Page 5 of After You Returned

Thomas clears his throat. “When do you go back on duty?”

Weston squeezes Scarlett’s hand. “You’re lucky I love you, Precious.”

She beams at him. “I am lucky.”

“You’re going to be even luckier later.”

Ian gags. “Don’t talk about having sex with our sister.”

Thomas nods. “Gross.”

Weston smirks. “You don’t want to hear about the time—”

Scarlett slaps a hand over his mouth. “Don’t you dare.”

He pries her fingers away. “I would never, but you have to let me mess with your brothers.”

“Or you could take the higher road and ignore them.”

Weston barks out a laugh. “Not happening.”

“What’s going on?” Dad booms as he walks up to us with Mom. “Why are you standing around on the boardwalk? It’s nearly time for the Salty Dip.”

He herds us onto the beach where a crowd has already gathered.

“I’m going to win best costume this year,” Thomas says as he removes his sweats and throws them on the ground.

I blink when his outfit is revealed. “Are you Little Bo Peep?”

“And I brought props.” He whistles and Sheepwreck Sally meanders toward him.

Weston grunts. “If the sheep shits on the beach, you’re picking it up.”

“I thought you were off duty,” Ian says.

Thomas bats his eyelashes at Weston. “Can’t you use your ‘sheep whispering energy’ to ensure Sheepwreck Sally behaves?”

Weston growls. “I never said I have ‘sheep whispering energy’.”

“You didn’t?” Sadie digs her phone out of her pocket. “Because I have a recording of someone who sounds suspiciously like you claiming he has ‘sheep whispering energy’ and can herd sheep with saltine crackers.”

Weston wags his finger at her. “You can’t use recordings made after a bottle of moonshine is drunk.”

“You probably shouldn’t have claimed you could drink my brothers under the table,” Scarlett mutters.

“Lesson learned.”

Dad claps his hands. “Are we going to stand around here gossiping like a bunch of women all day, or are we going to swim?”

I flip off my sweatshirt and push down my sweatpants.

Sadie scoffs. “How original. You’re a mermaid on Smuggler’s Hideaway.”

“You can be sarcastic all you want, but I’m winning the fastest dip this year.”

The person who swims to the buoy and back the fastest wins a prize. I’ve come close to winning several times but this year is my year.

“You want to win because this year’s prize is a gift basket fromBuccaneer’s Whiskey & Distillery.The distillery where Miles works.”