Page 34 of Seaside Strangers
She wanted her life back. Wanted her family back.
Neither was possible.
Her gaze dropped for a moment before lifting again. She couldn’t rely on anyone to keep her safe. Not when it was only a matter of time before they found her. If she told KC the truth, he might not believe her—or worse, he would, and get himself killed when the danger she’d left behind in Chicago caught up to her.
And it would.
She couldn’t let him pay the price for her mistakes.
The decision pressed in, heavy and final. She would leave tonight.
After KC fell asleep, she’d grab her things, the bag of money, and go. She could walk into town, call a cab, and head back to Elizabeth City. From there… a bus. Anywhere. It didn’t matter, as long as it was far away from Whisper and the man who made her want things she couldn’t have.
Her chest ached, the pressure sharp and unwelcome, but she pushed it down and turned off the light.
Back in the bedroom, she climbed into bed and pulled the covers up, staring at the ceiling for a long moment.
She had a plan.
Now she needed to follow it through.
Maura hadn’t looked at him and had barely said a word since his brother left. She’d just sat there, picking at the bagel he’d given her without taking a bite. Was she regretting what happened the night before?
Dragging a hand through his damp hair, he cursed under his breath.
He shouldn’t have pushed her so fast. At the time, it had felt right—she’d responded to him, met him every step of the way—but maybe he’d read too much into it. Maybe he should’ve slowed things down, given her more time.
Didn’t change the fact that he wouldn’t undo a single moment.
It had been the best night he’d ever spent with a woman. The memory of it came back in flashes—she’d come alive in his arms—and his body reacted instantly. She’d been incredible, no matter what she’d been led to believe before.
After she went back to bed, he stayed at the table longer than he should have, staring at nothing in particular, turning everything over in his head. He had to fix this. Whatever doubts she had, whatever hesitation had crept in this morning, he needed to find a way to ease them. Because one night wasn’t enough. Not even close.
Shaking his head, he got to his feet and went inside to grab his car keys, irritation riding him the whole way.
Two hours later, after an extra-long workout at the local gym owned by an old high school buddy,along with a quick shower and change of clothes, KC pulled into a parking spot in front of the hardware store. He shut off the engine and sat there for a moment, fingers tapping against the steering wheel as he replayed the night before and the awkwardness of the morning for the umpteenth time.
He couldn’t think of anything he’d done wrong—except maybe moving too fast. Maybe he should’ve waited and given her time and space to come to him instead of taking what felt like an open invitation.
He exhaled slowly and rested his head back against the seat.
Yeah… he might’ve messed everything up. Now he had to figure out how to get things back on track.
After banging his hand on the steering wheel in frustration for the fifth time since leaving the beach house, he climbed out of the car and headed into his uncle’s shop. His mind was elsewhere, and he didn’t see Jinx stretched out in the doorway until his foot caught on the dog’s leg. He went down hard, landing sprawled on the floor in front of the counter. Jinx lifted his head, gave him a bored look, then went back to sleep as if nothing had happened.
“Real helpful,” KC muttered as he pushed himself up and brushed off his jeans.
Dan had a front-row seat to the whole incident and laughed outright behind the counter. “Don’t blame the dog because you weren’t watching where you were going. What’s got you in such a mood? I figured you’d be on top of the world today.”
He shot Jinx one last irritated look before turning toward the counter, his eyes narrowing. “Why would you think that?”
“Brian stopped by on his way out of town.”
That was all he needed to say. KC loved his family, but they tended to get up in each other's business.
He didn’t bother pretending he didn’t know where the line of questioning was going. He shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the counter. “Apparently, my idea of the morning after doesn’t match Maura’s. She barely said two words to me and went back to bed after Brian left. Said she didn’t feel well, but I’m not buying it.”
Dan shook his head. “So what’d you do wrong?”
