"He looks good with that beard, Aunt Helen," Olivia said as they watched Craig and Josh walk toward the main house. They were taking their time, stopping to talk to a few guests along the way although Olivia could see Josh glancing at them every now and then. Was he as nervous as she was?

"He does, doesn't he?" An elegant woman in her late fifties, Helen Morin held herself with such grace and dignity that reminded Olivia of her late mother who was Helen's best friend. "It was nice of Erik and Sam to stop by two weeks ago. I don't know what your brother told him but he sure cleaned up pretty quickly. Just don't tell him I told you that."

"I won't."

"Where's Julie? I thought you came up with her."

"She sends her regrets because she signed up for a 90 minute massage and facial and it went a bit over," Olivia replied, pressing the button on her phone to look at the time. "She could barely keep her eyes open so she's taking a nap. She does wish that you provided a cabana boy to feed her grapes."

"Ha! She'd have to pry the cabana boy from my fingers first," Helen said, laughing. "That is, if we had one running around."

Olivia nodded. "I told her she could do whatever she wanted on this trip. I'm on speed-dial anyway, if she gets lonely."

Craig and Josh emerged onto the deck, weaving their way between the tables. Craig said his hellos and stopped at a few tables to introduce his son to the new guests. A retired fire chief, Craig now enjoyed his new life with Helen as proprietors of Rosemary Inn. They both enjoyed meeting new people, providing them a home away from home complete with yoga and meditation classes, as well as an aromatherapy course ran by a local company who provided most of the inn's toiletries. Thanks to Craig and Helen's interests in sustainability, it meant that the Rosemary inn was always fully booked. It also meant that there was always work to be done, repairs to be made, and guests to take care of.

"Oh, they're gonna be awhile before they finally get here. Your uncle loves to talk and Josh knows better than to leave or his father will talk the guests' ears off," Helen said, watching her husband and son at the far end of the dining hall before turning to face Olivia. "I'm so happy to see you again, Livvy, especially after what happened the last time you were here."

"What happened?" Olivia looked at the older woman innocently. Of course, she knew what happened but she didn't want to worry Helen needlessly over something that she could handle quite well on her own. After having known Josh since they were kids, Olivia knew she could handle him even after he called her names. But it didn't mean she understood his rage. So what if she'd seen him fall in the midst of his therapy session with his physical therapist? What was there to be ashamed of? It was better than being dead.

Still...

Olivia felt her throat tighten at the thought and she almost teared up. She'd been so afraid for him when he first got assigned to that drug detail, which meant he had to work undercover. Some days, he looked scary with his hair unkempt and his beard scruffy. Even Bella was afraid of him until he'd call her name and then she would laugh and hold out her arms so he would carry her.

Too bad his partner was dirty, Ray's plans to pin his drug operation on Josh now coming to light. And Ray would have succeeded if backup hadn't arrived in time. Olivia didn't even want to imagine the alternative. What if backup never came?

"Does he use his cane all the time?" Olivia asked as she watched Josh move it from one hand to the other. It was strange to see him using it but in the absence of even terrain in parts of the inn, she couldn't blame him. The slope leading to his casita was especially treacherous at times.

"Not all he time. He hates using it and so sometimes he won't but then it hurts. In here, though, he doesn't use it as much."

"He still looks good, Aunt Helen. Healthy, and that's the most important thing." Olivia squeezed the older woman's hand and smiled. How could she forget the night she got the call that something had gone wrong? Your best friend, shot in the line of duty?

"Here they are!" Helen exclaimed as both men finally appeared at their table.

Josh leaned down to kiss his mother on both cheeks, squeezing her shoulder before grabbing hold of the hat that almost flew from her head from a sudden gust of wind.

"We could move inside, Mom," he said but Helen shook her head. They were in the shaded part of the veranda and she loved being able to see the whole property in front of her.

Olivia waited until Josh turned to face her, a ready smile on her lips. It was time they buried the hatchet. The past was the past, she wanted to tell him, no matter what happened and what he called her. As Josh gave her the usual deep hug she was used to receiving from him, Olivia couldn't help but notice how he avoided her gaze.

But like pushing the reset button on a gadget, the arrival of their orders minutes later seemed to erase what happened. They laughed like they did before the incident, talked like they used to talk, joked like they used to joke. The only difference was that they hardly touched like they used to.

Olivia noticed it in the way Josh kept his hand right by his side, on his lap or on either side of his plate. He used to reach out to her in the past, squeeze her hand, her arm, and sometimes pinch her nose to tease her. He used to be such a big flirt that it drove his girlfriends crazy. But there was none of that now, and she wondered if he was still angry at her.

"Where's Bella?"

"She's with Sam and Erik," she said. "It's girls' weekend away. So no kids allowed."

"Well, give her a kiss for me when you get back," Josh said. "I miss babysitting that little rugrat."

"Only because you and Erik get to sit on the deck and charm the ladies on the Strand. And don't even lie to me because it's not like I haven't seen the women that suddenly show up," Olivia laughed. The Strand was the paved shoreline bike path that started from Will Rogers State beach all the way down to Torrance. Erik happened to own a house facing the Strand and beyond it, the Pacific Ocean.

"Well, now that Erik's got Sam and Michael, I doubt the M.O.'s remained the same or he's in big trouble," Craig said. "But I'm glad you got to get away, Livvy. Josh has been something terrible since the last time you were here."

"Dad, I don't need you to announce the state of my private life!"

"And don't tell me I'm lying," Craig continued. "Anyway, Liv, if you and Julie have time, give this guy hell, alright? For your Aunt Helen and me. I love him, but sometimes he can be a royal pain in the you-know-what."

"Oh, just say it, Dad," Josh said though he couldn't help laughing along with them.

It was the most any of his companions had seen him laugh since he moved into the resort. Olivia missed his smile. Had it really been seven months since that awful night when she rushed to the hospital in time to see him being wheeled into emergency surgery?

"So, Livvy, what's the news down at the beach? Any new developments?" Craig asked, bringing Olivia back to the present. They were finishing the main course and were starting on dessert.

For the next half hour, Olivia told them about the latest news in the South Bay. Who got married or were getting married, and who had kids or were having kids. It was nice to catch up and Olivia could see how it made Helen smile, making her forget her current health concerns. The older woman was going through treatments for cancer but it was something she didn't want any of them to linger on.

"I'm so happy Josh finally came out of his casita to join us," Helen said as she turned to face Olivia. "Don't you think he looks great with his beard? It's the latest thing apparently, beards."

"Mom," Josh said, rolling his eyes. "You're embarrassing me."

"What's to get embarrassed about?" Helen said, laughing. "You're a handsome man. Isn't he, Livvy?"

"Mom!"

"Alright, we're leaving. I'll see you two for dinner?" Helen asked, rolling her eyes.

For the next few minutes, they waited until Helen and Craig disappeared inside the main lobby. It occurred to Olivia that she suddenly didn't know what to say, even though she and Josh had a lot to talk about.

"So, what shall we talk about?" she asked, breaking the silence between them.

"Whatever you want."

"We should talk about what happened the last time I was here, Josh," Olivia said as Josh blanched. "What do you think?"

"Does it really matter what I think now?"

"Nope, but you still owe me a real apology for what happened two months ago," she replied, grinning. "And that I'll take in private, if that's alright with you."