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“Wild.”
Phone safely secured in the dashboard cradle, I palmed at my face. We’d already brought each other up to speed on baby appointments, the updated name list, and my harrowing chronicles of surviving my family’s reaction to my ‘dating’ while I’d driven to my final fruitless destination. She’d smirked a little too cockily during the ‘I volunteered to train a puppy since I’m home’ conversation. Still, I’d had to run into the last store, effectively scapegoating the reality of that ridiculous offer.
As I sat in the parking lot, looking up at the towering mountain range, I had to admit this place had its perks. Supply issues aside, it wasbreathtakinghere. Was that enough to give up the convenience of Tampa in the long run?
“Well, I better get to work,” I said with a sigh. “Take in what I could get my hands on.”
“Isn’t it poker night?”
I laughed at the fact that she knew that. The culprit was obvious. “Is Rhyett jonesing?”
“He misses them more after seeing them, I think.”
“Well, that’s not so funny,” I said sympathetically. Currently more homesick than I cared to admit, I sighed. “Yeah, the boys are all getting together. Broderick flew back into town this morning, so he’ll be there. Jameson invited me, but I close the shop tonight.”
“You stay safe in the storm, okay?”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “It’s Mistyvale, Brex. It’s literally just rain.”
She didn’t miss a beat before instructing, “Don’t float away.”
The Grizzly Grindwas a ghost town. Dusting both sides of the blinds, polishing the pastry case, glass cleaner on the stainless appliances level of ghost town. By three o’clock, I’d sent Kara home, confident if we got a brief rush, I’d conquer it myself. Another two hours of silence passed—which I filled with my current romantic suspense read—before the front door opened, and Jameson’s neighbor, Mrs. Anderson, popped in.
“Brrr,” she said, shaking her hair out. “It’s freezing out there. Eerie too. When are you closed, sweetheart?”
“Not for another hour,” I said, doing my best attempt to smile, although it felt like my face had forgotten how to move. “You see Jameson today?”
“Oh yes, he came by to reattach that door that kept falling off the hinges. Bless him.”
That sentiment reactivated my cheeks, a genuine smile creeping up as I said, “Good, it’s been bugging him. What can I get for you?”
“Just the usual.”
“London Fog is particularly fitting for the day,” I noted. We dove into our usual chatter as I brewed her tea and steamed milk, but my eyes kept glancing sidelong towards the window, her description sinking under my skin.Eerie too. Fog was always creepy, but my skin pricked as I realized I’d made a mistake. Because for the first time since Eric showed up on the island, I was in a private space, alone.
Silly, that thought. He hadn’t made any physical advances since he got here, and Jameson would be playing right down the street at Jake’s house. I’d just wander over to him instead of going home if I was still anxious after work. Glaring at the five-hundred-page thriller that had no doubt planted the anxiety in my chest, I slid the hardback back into my bag. Enough of that for the day.
A few more patrons came in after Mrs. Anderson bid meadieu, but they were all in the mood for black coffee or tea, nothing to take my mind off the oddity of the day for more than thirty seconds, unfortunately. I’d just polished away the last water stain on the espresso machine, tossing the rag in the hamper and snatching my purse from under the counter when the tsunami siren started screaming. Startling out of my skin, I glanced at the clock on the wall, even though I knew it was well after two p.m. and certainly not Wednesday.
Oh, dear god. Stomach suddenly in my throat, I fumbled with my bag, searching for my phone as my eyes flew towards the harbor as it bobbed and swayed with the subtle tide. Siren whooping louder when I opened the door, I blinked down at my phone screen, finally noting the enormous notification icon telling me I was in ‘immediate danger’.
I’d lived on the water my entire life and never heard an alarm like that. Certainly hadn’t ever prepared for the water trying to take back its land. Despite the weekly alarms, I realized I’d never asked any of the Rhodes what the protocol was in the very unlikely event that the real thing ever…happened.
Jameson’s name flashed on my screen, a picture I’d snapped that day on the mountaintop now filling my phone. His voice eased my pounding heart.
“Hey baby, you okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, sighing as I clung to every syllable of that delicious, steady timbre. “Where are you?” I pinned the phone between my shoulder and ear, fighting to lock the door and cursing the fact that my hands were shaking.
“We’re on our way. Listen…Are you listening to me?”
“Yes, sir,” I said, hating how quickly my voice weakened when I was uncertain.
“That’s my girl. Okay. These happenall the time. It’s probably nothing—just an earthquake somewhere close enough for them to worry. So, I don’t want you to panic.”
Swallowing hard, I nodded before catching myself. “Kay.”
His little huff of amusement warmed my chest a beat before he skeptically said, “You’re panicking.”
