Page 47 of Perfect Storm

It has been sixteen years since he was taken from us. It is a long time to go without that sense of being loved and loving someone.

It isn’t the same as the love I have for Jenna. There is more to what I am missing. I scratched the itch over the years. Mostly, I threw myself into my artwork. It is an escape I love.

James gave me that opportunity. I didn’t know about the insurance policies he had on his life. The provisions he made for us. But James was practical and prepared. Given his occupation, it was always in the back of his mind we may need support.

He provided so much for us. I’ve been able to buy my loft in Brooklyn. There was a college fund for Jenna and a trust for us that I used sparingly over the years.

“You think you’re okay to go on? You didn’t sprain it?” Stone asks when I haven’t answered the compliment he just gave me.

“It’s not that bad.”

I push on Stone’s arm. His lips lift on one side in a small grin. He doesn’t smile often, he’s very serious but I like this look on him, the twinkle in his eye. And not for the first time, I wonder if he reciprocates this attraction.

I’m not sure if what we do could be called flirting, but we’ve spent a lot of time together over the last few months. He’s around when we go out with Adam. While Jenna and Adam are wrapped up in one another’s sphere, I took to chatting with Stone. He is usually a vault, but I coaxed him into telling me about his family.

He’s never been married but has a son with an ex. He doesn’t see him often because they moved to Florida, but he has maintained contact and has shared custody. His son is in his twenties now, in college.

I’ve never asked Stone outright how old he is, and it’s hard to discern because he is so fit and looks after himself.

I doubt he’ll be interested in a woman of my age. My fiftieth birthday is fast approaching.

We walk again, bringing up the rear now, although everyone is still in our sights. Elsa is a whirlwind flitting around, taking pictures of wildlife, calling people in for group shots. The ranger patiently waits every time she does it and the others happily go along with her enthusiasm.

“Is everything ready for later?” I ask Stone.

Stone is good at organizing and making sure the band is safe. This is a little different given there are more people to watch over. It's a different set up to what he is used to, but his input has been invaluable. Working alongside him hasn’t been too much of a hardship either.

“All set up and ready to go.”

“And you’ve been careful?”

He side eyes me and I laugh, holding on to his forearm as I do. Shit, that is a flirty move if ever I made one.

He doesn’t brush me off. In fact, he lowers his arm and allows me to hook mine through his. I smile at him, and we carry on along the trail.

“Careful is my middle name,” he tells me.

I giggle. A sound I haven’t made for a long time. I wish I dressed with more care today, rather than in cargo shorts and a sleeveless top with a shirt thrown over. I am also wearing a rucksack and my hair is tied up haphazardly. My glasses are the boring black rimmed ones, but I can’t see a thing without them.

“Sandy, don’t worry. You’ve done an amazing job.”

“Thank you,” I grin.

We stop for a food and water break, settling in a small grassy area overlooking an amazing vista of mountains and lakes.

Brooke is pouting and rubbing at her neck with a wet wipe. I chuckle at her, telling her nature is as allergic to her as she is to it. She makes a neck slice gesture at me that has Ocean and Adrestia frowning in shock.

“Oh, don’t worry,” I assure them. “Brooke here knows to sleep with one eye open around me. It just makes her feel better to think she’s freaking me out.”

“Not helping, mom,” Jenna laughs.

Adam brings her a bottle of water and asks if she is okay for the fiftieth time. She waves him off after taking the water. I laugh at the look on his face as she walks away, then pat his arm.

“Don’t worry, women have been doing this for centuries,” I let him know.

“I can’t help it,” he says, for a moment looking more vulnerable than I’ve ever seen him.

“If it’s any consolation, her father was the same. Tried to wrap me up in cotton wool, followed me around like a lost puppy dog.”

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