Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
“S
o, that was Tripp,” Bronwyn said from the passenger seat as Willow turned out of the sheriff’s station parking lot.
“That was him.” She turned the AC on full blast, trying not to think about him or the things he still made her feel. She aimed the vents between the front seats to blow at Rufus, sitting upright in the back. He sure loved being in the car.
“I feel like I already know him a bit because of everything you’ve told me about him. He seems like a good guy.”
“He is.” It bothered her to know he’d been hurting so much that he’d wound up in rehab. While she was glad he’d gone for help, she felt awful for pretty much abandoning him when he’d needed all the support he could get.
Bronwyn was quiet a few seconds. “Any old...feelings stirred up after seeing him?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Because there were definite sparks happening between you two on that beach.”
A wry smile tugged at her lips. “I won’t deny feeling some things.” As for sparks? Hell yeah. All he had to do was be in her line of sight, and she got swarms of butterflies in her stomach.
“Good, because if you’d said no, I’d call you a damn liar. Is he single?”
“I think so, but whatever might have happened between us was a long time ago. I have no idea if he feels anything for me at all anymore—and even if he did,” she continued when Bronwyn opened her mouth to interject something, “I just got out of a disappointing long-term relationship. I wouldn’t risk getting involved with him as a rebound. ” He meant too much to her for that.
“No offense, Will, but that’s straight up bullshit.”
Willow shot her a shocked look. “Wow, tell me how you really feel.”
“I wouldn’t be a true friend if I didn’t. And what I saw on that beach tells me there’s no way he would be a rebound. Not unless you wouldn’t let him be more.”
Ouch. A bit harsh, but fair. “Okay, well, I’m over here in the middle of getting my life sorted out, so... I’m not ready for anything yet.”
“Fair enough. But I get the sense he’s the kind of guy who would wait for you to be.”
The thought of Tripp waiting for her all this time twisted something deep inside her. He was so quiet and self-contained. Kept his feelings and his pain to himself, and these last few years he’d purposely isolated himself from the rest of the world.
“Okay, change of subject then. Your new sheriff is freaking hot. I can’t believe you never told me about him.”
Willow laughed. “I’m sure I did at some point. And I also detected some other sparks happening on the beach,” she added with a knowing smirk.
Bronwyn grinned. “I wouldn’t say no to sparking with him. Too bad I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“You’re welcome back anytime. And trust me, you made quite an impression on him.”
“You think?”
“Oh yeah. He was hanging on your every word.”
“Well, that’s refreshing. Is he single? Because I don’t want to have the hots for a married man.” She made a face.
“He’s divorced. Two years ago, I think.”
“Oh. Baggage? Damaged?”
“Not really. They didn’t have kids, so that made it easier to split and move on. He doesn’t seem bitter about it or anything.”
“That’s good. So. I’ve only been on the island two hours, I’ve already met the hot sheriff, and we’ve identified and found some human skeletal remains. What’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?”
“Anything’s possible,” she said with a smile. She loved Bronwyn’s sense of humor and how easy she was to be around. “Who knows what we’ll get up to? Maybe a hike in the woods behind my place and a glass of wine on the porch after.”
“I’m down.”
“Here we are, home sweet home,” Willow said with pride a few minutes later when she pulled into her driveway.
“Oh, it’s adorable. Wait, is someone on your—”
A short figure in floral overalls walked around the far corner of the wraparound porch. “That’s Mae.”
“Your grandma’s neighbor?”
“My neighbor now.” What had she been up to in the hours Willow had been gone? Mae could get more done in that time than anyone else Willow knew. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
Mae walked down the front steps to meet them, shading her eyes against the sun. “Welcome. You must be Bronwyn. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Bronwyn climbed out of the car to shake hands with her. “Same, nice to meet you.”
“So, what have you two been up to so far?” Mae asked, walking around to the trunk and taking out Bronwyn’s suitcase before she could.
“We found some bones,” Bronwyn said.
“Human ones,” Willow added.
Mae’s expression shifted slightly. “Oh? Whereabouts?”
“Shipwreck Cove. Rufus found a broken piece of leg bone this morning. I took it to Rafe. Bronwyn confirmed it was human, then we went back down to look, and Rufus found the other piece.”
“Ah. Probably from one of the wrecks offshore.”
“Yeah, that seems to be the prevailing theory,” Bronwyn said, following Mae and her suitcase up the steps to the front door. “I’m gonna read up on them tonight.”
“Ah, some nice, light bedtime reading.”
“It is for me. I love history and archaeology.”
Willow let Rufus out of the backseat and followed them, pausing on the porch. Two wooden Adirondack chairs that had seen better days were set off to one side of it. “Where did those come from?”
“Found them in your grandma’s shed out back,” Mae said. “Thought we could give them a sanding down and then paint them up together.”
So that’s what she’d been up to. Busy helping her organize the shed on top of taking care of her own chores. “That’s a great idea. I love them, thank you.”
“Figured you would. Now,” Mae said, finally handing Bronwyn the suitcase handle while Willow unlocked the front door. “You get settled, then come on over. I’ve made us lunch. Say in twenty minutes?” She started down the steps.
“Uh...” Bronwyn shot Willow an uncertain look.
No sense in arguing. “Sure, we’ll be right there. Need anything?”
“Just you,” Mae called over her shoulder, already halfway down the driveway.
Bronwyn laughed softly as she followed Willow inside. “She’s a force of nature.”
“You have no idea.”