Changing Tides (Kill Devil Hills Book 2) by Sarah Darlington Page A

your stupid fake-death, Ben . That would be incredibly insensitive, even though part of me wanted to say it so that I could make Ben understand the full consequences of his actions. Somehow I still didn’t think he understood just how much pain he’d caused.
    “What have you been doing for the past nine months?” Noah asked, randomly, his voice low. Of all people to talk first, I never would have bet on Noah breaking the silence. And of all questions? That?
    Ben set his fork down and took a breath. “I’ve been helping Carrie—er, Mrs. Stone—mostly. Around the house…with the cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Stuff like that. She wasn’t kidding about he r almost starvin g comment. The arthritis in her hands has gotten so bad that she can’t do many of the things that the rest of us take for granted. Like opening the lid to the pickle jar. Even gripping the handle on the fridge is hard for her.”
    The steam rolling off Noah was nearly tangible. ‘Helping out the elderly’ hadn’t been the answer he’d been looking for. Actually, I don’t think it was a good enough answer for me either. Meanwhile, Georgie hadn’t said a single word since we stepped foot into this house. Instead she carefully and calmly ate her pork tenderloin.
    “So,” Ben asked, continuing the conversation, oblivious to Noah’s silent rage, “how about you all? What have I missed? Gina—Georgie? How are you and Logan?”
    Noah coughed into his fist like he was choking on something, but he hadn’t even taken one bite. If Ben couldn’t feel the tension in the room, then my brother had serious mental problems . Hell, letting the rest of the world think you were dead ? That probably already qualified a person for the looney bin. I needed to step in before the room exploded.
    Georgie beat me to it though, saying, “Logan and I broke up a while ago. I’m with Noah now.”
    “Wait, what? You’re kidding me.” Ben narrowed his eyes at Georgie, then Noah, and then at me like I might contradict her or something. “She’s kidding, right?”
    “No,” I answered sharply. “Why would she kid?”
    “This is a…wow,” Ben said, pulling his fingers through his overgrown wavy brown hair. “The only thing more shocking than this would be if Ellie suddenly announced she wasn’t gay anymore.”
    He meant that as a joke, I understood that, but his words stuck a nerve. Normally, the peacekeeper in me would have spoken up right about now. I’d spent a lifetime mediating between my siblings, but I stayed silent. I wanted to see how this would play out.
    “What exactly are you trying to say?” Georgina asked Ben. A lot of credit could be given to Noah’s protectiveness over her—but the reverse was true as well. Her politeness was unmatched, but so was her fierceness.
    “Only that I thought you and Logan were a forever sort of thing,” Ben answered. “I thought, of all the couples at our school, you two would make it. I mean, you’ve known each other forever. You two were perfect together. No offense, but Noah and you…” Ben trailed off, implying a hell of a lot in his unspoken words.
    Georgie stood to her feet. “Noah and I what?” she practically shouted.
    “Nothing,” Ben said, but then shook his head and he too stood up. “Fine, I’ll say it. Because Ellie probably won’t. Isn’t he a little too old for you? Do you guys have anything in common? Do Mom and Dad even know? Am I the only one who sees how insane this is?”
    My heart was racing. How ignorant could Ben be? Noah was a good man. In fact, probably th e bes t man I knew. Maybe he was a little too shy around most people, maybe he was six years older than Georgie, maybe he was a lot of things—but he was perfect for my sister. And if Ben hadn’t left us when he did, he’d already know that too. Logan had turned out to be a crap boyfriend. Noah was a man in every way he wasn’t.
    “No offense,” Noah said. How he was able to remain calm right now was beyond me. I