The Sweetest Thing

house on the bluff. They sat outside on his deck, and while he barbecued, Tara filled Maddie in on how she’d screwed up with Mia. “Epic failure,” she said as Maddie poured them both wine. “And the worst part of all is that I practically hand-delivered Carlos right into her lap. I de-virginized my own daughter!”

“You don’t know that Carlos was her first.”

Tara went still as she absorbed that, then groaned and covered her eyes. “Okay, not helping.”

“Look,” Maddie said finally. “Seventeen is nothing but one big pleasure button, from head to toe. You know that. And Mia and Carlos care deeply for each other. You know that too. At least she’s with someone who thinks the sun rises and sets on her. He’ll make it good for her, Tara.”

Tara groaned again.

“What, you’d rather she be with someone who doesn’t care about her needs?”

“I’d rather she be with no one at all!” Tara said. “At least not until she’s thirty-five, or I’m dead. Whichever comes last. And can we not talk about her having sex?” She winced. “Let’s concentrate on getting her to like me.”

“She does.” Maddie sipped from her glass, her gaze slipping to Jax where he stood at the grill about twenty feet away, turning over the chicken. “Remember how you felt when I wanted you and Chloe to stay with me here in Lucky Harbor, and all you wanted to do was run like hell?”

“Yes.” It’d been a tough time for all of them, facing the rush of fresh memories from simply setting foot inside Lucky Harbor. But Maddie had been searching for a place to belong, and at the inn, she’d found it. With Jax, she’d found it. Tara had been thrilled for her sister.

And resigned to sticking around longer than she’d wanted in order to protect their investment-the inn-and to make sure her sisters were okay. Tara had stuck until it hadn’t been an obligation. Until it’d somehow become natural to live here.

“Chloe and I won you over with our charm, and that charm is hereditary.” Maddie said on a smile. “You’ll charm Mia too, you’ll see.”

“I gave her up at birth,” Tara said. “I let someone else raise her. I don’t think charm can help me with her.”

“You had valid reasons,” Maddie reminded her gently. “And Mia knows that. Honey, she came looking for you. Give her some time to put it all together and understand. It’s time to stop grieving over what you lost out on and live for the now.”

Jax came up behind Maddie and set down a plate of grilled veggies that looked mouthwatering. He squeezed Maddie’s shoulder, then leaned in for a quick nuzzle and kiss. “Okay?” he asked.

Just looking at the two of them together had Tara’s heart sighing. They were so meant for each other. That they were together was because Maddie had done what she’d just told Tara-she’d taken her now.

“We’re good,” Maddie told Jax. He smiled at her, stole a long swallow of her wine, sneaked another kiss, and ambled back to man his station at the barbecue. Maddie watched him go with a dreamy sigh on her lips. “I love his ass,” she said.

Tara laughed out loud, causing Jax to turn and eye them curiously. Maddie waved at him, and Tara murmured, “You’d better snag him up, Mad. Because a good ass is muy importante.”

Maddie grinned broadly as she blew Jax a kiss. “There’s other reasons I want to marry him too, you know.”

Tara lifted a brow. “Listen to you, saying the M word so freely now.”

“He’s the one,” Maddie said simply. “The only one.”

Tara nodded and sipped her wine, and envied the conviction that was all over Maddie’s face.

The next morning Ford took Mia out for a long sail. He’d discovered that his daughter liked early mornings, as he did, so they left just before the crack of dawn and caught the sunrise. He taught her how to motor away from the marina and then point the bow into the wind, how to work the mainsail with the halyard and crank it around the winch when she needed to, in order to get it hoisted. He had her unfurl and furl the jib and pull it out with the sheets, and now she stood in the cockpit, hands on the wheel, the sail billowing in front of her, the wind whipping her hair from her face, looking happy and carefree.

Just watching her reminded Ford of a young Tara and warmed a place inside him that he hadn’t even realized was cold.

She caught his eye. “What?”

Smiling, he shook his head. “I’m just sitting here thinking how glad I am that you came looking for answers.”

“I don’t have them all yet,” she said.

He loved her bluntness and hoped growing up didn’t beat that out of her. “All you have to do is ask.”

Mia steered into the wind like a pro, her face thoughtful. Then she suddenly ducked as they hit a swell. The spray hit Ford right in the face, making her laugh out loud, a beautiful sound.

“You’re a quick learner,” he said, swiping his face with his shirt. “Jax still can’t pull that off.”

She grinned with pride. “Tara said you were the best of the best.”

“She did?”

“Yeah.” She nudged him with her shoulder. “She likes you.”

Ford laughed, but Mia didn’t. She just looked at him earnestly. “I have a couple of questions now,” she said.

“Okay. Shoot.”

“The first one might seem intrusive.”

“Ask.”

“Do I have any genetic diseases to look forward to?”

“No. Well, unless you count orneriness,” he said. “My grandma’s ninety and ornery as hell.” He smiled thinking about her. He’d have to fly her up before the summer was over so she could meet Mia. “She’ll love you, though. What else?”

“Are you afraid of anything?”

“No.”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s a typical boy answer. Everyone’s afraid of something. Spiders? Snakes? Heights?”

“Actually,” he said, “frogs.”

She stared at him. “Shut up.”

“No, it’s true, and it’s all Sawyer’s fault. We were ten. We’d told his dad we were staying at my place, and my grandma that we were staying at his, and then we went camping.”

“By yourselves?”

“Yeah. That night he loaded my sleeping bag with frogs. When I got in, they crawled all over me. Slimy suckers.” He shuddered. “To this day I can’t stand them.”

She was smiling, but then her smile faded, and she studied him in that careful way that she’d inherited from Tara. “Are you really not afraid of anything else?”

He felt his own amusement drain as well. She was being serious, and she deserved for him to be as well. “Actually, there is one thing.”

Her gaze searched his. “What?”

“I was afraid I’d never get to meet you.”

Her eyes shone brilliantly, those beautiful, heartbreaking eyes. “Lucky for you I found you then,” she whispered.

“Lucky for me,” he repeated softly.

Since Mia was scheduled to work at noon, eventually they headed back to the marina. Ford had her reverse their original process with the mainsail and jib, then motor back into the marina and dock. He stood over her as she tied up, but she had no problems, and pride burst from his chest. She was a natural.

Tara came out of the marina office, a few files in her hands. When she saw the two of them standing on the dock, she stopped short.

She looked tired and stressed, and Ford knew she had good reason. She’d been working at the inn and the diner, and working two jobs was stressful for anybody. And here he stood with Mia, the two of them clearly back