BENEATH THE SURFACE

I prick my finger on the thorned rose, Its bloodied kiss a pain I know. But I return, though I've learned the cost, to pluck its beauty, though I'm lost. Each time, I leave with wounds anew, the same old ache, I was left with before. I wish I didn't love the rose so-
But here I am, and still, it grows.

• • •

It's another scorching summer in the Outer Banks, and Raelyn Deleon is desperately trying to keep her life from derailing. But with her friends pulling her into a wild gold hunt , staying on course proves to be a challenge.

As tensions rise and secrets start to bubble to the surface , Raelyn might just find herself confiding in the one person she can't stand-or, perhaps, she'll stay silent and everyone will watch her slowly unravel. Maybe it's both. Who's to say?