Page 39 of Sunset

“Boy!” She calls after me, as I head down the hall.

“Night, Mom!”

She’s just too easy to rile up. What I don’t tell my mom is that I’ll take Brynn any way I can get her, even if that means babies at the wedding.

Chapter 17

Brynn

I hate thunderstorms. I also hate the fact that Lin has Kade tonight, and they’re probably so distracted they don’t even realize it’s raining. I’m so happy for her, and I want that, too. Because sitting here on the porch alone as the rain, thunder, and lightning fill the sky, isn’t very fun.

I consider heading to my room, but I won’t be able to concentrate on anything, so here I sit.

When lightning fills the air, I close my eyes and count, until I hear the thunder. It’s a game my mom used to play with me.

This is why I don’t see Jasper, until he sits down next to me on the porch.

“You okay?” He asks.

“I guess,” I sigh, not sure what to say.

“Storms never bothered you before. How many times did you, me, and Lin run up and down that beach in the rain, until your parents yelled at you to come inside?”

“On the night they died, the storm was worse than this and popped out of nowhere. A ‘Ghost Storm’ they call it. Now, all I can think about it is the accident. Did they see it and try to make it home in time? Did they suffer? Were they scared? Did one have to watch the other die? Questions I don’t want answers to, but still run through my head.”

He wraps an arm around me and pulls me into him. I rest my head on his shoulder and just sigh. Peace is what I feel here in this moment.

“Tell me about that night.” He says.

Well, the last thing I want to talk about is that night, but okay.

“Mine and Lin’s parents went out fishing for the day. The season had just ended, and it was their way to unwind. They asked Lin and me to go, but we wanted to stay home and have a girl’s day. We painted our nails, snuck some of my mom’s wine, watched movies, bitched about you, and all that fun stuff.” I tell him.

He lightly runs his hand up and down my arm.

“The storm came, and they didn’t come home. We didn’t think much about it, as they would always stay at the docks, after a trip to eat and drink and talk. We assumed they were there and planned to wait out the storm. Come morning, they still weren’t home, and neither was the boat.”

I remember the sheer panic I felt, when I realized they didn’t come home. I close my eyes, as a chill runs through me. Jasper must have felt it, because he pulls me into his lap and wraps both arms around me.

“So, the town went searching. They found the boat not too far from The Island. There were two bodies near the boat, and the other two were found later that day, and Lin and I never asked which was which, as we didn’t want to know. So ever since, Lin and I would sit on the porch and snuggle up together during a storm. Now, Lin has Kade, so it’s just me alone.” I tell him.

“I know I’m a poor substitute to Lin, but I’m here, Brynn. I’ll be here for every storm, just call. I’m not going anywhere.

I nod. “Talk to me about anything,” I say.

“Well, my mom refuses to bake me cookies anymore, until I get married and give her grandbabies,” he says.

I start laughing. “What?”

“I got home last night, and she had baked cookies for the church. When I tried to eat one, she smacked me with a spatula. She said I don’t get cookies, until I give her a daughter-in-law and grandbabies, and in that order, too.”

I chuckle. “Well, she can love on Lin’s kids. I don’t see them waiting too long to have a baby.”

“No, I don’t either,” he says, running a hand through my hair.

It’s a move he would have done to make me comfortable all those years ago, and it still works, because I don’t remember falling asleep.

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