Page 90 of Survival

“Hey, whiskey. Hi, Chuck.” She looked past me to smile at my dad.

“Hi, Izzy.” Dad gave her a small smile back.

“I’m here to borrow your son for a while.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less. I hope y’all work it out.” He turned and headed off to the bedroom, leaving me standing awkwardly in front of the girl that had the power to break my heart tonight.

“So, where do you want to do this?” I forced the words out. “We could go up to my room. Mom might get annoyed, but Dad knows you’re here, so…” I shrugged, my nerves bouncing around my stomach.

“Actually, I had another idea. If you’re up for it.” Her fingers twisted in the bottom hem of her top, telling me she was nervous, too. I didn’t know whether to think that was good or bad.

“What did you have in mind?”

“Go change out of your tux, and meet me at your truck.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

“Another surprise, then?” My tone came out dryer than I meant.

“Just go change, whiskey. I’ll be waiting in the truck if you’re coming.” She spun away, her long hair flipping past me, and my head spun as her sweet scent of candy and honeysuckle filled the air.

I ran up the stairs two at a time. Whiskey. She’d called me whiskey. That was a good sign, and I clung to it for sanity.

Chapter 27

TUCKER

I watched as Izzy stared out at the water from the bed of my truck. She was sitting on the lowered tailgate, her arms wrapped around her legs with her chin resting on her knees, the deep chestnut strands of her hair cascading gently down her back in the slight wind.

I just waited. She’d brought us toourstretch of sand, near the pier and the spot where I’d proposed, so I knew not to worry. She didn’t want to lose me, either. She just needed peace to think, and she wanted me with her.

The beach was quiet except for the sound of the waves lapping against the shore. It was just us and nature here right now, and the full moon was just bright enough to let us enjoy it.

I thought back to what Jet said. That we were just scared.

It had annoyed me at the time, but now, I just couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it before.

Last New Year’s, Izzy and I had finally talked. We’d found each other again through the pain, knowing that we needed each other to heal.

But we hadn’t talked like that since then. Not about what we needed to…our pain and our daughter. Just like the last time, we’d been too busy trying not to hurt each other. Even while clinging to each other as lifelines, underneath it all, we were ignoring the problem, letting it fester and get worse.

Wewerescared. I was terrified. Those walls we’d set up were a safeguard from the pain. But they weren’t worth it if I could loseher.

“Tucker?” Izzy whispered, her eyes still out on the docile waves dancing around the water’s surface.

I got up from my toolbox and went to sit by her side, running a hand down her arm. “Yeah, princess?”

“I’m sorry I’ve been hurting you.”

“I’m sorry we’ve been hurting each other.”

She sighed. “Me, too.”

“We can’t keep doing this, Izzy. We need a way to deal with everything. We need to heal.”

“I know. And I want it…so badly.”

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