Chapter 3
MATT
The house finally felt like a home again.
Matt sat at the old oak desk in the corner of his newly restored living room, papers spread out in neat piles, including leases, deeds, and official documents that were signed and sealed.
The air carried the faint scent of fresh paint mixed with salt and sea breeze, and the rhythmic hum of the waves beyond the window set a steady, calming rhythm against the fading light.
Two weeks. That was how long it had taken for everything to begin to make sense again.
The last of the legal tangle was almost over, thanks mostly to Tessa’s patient guidance.
Carrie’s daughter had handled things like a seasoned lawyer, walking Matt, Ian, and Lori through forms that could have filled a library.
Now, all that remained were signatures and final checks.
Paula had even personally given her approval for the renovations on his house.
Matt leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temple and smiling faintly. After months of tension, the quiet was almost foreign.
He could hear laughter outside. One of those voices was Carrie’s.
It was warm and rich, blending with Alisha’s lighter tone and Cody’s bursts of excitement.
Someone had turned on the Bluetooth speaker, and faint music drifted in through the open door.
It was one of those mellow Key West afternoons that settled over you like a soft blanket.
He pushed back from the desk and stood, stretching.
His joints complained, but it was the good kind of ache.
The kind that came from work well done. The house looked new, though they’d kept its charm: polished floors, whitewashed walls, blue-trimmed shutters, and the same creak in the porch steps that he’d grown oddly fond of.
He walked outside and paused on the deck.
The afternoon sun was lowering, tilting toward the horizon, painting the sky in amber and rose.
Carrie was sitting on the railing, her hair catching the light like spun copper, talking with Alisha while Trent knelt beside Cody, showing him how to fix the leg of an old beach chair.
The sight stirred something deep inside Matt.
An ache that wasn’t painful anymore, but tender.
It had been a long time since he had felt this alive.
“Hey, we’re almost done with the chair,” Trent called, grinning as Cody tightened a screw and held up the wrench triumphantly.
Matt chuckled. “Looks like you’ve got a helper there.”
“Best apprentice I’ve ever had,” Trent said.
Carrie turned her head, her eyes meeting Matt’s. She smiled in that way that made his chest tighten. It was soft, knowing, like she saw something good in him even when he wasn’t sure it was there.
“Have you finished your paperwork?” Carrie asked.
“Finally,” Matt said, stepping closer. “I think I’ve signed my name enough times to last me a lifetime.”
“That’s what happens when you own property on cursed land,” Alisha teased.
Matt shook his head, laughing. “Don’t even start. I’m just grateful the curse seems to be broken.”
Carrie slid down from the railing. “It wasn’t a curse,” she said, brushing a stray hair from her face. “Just a long story that needed to end right.”
She was right, as always.
For two weeks, they’d all been rebuilding.
Physically and emotionally. Between the repairs and paperwork, they’d found a kind of rhythm.
Days filled with work, laughter, and teasing arguments about paint colors.
Evenings spent grilling dinner on the deck, the kids chasing each other through the sand while the adults lingered over coffee or cold beer.
Carrie’s presence had turned everything around.
She’d told him, one evening after everyone had gone to bed, about the time she’d been shot.
How she’d brought down a corrupt judge in Nantucket and paid the price for doing the right thing.
Her courage humbled him. Carrie had told him about her marriage and how she’d had two best friends.
One had become the sister she never had, and the other her husband.
They’d simply grown apart and were still very good friends.
Matt had opened up to her, too—about Sherri, about the loneliness that had followed her death. He hadn’t talked about those things to anyone, not even Alisha.
And somehow, with Carrie, it had been easy.
She never pushed, never filled the silence with words. She just listened, and somehow that was enough.
Now, watching her laugh with Alisha and Trent, Matt felt something deep settle inside him. A peace he hadn’t realized he’d been missing. The ache that had lived in his chest since Sherri passed was still there, but softer now, more like an old scar than a wound.
When he closed his eyes, he could almost hear Sherri’s voice, light and teasing, telling him it was time to live again.
He opened his eyes and found Carrie looking at him from across the deck, her expression gentle. She didn’t need to say anything. She just smiled, and he knew she understood.
By the time the last bit of daylight faded, the chair was fixed, and Cody had declared himself a master carpenter. Carrie, Trent, and Maggie were packing up to go back home.
“I’d better go jump in the shower,” Carrie said, her eyes meeting his, and his heart jolted.
“Yes, you’d better go shower too, Dad,” Alisha teased him. “You’ve been working in the burning sun all day, and well… let’s just say… it smells like it.”
Matt sighed and shook his head, his eyes going to Carrie’s. “I’ll pick you up in…” He glanced at his wristwatch. “An hour?”
“I’ll be ready,” Carrie assured him as she, Trent and Maggie, waved goodbye and left with Luna.
Alisha came over to him, wiping her hands on a towel. “You ready for tonight?”
Matt smiled and nodded at his daughter. “I’ve been ready for two weeks.”
Alisha smiled at him. “You look pretty nervous to me.” She teased. “And it’s okay to be. You haven’t had a date since… uh… well, let’s just say things have changed a lot in the hundred years or so since then.” She grinned.
Matt chuckled. His daughter was right. He was a bit nervous, yet filled with excitement and guilt at the same time. “I’m sure it’s just like riding a bicycle.”
“No.” Alisha shook her head. “I’m sure riding a bicycle is much, much easier.” She grinned. “You’re going to be great, Dad, and I’m very happy you’re doing this; it’s about time.” She kissed his cheek. “Mom would be happy too.”
“Okay, pot,” Matt said, giving her a warm smile. “What about you and Trent? You don’t think Carrie and I know you ‘taking the kids’ to movies and dinner in Key West is code for a date?”
“No.” Alisha’s cheeks went pink. “We’re… uh…” She swallowed. “Tonight isn’t about me. It’s about you and Carrie. Now go shower before you’re the one that’s late.”
Matt kept his grin to himself, secretly pleased that his daughter was opening her heart again.
The shadows that had haunted her eyes for far too long were fading, as were Cody’s, and even if Trent had betrayed them at first, he’d brought life back to his daughter and grandson. Matt couldn’t fault that.
Forty-five minutes later, Matt couldn’t believe the number of clothes he’d tried on before his daughter and Cody had settled on an outfit that made him look less ‘fuddy-duddy’, which Matt took to mean old.
Now here he was, dressed smart-casual enough to pass at the restaurant in Key West he’d booked for him and Carrie.
He glanced at his reflection and straightened his collar, practiced a smile—then immediately wiped it away, suspecting it looked forced—and checked that his hair stayed in place.
Sherri would have said he looked dignified, maybe even elegant, but Matt knew the truth.
He looked like a man who was both overprepared and completely out of his depth.
He slipped on the jacket, the one Alisha had said “brought out the color” in his eyes, and found it did, in fact, make him feel a little less like a stranger in his own skin.
He grabbed the door keys from the table, took one last look at the photo of Sherri he kept by the entry, and murmured, “Wish me luck,” before heading out the door.
He could see the glow of lights from the Carlton house next door.
Moths batting against the gold rectangles of the windows, and the laughter that carried faintly on the wind.
The whole island seemed to buzz these days.
Revived by the subtle promise of life moving forward.
He caught Cody’s voice, shrill with delight, and as Matt pushed open the garden gate, Cody and Alisha loomed on the porch, waving to him.
“Have fun, Dad,” Alisha said.
“You look sharp, Gramps!” Cody said, eyes wide.
“Thanks,” Matt replied, waving back before sucking in a breath and wandering over to Carrie’s house.
He was just climbing the stairs when the front door burst open, and Maggie stood there, her cheeks dimpled by a big smile. “Hi, Matt. You look very handsome.”
Matt smiled. “Hey, kiddo, thank you.”
“Hey, Matt,” Trent loomed behind her. “Mom’s almost ready. Come in.”
He and Maggie stepped back to let Matt enter. He suddenly felt like a teenager being greeted by his date’s father as Trent’s eyes observed him. “Alisha told me where you’re taking Mom. Great choice.”
“Thanks,” Matt said, stopping himself from adjusting his collar once again and wishing he’d bought flowers.
Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? Bring flowers?
He gave himself a mental shake. Stop it, Matt.
You’re being ridiculous. You and Carrie have been going for early morning runs every day for two weeks.
You’ve flirted and even had stolen kisses. So stop being so nervous.
Then, suddenly, the world seemed to stop turning as he heard footsteps and turned to see Carrie, looking stunning, as she glided down the stairs.
Matt’s heart jolted, his pulse raced, taking his breath away, and he knew right there and then he’d found his second chance at love as he’d fallen head over heels for Carrie.