Forever Love on Fireweed Island (Island County Book 4) Read Online Free

it’s just loose chitchat in town, so who knows if anything is true? It’s like the telephone game. But how in the world did you find out that he jumps out of planes? Who does that?”
    “Sexy firemen do things like that. Anyway, sounds like he’s a man who likes to be left alone, and I have no problem leaving his fire bell alone.”
    “Dear God. You have been out of the dating pool way too long.”
    I giggled. “You’re probably right, and I have no intentions of changing that any time soon.”
    “You could always climb up a shrub again and see if he’ll come to your rescue.” She laughed as the server came by to grab my debit card.
    “It wasn’t a shrub. Maples get really tall.”
    “Not the limb that Coco was on.”
    “Coco is doing fine. Thank you for asking.”
    “I didn’t ask because I know Coco is doing great. She’s like Pickles. Coco is the canine rescue with nine lives. That’s not the first time Coco’s been chased by wildlife, and it certainly won’t be the last.”
    “No way. That cute little furball?”
    “She got into it with a seagull, and the seagull lost. Big time. The poor bird landed in front of Coco, and she pounced in front of the bird—not on it, just in front of it—and showed some teeth. Next thing Mrs. Coleville knew, the seagull puffed out its chest, let out a piercing mew call, and fell over, webbed feet sticking straight out, stiff as a board and dead to the world. Ever since that incident, Coco’s been fearless about wildlife in the backyard.”
    “That might have changed after being carried around in the grips of a coyote’s mouth.”
    “Not sure Coco’s packing a lot of brain power in that tiny body.”
    “Your sister just risked life and limb for that little dog. Don’t start picking on the tiny gal. Besides, you’re the one still nursing Pickles, the meanest cat on this side of the Pacific, into her geriatric years.”
    “You got me there.” She shrugged.
    “Well, I’d better get back to the library. I’ve got a stack of holds that just came in and a budget meeting to prepare for.”
    “I have a midweek wedding on Wednesday, so I should get back to the grind too. I’m so happy you’re back on Fireweed. It feels like all is right with the world again.”
    “Things do feel right again,” I agreed, standing up.
    “I only wish you would’ve told me all the things that were wrong along the way,” she said, scooting her chair back.
    I pressed my lips together, and she gave me a hug before I could respond.
    It was true. I’d hidden most of my marital problems from my family until they could no longer be hidden. I’d exhausted myself coming up with excuses for why I sounded depressed or why I never returned calls, and the more excuses I gave, the more I believed the things I’d said.
    But then one night, when Rich was nowhere to be found, it all came crashing down when I looked in the mirror, and the only person I could blame for still being present in the relationship was the person staring back at me. I twisted the truth about my relationship for as long as I could until the fabric of lies stretched so thinly around my life I could no longer even deceive myself without going mad.
    I had a choice. Stay and live a life that wasn’t my own, where emotions hinged on others’ actions, or take a deep breath in and hold my head up high as I marched out the front door.
    I chose the latter.
    Natty let go of me and smiled.
    “Lesson learned,” I whispered, pushing in my chair and grabbing my bag. “Besides, it was more than a little bit embarrassing to come back to Fireweed.”
    Natty looked puzzled as we walked along the deck and out to the sidewalk. She knew not to ask for details until we got away from everyone.
    “Why would you ever feel bad for coming back home?” she asked, her voice low as we stood on the sidewalk.
    “If I hadn’t stormed off the island so madly in love, declaring I’d never return, I’d imagine coming back would’ve been a