Page 67 of Whisper Of Attraction (Whisper Lake 3)

CHAPTER 20

“Hey! Are you almost ready?” Axel leaned against the counter in the small kitchenette, his arms folded across his chest as he waited on his sister, who was still in the bedroom getting dressed.

Izzy was supposed to be downstairs at the main house twenty minutes ago to take pictures with Ryder and their friends before they went to the Halloween Festival. Apparently, it was a really big deal in Whisper Lake, just like the Christmas Festival, New Year’s Festival, Valentine’s Day Festival, Spring Festival, Beginning of Summer Festival, Fourth of July Festival and End of Summer Festival. He’d heard of other towns that had three, maybe four, festivals per year, but eight seemed excessive to him. He’d mistakenly admitted that sentiment to Mrs. D during one of her interrogations disguised as small talk. She informed him that the festivals brought in the tourists that contributed significantly to the economic stability of the town. Then, she stretched out her arm and with a closed fist, opened it, and said, “Mic drop.”

She was a trip and, he had to admit, she was growing on him.

“Iz, it’s five past,” he prompted again.

“I know,” she sounded totally unfazed by her tardiness. If anything, she seemed irritated that he’d brought it up.

He’d never understood how people could reconcile being late for things. In his book, there was no excuse for it. But his sister had never considered punctuality a priority and it had only gotten worse since she hit her teenage years.

Agitation bunched in his shoulders as he waited. He knew that there was no reason he should be anxious about her tardiness. It wasn’t his friends that were waiting on him.

His head turned and his gaze went to the window, as it always did. He could see Brynn in her kitchen with Ali and Jess. Ali had brought the twins over and Jess had come over to do hair and makeup.

Axel watched as Brynn opened a bottle of wine and poured it into three glasses. She was laughing.

“Is it okay if I stay at Fiona’s tonight?”

Axel’s first instinct was to say no. He wanted her here, under his roof where he knew that she was safe. But if she had to stay anywhere, he supposed Fiona’s wasn’t a bad second choice. Each time he saw her mom, Chrissy, he was surprised that she wasn’t wearing a cape with an M on it, because that woman was Super Mom. He hadn’t met her husband, but he did feel comfortable that Izzy would be safe over there.

“Did Mrs. Caldwell say it was okay?”

“No.” His sister stated flatly. “In fact, she said I wasn’t allowed in their home. But don’t worry. I’m just going to sic one of my dragons on her.”

He found himself rolling his eyes for at least the third time that day alone. It was something that was becoming somewhat of a habit while raising a teenager. “You’re so funny.”

“I know. I’m thinking about taking my act on the road. Who wouldn’t want to go see standup from The Mother of Dragons?”

The bedroom door opened and Axel felt his jaw actually drop. His baby sister was dressed in a light blue, flowing dress with a thick gold belt that she and Brynn had sewed together. And earlier in the day Jess had styled her long blonde hair in waves and it had braids running through it.

“Wow.”

She didn’t acknowledge him as she walked slowly from the room, hands clutched at her waist, her head held high with an air of royalty about her. It was exactly the way the character walked on Game of Thrones.

Axel knew that it was just a costume, but he couldn’t believe that this was the same little girl that he’d walked the halls with when she was teething. Those nights had been torture and he remembered thinking they’d never end, but now time felt like sand slipping through an hourglass. No matter how much he tried to stop it or slow it down, granules just kept dropping down.

It wasn’t just how much older than her thirteen years she looked, it was the maturity that she exuded. Which shouldn’t surprise him because this was the same girl that he’d accidentally woken up when he’d tried to leave a dollar under her pillow when she lost her first tooth. He’d told her that the Tooth Fairy was sick and she’d asked him to fill in for her. Even at five years old, she’d known that he was full of it. Her little lips turned up in a smile and her eyes twinkled as she said, “I know you’re Santa, too.” Then she lay back down and went to sleep.

She’d always been bright and mature beyond her years. It used to be a cute quirk. A precocious little girl that had a crazy vocabulary. But now, now that she was actually becoming the adult version of herself, that little girl was gone and he knew there was no way he could get her back. Axel didn’t just want to slow down time, he wanted to stop the sucker all together.

“You look amazing.”

“I know, right!” She exclaimed as she spun around, morphing back into an excited teenager before his eyes.

When Izzy had shown up in Whisper Lake a month ago, he’d wrestled with whether or not letting her stay was the right thing to do. But in the time she’d been here, he’d gotten his sister back. She’d embraced the town and the town had embraced her right back.

She’d found a great group of friends and was excelling at school, which was no surprise. What was a surprise was that she had her first boyfriend and Axel couldn’t be happier about it. The kid was smart, funny and respectful. He couldn’t ask for a better kid for his baby sister than Ricky Walsh.

When she started for the door, he stepped in front of her, halting her path.

“Is your phone charged?” A rule he had was that she always had to have her phone charged and on her so that he could reach her at any time.

“Yes.”

“And you know the rules.”

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