Page 3 of Off the Hook

“I’m so sorry Coulter,” Waylan’s voice cracked, his steps slow as he turned to dad. “Spencer, it’s, it’s…” I held my breath, praying that he wouldn’t, but bracing myself to hear him say my sister’s name. When he straightened and took a deep breath and said, “It’s Kylie,” I was relieved for the fraction of a second it took for my brain to process his words. It wasn’t Ava.

But then the reality of the news hit me. It wasn’t my sister. It was the love of my life.

“Kylie?” I heard myself say as my legs gave way, and I staggered before sinking to the ground, right in the middle of the marina parking lot.

Tears filled the big, burly Sheriff’s eyes. “She drowned last night.”

“That call you got last night was about Kylie?” My father’s voice shook. Waylan had phoned to let us know he wouldn’t make it for Christmas Eve dinner because he was responding to a call about a body found floating in a canal.

“Yeah,” he said weakly and he sucked in a quick breath. “I didn’t know it was her until I got there. I was going to call afterward to let you know but I didn’t want to ruin yourfamily dinner. I came early to break the news before you heard it from someone else first.” He glanced up at Spence heading down the stairs from the porch, pale as a ghost. “Looks like I’m too late for that.”

I watched from the gravel parking lot, tears streaming down my face, as my oldest brother wrapped Waylan in his arms. Waylan was my dad’s best friend, an uncle to us six kids all our lives. His niece Kylie had been like family to all of us, too. And then I’d dated her for nearly a decade. Everything had changed after we broke up, but our history together was intact.

Fisher, Reef’s chocolate lab came bounding up, his tail wagging furiously as he licked my face. I slung an arm around the pup, burying my face in his soft fur. King, Kai’s golden, joined us, adding to the pile of furry, wiggling love that knocked me over. Memories of Kylie over the years flashed across the blue sky. High school sweethearts, long distance college romance, and a couple of good years until I made it official and put a ring on her finger. Back then, I could see us growing old together, a passel of kids I’d teach to fish. We’d expand the charter business and run the marina together. But she’d broken it off not even a month later and shattered those dreams.

I sat up, my vision blurred by tears, and wiped my eyes on the gaudy sleeve of my sweater, the fabric rough against my face. “Calm down guys, calm down,” I commanded the unruly pups. With a shaky hand I reached for a stick and tossed it, sending the pups running in pursuit. I hoisted myself up onto unsteady legs and made my way up to the porch where my dad and Spence were seated with Waylan around the glass top table.

Waylan handed me a cold Bud Light. “You probably need this as much as I do.”

“Thanks.” I accepted the icy bottle, taking a long sip trying to center myself before I straddled the fourth wrought iron chair around the table just as Reef and Kai came outside in their absurd Christmas sweaters. “Hey Sheriff, whose sweater do you think is ugliest?” Kai, the older twin, asked, before seeing Waylan’s face. “Wait, what happened?”

“Kylie drowned last night,” Spence said solemnly, sparing Waylan from repeating the painful truth.

Reef’s concerned gaze swung to me. “Kylie’s dead?” He walked over and laid a hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze as he asked Waylan, “How did she drown?”

The sheriff wrapped both hands around his beer, his grip tight, letting out a long breath. “Looks like maybe she was climbing on the boat and slipped, hit her head and fell in.”

“Kylie?” I asked, incredulous. She’d grown up on boats,with me.“That can’t be.”

Waylan set his beer on the table with a clink. “I thought the same, but that’s how it appears.” he said, with a quiver before he dropped his head in his hands. “Detective Pierce is reviewing all the evidence as we speak.”

“Pierce?” I didn’t recognize the name from Waylan’s stories about the police force.

“New Detective down from Miami,” He lifted his head up, and grabbed the beer again, holding onto it like a lifeline. “She's good. Don’t worry, Kylie is in good hands,” he said with a forced confidence that wasn’t the least bit convincing as a fresh tear rolled down his cheek.

“First Ellie, then Kylie,” my father whispered. I hadn’t drawn the connection until my father pointed it out. Two drownings in the same year. My forearms prickled with goosebumps as my father continued. “My wife, and your niece. Are we cursed?” His shaky voice was swallowed up by the wind in the palm trees, gusts kicking up white caps in the basin.

Waylan’s eyes were bleak, filled with a pain that mirrored my own. “I don’t know Spencer. But I don’t see how we can handle any more loss.”

A wave of relief washed over me when I spotted Ava’s Tesla turning into the parking lot, relief that she was alive and well, and relief that she’d be there to share in my grief. My little sister was the one who had comforted me the most after we lost mom. She was also the closest to Kylie growing up. They were more like sisters than best friends. When Kylie and I started dating, Ava had told me she’d wring my neck if I ever did anything to hurt her. Turns out she was the shoulder I cried on after Kylie broke my heart. She would need the comfort now.

Ava pulled two bags of gifts out of her trunk and wore a big grin as she joined us, in the ugliest sweater of the bunch. “Beer for breakfast on Christmas morning?” She grinned as she bounded onto the porch. But her smile faded quickly when she sensed the somber mood.

After Kai broke the news, we all cried into our beers. My father’s words echoed in my mind. Maybe our family was cursed.

CHAPTER 3

FAITH

Windows open, salty sea air blowing through my hair, I sang at the top of my voice to the beat of LALA by Myke Towers blasting from the radio as I drove into work. I’d gotten in late the night before, and it took all my willpower to leave the glass of wine untouched in my fridge while I scarfed down my lukewarm dinner at four in the morning. Waiting for the coroner and collecting the evidence from the scene had taken hours. Bureaucratic paperwork ensured that even for a simple drowning, nothing happened quickly. I was home just long enough to shower and get in a power nap before heading back to work.

I pulled the car into Sunshine bakery, idling while I made a mad dash up to the window for a cafe con leche and a box of pastelitos. The smell of guava pastries wafted through the window. Feliz Navidad blared through the radio when I climbed back into the Charger and my phone rang. I nearly spilled my coffee all over my lap reaching for the knob to lower the volume.

“Hey Mom, Merry Christmas! How’re you doing out there?” She’d been in Phoenix with her new husband for six months, so it was our first Christmas apart.

“I’d be better if you were here,” she said with a tinge of sadness.

“I know. But that’s part of the job, especially when you’re the lowest woman on the totem pole.”

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