Incumbent(59)

I didn’t bother to tell anyone at the table Drake had texted me. The only one who noticed I was texting was Mason, and he knew I’d tell him about it later.

“So, Dane. What’s next for you?” I asked, deciding to focus on others rather than myself. It didn’t hurt as much.

“I have a few qualifiers before I try for my PGA card.” He smiled and took a sip of his beer.

“Well, I wish you all the best.”

“Thank you.” He leaned over the table, took my hand in his, and brought it to his lips to kiss it. “Don’t give up on my brother,” he said in a low voice, his eyes never leaving mine.

Biting my lip, I just nodded.

When Dane looked at me, there was something in his eyes that made me feel for him. I loved all the Prescotts, but there was something about Dane I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It was as if he had so much more to say, but held it back. He joked and teased his family incessantly, but something was off.

It was a shame that he wasn’t home very often. I was sure that whatever was bothering him—if anything—wouldn’t seem so bad if he was with his family.

? ? ?

The next day, I decided to head to the harbor early since I didn’t want to get caught in rush-hour traffic. It was a beautiful day, and I was sure the area would be filled with families since school was over.

Sure enough, it was pretty crowded when I arrived. Maybe Drake picked this time and place because he didn’t want to be alone with me, or was afraid I’d make a scene. All I knew was we needed to talk. Not to mention, I missed him terribly.

Nervous, I ran my hands down my sundress to smooth it, happy I wore flats because I knew when I saw Drake, all I’d want to do was run into his arms. A gentle breeze lifted my hair, and I prayed he would want me again.

When six o’clock rolled around, I scanned every person in the area to see if I could find him. Finally, I saw Drake walking toward me, and sucked in a breath at the sight of him.

His hair was longer and the ends stuck out of his Nationals baseball hat, his scruff was thicker, but his eyes were what was most different, making me look twice. The beautiful sparkle was missing, and my heart clenched at the thought that I did that to him—I dimmed the light in his eyes. Although his stride was confident enough that outsiders would see a self-assured man, what I saw was a conflicted one, and it hurt my heart.

He stopped in front of me, and my throat was tight as I swallowed.

“Hi, Lucy.”

I didn’t say anything; I couldn’t speak. Instead I did what I’d intended to do and that was be in his arms. More than anything, I needed to feel his strength, for him to hold me and tell me we were okay, that he understood my past.

Pressing my cheek to the center of his chest while I held him tightly, I didn’t want to let go. His heartbeat was so strong and steady. I just needed a few more minutes, but he slowly pulled away.

I looked up at him. “Drake, I’ve missed you so much.” Then I went to hug him again, but he stopped me.

“Let’s sit for a minute. I have some things I need to talk to you about.”

This couldn’t be good. My instincts were right. This was why he wanted a public place—he was going to tell me we were finished.

We walked to a bench and as soon as we sat down, I grasped a lock of my hair and began spinning it. When Drake glanced at my hand, I dropped it to my lap and twisted my fingers together instead.

“What is it, Drake?”

Scanning my face as if he hadn’t seen me in years, he said, “God, you’re so beautiful.” Then he took my hands in his and blew out a long breath. “I went to Georgia.”

“Why were you in Georgia?”

“This isn’t going to be easy for me to say, and it’s probably going to be harder for you to hear, but after you told me your story, something didn’t sit right.”

My heart stopped. “You didn’t believe me?” How could he think I’d make up such a horrific story?

“No, of course I believed you. Please know that what I did was out of love for you, because I do love you, Lucy. I think I started loving you the day I walked into your classroom and you told me about Marcie. Your kind heart and compassionate soul drew me to you.”

“I love you, Drake,” I said quickly, needing desperately to tell him in person. But I was terrified to hear what was coming next, and completely confused about what it could have to do with Georgia. “Please tell me what’s going on.”

He looked at me and shook his head. “I can’t believe we just told each other we love each other, and now . . .” His voice trailed off as he stared unseeing at the Ferris wheel at the end of the pier.

“What? You’re scaring me, Drake.”

“Like I said, something didn’t sit right with what you told me. So I called in a favor and found out that Greg Madison didn’t die in action, nor was he missing.”

“What?” Tears filled my eyes and I stared into his.

“He’s not dead, Lucy. I found out he was near Fort Benning. He was injured, but he survived.”

My hand went to my chest, pressing against my heart as warm tears slid down my face. “Greg’s alive? Oh my God. He’s okay?”

Drake nodded. “He is, and when I talked to him—”

“You talked to him?”