Page 52 of Everything I Crave

“She’s with Willow on the beach.” I update him after reading the texts. “You coming or heading out?”

“I got shift off, I’ll come down with you.” He puts his phone back in his pocket and follows me out.

Wyatt is the new cop in town. He recently moved back after he’d been away since college. He was working as a tech sales representative, but hated sitting at a desk day after day, so he quit and joined the police academy. Now, he’s living his dream as a cop with a small cottage in the woods. We all thought he was crazy, but he seems happier and that is all we can ask for.

We start down the stairs that lead down the cliff to the small private cove that’s on our land.

My foot is sinking a little deeper than it should and I see the edges of the step bowed under my weight.

“I think this just became project number one.” I look back at Wyatt who seems to be going muchslower, testing each step before putting his full weight on the stairs.

“Uh yea, or a gate to lock these stairs up. The teenagers still sneak in here at night. I caught a few recently now that the weather is nice. I wouldn’t want one of them to get hurt.”

“Oh, definitely a priority then. We should board it up tonight,” I test another step.

“Yea. I’ll grab Emma and head to the hardware store. I’ll text the rest of them and we can get it done tonight.” He pulls his phone out to send a group text telling everyone to be back here by five.

We both look back up the stairs, taking in the splintering wood and weathered railings, wondering how none of those steps cracked under the weight of the two of us. Neither of us is tiny, or even normal sized.

The sound of Willow’s voice drifts over to me on the wind. But there’s another voice with her.

“Did Emma bring her friends?” I ask.

“I don’t know, whoever it is is a damn good singer.”

She is. Her voice mixes with Willow’s so beautifully.

The stairs enter down onto the cove behind a wall of rocks. Giving the cove a truly private feel. Wyatt stops dead in his tracks when he turns the corner and I walk right into his back.

“What the fuck?” I ask, shoving him forward.

I step around him and see just Willow and Emma. Now I stop in my tracks next to him, both our jaws on the ground.

Willow catches my eye and winks. Emma stops immediately and turns to look at us. Her cheeks turn bright red of embarrassment that we’ve heard her singing with Willow.

“Holy shit, Ems!” Wyatt says what I’m thinking.

“She’s amazing, isn’t she?” Willow asks.

Wyatt and I sit on the driftwood alongside them. I pull Emma into my side for a hug. “She is amazing,” I say, smiling at her.

“Stop.” She pulls away and avoids the compliments. “What is going on, why’d you need me?”

“I’ll tell you, but we’ve got to go to the hardware store before they close.” Wyatt stands and reaches his hand out to Emma. “Those stairs are dangerous, why didn’t you turn around?”

She lets him pull her up. “Same reason you didn’t. I wanted to be down here. Besides, if you didn’t go through I sure as hell won’t.” She slaps his stomach in an attempt to diss him, but she fails when her hand just hits his hard stomach.

He throws his head back and roars with laughter.

“Be back up there at five, G!” he yells behind him.

“Got it, don’t fall through the stairs, big boy!” I yell after him, laughing at Emma’s insinuation again.

Willow sidles up next to me in the spot Emma just vacated.

We both start talking at the same time.

“You go,” I say.

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