Page 481 of Hidden Depths
Every member of my family stood watching.
I broke the kiss.
“I’m definitely murdering them this time.”
Ward lowered me to the deck.
“We’ll do it after sunset.”
“Together?”
“Always.”
That night, we sat around a fire on the beach.
Mom rested against Nathan.
Thomas told stories about Grandpa.
Frank interrupted with better stories.
Rose corrected both of them.
My sisters laughed beneath a sky filled with stars.
Ward held my hand.
For the first time since Dad disappeared, I didn’t search the horizon for someone who wasn’t coming home.
Everyone I loved was already here.
The sea had kept our secrets for years.
Then it returned them one by one.
Not to destroy us.
To remind us who we were.
Five sisters.
One family.
No longer separated by silence.
And when Ward drew me closer, I finally understood Grandpa’s final lesson.
Love wasn’t the storm.
It was the harbor waiting after it passed.
Across the fire, Calle’s phone lit.
One name appeared on the screen.
BEN.
She looked around to see if anyone had noticed.
