Faith accepted the package, confused. “You didn’t have to get me anything. What’s the occasion?”

“Consider it a late birthday present. It’s not exactly store bought.”

Lacey and Mia exchanged a look she didn’t understand, so Faith tore into the wrapping.

The instant she recognized what she was looking at, tears blurred her vision. She slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Oh. Oh no. I made it worse.” Lacey moved to sit next to her, their hips brushing. “I painted it, so I can destroy it. Don’t cry.”

“I . . . love it.”

Through the watery haze of tears, she looked at the image of herself and Hope smiling on the canvas. Faith recognized the pose as one from a photo taken in the hospital. The one sitting on her fireplace mantel. Except in Lacey’s painting, Hope had all her hair and the beach spread out behind them.

“Sweetie, stop crying,” Lacey said. “Are you sure you like it? I won’t be offended.”

Mia came over and sat on her other side. The two people she’d grown to love as if they were her own sisters sandwiched her in a hug.

Hope would have loved them, would have loved this place.

“I love you guys. Thank you, Lacey. This is perfect.”

chapter

twenty-eight

Faith sat on the edge of her bed, phone clutched in her hand and the portrait Lacey gave her a few days ago in front of her for courage. Sunlight spilled into the room through the window at her back, the warmth calming her nerves.

Alec was right. It was time to stop wasting her time and thoughts and efforts trying to make her parents love her. Time to stop offering her heart to those who would never accept it. She’d spoken to her parents twice since Alec left, and both times the conversation had been shallow and brief. She’d tried to talk about Hope, about her feelings, but they’d rushed her off the phone.

She sucked in air and connected the call. Her parents’ answering machine kicked in, playing their greeting. Right about now, Dad would be picking up Mom from choir practice, so it was the perfect time to leave a message. If she waited just ten more minutes, they’d be home. Mom would make lunch and Dad would start a pitcher of unsweetened tea. They’d stand side by side in the kitchen, as they did every day, barely conscious of each other.

The beep startled her and she fisted her pendant in reflex. “Hi. It’s me.” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry to leave a message like this, but when I try to talk to you, you don’t let me. I just . . . I want you to know that I loved her, too.” She pressed her hand over her eyes to try to combat the tears and get through the message. “I miss her, too, and I’m sorry, so sorry I couldn’t save her like you wanted.”

She rose and paced the floor, pausing a moment to catch her breath. “I even understand why you did what you did. But she died and I didn’t. I’m still right here and all I ever wanted was for you to love me half as much . . .”

Cutting herself and that thought off, she shook her head. “None of that matters.” Her gaze dropped to the bracelet on her wrist. “I fell in love. I wanted you to know. It’s the best and worst feeling imaginable. And I’m going to miss Hope every day, but I’m moving on. I love you.”

Her voice cracked as she disconnected the call. Hot tears trailed down her cheeks as her chest released a violent sob. She curled up on her bed and wept. Soul-jerking tears that she had subdued for too long. She pressed her face into the quilt and let go.

Afterward, as her cheeks dried and the vise in her throat eased, she vowed to shed no more tears for the past. If it took all her energy and years to accomplish, she was going to move on. She had wonderful friends, a job she loved, and the ocean to heal her when things became too overwhelming.

When she thought she could manage, she got up and padded down the hall to the kitchen to start a kettle for tea. A knock on the front door came as she took a bag out of the cabinet. She wasn’t expecting anyone, especially not Jake, as she opened the door.

“Hey.” He rocked on his heels. “Mia said you were on the market for a new place?”

She pressed a hand to her forehead. “Um, yes. I’m not in any hurry, but I planned on looking for an apartment next week.”

He nodded and swallowed, seeming nervous. “I think I found the perfect spot. Are you up for a short drive?”

“Well . . .” She glanced over her shoulder toward the kitchen. What the heck? She needed to get out of the house anyway. “Sure. Just let me turn the burner off.”

Pocketing her cell and keys, she moved the kettle and switched off the stove.

They climbed in Jake’s pickup truck and made their way down the drive.

He turned the radio down. “It’s not far.”

“Okay.”

She tilted her face toward the window and the trees whizzing by for all of thirty seconds before Jake pulled into another driveway. She lifted her brows in question.

“Told you it wasn’t far.”

A house came into view. It resembled something more appropriate for the mountains than the beach, and it needed a lot of help because it had obviously been left unattended for a long time, but she liked the unique architecture. The front porch wrapped around both sides. Unlike Lacey and Jake’s house, or Cole and Mia’s, this one was higher up on the bluff. Behind the house, the ocean gleamed in the sun for as far as her eye could see.

“Jake, I can’t afford this.” By like five million dollars or so.

He turned to her but didn’t meet her eye. “Just trust me. Let’s go take a peek.”

Sighing, she followed him out of the truck and over the broken concrete driveway. Palm trees, mixed with pines and overgrown fauna, surrounded the property. The porch seemed sturdy. The exterior was in decent shape. Considering it was composed of logs, it didn’t need paint.

Instead of knocking, Jake turned the knob on the front door and stepped inside. “Come on.”

“Jake, we can’t just walk into someone’s house.”

“It’s been in foreclosure for years.” He rolled his eyes when she still wouldn’t budge. “Come on, darlin’.”

She stepped inside and through a small foyer to a living room that was way bigger than it looked from the outside. A floor-to-ceiling redbrick fireplace was situated in one corner. To the right was a staircase and straight ahead the kitchen. Nearly the entire ocean side of the house was glass. There were hardwood floors throughout, although they needed to be refinished. Two small rooms with built-in shelves were off the living room, and she imagined they’d make a great office or library.

Jake hurried her along to the second floor and pointed out three bedrooms. “The master is through here.”

Again, she wondered what they were doing here. Never in her wildest dreams could she afford this house. It was lovely and full of promise. It spoke to her of serenity and just enough seclusion to be comfortable. But still, it could never be hers.

She walked into the master bedroom and gasped when she saw the wall-to-wall windows. The ocean spread out before her, and a set of patio doors led out to a porch. It was so amazing her eyes misted. Oh, to have this view every day . . . Not that she could.

Jake cleared his throat from behind her. “Do you like it?”

“Yes. I love it . . .” She turned and the words died in her throat. The blood rushed through her veins with such force that the roar in her ears deafened.

Jake slipped from the room.

Alec crossed his arms and smiled. “I’m glad you like the house. Because I bought it.”

*   *   *

Faith stood staring at him through those round amber eyes that he missed with every beat of his heart, and he knew he hadn’t prepared himself enough for what seeing her again would do to him.