Page 225 of At First Catch

Final proposal expires tomorrow morning. We need your answer tonight if you intend to move forward.

I stare out across the marina. The charter docks. The bait shop. The old weathered buildings glowing beneath marina lights.

Home.

Not because it’s perfect, but because people built lives here.

Hadley’s voice echoes through my head again, “You’re starting to forget why you loved it in the first place.”

She was never afraid of change. She was afraid of fear hollowing me out from the inside until I stopped recognizing myself.

That’s exactly what almost happened. All because I was terrified of losing what I loved.

My fingers move before I can second-guess myself.

Me

I’m declining the offer.

Richard

That’s unfortunate.

Another message follows.

Richard

I hope your alternative financing is as secure as you believe it is.

I stare at the screen. Something about the wording prickles beneath my skin.

Me

What does that mean?

Richard

It means Sweetspire is an attractive property, Nolan. With or without you attached to it.

My grip tightens around the phone.

Richard

You aren’t the only person capable of recognizing its value.

There it is.

Not advice.

Not concern.

A warning.

Me

The marina isn’t for sale.

Richard