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Bailey’s mouth parted in surprise “Sarah Randall,” she said breathlessly

At the sound of her name, that now familiar ache in my chest hitched “You know the story?”

“Everyone knows the story” Bailey’s green eyes darkened with sadness “She and George were sweethearts They fell in love on the boardhen they were sophoet h school Sarah married—”

“A man named Ron”

Bailey raised an eyebrow “Ron Peters How?”

“It’s in her letters to George”

I could see the blaze of curiosity in Bailey’s eyes, but she continued recounting their history for me “No one knehaton her, but she wouldn’t say what George was devastated He started sleeping around and he knocked up Sarah’s best friend, Annabelle He married her And then a few years later Sarah Randall shot Ron in the chest and she went to prison And she died there”

My eyes stung with unshed tears

Bailey reached for my hand “You okay?”

I tried to sly “Sarah died of cancer Before she could e Letters that explained everything She had a reason for what she did, Bailey”

She squeezed my hand “That’s so sad Is that why you came here?”

I shrugged “My vacation with e were on my mind so I decided to come here instead”

Bailey considered e Sarah’s letters?”

“Yes”

“I knew I freaking liked you”

I gave a huff of surprised laughter “Thanks I like you, too”

“Of course you do; I’m hilarious,” she teased

I laughed

But Bailey sobered “You know Sarah was Cooper’s mom’s cousin?”

I tensed “Really?”

“His mom, Laura, passed almost ten years back, but she and Sarah were really close before Sarah went to prison Coop was close to his mom and he kne much what Sarah did broke Laura’s heart Maybe it would be nice for him to know the truth”

Uncertainty h e’s eyes”

“You don’t have to give Coop the letters, but Sarah was his faenuine reason for what she did, he deserves to know”

SEVEN

Cooper

Cooper had to ad the doc would coht before She’don her feeling the same way

Shit

“Penny for your thoughts,” Old Archie said as Cooper sighed

He glanced down his bar The place was filled with locals In a week or two it would be packed with locals and tourists once the high season hit Sitting in the saht, Old Archie slass

“They’re not that interesting”

“Right” Old Archie narrowed his eyes “Hear your ex has been bothering you”

Cooper hadn’t heard anything from Dana since he’d cut her down in front of Iris Hopefully that e

Truth was he was too young when heback, the sad realization he cae than love Cooper had thought it love at the time, but now he couldn’t re real He didn’t think ht

Sure, he’d h, but that wasn’t enough

She’d been so goddamn beautiful when they first met—the kind of beautiful that would have opened up doors for her if she’d been sh to look for the doors in the first place But Dana liked being a big fish in a small pond Cooper knew she was vain He’d always known it, but he’d been so caught up in her beauty he’d decided to call it confidence and find it sexy

He’d been an asshole kid

And they’d both paid the price for their stupidity With not e had fallen apart Dana had betrayed him, and that betrayal burned so et involved in another serious relationship

Yethe wasn’t that dumb-ass kid anymore

He knew so special when he saw it

And he knew not to ignore that tingle on the back of his neck

Cooper couldn’t put his finger on exactly what ton different from any other woman he’d dated She was sexy, true She was incredibly smart—had to be if she was a doctor

Maybe that was it, he thought

Maybe it was the doctor thing It said a lot about her All good Other than the obvious, it said she was probably an independent woman, and Cooper had never dated a woman like that before

After his dad left, Cooper had become the man of the house He elve years old He’d looked after hisfor him to look after her, too And Cooper hadn’t ht he did However, looking back on it, he saw Dana had been more like a kid than a wife She didn’t want the responsibility ofimportant decisions to do with their finances, their ho y’s mouth parted in surprise “Sarah Randall,” she said breathlessly