“Exactly,” Sarah says, excited all over again. “Petunia already found a sunny spot on the living room rug, and it justfeelsright here, you know?”
Suddenly, she turns to me and presses her finger into my chest.
“You didn’t have to fill my fridge and leave cupcakes for me.”
“Maybe it was the cupcake faerie?” I feel my lips twitch as her gorgeous eyes narrow.
“Thank you. It was the sweetest, and they were delicious.”
“Hold up,” Apollo says. “You ateallthe cupcakes already?”
“Of course, we did,” June replies with a satisfied Cheshire grin. “Too bad, so sad.”
“You’re mean,” Apollo says to her.
“You’re slower than I thought if you’re just now figuring that out.”
I want to brush the loose strand of blonde hair behind Sarah’s ear. I want to pull her to me and kiss her until she can’t remember her own name.
So, I take a step back and shove my hands in my pockets the way I always do when I’m around her, just to be safe.
“I’m glad you’re getting settled. I’m going to head out. Have a good evening.”
“We’re about to go, too,” Luna adds as I turn to the door. Once outside, I hear the door open and close, and footsteps sound on the driveway behind me.
“Tanner?”
I turn at Sarah’s sweet voice. “What’s up?”
“Thanks.” She boosts up on her toes and presses her lips to my cheek. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.”
ChapterThree
Sarah
“I’ll be back in just a little while.” I pat Petunia on the head, then scratch her under the chin before slipping my feet into flip-flops and pulling on a red windbreaker.
It’s chilly on the Oregon coast in the spring, but I still want to feel the sand under my feet as I walk.
It takes me less than a minute to walk down the steps by Tanner’s house to make it to the sand. Being near the water fills me with absolute joy as I slip out of the flip-flops and leave them at the bottom of the steps, then set off toward the surf.
The tide is way out, so I might find some shells or other little treasures that I can slip into my pocket and take home with me.
Clouds hang low, blocking the sunrise this morning, but overcast weather is nothing new here in Huckleberry Bay. And, although many people complain about the constant dreary weather, I love it.
I lived in California, in the sunshine, for far too long. I had no idea when I married Anthony and moved down there with him how much I would long for home. How much I’d miss my friends, my town.
My brother.
In the beginning of the relationship, Anthony made me believe that I could come visit any time that I wanted to. He was certainly wealthy enough that he could have made that a reality, but I learned right away that he never intended for me to come home, even to visit.
Anthony was a really good liar.
“He was too controlling to let me out of his sight long enough to come home to visit,” I say out loud, not worried in the least that someone might overhear me. There are only a handful of other people on the sand, a runner and a couple holding hands, but they’re far away, and the surf drowns out the sound of my voice.
It’s one of the reasons that I love walking down here so much. My whole life, the beach at Huckleberry Bay was my safe place. My therapist.