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Chapter 1
TILLIE
I can’t scream. That would ruin everything.
I clutch my maid-of-honor bouquet as a black crab emerges from the brush line, uncomfortably close to our tiny beach wedding.
Its red eyes and charred legs give the impression that this oversize shellfish has recently surfaced from hell. A fat gray pincer reaches out and snaps a weed in its way.
My urge is to point, sound the alarm, possibly run.
But I can’t be rash. It might scuttle the other direction, and I will have ruined the wedding for nothing.
The bride is my sister Ensley. She gazes adoringly at her groom, Drew, her veil fluttering in the breeze. It’s a dewy-eyed moment. Drew slides the ring onto her finger and whispers, “I pledge you my love.”
I shift my gaze back to the crab. It’s paused, thank God. Hopefully, it’s choosing its route wisely.Go the other way!Just in case, though, I scrunch my bare toes and bury them in the sand.
I told Ensley a beach wedding was a bad idea. Grit in your underwear. The ocean breeze melting your curls. The crab threat is the I-told-you-so moment baby sisters dream of.
But Drew and Ensley were involved in two wedding disasters in a row, including one where they got trapped in a shed together and completely missed their groomsman and bridesmaid duties.
So they chose La Jarra Island for their big day. A few guests, mostly family. Sunset wedding on the beach. Dinner. Anddone.
But now we have an uninvited crab. It darts several steps forward and back, as if trying to decide its next move.
Please leave us alone!
I glance to my right at our middle sister, Lila. Has she spotted the threat? But no, she’s watching Ensley place the ring on Drew.
I may be the only one who’s noticed.
I side-eye the guests. Drew’s mother, Christy, is staring beyond the couple, her eyes wide. Okay, she’s seen it, too.
She squeezes her mother’s arm. Grandmother Forsythe probably thinks the gesture is about the sentimental moment. Christy rises slightly in her seat, alarmed. But she must also recognize what a fuss she’s about to cause, because she sits again.
I’m with her. Until the crab comes our way for certain, we have to hold our chill.
But as the sun continues its descent, dimming the light a degree, another crab emerges from the brush. Then another. Then a bunch more!
It’s a whole flock. School? Herd?
Nightmare. That’s what it is. A nightmare of crabs.
The latecomers meet up with the leader, as if they are forming an attack brigade. My chest hitches as I try to control my breathing. I glance at Christy. She’s covering her mouth with her hand.
The officiant raises his arms. “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
We’ve nearly made it.Come on!I want to watch this moment, but then the first crab moves forward. The others follow.
I can’t suppress my squeal, causing Drew to hesitate while leaning toward Ensley for their kiss.
My older brother, Garrett, who stands behind Drew and faces the wrong way to see the invasion, jerks his head toward me and widens his eyes in awhat the hellmessage.
But then everyone follows my gaze. I know the moment my sister Lila sees the crabs, because she has never been able to suppress a reaction toanything. A scream erupts from her that would make a horror movie director proud.
Drew’s mother stumbles to her feet, followed by the rest of the guests. Grandmother Forsythe, who complained about how hard it is to walk in sand at her age, leaps onto a chair like a ten-year-old girl.
The crabs are startled by the flurry of movement and scatter. Some head back to the brush. Others scurry to the water. But a few confused ones end up racing toward our group.
