Chapter 18 #2
Something flickered in his gaze. Just for a moment.
Just like it had outside of Gage’s townhome.
The briefest hint of sadness. Fury. Empathy.
Then possibly even guilt. But they were there, and in that moment, she saw the boy she’d known growing up.
The one who’d piggybacked her inside when she’d fallen and skinned her knee bloody.
The boy who’d always protected her from the neighbor bully who’d teased her relentlessly about her freckles.
The boy he was before their father had taken him as a teenager to train and groom him into the man in front of her.
Noah glanced over his shoulder and then lowered his voice as the outside door opened and a chattering group entered.
“People like us don’t get to choose our lives, Sloane.
We inherit them. We master them. We rule and then pass them on to our children.
Do as your told if for no other reason than to know it’s the only way Father will allow your friend to stay safe. ”
“Is that it?” she asked in a whisper. “Is that what happened to you? Did Father threaten someone who meant something to you and turn you into…this?”
The sharp sting of tears burned her eyes at the flash of truth she saw on his face. “That’s it, isn’t it? Oh, Noah.”
His jaw locked, and a muscle spasmed on the side. “It’s better to give them up than to know you’re the one to blame, Sloane. Trust me on that.”
She sucked in a breath, then another. Watched as Noah turned and strolled out of the building as casually as he’d entered, passing by the customers like a ghost of the man he might have been.
Shaken to her core, Sloane managed a forced smile to the youngest of the group looking her way as though sensing her upset.
Before going over to them, though, she needed a moment. A breath to steady herself.
She turned to gather her senses only to stop short when she saw Alec Blackwell watching her from within the doorway leading into the convenience store. He was still inside the store. Easily hidden but close enough to—
Oh, no. No, no, no. Had he heard what Noah said?
Surely not. Noah’s words were too low. For her ears only. But Alec had seen them talking and probably sensed the gist of their conversation.
She swallowed audibly and lifted her chin. “Did you need something?”
“Gage back yet?”
Alec’s gaze unnerved her, and she fought the urge to squirm.
How much had he overheard? “No, not yet. He texted that he had another delivery to the beach, and then he was going to one of the rental houses for a repair. The renter saw him on the beach and reported a broken window. He shouldn’t be long though,” she rambled.
“I’ll let him know you were looking for him. ”
“Excuse me, do you have any locally made souvenirs or books? We like to support local artists,” the older woman in the group said with a hopeful expression.
Sloane smiled and pointed to the far corner of the building. “There’s a section there with a few pieces of driftwood art, some sea glass, and locally authored books. If you like romance, there are several series set here in Carolina Cove. Take a look, and I’ll be right over to assist you.”
The woman crossed between Sloane and Alec toward the section, and Sloane felt Alec’s gaze remain on her. “Did you, um, need something else?”
Alec shifted his attention to the mom-and-pop family scattered about the store and shook his head. “Looks like you could use a hand in here. Go help her. I’ve got him.”
He walked down the slight ramp into the building and went to where an older man stood perusing fishing rods.
Sloane sensed Alec stayed due to more than the assorted customers but did as ordered, heart hammering hard in her chest due to anxiety.
The woman wound up buying ten books as well as sea-glass tasseled bookmarks to take home as gifts for her book-club friends. She also chose two pairs of earrings, a glass and metal soldered decor item filled with sand and assorted small shells, and three melted wine bottles-turned-cheese trays.
The man Alec helped purchased a high-end fishing reel, plus three of the inexpensive ones for the three boys he introduced as his grandsons. The only girl with them chose a skim board, sand toys, and a hemp bracelet as her purchases.
Sloane rang up the items while Alec gave the granddad some suggestions on where and how to fish from the beach. Once everything was handed over or bubble-wrapped and bagged, the group was on their way out the door, chattering excitedly about their finds.
“Shew,” she said softly. “That was a lot of energy in one group.”
Alec’s lips quirked in a smile, and he nodded. “That it was.”
Silence followed his words, and she was once again reminded of what Alec had witnessed as the group arrived. “I should go grab more of the sea glass and books to restock. She wiped out quite a few of them.”
“Sloane.”
She stopped with a wry glance at him that she tried to pass off with a smile. “Yeah?”
“I don’t know what your brother said to you, but it’s obvious it wasn’t good. If you need help, all you have to do is ask.”
Relief flooded her that Alec hadn’t heard—or was pretending not to, anyway. “I don’t but thanks. Everything’s okay.”
“Are you sure?”
His quiet query left her struggling to maintain eye contact. “I’m positive. No worries.”
Because she now knew exactly what she had to do…