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“I honestly don’t know what you could do. It’s…been a long time since I did anything,” I admitted, trailing off as I considered my words.
“What did you do before you were married?”
I found it funny how he carefully maneuvered around that landmine. “I was in college. Well, I had just graduated. But that seems like a lifetime ago.”
“Is there anything you want to do now?”
Run back to the island. Hold my husband’s hand again. Stop pretending that there isn’t a gaping hole where my heart once resided in my chest.
“I don’t really have any talents.”
“You just need to find them. What about cooking or baking? Do you enjoy that?”
Ebarardo never allowed it. His wife wasn’t allowed to lower herself to a servant’s job. Sometimes, I wished he would have let me. I was well aware that he prevented me from learning because he had a reputation to uphold, but it would have been nice to cook him a meal and see the look on his face when I laid that meal in front of him and saw him beam with pride.
“I’ve never been very talented in the kitchen,” I admitted.
“Was there anything you were allowed to do on the island?”
I flinched at the way he phrased it, making it sound like I was being controlled by a madman. Our lives were carefully constructed to keep us safe. At the time, I didn’t appreciate it, but now…now I craved it more than anything.
“—maybe something you took an interest in.”
I only caught part of what he was saying, but understood his meaning. The truth was, I never took an interest in anything but Ebarardo. I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath and a flash of something jolted my heart.
Rafe. He was in bed and I was tending to him. I swallowed hard, remembering how badly he was injured. And that was all because he was protecting Ebarardo. He’d let me tend to him, and following the doctor’s orders, I was allowed to clean him up and make sure he healed properly.
I remembered thinking at the time how it felt so natural to put him back together after he had saved my husband’s life. “Maybe?—”
I cut myself off before I could voice my thoughts. It was silly. I didn’t know anything about taking care of someone. I had the basic knowledge of tending to wounds. That didn’t make me a nurse or even close to a doctor. But at the thought, something stirred inside me.
“Maybe what?” Bradford asked.
“It’s silly,” I huffed out, wishing I hadn’t said anything.
For the first time ever, he placed his hand on my forearm and stopped walking, looking intently at me. “Hey, it’s not silly if it’s something that interests you.”
I heard his words, but all I could think about was the fact that his hand was on me. If Ebarardo knew he was touching me, he would be dead before he had time to explain himself. I had to get away from him. I needed to get back to the house and?—
“Izzy—”
“I shouldn’t have come,” I said, taking a step back.
His hand dropped and he followed my line of sight until understanding dawned. “I’m sorry I was so forward. I didn’t mean to get personal.”
I shook my head, wanting to yell that it wasn’t him. But deep down, I knew he was lucky that Ebarardo was dead, or he’d be in the ground in less than an hour.
“I shouldn’t have crossed the line. Let’s keep going. We’re almost there.”
“Almost where?” I asked, barely pushing the words out around the suffocating band around my chest.
“To Eva’s. She’s having a hard time since Cash—since Cash left. I figured she could use a little extra support right now from family.”
Family. That’s what I was to her, but I never felt more distant from anyone in my life. “Maybe someone else should visit her.”
“I disagree. She needs to feel close to Cash, and you’re his sister.”
“But I don’t even know him,” I argued, feeling nausea swirl in my stomach.