Page 43 of Xavier

My gaze meets Brianna’s. “Nothing is going on. She’s working with me to find out what’s really going on here.”

He doesn’t seem to believe me. “Mm-hmm. Sure. I’m not blind.”

I tear my gaze away from hers and continue to search the crowd. Before I can focus on whatever else John is saying, I see the two men from the bait and tackle store.

They are toward the outskirts of the crowd, blending in with their baseball caps and dirt and sweat covered attire.

This likely will not be good.

Their expressions are hard and free of any emotions.

Why would they show their faces in town?

I nudge Hudson and quickly glance at the men. He gives me a slight nod before heading in the opposite direction.

We have to circle around the crowd so they won’t see us coming at them.

I slowly move through the crowd, trying to not draw any attention to myself, but I lose sight of the men.

Shit.

Chapter Eleven

BRIANNA

Mom and I sit down in our seats on opposite sides of the podium where Dad is standing. This is the same seat that I’ve grown accustomed to taking during every single town meeting.

My seat is to the right of Dad, while Mom’s seat is on his left side. The entire town expects Mom and me to be Dad’s right and left hand women, so to speak, so this is where we sit.

Today’s crowd is enormous, possibly the largest we’ve had in years.

That can mean there’s a ton of damage that needs to be repaired, or it could mean there’s an abundance of people willing to help wherever is needed.

I hope it’s the latter of the two, especially with my mind on other things right now.

Dad clears his throat to get everyone’s attention. All conversations end as every pair of eyes turns toward us.

“Good afternoon, everyone. I hope everyone stayed safe during the storm. I did my first preliminary trip around the island a little bit ago, and I’m happy to say that overall, Scarlett Island has been blessed.”

Several people clap and cheer for him as he pauses to gaze around the crowd.

He gives everyone a friendly smile before continuing.

“We have some houses with roofs destroyed and missing, and several large trees are down. It will take a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but I know we will, once again, come together to help our fellow community members.”

The claps and cheers cause Dad to pause his speech once again. This is usually how post storm meetings go.

Dad talks. People cheer.

The entire town loves him and the way he always puts the community first.

I’m glad I moved back home. The sense of community was missing in the big city.

It feels amazing to be a part of such a loving and tight-knit community where, for the most part, everyone looks out for one another.

At least it used to be that way before more people moved to town. Now, it’s getting to the point where we don’t really know one another and murders are happening in broad daylight.

With another enormous grin, Dad continues. “With the sun shining brightly above us, I am hopeful about the future of our town. I’m hopeful that we will continue to prosper and thrive as a community. And I’m hopeful that power will come back on today.”

---