Page 230 of Steeling Her
“No wa—Oh . . . my God!” My jaw drops open after my realization.
“What?” Austin stops for a moment, looking at me with fear.
“Are you in lov—”
“Hell no!” he yells.
I can’t help but laugh even more. “Oh my God, you are—”
“No, I’m not!” He launches himself at me to bury me in the sand as we laugh at one another while he tries to tickle me.
We hear Taylor squeal with laughter as I roar with my own and roll around in the sand to escape my brother’s hands that are driving the sound of joy from my body.
I’ll miss him, I’ll miss this.
“No! No!” Taylor rushes to back me up and tries to help me escape from Austin’s grip, but Austin has the same plan for her, going a little lighter on his niece. Her eyes shut tight as the smile grows on her face while she reaches out for me to help her.
Like the kid I am, I climb on top of my brother to rescue her as we gang up on my oldest brother, who is enjoying every second of this.
Out of breath, the girls win. We’re both released from his grip as he rests a hand on his chest as he gathers himself.
“So weak,” Chris playfully chides him, looking over the defeated body laying in the sand. Austin grips the sand and swishes his leg around to try and kick Chris, but Chris’s feet have always been as quick as a hiccup.
Taylor and Chris go back to playing by the shore so she can collect her seashells to bring back home. Austin readjusts himself so we’re back to sitting next to one another as we watch our family come together.
“I look forward to meeting her one day,” I whisper. Not to cause another tickle fight between us, but to honestly say this without actually saying it;I know she’s the one, whoever she is.I’ve never seen a smile like the way he’s smiling right now. I have also never heard him laugh like that.
He exhales with a smile on his face, picking up the nearest pebble and rubbing it between his fingers. He shakes his head as if my words are funny. Maybe they are, but either way, this girl, whoever she is, has made my brother happy.
“So what about you?” he asks, throwing the pebble down towards the shoreline.
“What about me?” I retort.
“Come on, don’t be like that.” He smirks over his shoulder. “I know you were lost in your own thoughts a few minutes ago for a reason. What’s on your mind?” he queries and waits for my answer.
“Nothing,” I say breathily, “and at the same time . . . everything.” I stare up at the stars once again; it relaxes me. Between the sight and the sounds of the waves, I can feel my body begin to relax from its tense state.
This was something that I never realized that I needed. I needed family, and no judgement.
Not a single question was asked about me, Ted, or Nick; it’s just the way I want it. A simple escape from my harsh reality.
My harsh decision.
***
Nick
I lift my bag over my shoulder and make my way to my rental car after signing on the dotted line to access it. With the tag keyring clanging in my pocket, I make my way to the lot where it was shown to me.
As I greet the young man standing outside under a kiosk, I show him my tag and he calls out the numbers on the company radio to another guy in the parking lot.
I wait in the heat that I haven’t felt for the past few years. The only time I would be here is when I played for the team I was on at the time, and even at that, I still never returned home or made an effort to see my dad.
The old Mississippi heat.
The hot, wet, and humid trap that claws at your lungs if you haven’t adjusted, and I’m feeling every bit of it. The dense air sits heavily in my lungs.
I take off my hat and wipe my head with the top of shirt to get rid of the perspiration. As I do that, I see a sleek white Audi A7 roll up to where I’m standing. A wide smile greets my face upon seeing the beauty on four wheels. I walk myself over to the guy driving it to hand him the tag and for him to attach the keys to it so he knows it’s a match.
