Page 14 of The Sailor

“I know we just met, but there’s something about you, Marit. Something different from any other woman I’ve met. I felt a connection with you that first time I shook your hand. And tonight, I could see your distress. If there’s something about my family that’s bothering you, please tell me. You said you hadn’t met my brothers before tonight, but I can’t think of any other reason why you’d be so nervous around them.”

Marit had never met a man like Zach. Someone so astute. Who wasn’t into playing games. Wasn’t following any kind of playbook for getting to know a woman. He laid his thoughts out there. She actually appreciated that. She’d spent too much of her life trying to second-guess and anticipate what others might be thinking or what they were planning on doing.

“My parents died when I was twelve. Boating accident. My brothers were saddled with the task of raising me. They were extremely resentful and bitter that they had to look after me.”

“Shit, Marit. I’m so sorry,” Zach said softly.

They were still walking along the grassy path, and Marit stared straight ahead as she spoke. Maybe if he learned about her past now, it would save her some heartbreak later when he decided he couldn’t deal with her baggage.

“How old were they? Your brothers, when your parents passed?”

“Eighteen and twenty. I was an oops baby. A preemie at that. I think Maxwell and Maverick also resented the attention I got when I was little, because of my health issues. And when my parents died, they felt forced to become my guardians because of pressure from the community we lived in.”

“Where was that? Maine?”

Marit shook her head. “No. Out in Oregon. I moved away from there as soon as I could, and went as far as I could. All the way to Portland, Maine.”

Zach squeezed her hand but didn’t say anything. Which Marit appreciated. He could’ve tried to justify her brothers’ behavior by saying they were young and probably mourning their parents. Or by saying they’d done their best to become parents to an almost teenager. She’d heard all the excuses for Max and Mav—and she knew none of them were true.

The truth was, they were simply two bullies. Two men who loved having power over others. And having control over and responsibility for their little sister was something they alternately reveled in and resented.

“Max and Mav fought all the time. With each other, with the manager of the grocery store, with the postman, with my principal, with me. They told me all the time how worthless I was. How things would’ve been easier if I’d just died when I was born. How Mom and Dad’s deaths were my fault.”

“That’s bullshit!” Zach blurted. “How was a boating accident your fault?”

Marit shrugged. “It wasn’t. But that didn’t stop my brothers from saying it anyway. They did everything they could to tear me down. And when I refused to bend to their will, they made it their goal in life to break me.”

Zach squeezed her hand again, and just that little show that he was there, listening, empathizing, helped her to continue. She almost never talked about this stuff. She might as well get it all out now.

“The thing is . . . I know people say that blood is thicker than water. That you should love your family unconditionally. That they’re the people you’ll know the longest in your lifetime. But Max and Mav . . . they taught me that family means nothing. They showed a good face in public when they had to, but at home, they made my life miserable. Forced me to do all the cleaning and cooking, and yelled at me the entire time I did any of it. Smacking me when I dared to back talk them. My grades were C’s at best, simply because they didn’t leave me any time to do my homework or study. Of course, they called me stupid as a result.”

“Where are they now?” Zach asked.

“No clue. And I don’t want to know. I don’t want them to know where I am either. As far as I’m concerned, I have no family. I’m better off that way. But I think I’m doing just fine without them. Better than if I’d had to continue to deal with them, actually.

“Anyway . . . when I heard you had three brothers . . . it threw me for a loop, for obvious reasons. I have some baggage when it comes to family.”

“I understand.”

Once again, she appreciated that he didn’t immediately start explaining how great his family was. How his brothers were nothing like hers. He didn’t need to state the obvious.

“I love this spot,” he said, as they came to the end of the path. In front of them was another cove. Not Lobster Cove, as they’d driven too far from the house for it to be the same area. There were lights from a few houses across the water, and there was a boat moored in the middle of the cove. It was beautiful. Quiet. Peaceful.

“I’ve been on the water most of my adult life,” Zach told her. “Of course, most of that time I was in the belly of a huge ship making meals for the thousands of sailors and Air Force personnel aboard, but one of my favorite things to do was go up on the outer decks at night when most people were sleeping and stare at the stars. It reminded me so much of home. How my brothers and I used to sleep on the beach, or the back deck, and look up at the stars and brag about all the great things we were going to do with our lives.

“And while I think each of us did do some amazing things, coming home was the best decision we’ve ever made. Being with Chad, Linc, and Knox again . . . it’s like a part of me that went missing when Linc first left home for college is finally whole again. I’m sorry you didn’t have that with your brothers. But, Marit . . . that’s their loss. They will never know what they’re missing, and that’s sad.”

For the first time in her life, a little bit of weight seemed to lift from Marit’s heart. Zach was right. Her brothers had always treated her as if she was a burden. Less than them. But the truth was, she’d made it. Thrived on her own. She was damn proud of all that she’d accomplished. Sure, she’d had a shit adolescence, but that didn’t mean the rest of her life was shit too.

“Yeah,” she agreed quietly.

“You want to sit for a minute?” Zach asked, gesturing to a bench sitting on the shoreline.

Marit nodded.

It was dark now, but the moon was full, giving them plenty of light to see where they were walking without the need of a flashlight. The July evening was mild on the water, and Zach’s hand in hers felt . . . good.

It was a lame word, but Marit couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt this relaxed. And that was saying something, considering she’d just had a very stressful night and just talked about her nasty brothers for the first time in years.