Anger threatened to overwhelm him again, but apparently Britt could read his mood, and she snuggled into him a little deeper, tightening the arm that was around his belly. Just having her next to him made him feel a little calmer.

“What’s that, Mom?” Zach asked. He was sitting on the floor, leaning against the other end of the couch. Lincoln was standing, leaning against the wall, and Knox was in what had been their dad’s recliner.

“I’m going to close the rental cabins after this summer.”

No one said a word for a long moment. Chad was genuinely shocked. As long as he could remember, the two small guesthouses on Lobster Cove had been his mom’s passion project.

“Why?” Knox asked, breaking the silence.

“I’ve been thinking about it ever since I learned that Otis was stealing money from us.

I’ve always been frustrated because your dad and I worked our butts off with the three businesses, and I never understood why we didn’t have more money saved up.

Well, we know the reason. Because Otis was stealing it out from under our noses. Now I’m old. And tired,” she said.

Chad and the other four people in the room immediately protested her words, but Evelyn held up her hand, stopping them.

“Without the income from the rentals, our taxes will go down. Insurance too. I don’t know exactly what the income will be from the auto shop and the boat storage, but now that Otis isn’t skimming off the top, Lobster Cove should still be plenty profitable. ”

“But what are you going to do with the cabins?” Zach asked.

His mom glanced at Chad. “Well, I was thinking that maybe Britt and Chad could move into the two-bedroom.”

The room was so quiet, the humming of the dishwasher in the kitchen sounded loud.

“That is, if none of you other boys object. Lincoln just bought a house, and Zach, you seem content to be near your lobster shack. Knox, if you wanted to, you could move into the smaller house.”

Knox shook his head. “I’m good where I am. Thanks, Mom.”

“I’m good with Chad and Britt moving into the big cabin,” Lincoln said.

“Me too.”

All eyes turned to Chad and Britt. He honestly didn’t know what to say.

He loved Lobster Cove. Always had. And he truly didn’t mind living in the main house with his mom.

Many people would roll their eyes at a man who lived with his seventy-one-year-old mother, but he loved and respected her.

And ... she wasn’t hard to live with at all.

But he couldn’t deny that having his own space with Britt sounded like heaven. Though he’d never pressure her to do anything that might make her uncomfortable. Their relationship had moved at lightning speed.

“Besides, eventually you’ll need the extra room for my grandbaby,” his mom said with a smirk.

“Jeez, Mom, lay off the grandbaby stuff already,” Zach complained.

Their mom turned her gaze to her youngest. “You aren’t getting any younger, Zachary. It’s about time you got serious about finding a woman to settle down with and start your own family.”

“Whoa! I’m only thirty!” Zach protested, throwing his hands up as if he could physically block their mom’s words.

Everyone chuckled at his obvious horror over the thought of having babies of his own.

“Don’t laugh too hard,” Evelyn warned Lincoln and Knox. “Lincoln, your sperm probably isn’t as viable as it once was. The clock is ticking.”

His brother choked on the sip of coffee he’d just taken. When he was able to breathe properly, he said, “Can you please not talk about my sperm? Ever again?”

Once more, laughter rang out through the room.

Chad took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Tonight could’ve ended so differently. They could’ve been in the hospital sitting by either Britt or their mom’s bedside, hoping they’d be okay after getting hurt by Camden. Or any of them could’ve been shot by their former employee.

Instead, they were together, laughing and kidding around just like they’d done so many times as they’d grown up. He wished their dad was here, but he wasn’t. Life moved on, whether you wanted it to or not.

“So? What do you think?” Evelyn asked. “About moving into the cabin. If you need to expand it in the future ... you know, to hold more babies ... that would be more than all right.”

Chad opened his eyes and turned to Britt. She hadn’t said a word, and he worried that she’d feel put on the spot. Her life had been turned upside down in the last couple of months, and he didn’t want to agree to anything that would add to the stress she might be feeling.

But when he looked into her eyes, he saw nothing but excitement for the future ... and love.

Chad turned to his mom and said, “We’ll talk about it. We don’t need to make any decisions tonight. I want to make sure if we decide to move that everyone is all right with it.”

“I’m cool,” Lincoln said.

“Me too,” Knox chimed in.

“Me three,” Zach agreed.

Their mom beamed.

“As I said, Britt and I need to talk about it. It’s a big decision.”

“It’s not really,” his mom said conversationally. “You’re already sharing a room, and neither of you leave Lobster Cove all that much. Not that you need anything else to do, but fixing the place up how you want it would give you something to stay busy this fall and winter.”

The more his mom talked about him and Britt moving into the cabin, the more excited Chad got about the possibility.

He was the brother who’d always loved Lobster Cove the most. He was the one who’d first brought up the idea of everyone moving back to Maine to help out with the businesses and their mom.

And he was the one who actually spent the most time here.

His brothers all had their own jobs and lives, separate from Lobster Cove.

“And having a built-in babysitter right across the way would be ideal,” his mom pushed.

Britt chuckled next to him, but Chad kept a stern expression on his face as he repeated, “Britt and I will get back to you, Mom.”

“Okay, okay,” she said with a huge smile on her face.

“I’m fucking beat,” Zach said out of the blue. “I think I’m gonna head home.”

“Language,” Evelyn scolded.

For some reason, Britt burst out laughing. Chad turned to her and raised an eyebrow. But she simply smiled up at him. Then she shared a long look with his mom, who giggled, though he couldn’t figure out what was so funny.

“I’m going to head out too,” Lincoln said.

“You gonna need more help with your place?” Chad asked him. “We were interrupted before we finished today.”

“I think I’m good. We got a good chunk done, so I can finish up by myself.”

“All right, but if you need me to come back over, just let me know.”

“I will, thanks.”

“I’ll come over tomorrow afternoon after going down to the docks and seeing what fresh seafood has come in,” Zach told their mom.

“And I’ll be here in the evening after my shift,” Knox said. “I want to hear how the meeting with the detectives goes, and what’s going to happen next with Otis and Camden.”

Everyone stood, and each of his brothers gave Chad a huge hug, complete with slaps on the back.

Britt’s hugs were just as heartfelt, if not quite as boisterous.

Chad noticed that everyone hugged their mom a little longer than usual.

A little tighter. All of them clearly grateful she was still with them.

Every day was a gift, and Chad, at least, was determined to live each one to the fullest.

Finally, it was just Chad, Britt, and his mom left in the house.

“How are you doing, really?” he asked his mother.

“I’m fine, son. Really. I was more worried about Britt being in the back of that truck with the way Camden was driving. And then we were concentrating on finding a way out of that filthy cabin, so I wasn’t thinking about the what-ifs.”

Chad studied his mom for a long moment, trying to ascertain if she was being truthful or not. Her next words made him think she really was all right.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure both of them pay for what they’ve done.

I’m glad your father isn’t here to see how low his best friend has sunk.

If he knew what Otis had been doing, he would’ve been just as furious as I am.

And for Camden to do what he did? How he turned so rotten, I have no idea. ”

She sounded pissed, which Chad supposed was better than depressed or scared.

“About the cabin—”

“ No , Mom,” Chad chided gently. “I appreciate the offer more than you know, but Britt and I need time to discuss it.”

“Okay. Fine,” she huffed.

“Are you really sure about stopping the rentals? It brings in good money every summer.”

“And it ties us all to Lobster Cove in a way the auto shop and the boat storage don’t.

Takes up too much time. We have to deal with a lot of disrespectful renters and cater to their every need.

I want to cater to my needs. To the needs of my family.

Now that you’re all here, I want to spend time with you and your brothers, especially in the summer.

I want to be able to go to town and eat at Zach’s world-famous lobster shack.

Not be stuck in the house because I have to make muffins, greet incoming renters, or hold my breath to see what kind of shape they left the cabins in when they checked out. ”

She had a point. Chad nodded.

“Besides, like I said, now that Otis isn’t stealing money from me, from us , I think we’ll be just fine without that income. Now ... it’s late, or early. Britt is barely keeping her eyes open. Take her upstairs, and make sure you both sleep in tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Chad told her. Then he leaned in and kissed her forehead and hugged her. He could’ve lost her today.

She returned his embrace just as tightly. Then she turned to Britt, and they shared an intimate look that could only come from shared trauma. The two women hugged, and it seemed that both were reluctant to let go.

“You sleep in too,” Britt told her.

“Oh, I plan on it. Chad’s got things under control around here.”