Page 59 of Jett in Jeopardy

“That sounds good,” Finn said, “but I’m cooking after those potatoes.” He shot Grier a meaningful look.

Grier laughed. “They weren’t that bad.”

“They were like wallpaper paste,” Finn told him.

“They tasted okay.”

“What about Grey?” Alistair asked Finn. “Do you think he’ll want to come?”

Finn shook his head. “He prefers warmer climates over for the holidays.”

“What about Shannon’s parents?” Sawyer asked. Finn’s ex-wife’s parents had joined us at Thanksgiving. Finn admitted when he’d asked them, he hadn’t believed they’d actually come, but they had.

They’d been a little stiff and clearly uncomfortable when they first arrived, but as the day progressed, they’d relaxed, and by the time they left, they had seemed to have a good time.

“They’re going to France for the holidays to help with Shannon’s new baby,” Finn said, glancing down at Will. Maybe to gauge the kid’s reaction.

If the prospect of a sibling bothered him, it didn’t show. Instead, he excitedly clapped his hands. “Grandma and Grandpa are going to visit Mommy, and Mylo is going to stay at our house.”

“Who’s Mylo?” Sawyer asked.

“Bill and Helen’s dog,” Finn said. “We told them we’d keep him for the three weeks they’re away.”

“We figured it would be a good trial run,” Alistair added.

It was no secret that Will desperately wanted a dog. He liked their cat, Spider, well enough, but he really wanted a dog of his own. Finn and Alistair had been toying with the idea of getting one in the spring.

Grier brought me a plate almost spilling over with food, and I ate quietly, listening to my friends' plans for the holidays, laughing and telling funny stories, and I realized I had been wrong. My friends hadn’t moved on from me. Our circle, this makeshift family we’d created, had just grown bigger.

And while I knew better, I found myself wishing Brody could have been a part of it.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Brody

Theskyhadbarelystarted to brighten by the time I rolled out of bed and gave up on sleep completely. Between Daniel’s words rattling around my head and how empty my bed felt without Jett, I’d barely managed a few restless hours before getting up and changing into my running clothes.

My apartment felt too hot and tight, as if the walls were closing in around me. I needed to get out, to breathe, and most of all, I needed to think. I didn’t know what I needed to do next, just the gnawing sensation that I needed to dosomething.

After leaving my apartment, and in front of The Dunes, I jogged down the sidewalk towards the beach. So early in the morning, there was no one else around, The Square was eerily silent. My footfalls on the pavement and the distant, ever-present rush of the surf against the shore were the only sounds on an otherwise silent morning.

After the stuffiness of my apartment, the freezing air felt good against my skin, refreshing. Overhead, fading stars dotted the cloudless, indigo sky. I continued jogging until I hit the wooden planks of the boardwalk, but instead of following the path like I normally would when I ran, I slipped past the rail and stepped onto the beach’s hard-packed sand.

The wet sand sucked at my shoes as I walked toward the ocean, nearly pulling them off my feet. I didn’t stop, though. I pushed on until the waves lapped at the toes of my sneakers. The hush of the surf filled my ears, drowning out anything else. Spray from the roiling waves, picked up by the wind, stung my face, but I didn’t move back. I’d come here for a reason.

I loved this place, this small patch of beach, even if it hurt when I came here. This was the spot where Ryan and I had stood on our first date, watching the sunset and streaking the sky with pastel shades of pink, purple, and orange. This was the spot where I had decided to stay and make a life in Oceanwind Square with Ryan. And this was the spot where I’d scattered Ryan’s ashes years later.

Despite everything, I still felt closest to him here, even more so than the apartment we’d shared or the bar we’d run together. Sometimes, when I closed my eyes, I could almost feel him standing beside me, his hand brushing the back of mine. It felt so real; I expected to see him standing there next to me when I opened my eyes, but of course, he was never there. Not really.

“I miss you,” I said, into the wind. My face heated a little. If anyone happened to walk by, I’d look like a nut, standing out here and talking to myself before the sun was even up.

I gave myself a mental shake. What a ridiculous notion. Nobody else was around, and even if they were, they couldn’t hear me over the wind and the waves.

Besides, this conversation was overdue.

“I met someone,” I said. “He’s a little younger. Hot as fuck, but so much more than that. You’d like him. He’s genuinely kind, funny and smart. I think I might be falling in love with him.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized how true they were. The invisible vise was squeezing tighter around my chest again, and my breath lodged in my lungs.

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