“They had a younger sister, Josephine. Her husband died young, shortly after they’d all settled here. She wasn’t even twenty yet, had two babies already, both sons. Story goes that Jo’s husband died soon after Jed had taken off, so Jeremiah took her under his roof and helped raise her kids. Not as his own, per se, but they were Blues, nonetheless. And—Cove history is wishy-washy on this, though I’m sure Jonah has records somewhere—but whatever his sister’s married name had been, those kids used the surname Blue. Jonah descends from them.”Calder took a moment, letting all the information settle a bit.“You have family?” Owen asked.“No kids, if that’s what you mean. I have three brothers. All younger.” He smiled at Owen’s wide eyes. “Two are married, two daughters apiece. The baby is still in college. Not a one of them cares a lick about what’s going on out here.” They’re too busy arguing with me. “So . . . yeah, we weren’t really raised to even think about this side.”“Well, Brooks w

He chuckled at the way she’d said that, like a closing statement meant to brook no further comment. “Yeah. You sound overcome with it.”She looked at him squarely then, which drew his fingertip along her cheek, down to her chin. “I’m very happy for my brother. I couldn’t be happier for him.”“Then why do you look so miserable? I figured it was from getting smacked in the face with an air bag. You got some other sort of unrest going on back at the plantation, Miz Scarlett?”She gave him a penetrating, no-bullshit stare, much the same way he imagined she’d look at someone she was about to cross-examine on the stand. It was impressive. But because he wasn’t on trial, it didn’t faze him in the least. He also noted she didn’t shift away from his touch. Now that fazed him.“No unrest. Everything will be fine,” she said. “Is fine.”He smiled, which spread to a grin when she scowled. “Good thing you’re not on the stand right now. You’re perjuring yourself.”Despite herself, she smiled a littl

Hannah slipped out the front door of the pub and let it swing quietly shut behind her. Not that anyone would have heard if she’d slammed the thing. Dear Lord, but her head was one giant throb. As were her face, her mouth, and her shoulder. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into her bed back at the Point and bury her head under a mound of pillows. Really soft, cool pillows. And maybe never crawl back out again.At least she’d finally been able to get out of that awful dress and hat. She and Delia had pulled their co-maid-of-honor rank and defeated Fiona and Kerry on wearing those ridiculous getups a minute longer once the rehearsal was over. Privately—though Hannah would never admit it to Fi—it had been pretty hilarious as they’d rehearsed the actual walk down the aisle. All of them together looked like the cast of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Gets Hitched. In all honesty, the laughter and snide comments they’d shot back and forth had been the best sort of distraction, keeping h

She shivered from the memory of his touch, his taste . . . his kiss. Even a half kiss from him had been enough to knock the sense right out of her. If a kiss to the corner of her mouth and a light stroke along her collarbone could turn her into a puddle of needy—His coat landed on her shoulders, jerking her thoughts mercifully away from that dangerous path. She didn’t bother shrugging it off and flinging it at him. Her little rant on the phone had zapped whatever defiant posturing she had left straight out of her. Instead, she pulled it closed in front of her, and tried not to breathe in the smell of him. Tried to make herself believe she hadn’t thought about that very scent well past the time she’d convinced herself that the whole scene in front of Hartley’s had just been an unfortunately timed chance meeting. Sort of like smashing into Beanie’s sign. Only less painful. Maybe.“So you graciously spared the town more needless gossip,” she said, struggling to pick up the thread of the

Calder whipped his head around in the exact same instant he instinctively pulled Hannah into his arms and shielded her with his body. “What the—”She squirmed in his arms. “Calder, let go. I need to—”He set her away from him. “You okay? Call nine-one-one, or you probably know the entire fire crew by name. Get them here. Then stay here. I’ll be back.”She’d already been trying to dig her phone out of her jeans pocket. “I’m on it, but—”He leaned in, eyes right on hers, and kissed her, banged-up lip and all. “Stay here. Please.” Then he turned and took off at a run toward the docks.“Calder!” she shouted after him. “What are you—don’t go down there! You don’t know what else might—”He looked over his shoulder just long enough to make sure she wasn’t running after him, saw that she had the phone to her ear and was talking into it, presumably to the dispatcher, and let out a sigh of relief.Then he turned back and focused on the burning boathouse, which looked like nothing more than a No