Page 20 of Small Town, Big Storm

Especially since I purposely didn’t grab towels.

And anyway, we were teenagers.

It didn’t take long for the cold to be forgotten, for the warm summer air to dry our bodies, for my lips to find hers.

Frantic.Glorious.Embarrassingly short.

But I made it up the second time.

And fell asleep with my arms around her, feeling like I’d found the first good thing in this town.

Until I woke up.

Alone.

Almost as if she hadn’t been there at all.

Except for the memories—the feel of her skin, the taste of her body, the scent of her sunscreen.

Thosehad lingered.

For far too long.

“Watch out!”

I blink, realize that I’ve lingered far too long here at the park too—in my thoughts, anyway.

And now I’ve come face-to-face with the Cedar Hollow Mafia.

“Honk!”the beady-eyed fucker…well,honks.

“Shoo, Gerald!”Holly says and he trains his gaze—and beak—on her.

Shit.

Cedar Hollow may be safe, may be mostly crime free.

But that’s only when taking into account thehumanpopulation.

The avian one, on the other hand?

They steal and pillage and generally create chaos.

And the leader of the collective of Canadian Geese who migrated here a few decades ago—and then never left—is Gerald.

Who’s currently focused on Holly.

I move without thinking, stepping forward and reaching for her, intending to pull her behind me.

Too late.

Or maybe it’s right on time.

Wings flapping, Gerald launches him forward and?—

“Ah, fuck!”I cry as pain explodes in my ass.

“That’s a bad word,” Holly says, her eyes wide.