Page 1 of Eyes Like a Hurricane

Prologue

Aislinn

20 Years Ago

Mom and Dad gaze at each other from opposite ends of our canoe as my brother, Kieran, and I sit cross-legged in the middle. Mom begins singing “Lavender Blue” as we paddle our green canoe down the river. She usually reserves that song for when it’s time to go to bed. I think she is hoping the soft melody will calm my anxious body. My eight-year-old limbs are struggling to sit still.

“How much longer?” I murmur.

Dad smiles at me, “We have ten more minutes until we are at the picnic spot, my little Ash.”

Mom’s eyes crinkle as she says, “Why don’t you sing a song, Aislinn?”

I whisper my idea into Kieran’s ear, and he grins at me. A steady rhythm starts as his hands softly pat against the bottom of the canoe. I begin to sing my favorite Pocahontas song, “Just Around the River Bend.” Mom and Dad laugh. I struggle to keepa straight face as I theatrically point to each bend in the river. When I finish the last note of the song, Kieran claps loudly.

As the boat runs into the ground, Dad hops out of our green canoe, dragging it up onto the gravel of the shoreline. “Let’s have some lunch, then we can finish our canoe ride.”

I bite into my peanut butter and banana sandwich as a boy about Kieran’s age pokes his head out from the trees and waves. His brother, sister, and parents follow him out of the trees. They choose a picnic table a little way down from us.

It feels like someone is watching me as I finish my crackers, and when I turn, the boy with eyes like peridots is staring at me. He doesn’t look mad or sad. He looks kind and friendly. Maybe something landed on me. I turn to my dad. “Daddy, is there a bug on me?”

He quickly looks me over. “No, Aislinn. You are squeaky clean. Why?”

Without pointing, I softly say, “Because that boy with the bright green eyes keeps staring at me, Daddy. But he doesn’t look mad or sad, so I assumed maybe something landed on my back.”

My dad glances over at the boy, then back to me. Placing his hands on my shoulders, he says, “Remember this for when you are older. One day, I want you to find a man who looks at you like that. Someone who would look down the eye of a hurricane for you.”

I twitch my lips to the side and furrow my brow. Glancing at Dad, I ask, “How will I know that? Hurricanes are really powerful.”

He smiles and stands up. “Trust me, you’ll know. The same way your mother knew about me.”

Chapter 1

Aislinn

Present Day

Saturday, June 10

Fisting my hands, I try again. “Can you please give me my Kindle?” I grind out through gritted teeth. I place my hands on my hips and take a deep, steadying breath. Taking a moment to gather some patience, I glance around.

How did I ever think this entryway was welcoming? It’s too sterile and has no personality. Now that I’m looking at this room with fresh eyes, I can tell Cody paid for an interior designer. The walls are stark white. The marble fireplace winks at me from the living room as the sunlight hits its smooth finish. His mantel is absent any personal touches. The only art on the walls is a black and white contemporary piece.

The single piece of furniture in the entryway is a glass-topped, gunmetal side table. It has only one photo staring back at me. It’s not a photo of us happy and natural on a weekend hike. The photo shows us dressed to the nines at a charity ball a few months back. Sequin gowns, updo hair, and makeup aren’t my style. I will never forget the uncomfortable four-inch heels I donned to make my 5’7” frame look a little leaner to fit in with the elite crowd.

I shake my head to return my thoughts to the present. Ugh, he is making this harder than it needs to be. I just want to get on the road.

Turning, I plaster a smile on my face, hoping to defuse the current situation. My smiling face meets cold gray eyes. Cody stands rigid, with his arms crossed against his muscular chest, and his nostrils flare as he opens his stance to face me. His 6’0” frame dwarfs mine.

Maybe it was a mistake to come back and get my Kindle. I had accidentally left it here. A few weeks ago, I was reading while waiting for him to get ready to meet his friends for lunch. Of course, this was right before we broke up. I’ve been reading on my phone with the Kindle app, but it’s not comparable. I’m starting to think it might be easier to order a new one.

“For the third time, I’m leaving this morning, and I’m not coming back,” I slowly enunciate. “Nothing you say now is going to change my decision. As I told you a few weeks ago, this isn’t working for me. All I want is my Kindle, and then I will be out of your hair.” I sigh.

“What do you mean it’s not working for you, Aislinn? I don’t understand. We’ve been together for five months. I thought everything was fine. I thought maybe you would want to move in with me soon and that was the real reason you were selling your smallhouse,” he responds. Then, with a snide smile, he continues, “I haven’t seen your Kindle.”

“We’d casually dated foralmostfive months, Cody. We broke up last month. I’m not happy. I feel constrained. The weather is always cloudy and drizzling in Sammamish. Politics are getting to me, as everything you say or do is scrutinized. Even people in the grocery store cashier line give me their unsolicited opinions.” I let out a frustrated breath before continuing, “Everyone is rushing around, and traffic is terrible.The sale of my Sammamish house went through last week. This morning, I was told the sale of my new house in Montana went through yesterday. I can pick up the keys any time. It’s my dream to run my own practice, and I am sick of working under someone else’s rules and schedule. I need a slower pace of life. After finishing my degree in Oregon, I thought the Seattle area would be the perfect place to start, but it was never meant to be long-term.”

He’s clearly not getting it, which means he doesn’t understand me. Could he really not tell how agitated I have been with life lately? I mean, I lived six miles from my old office, but some days, driving to work would take me close to an hour. There were times when it seemed I could run to work faster.

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