“Ignoring you would only have made you do something crazier.”
She suddenly realized that Jeremy and Tori were watching them with amused expressions. “And on that note, I think it’s time I headed to the boathouse. Thank you both for inviting me up.”
“Don’t be silly. We’re friends now. You can stay in the boathouse as long as you need. You can be our vacation rental trial run. And the door is always open. It’s nice having you around.”
“I’d better head out too,” Bran said. “New parents need their sleep.”
He said it easily, but Jess caught a glimpse of something on his face, a tension around his mouth that hadn’t been there before. He and Jeremy were best friends. It had to be a painful reminder to see his friend happily married with a new baby, when Bran had had those things and lost them.
“I’ll be in touch about the property for Cole,” Jeremy said, oblivious to Bran’s expression. “You can help me with that if you like. Something new just came on the market that might be perfect.”
“Sounds good,” Bran said.
He followed Jess to the front door, and they waved goodbye to their hosts. She expected him to head to his car while she took the path to the boathouse, but he fell into step beside her.
“What are you doing?”
“Walking you home.”
She sighed. “It’s not necessary. I’m not in danger of capsizing on my way to the boathouse.”
“No, but you also didn’t turn a light on.”
Darn, he was right. The boathouse loomed in the darkness, and she could make out the form of the porch, but she hadn’t turned on the outside light.
“The light attracts bugs,” she explained.
He chuckled. She wished he would stop doing that. It made her insides all warm and tingly.
Their feet made soft crunching noises on the graveled path. Jess could hear the sound of the ocean shushing against the sand, and somewhere nearby, in a tall tree, an owl hooted. She sighed, loving the solitude and peace of this place. “That’s a great horned owl,” she said softly. “Who cooks for you?”
“What?”
“Listen to his call. Who cooks for you?”
The owl hooted again, and Bran murmured, “Well, I’ll be damned.”
She smiled in the darkness. It took only another few moments and they were at the porch of the boathouse. “I didn
’t lock the door,” she said, “so I don’t need to see the lock. Thank you for walking me, though.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Branson?”
It sounded odd, using his first name, but after yesterday’s rescue, it hardly seemed necessary to call him Mr. Black.
“Yes?”
His voice was husky in the dark. She held in a sigh.
“You are a wonderful storyteller. I was so afraid you were going to throw me under the bus in there. But you didn’t. You made it sound like some great adventure. Even I was waiting to hear what happened next, and I was there.”
“Thanks.”
She put her hand on his arm. It was firm and warm beneath her fingers. “What I’m trying to say is...don’t give up.”
Silence fell between them for a few moments, and Jess found herself looking into his dark gaze. The shadows only lent to the intimacy of the moment, and briefly she wondered if he were going to kiss her.