High Tide

By Jill Sanders

Grace was trying to recover from being left at the altar by the man who had been her best friend since grade school. The fact that Corey had ditched her for some bimbo he’d met during his bachelor party wasn’t even the worst thing that had happened to her. No, the worst part was that she’d gone on her honeymoon alone, had a one

• Language: English
• Publisher: Idealist LLC
• Release date: Jun 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781942896937

Jill Sanders

Jill Sanders is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Pride series, Secret series, West series, Grayton series, Lucky series, and Silver Cove romance novels. She continues to lure new readers in with her sweet and sexy stories. Her work is available in every English-speaking country and in audiobook form, and her books have been translated into several languages. Born as an identical twin in a large family, Sanders was raised in the Pacific Northwest and later relocated to Colorado for college and a successful IT career before discovering her talent as a writer. She now makes her home along the Emerald Coast in Florida, where she enjoys the beach, hiking, swimming, wine tasting, and—of course—writing. You can connect with Sanders on Facebook at http://fb.com/JillSandersBooks, on Twitter @JillMSanders, and on her website at http://JillSanders.com.

Book preview

Prologue

One Year ago…

Grace was so nervous, she kept bringing her well-manicured fingernails up to her mouth to nibble. Luckily, she remembered that the thick acrylic over each tip would probably chip a tooth. She also knew that her mother would be upset at her if they didn’t look perfect in her wedding photos.

So, instead, she fidgeted until her mother reached over and gripped her hands tightly.

Stop, she hissed. Her mother’s eyes bore into her own. Their eyes matched, but that was little comfort. Not even this similarity, the only similarity she had to her mother, could bring them closer together. Her mother had always distanced herself from her only daughter.

The short limo ride to the chapel dragged on and on in awkward silence. Her father sat across from her, looking pale and half-drunk already. She had once been close to her father, but that closeness had shattered when she’d reached puberty. Her love for another man hadn’t helped either.

She could still remember the first time she laid eyes on Corey. His family had just moved to Franklin, Kentucky. He had rich, thick, black hair, like one of the horses they had in their fields. His eyes were dark as coal, and she’d fallen in love with him instantly.

She’d made a point to bump into him in the school hallways every chance she could. They’d quickly become best friends, and she’d held her love for him deep inside, until the night of their first dance in fifth grade. Somewhere in the middle of the song Can’t Help Falling in Love, they had stumbled through their first kiss together. Their noses had been squashed together and she’d been terribly afraid she’d pass out from not breathing, but it had been wonderful. She’d hoped it would happen again. And again.

After high school, Corey had gone away to school in Nashville, driving the hour back to be with her as often as he could. She’d attended the local liberal arts school and worked towards a degree. In what, she still didn’t know. Since first attending college, she’d changed career paths three times. Living at home didn’t help. Corey was closer to finishing his degree now than she was her own. She had been pretty sure that the distance would have a negative effect on their relationship but, instead, it had drawn them closer. Corey was more determined to marry her every week they spent apart. And she’d been hopelessly devoted to him from day one. She barely noticed other men and couldn’t wait until the day when she was Mrs. Corey Owens.

Do you think he’s nervous? she asked softly in the quiet limo.

Who, dear? her mother asked, glancing out of the window as the limo turned towards the church.

Corey. She stopped herself from rolling her eyes.

Oh, dear, I’m sure he’s eagerly waiting for us at the front of the church, her mother said without looking at her.

He’d better be after all we’ve forked over for this shindig, her father said after a slight yawn. Then he reached inside his tux pocket and pulled out a small flask that her mother had given him last Christmas.

Jeffery, really, can’t you wait until after the wedding? her mother scolded.

Her father gave them a strange look, then added. I suppose you want me to drink some of that hundred dollar a bottle stuff. He made a noise of disgust.

It would be better than going around smelling of bourbon, her mother argued.

We do make the stuff, her dad retorted.

While her parents droned on, she thought about Corey, about what he must be thinking and doing, where he was at this exact moment. Was he as nervous as she was?

When they had first talked about getting married, they’d been around ten years old. She never would have thought that all these years later, they’d actually be doing it.

She hadn’t been this nervous when they’d first made love at the tender age of sixteen or when he’d proposed at eighteen, shortly after they’d graduated.

Of course, her parents had forbidden the marriage. Since they paid for everything, they held all the power. Finally, they had promised that if she and Corey were still together after her twenty-second birthday, which had been six months ago, they would allow the union and even pay for the wedding. It had taken six months of planning for today to happen. She could imagine every detail of it with her eyes closed.

The limo slowed then stopped in front of the church. There were more than two hundred cars filling the parking lot, and she knew that there would be at least double that inside the church.

Her father climbed out, followed by her mother. Her dad reached back and took her hand in his, helping her out of the limo.

Her dress was bundled, but she arranged it so she could slip out of the door.

When her heels hit the cement, she smiled up at the church just as a bluebird flew overhead. Her father took her arm and led her up the stairs as the picture-perfect clouds floated above the Tennessee sky.

You could always back out, her father said.

I’ve been waiting for this day all my life, she said under her breath. I’d never back out.

Chapter 1

The following day…

Grace stepped outside, and the heat hit her immediately.

Being stood up at the altar had been one of the most embarrassing and heartbreaking things she’d ever had to endure. Knowing that Corey hadn’t had the guts to face her himself had been the worst part of it. Even more than the hours of lectures and ‘I told you so’s’ from her parents.

Now, however, she raised her chin and pulled her small suitcase behind her as she made her way to the waiting car.

The airport was small, so small, that her plane had been the only one sitting at the six available gates.

Going on her honeymoon alone had been her best friend, Jillian’s, idea. They’d been friends since grade school, and Jillian had desperately wanted to go with her, but she’d denied her. She needed the time alone to sort out her life.

What was her next move? Where did she see her life heading? Where would she be a year from now? Two years from now? Ten years?

Stuck in the same childhood room, sucking on the tit of her parents’ bottomless financial pockets? Working her way towards the teaching degree that she was too afraid to finish?

She was a joke. No wonder Corey had left her for some woman he’d met at his bachelor party.

Are you Grace Hamilton? Someone broke into her thoughts. She nodded at the driver. I’m here to take you to your rental. The man looked around. Is your husband… He dropped off at her look, then nodded. I’ll take those. She stood back as he put her bags into the trunk of the limo.

Sliding onto the soft seats, she leaned her head back as the air conditioning hit her face. She’d never been to the Gulf Coast before. She’d seen plenty of oceans before, but never the Gulf of Mexico. It was one of the reasons Corey and she had chosen to visit it during their honeymoon.

As the car started, she closed her eyes and thought about everything that had happened in the past few days.

Her parents’ voices echoed in her mind. They’d nagged her constantly about school and Corey until she’d needed to get out of there, just so she could hear her own internal voice.

During their arguing, her mother had let it slip about purchasing the two-week non-refundable honeymoon package for them. Her father hadn’t even known about it until then, which had caused another argument between them.

Grace had been so overwhelmed by their bickering about it that she’d grabbed the envelope her mother had tossed down on the table containing the tickets and information, grabbed her already-packed bags from her bedroom upstairs, and called a cab.

When she’d returned downstairs, she’d told her parents she needed some time and that she was going to take the trip. Her mother had nodded in agreement while her father continued to drink his bourbon and scowl into his glass. In the end, she’d been a little shocked that they had let her go. Opening her eyes, she watched as rows of hotels, beach rentals, and restaurants flew by the windows. There were so many people walking or riding bikes along the road that she wondered how the driver avoided hitting them.

They turned and entered the main highway, and she closed her eyes once more as the car sped up. She must have fallen asleep, because when the limo pulled to a stop, she jerked awake, blinking until the massive white house came into focus.

Here we are, the driver said, opening the door for her. I’ll bring up the luggage.

Thank you, she said, getting out. Her feet sank into the soft sand beside the driveway.

The house sat at the end of a long road, set apart from the other homes down the road. It was lit up like a beacon in the darkness. She knew that her parents had paid extra to have the fridge and cupboards stocked full of her and Corey’s favorite foods.

Walking up the high steps to the back porch, she unlocked the lockbox using the code she’d been given and opened the door, so the driver could set her luggage in the front hallway.

---

She shut the door lightly behind her after the driver left, leaned back against the doorway, and took a deep breath, then another. She’d never been on a trip on her own before, had never spent a night alone in a strange house.

The house was even bigger than she’d imagined it would be. She was used to big homes, having lived in a massive thirteen-thousand-square-foot place her entire life. But she’d never been alone in such a large place for so long.

She’d read all about the house in the information from her mother. Six bedrooms sleeps twenty people, six and a half bathrooms, beach views from three sides of the house, not to mention the pool and hot tub and the private boardwalk down to the beach.

Her childhood home boasted as many rooms but instead of a beach, they had stables and acres and acres of riding fields, including two large lakes of their own, all stocked with the fish her father and three older brothers liked to fish for.

It was a short distance from the rental to the small town of Surf Breeze where there was a long boardwalk full of shops, restaurants, and people. The rental included access to a golf cart that could easily shuttle eight around the area. There were paddleboards, kayaks, and anything else vacationers could want all neatly organized in the garage, or so the listing boasted.

Reaching back, she flipped the lock on the door and looked around. The living room was straight out of a beach vacation magazine. Whites, creams, and teals mixed with light woods and stone. It was the complete opposite of her parents’ place, which was filled with dark wood and rich colors.

There was a beautiful fireplace along a wall of white wood. Windows lined the other two walls. Taking a few steps in, she turned to see a kitchen with steel appliances and white cabinets. Glancing in the massive fridge, she sighed at all the food that she assumed was in there.

Across the way sat a circular table with eight white chairs. She set her purse down on it and glanced at the long staircase. Since she couldn’t see the view outside in the darkness, she decided to head up to see the rest of the house.

At the top of the first set of stairs, the master bedroom sat off to the right. She turned to the left and went through a doorway. She entered a small apartment with its own kitchen and living room. If she shut the door, the entire left side of the house could be rented out as its own unit. Two bedrooms were down a short hallway. She climbed another set of stairs to a smaller attic room and bathroom that could easily sleep another four. She passed through another firewall door and was back on the right side of the house. Here too was another attic room, only this one was bigger and had four built-in bunkbeds along with a small sitting room.

One more set of stairs lead her to the highest bedroom. This one had built-in bookcases and a television area along with its own massive bathroom. There were balconies all along the back of the house, and she imagined the views in the morning would be something dreams were made of.

Stepping out on the balcony, she took in the salty night air. She hadn’t meant to cry, but leaning against the railing and looking down at the dark sand, she thought for a split second about letting go.

Would it hurt, falling that far to the ground? Four floors down. She could see bushes on the