Page 83 of Island Girl

“Thank you, Paula. And please, be careful. He's fragile right now. Don't push too hard.”

“I know. I've learned that lesson.”

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Paula sat on her porch for a long time, staring at her phone, thinking about everything Julie had told her.

Heather wanted to meet her father. She'd spent years studying trauma and PTSD, trying to understand the man who had left her. She'd taught herself guitar without knowing why. She remembered a lullaby she couldn't have possibly remembered, asong Ray had sung to her when she was too young to form memories.

But Paula couldn't tell Ray any of this. Not now. Not while he was running.

If he knew Heather wanted to come, he would disappear completely. He'd convinced himself years ago that his daughter was better off without him, that his absence was a gift he was giving her. The idea that she might actually want to see him, that she might have spent years trying to understand him rather than hate him, would be too much. It would shatter every wall he'd built to survive.

No. Paula had to find him first. She had to get him stable again, back to Shorebirds, back to the fragile routine that had kept him afloat for two years. Only then, when he was steady enough to hear it, could she even begin to plant the seed.

She called Julie back.

“I've been thinking,” Paula said. “We need to be careful about how we do this. If Ray finds out Heather wants to see him while he's in this state, he'll bolt. He might leave Sanibel altogether. We could lose him for good.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Let me find him first. Let me get him back to some kind of normal. And then, when the time is right, we can figure out how to introduce the idea.” Paula paused. “It might take a while. Weeks, maybe longer.”

“Heather's patient. She's waited most of her life. She can wait a little longer.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Just keep me posted, Paula. And if there's anything we can do from here, let me know.”

Paula promised she would, and they hung up again.

She sat on her porch, watching the sun climb higher in the sky. Somewhere out there, Ray was hiding. And somewhere in Miami, his daughter was waiting to meet him, holding on to alullaby she'd carried her whole life without knowing where it came from.

The two of them were connected by blood and music and years of silence. Paula didn't know if that connection could ever be repaired. She didn't know if Ray would ever be ready to face what he'd left behind.

But she knew one thing for certain. She wasn't going to give up on him. Not now. Not when there was finally something worth fighting for.

She got in her car and drove toward the water, toward the docks, toward all the lonely places where broken men go to hide.

She would find her brother. She would bring him home.

And then, when he was ready, she would tell him the truth.

His daughter remembered his song.

CHAPTER 27

Merritt went back to work on Monday.

She wasn't scheduled to play. It was just a regular shift, bartending and running food, the kind of work that kept her hands busy and her mind occupied. She needed that right now. She needed something to do besides sit on her deck and think about everything that had gone wrong.

The bungalow had felt too quiet over the weekend. Her father had called twice, checking in, offering to fly down early. She'd told him she was fine, that she just needed some time, that she'd see him next week for the closing. The lies came easier now. She was getting good at pretending.

She arrived at Shorebirds an hour before opening to help with setup. Crocker was in the kitchen prepping for the dinner rush. He nodded at her when she came in but didn't say anything. That was fine. She wasn't in the mood for conversation.

Justin was behind the bar, restocking bottles and wiping down the counter. He looked up when she walked in, and something flickered across his face. Surprise, maybe. Or discomfort. It was hard to tell.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey.”