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about making the drink. I stole glances at her over my shoulder as I put the ice in the glass and poured in the liquid. She was intoxicatingly beautiful. Just like Leia had been, but something was different. I didn’t know if it was my age, or the fact that she was more stable than her sister, but something about her drew me in more than it ever had with Leia. Maybe it was just the fondness of memories with her sister. But, the look on her face told me there was something else.

NINE
    SKYE
     
    I watched him. I watched him clean the bar again and again. I watched as he pretended not to notice me, but he couldn’t help it. I looked so much like her. But, there were things about him that I noticed, too. Like the way his bangs kept falling into his eyes, and how he brushed them away without thinking about it. Like how the scars in his arms were probably from his childhood, and how he didn’t even seem to notice them anymore. They were just a part of him and, like his dark gray eyes, they told more of story than any other part of him. He had been hurt, broken. I knew that feeling. Probably not as well as he did, though. I took my drink, and I found the corner of the bar at a small table by myself. I looked out the window as often as I could, but, most of the time, I spent looking for more information about Ellis Waters on the Internet. I sat there for hours, just waiting for him to break. I knew at some point he would have to talk to me. I ordered drink after drink, finally taking a break from my alcohol for a sandwich around midafternoon. I was one of the only people in the bar, and business was obviously slow. A few locals drifted in and out whom he would make small conversation with, but, every time they left, he would look over to the corner and make eye contact with me.
    Finally, he walked over with a small plate, and sat down next to me. “You’re not leaving, are you?”
    “No,” I said, even though my resolve was wavering. Too many drinks, and not enough food.
    “Fine,” he sighed as he climbed onto the stool next to me. “I brought you a brownie. Mary, the owner’s wife, makes them. They’re out of this world.”
    The chocolate looked incredible, but I didn’t want to take anything from him. I had nothing to offer in return. Sitting here for hours, the only thing that crossed my mind was that I came here looking for something from him, with nothing to offer. And that wasn’t fair.
    “It’s okay, I’m not hungry.” A lie, and I also felt drunk. He kept swaying in and out of focus, even though I knew he was sitting still. Too many Jack and Coke’s, especially the way I liked them.
    “You have to eat something. You’ve been drinking for six hours. That half a sandwich isn’t going to save you later.”
    “Fine. Thank you.” I took a bite, and he was right; it was heavenly: smooth chocolate melting in my mouth, and flowing down my throat almost as if it had become liquid. “This is amazing. This has to be one of your best sellers.”
    He smiled. “That’s the last one we’ve got. She makes about six-dozen every day, and, even on slow days, they sell. They’re kind of a legend around here.”
    I looked around me. “And, where is here exactly? I mean, I just followed my GPS.”
    “This is Fairmont, a small fishing town. As you know, we’re about a half an hour off the highway. Not always a great place for tourists unless they want something quiet. Which most of them do who come here, or they come for a fishing excursion. I worked on a couple boats in the past, and summer is really busy around here.”
    I nodded, licking the extra chocolate off my lips. I needed to say something; I just didn’t know how to say it. I took a deep breath and just let it out. “I’m really sorry.”
    He squinted at me, his dark gray eyes displaying pure confusion. “About what?”
    “About me coming here. Just springing this on you. I’m sure I could’ve found your number, called or something. But, I’m kind