Page 26 of Seal of Approval

I went to the front windows and looked out. It was black out there. Lightning lit up the front yard and beach. Branches were whipped around in the wind. How they didn’t snap was beyond me.

“Ethan,” Rose said, her voice scared.

I turned back to the table.

“Is there something out there?” Her hands tightened around her cards, bending them.

“No, nothing. Just the storm.”

I sat down at the table and watched them play. It was obvious that Bailey was letting his sister win every two or three turns. I glanced back to the window. How could I try to help ease Rose’s fear? “My mom loved storms. When I was a kid, we’d go outside to watch them, unless it wasn’t safe.”

That was one of the good memories I had of my mother. She was usually too self-absorbed to pay us much attention, or obsessed with my father even though he’d treated her like crap.

Rose stared at me with her big blue eyes. “You weren’t scared?”

“Sometimes I was.”

“What did you do if you were scared?”

“Held my mom’s hand tighter.” And never tell my dad. Weakness was dangerous.

“If we go to the window, will you hold my hand?”

Jasmine stopped dishing up dinner. Bailey’s hand paused in mid-air as he was putting his next card down. I stopped breathing. Rose looked at me with wide, expectant eyes.

“Yes.” I wasn’t going to deny her, especially when she was being brave like this. To face your fears, even if it’s while holding someone’s hand, could be life-changing. And she’d chosen to do it with me. I swallowed my anxiety and took a settling breath.

Rose stood up, glancing at Jasmine who gave her a small nod. She held out her hand to me. Bailey put the cards down and watched. My stomach tightened as I stood and took her hand, so tiny. Her eyes rose to mine, and she swallowed. Rumbles of thunder, cracks of lightning and the driving wind didn’t drown out my heartbeat. I gave her hand a squeeze.

We walked to the window; with each step, she tightened her grip. I held firm, hoping to convey confidence and safety. Another round of lightning cracked. Rose jumped. She moved closer to me.

“That was a loud one, wasn’t it?” I asked.

She nodded.

More lightning. The whole area in front of the house lit up.

“Nothing out there but the storm,” I said.

We watched some more as lightning intermittently illuminated the darkness, the pounding water distorting the scene in front of us. I expected her hand to loosen, but it didn’t.

“Finished watching?” I asked.

She nodded and led me back to the table. “I still don’t like storms.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Dinner’s ready,” Jasmine said, approaching the table. As she placed my plate in front of me, she whispered in my ear, “Thank you.”

My heart swelled. It was as if those two words had imbedded themselves in there and expanded. What was I doing? I was here to research the sea lions not become part of…of what? I glanced around the table. Of this.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Jasmine

Bailey and Rose waited for us on the front porch, ready to see what havoc lay in the storm’s wake. They chatted non-stop, pointing things out to each other, in animated voices. The road in front of the house had eroded in parts, leaving puddles. Sand was strewn everywhere. Branches and leaves lay in the front yard.

Rose had slept with me all night. The courage Ethan had given her at the window in the middle of the storm hadn’t lasted through bedtime. Shock had spread through me when Rose asked Ethan to take her to the window. She’d never wanted to get that close to a storm before. And the fact that he’d said yes and didn’t just take her there but stood with her until she was finished, surprised me. He’d started off reserved with the kids. But little by little, he was integrating with them. Men usually tried to brush off children’s fears. But Ethan hadn’t.

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