a girlhood crush, had blossomed into something real, something significant. And I didn’t know what the future held, but I knew one thing. Raf had my heart. Now and forever.

twenty-one

RAFAEL

Later that day,I parked my truck in the downtown lot off of Harbor Street and walked down the block to the Seaside Inn, where I was supposed to meet Annie. She’d sent me a text the day before with the time and place. I still hadn’t told Ellie about her, and it felt dishonest, but the truth was, I was too chickenshit to tell her the whole story so soon.

Ellie looked at me like I was the greatest man in the world, and I didn’t want that to change. Maybe that was selfish. But her wanting me was the greatest gift I’d ever received. I couldn’t risk losing it. It was naive of me, and I knew I was playing with fire, but I justified it to myself by making a promise I’d tell her one day.

I was curious what Annie wanted, and why she couldn’t just tell me over the phone. We hadn’t seen each other in years before the other week, so it didn’t make sense that all of a sudden, there was something important she had to say. But she was a good woman, and we used to be important to each other. So I’d decided to give her the time and meet with her.

As I got closer to the Bed and Breakfast, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I couldn’t explain why, but something felt off. A crowd of people stood on the sidewalk, blocking the path to the property.

I pushed through the crowd, gaining a path easily enough due to my broad shoulders and height. But when I got close enough to see what was going on, I didn’t know what to think.

Theo stood at the bottom of the steps, talking to a couple of his deputies. An officer was blocking off the area with crime scene tape. Three police cruisers were parked haphazardly on the adjacent street.

I attempted to walk on to the property where it wasn’t taped yet, but the officer stopped me.

“Hey, you can’t go in there. Crime scene.”

“What happened? I’m supposed to meet someone here.”

“Can’t say.”

The conversation got Theo’s attention and when he saw me, he flinched. What the hell? He jogged down the steps and approached.

“Hey Raf,” he said, placing a hand on my back and guiding me over to a quiet spot near the bushes.

“What’s going on?”

“Do you know an,” he glanced down at his notepad, “Annie Felton?”

“What happened to her?”

“So you do?”

“Come on, man. Is she okay? I was supposed to meet her here right now.”

He looked both ways, confirming no one else was in earshot. His brow was furrowed, and he avoided my eyes for a beat too long.

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