Page 62 of Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the

most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”

—Roald Dahl

I was packed hours before I was supposed to leave for St. John to catch my plane home. Henry had already picked up my luggage

to take to the ferry.

I stood on my patio and stared at the ocean. This, I would miss. The sea. The colors. The smells.

But I wouldn’t miss this feeling that I’d been had.

It had been a whirlwind after Tristan was arrested for murder. Talking to the police well into the wee hours of Sunday night.

Talking to curious guests all day Monday. I tried to avoid them, but that didn’t work. So many people came by my cottage to

talk about what had happened at the Sky Bar that I finally went to the Blue Dahlia and drank heavily, answering any question

people had. For hours.

“Did you know that the bartender was Ethan Valentine?” Doug had asked.

“No.”

“When did you suspect the resort manager had killed Diana Harden?” the honeymooners asked.

“When he slipped up,” I said. “I heard what he said, that Diana had been at Ethan’s house on Sunday night, and knew he’d done it.”

“How are you holding up?” Anja asked. “If you’d like, you can come back to my suite, away from people.”

I looked at her and smiled, though I wanted to cry. “I’m okay.”

I wouldn’t be okay for a long, long time.

I was about to go back inside when Luis walked up from the beach.

I was mad at him, too.

“Hello, Mia,” he said, and sat down on one of the chairs.

“I’m going home,” I said, making no move to sit down.

“Please?” He motioned to the other chair.

“I don’t want to talk to you. You lied to me as much as your nephew.”

“Great-nephew,” he corrected me. “Though you probably don’t think he’s all that great right now.”

My lips twitched, but I refrained from smiling. Instead, I sat. “You almost told me at the bar the other day.” I’d been replaying

our conversation, and there were a few hints. But I hadn’t caught on.

“Ethan made a mistake.”

“A big mistake,” I said.

“He cares for you.”

My heart clenched. “I fell in love with Jason.”

I said it out loud. Saying it hurt even more.

“They’re one and the same.”

“No, they’re not. Jason is who Ethan wants to be. It’s fake. He’s pretending. I can’t trust him because I’ll never know who

he really is.”

The uncertainty would turn me inside out.

I needed order in my life. Firm expectations.

A reliable job that required discipline, following the rules, respect.

A life with friends who counted on me, and who I could count on.

Responsibility to others, like my Grams. Who needed me to be grounded, not foolish.

Who needed to be able to trust me and my word.

I did not need a billionaire fraudster who went to great lengths to deceive me and everyone around him.

“Don’t we all spend our entire lives trying to figure out who we are?” he asked.

“I know who I am,” I said with a lot more confidence than I felt.

“Is who you are who you want to be?” Luis asked, again with the riddles.

“I don’t play what-if games,” I said. “People don’t change, and they shouldn’t. People need to be dependable.”

“You’re right, people don’t change,” he said. “Not where it counts. Your values. Your loyalty. Your loves. But sometimes,

we don’t know who we really are, deep inside, until we face challenges and obstacles we’ve never faced before.”

Luis stood, his knees cracking.

“Do you need help?” I asked, jumping up to offer him my arm.

He smiled, patted my shoulder. “I was right about you from the day I met you, Mia Crawford. Don’t be a stranger.”

Then he shuffled away.

I walked to the ferry after saying goodbye to Callie, to Henry, to his wife Millie. Kalise gave me a hug. I was about to board

the shuttle when Brie ran over and wrapped her arms around me.

“Hey,” I said. “You okay?”

“Sherry left yesterday, thank God. And my dad is okay. We’re okay.”

“I’m so glad.” And I meant it.

“He’s a little sad. He feels like he’s been had.”

I felt the same way.

“He’s pressing charges against the guy who grabbed me,” Brie continued, “and maybe he’ll flip on Sherry.”

“You never told me what happened.”

“You had a lot going on,” she said. “I can’t believe I missed it.”

“I don’t want to think about it. What happened that afternoon?”

“I was waiting for the ferry so I could show my dad the video when that creepy guy docked his boat. I told him the ferry would be back in a few minutes. He said he wouldn’t be long.

I kind of recognized him, but didn’t realize it was from your photo until it was too late.

He hit me and put me on the boat. Tied me up, but not very well.

I pretended I was unconscious, then jumped overboard. It took me a while to swim to shore.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“I wasn’t really thinking. By the time I got back, I realized he had my phone, my dad had already returned on the ferry, and

I thought they were already married. I was frantic. I’m just so glad I made it in time, and you were there to help me stop

her.”

“I’m really glad you’re okay,” I said, and meant it. For everything that had happened this week—the good and the bad—I’d made

a great friend in Brie Locke.

“Sherry literally flew from St. John to Atlanta, where she was arm candy for a basketball player at a charity function last

night,” Brie said. “She had to have been working him like she was working my dad.”

“He’ll find someone who loves him for him.”

“Yeah. I think so. I just want him to be happy. If it’s not going to be with a woman, it’ll be with baseball, his second love.

He’s taking a coaching job for U of A. I’ll live on campus. He’s going to get a house. I’ll have my own space... but I

can see him whenever I want.”

“That’s great,” I said. “Maybe he’ll find someone when he least expects it.”

“I’m going to miss you, Mia. Do you think I can come visit sometime? I love New York.”

“Anytime. I mean it, okay? You have all my social media profiles, email, phone number.” I smiled. “I’m going to miss you too.

You’re the little sister I never knew I wanted.”

She laughed, then glanced around and said quietly, “You’re going to forgive him, right?”

“I don’t know. I’m too raw right now.”

“Stay.”

“What?”

“He told me he asked you to stay for a few days.”

“That was before I knew he was Ethan Valentine.”

“If you stay, maybe you can figure it all out.”

I shook my head. “I have work. Responsibilities. So does Ja—Ethan.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, he’s really sad.”

I wished I could just forget everything and forgive him. I wanted to. But there would always be that tingle in the back of

my mind wondering who Ethan Valentine really was. Until he knew who he was, I couldn’t know him.

“When Ethan figures himself out, then, maybe, we can talk,” I said. “I fell in love with Jason Mallory. I don’t even know

who Ethan Valentine is.”

Brie said, “Did you hear what happened to Parker Briggs?”

“Just that he and Amber left early yesterday.”

She pulled out her phone, brought up an article from a gossip rag. “This literally came out first thing this morning.”

Parker Briggs ousted from family company after accusations he stole intellectual property and passed it off as his own.

“Good,” I said. “He’s an ass.”

“Definitely.”

I hugged Brie again and climbed into the shuttle. Henry chatted about a variety of things but thankfully didn’t bring up Ethan.

I thanked Henry and headed to the dock. Anja and Nelson were there as the ferry pulled into port.

“Are you leaving, Ms. Crawford?” Nelson asked in his deep, commanding voice.

“Yes. My vacation is over.”

Anja hugged me tightly. She was shaking. “Are you okay?” I asked.

“No. Yes. I don’t know.” She glanced at the boat. “My daughter—she’s agreed to meet me. And—my ex-boyfriend. He, they, um.” Tears welled in her eyes.

“They’re on the ferry,” Nelson said. “We thought having a couple of days to get to know each other here, without fear of paparazzi

and rumors, would help everyone.”

“I’m so happy for you,” I said to Anja.

“I want her to like me. But I need her to forgive me.”

“Today, or tomorrow, or next year, she’ll understand why you did what you did. It’s hard to walk in other people’s shoes.”

I thought of Ethan. Should I give him a chance? Maybe... no. Yes. Damn. I didn’t know. I had too many things going on in

my own life. I couldn’t help him navigate his personal crisis.

I watched a pretty young woman exit the ferry, followed by a man larger than Nelson. I walked away and let the family work

things out together.

The captain came up to me. “Ten minutes, Ms. Crawford?”

“Thank you.”

I walked along the beach next to the dock. Breathed in the last of the scents of St. Claire. This was it. I was going home.

To my job, my Grams, my friends, my cats.

My name was going to be on the door. I would get a raise and more responsibility. And that was going to have to be enough.

I was walking up the beach toward the dock when a shiny seashell caught my eye. I squatted and picked it up. It was a pink

conch shell that looked exactly like the one I had tossed into the lagoon my first night here. It couldn’t be the same. That

was silly. I stared at it and remembered why I’d thrown it in.

I’d tossed it in because I knew my dream was just a fantasy.

And yet, here it was.

I put the shell in my pocket. I’d keep it as a memory of what might have been.

I heard Anja laugh, and when I turned, I realized that it was her daughter laughing at something as they climbed into the

shuttle. I was happy for them.

I boarded the ferry. I was the only one going home today. I stood at the bow of the ship and didn’t look back. I didn’t want to. Leaving had suddenly become bittersweet.

Then I saw him, Jason— Ethan! —sitting on a Jet Ski in the middle of the ocean. I stared as we passed. The ferry wasn’t going fast, but Ethan rocked in

the wake.

He blew me a kiss.

I hesitated, then “caught” his kiss in my hand. I held it, but I didn’t know what to do with it.

I watched until I could see him no more. Then I faced forward again and headed home.