Chapter 2: The Man Who Came Back Nerissa Vale stood frozen beside the small table, holding the telephone so tightly that her fingers began to ache. For twenty years, she had imagined what Micah Rowan’s voice might sound like if she ever heard it again. In some versions, he apologized. In others, he explained everything. Sometimes he called her name with the same warmth he had carried in his voice when they were young and believed that promises could protect them from the world. But now that it had actually happened, he had spoken only one word. “Nerissa.” Then the line had gone silent. She lowered the telephone slowly and stared at it as though it might ring again. Her heart hammered against her ribs while the old lighthouse promise echoed through her memory. If we ever lose each other, meet me where the light touches the sea. She looked toward the window. Beyond the glass, Harbor’s End was settling into evening. The last streaks of sunlight rested over the water, tur...