Page 24 of Fresh Start
Of course he was. I could actually start to see the family resemblance. That’s why she looked so familiar. It all clicked now.
“Do you need him for something? Did he say something stupid? If he did, let me apologize. He was raised better,” she said.
“No, actually. It was me that said something stupid. And I wanted to apologize,” I said, and Melody’s eyes creased with suspicion.
“He’s in room 5, but he’s not back yet. I can call your room when he gets back,” she said.
“That’s okay.”
This was already weird. I didn’t need to involve Melody any further and upset Leo more, or clue her in on what had happened between us.
“I’ll check later. Thanks, though,” I said and left for the room, picking up a beer from the fridge in reception.
The sun was setting now, and the water was calling to me. I’d have to come down for a swim tomorrow. It’d be such a shame if I didn’t enjoy my vacation while I was here.
I walked down to the beach and found a palm tree to sit with my back against and watch the sunset. How wonderful would it be if there was someone sitting next to me to enjoy it with me?
Since there was no such person on the horizon, I went for the next best thing. I pulled my phone out and snapped a photo of the scene and straight away posted it on Instagram, #nofilter. I double double-checked that the geo-location tagging was off as the hearts started pouring in, and they made me feel instantly less alone.
One moment, I was admiring the sunset and sneaking glances at the heart count on my post, and the next, a tiny typhoon crashed down on me, knocking my beer into the sand and me off the tree.
“Oops, sorry,” someone little said, and I cleared my head enough to notice the flurry of wings, glitter, and feathers that revealed a little girl.
“Are you okay?” I asked her and helped her off me and back to her feet.
“I didn’t see you. I’m so sorry. I was chasing a butterfly,” the girl said.
I looked around but didn’t see proof.
“I’m sorry you lost it,” I said.
The girl giggled and twirled her thumb around one of her locks.
“Don’t be silly. There are thousands of butterflies in town. I’ll find another one,” she said and looked at me closer.
Her hands went straight to her mouth, and her eyes shot open as she started to jump on the spot and let out a muffled screech.
For a moment, I wasn’t sure what had come over her, but then she let her hands drop and called my name.
“It’s you, isn’t it? You’re Detective Strong,” she said.
I smiled and gave her my hand, raising an eyebrow, and letting the superhero inhabit my body for a moment, which only made the girl shriek again.
“Nice to meet you, Lil’ one. And who are you?” I said in the lower tone I used for Strong.
The girl gave me her small hand and shook it.
“I’m Summer Karagiannis,” she said. “Nice to meet you, Detective.”
I didn’t even have a chance to recognize the last name as Leo’s birth name before someone called out her name.
“Over here.” Summer stood up straight and took a step away from me to wave her hands at someone.
Moments later, a tall figure appeared from behind the palm tree. It was none other than Leo.
“Look who I found. Detective Strong!” Summer said and pointed at me.
I raised my hand and, with some reluctance, waved at Leo.
