Page 55 of Day Break

I leaned back on my elbows and thought about it. “We used to be fine.” I took a deep breath. “Then Sherry was killed.”

Chloe opened her mouth but then shut it quickly and remained quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry. I seem to keep bringing up things that remind you of her death.”

“No,” I said with a sigh. “This place reminds me of her. Not just her death, but of her.” I looked off over the water, and memories of so many summers spent here, playing in the sand with Sherry, flooded my mind. “We had so many good times here, before, when my family was… different. Maybe I’m the one who changed?” I shrugged.

A memory of Sherry and my father burying me in sand played in my mind, and I burst out laughing. I’d fallen asleep, the summer sun warming me after I’d worn myself out swimming all morning. I was sleeping deeply enough that I hadn’t woken until I was completely covered with sand and sticks.

“We had good times,” I said again. I think it was to reassure myself that they weren’t all fake memories. They really did happen.

Chloe remained silent next to me, and I turned my head and looked at her. Byron had fallen asleep, his head resting in her lap as if she was his human instead of my grandfather.

“Did you have any? Good memories?” I added, suddenly feeling stupid. Of course, she did. Didn’t everyone have at least a handful of good things that had happened to them in their childhood? Surely, she had dolls or friends. Parents that loved her. Right?

Instead of answering, she looked off over the water, then down at Byron. She’d been absently running her fingers through his thick curly fur.

“The day Byron brought me an apple,” she said with a sigh. “The day you took me shopping.” She looked at me and my heart sank. Then she smiled. “The first time I stepped foot in the library at the prison.”

“Books are important to you.” I knew she’d gone through more than two dozen of the titles in my grandfather’s library that week already.

“Books are my escape,” she admitted. “I can be or do anything I want.”

I nodded, understanding completely. “You read a lot of classics.”

“What kind of books do you like?” she asked me. “Besides all of those law books I’ve seen you looking at.”

I chuckled. “Those are work and, yeah, a bit of an obsession. For fun, I like anything with mystery.”

We sat in the sand, talking books, until Byron jumped up and raced back down the pathway towards the house.

“I wish we could stay out here, like this, all the time,” Chloe said as I started to get up and dust my shorts off.

“Afraid of my family?” I joked.

“Some of them, yes,” she said with a smile.

I held out my hand to help her up from the sand. Once she was standing, I continued holding her hand, enjoying the way it felt. The way she felt. She leaned into me and our eyes locked.

For one magical moment, our breath caught as we held that moment between us. It was broken when my cousin called out.

“This is fun,” Derrick said, walking over and stopping beside us.

Chloe took a step away from me and dropped her hands to her side.

“No wonder you warned us to steer clear of her. You want the fun all to yourself.” Derrick narrowed his eyes at me.

“I…” Chloe glanced between us, then jerked her head towards the pathway. “I’d better start on dinner.” She turned and quickly retreated to the house.

“What’s your game, cousin?” Derrick took a step closer to me.

“No game,” I answered easily. I wasn’t in the mood to fight again. From the moment they had all shown up, they’d done nothing but try to convince my grandfather to bankroll their plans.

For my cousin Derrick, it was his latest business venture. For my uncle, it was his run for Congress. They didn’t even care if they were borderline belligerent towards anyone, including my grandfather. Did they really believe they could strongarm him into giving them millions? It was a joke. At this point, he wasn’t even willing to give them a dime.

I started to walk past Derrick, but he stopped me by placing a hand on my shoulder and digging his fingers into my arm.

“If you keep getting in our way with the old man”—he moved closer and shoved a finger into my chest— “things are going to get ugly.”

I rolled my eyes and started to pass him, but he grabbed my arm. I thought about jerking it free but wanted to hear what he had to say next.