Page 55 of Halstead House

I expected him to tease me back, but his voice remained serious and thoughtful. “It was childish, but I saw the way everyone immediately cared for you. I’ve known them for years, but they keep me at arm’s length. I’m treated with nothing more than cordial respect.”

“I joined them as a fellow staff member. You’re the boss, and they want to be respectful of that. Plus, you’re kind of standoffish most of the time,” I ventured, testing this new openness.

He scoffed. “I am not standoffish.”

“Fine, then. Arrogant, superior, snooty?” I hardly recognized my own teasing voice as the words came flying out.

He laughed, the first true laugh I’d heard from him. I felt it shoot down my spine and make my toes curl. I wanted to hear him laugh a million more times.

“I am not snooty,” he said.

“Then prove it.” I shrugged.

“How?”

“Stop being standoffish.” It seemed pretty simple when I said it like that, but I understood how hard it could be to change lifelong behaviors. I’d been struggling with it for weeks now.

“Aunt Mary wanted us to be friends, you know.”

I nodded, surprised he’d mention it. “Yes, she told me the same thing.”

“Do you want to try it out?” he asked. “Being friends, I mean.”

My heart rate sped up as I was asked something I’d never actually been asked by another human being. I considered Ana my friend, but that had sort of just evolved without any conversation. I wiggled my toes in the sand as I tried to feel courageous and believe he meant it.

I chewed my lip and nodded. “I think so.”

“No more telling me what you think I want to hear, even if I’m being nice?”

“I’ll try.” He snorted in amusement. “Well, turning over a new leaf isn’t all that easy,” I defended. “For your part, you can’t be overbearing, or cold, and make me feel like you’ll end our friendship if I don’t live up to your standards.”

“We’re both taking a risk here, you know,” he said. I nodded. It was as exhilarating as it was sobering.

He extended a hand to me, and we shook on it, there in the sand under the stars. Our hands released quickly, but our eyes locked for a moment longer, as though we were both trying to see if we could trust in each other.

“In the spirit of our newfound honesty, why are you afraid of boats?” he asked.

“My father drowned in a boating accident. He was deep sea fishing and something went wrong. The boat sank. I was too young to know him, but trust me when I tell you that Mother exaggerated the story so greatly that I’ve never dared set foot on a boat until today.”

“Today was your first time on a boat?” He seemed shocked, and I didn’t blame him.

“Yeah.”

“I wish I’d known. It would have been nice if that had gone better.” He reached out a hand and gave my arm a light squeeze before releasing me again. I felt that squeeze all the way to the tips of my fingers.

“I was starting to relax tonight until that tsunami came out of nowhere.”

“The termtsunamiis debatable,” he said, his mouth shifting in amusement. I pulled a face and he held up his hands. “Okay, okay. It was a matter of perspective.”

“My thoughts exactly.” I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry about the boat trip.” I didn’t say it because I felt pressured to. I said it because I felt it, and he deserved to hear it.

“I’m sorry too,” he replied.

More silence, but this time I was peaceful as I sorted thoughts through my mind, finally settling on one. “It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to this place.”

“You say that like you’ll never see it again.”

“Well, I...”

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