Free Sanctuary Island by Lily Everett

said, reaching into the cab of her truck and hauling out a couple of plastic bags, “let’s go inside. I’m dying to see your sister.”
    Grady walked over to the side of the porch as Jo came around, stretching an arm to help her up. Instead of taking his hand, however, Jo passed him the pair of shopping bags and vaulted lightly up onto the porch under her own power.
    When Jo saw the gaping hole in her porch floorboards, she froze so suddenly that the shopping bags Grady had been handing back to her slipped through her fingers.
    “What happened?” Her concerned gaze shot to Ella, raking her from head to toe as she took a step forward. “Are you all right?”
    Ella retreated a step before she could force herself to hold her ground, her injured ankle wobbling and slicing lines of pain up her calf.
    When Ella sucked in a short breath, Jo froze in place, dismay carving lines into her face.
    “It’s nothing.” Ella drew on her reserves and carefully controlled the image she presented. Self-sufficient, dismissive, poised. “Twisted my ankle a little. Go ahead and find Merry, she’s waiting for you. I’ll follow you in a minute.”
    Ella forced herself to straighten out her ankle and plant her foot firmly on the floor.
    Don’t fuss, she mentally warned Jo. I don’t need your sympathy or your concern.
    After a long moment, Jo reluctantly looked away. She turned her gaze on Grady, who nodded once, silently.
    Which was apparently the reassurance Jo needed. The screen door banged behind Jo as she slipped past them, and Grady turned back to Ella with a wry twist to his mouth.
    “Let me walk you in. No sense hurting yourself worse just to prove a point,” he drawled as he held out his arm.
    Heat scorched her cheeks and neck. Even Ella wasn’t sure if it was anger at his insistence on misunderstanding her or the thrill she got every time they touched.
    “I’m not proving any point,” she declared, defiantly taking his arm. “I didn’t want to get Taylor in trouble for not warning me about the porch.”
    Grady’s tawny eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Why not? The brat deserves it.”
    “Maybe.” Ella shrugged, hyperaware of the hardness of his bicep under his soft flannel shirt. “But she’s just a kid, and if she and Jo are as close as you say, then it can’t be easy for her to suddenly come face-to-face with Jo’s biological daughters.”
    “That’s … incredibly perceptive and sensitive of you.” Grady moved toward the door, keeping pace with her slower steps.
    Ella laughed, her throat raw and tight. “Don’t sound so shocked. I’m not the villain here, Grady.”
    He stopped short, pulling her off balance so that she leaned more of her weight on his shoulder than she’d intended.
    “I know that.” Grady’s arm was like solid steel beneath her fingers. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have tried to run you off.”
    The lump in Ella’s throat was hard to swallow around. “Jo is important to you. To a lot of people on Sanctuary Island, apparently. Including Taylor.”
    “That doesn’t give us the right to attack you. And you should know, this isn’t Jo’s fault. I mean, it’s not like she’s been bad-mouthing you and Merry all over town or anything.”
    “Don’t.” Ella winced at the sharpness of her own voice. “Look, I don’t want to ruin this nice moment we’ve got going on, but I can’t listen to you sing Jo’s praises or make excuses or apologies for her.”
    A muscle ticked in his rigid jaw, but he met her gaze squarely. “Fair enough.”
    “And thanks,” she said, as they restarted their painfully slow progress across the porch.
    “For what?”
    “For getting me out of the porch.” Ella paused, then gritted her teeth and finished. “And for not making a big deal about … before.”
    He stilled under her touch for the briefest of moments before circling a steadying arm around her shoulders. Despite how close he stood, Ella felt his