Chapter 27
A YearAfter The Wedding
Summer
“I can’t believe I have another two years until I graduate,” Maddi groaned from her lounger beside mine. We were catching a few rays on the deck of my parents’ house that overlooked the massive lake. Our brothers were busy tearing it up on the jet skis, their loud laughter ringing out, bringing a smile to my face.
It hadn’t always been like this.
I could still remember the year we almost lost everything, and somehow, between my parents and Maddi’s, they saved it.
And now, we were all living the most wonderful life, our days spent on the water, our nights surrounded by family.
“Are you even listening to me?” Maddi groaned, nudging me with her foot.
“I’m listening,” I grumbled back, peeling open an eyelid to look over at her.
She only glared at me and continued to prattle on about the classes she had been assigned and the latest guy she wanted to date.
It had been an entire year since Colton had married Shannon, and the flirting between us had completely stopped. Most days, I pretended he didn’t exist. It was easier that way, and as of late, I had been splitting my time between Dad’s shop and Mom’s bakery which was in the process of renovations to make it bigger.
I didn’t have time to think about Colton and everything I could have had.
“It’s time for you to start dating again,” Maddi told me out of the blue, loudly slurping on her drink. “It’s been a whole year. I let you throw yourself into work, but, Sum, you aren’t getting any younger and wasting your time moping around or working your ass off isn’t the answer.”
“I don’t have time for a guy right now.” I picked up my previously discarded book and opened up to the page I had been reading.
“Then make time. You are too gorgeous to be alone, and any man would be lucky to call you his girlfriend. How about I set you up on a blind date or something?” She clearly didn’t understand that I didn’t want to talk about this. That, or she just didn’t care.
“Mads, really, I would prefer if you didn’t. We don’t like the same men, and I certainly don’t want anyone younger than me.”
“Give me a chance,” she pleaded. “I hate seeing you like this.” She reached forward and pushed my book down so she was looking directly at me. I could clearly see the worry in her eyes.
I hated that she was right. I couldn’t be alone forever.
“Mads,” I started, but suddenly, the boys’ laughter from down below had turned into screams of horror.
“Help! Help! Summer, Maddi, call 911!” Mason screamed, and from our raised advantage, I could see the panic on his face. I started to stand and reach for my phone, but I saw the blood drain from Maddi’s face.
“It’s the twins!” she whispered and pushed to her feet, running down the small hill.
I quickly dialed 9-1-1 and waited to be connected to the operator. My heart was beating too fast, and I swallowed, hoping to alleviate my now dry tongue.
Mom and Dad weren’t home.
I was the adult in charge.
“Do you need the paramedics or police?” A female’s voice asked me through the phone. I glanced down at the lake, terror licking at my bones at the sight of the flipped jet skis and all the blood.
“Paramedics please.” My voice wobbled, and my knees knocked together as I surveyed the scene.
“Please stay on the line while I connect you. Please tell me your address.”
I recited the address my parents had forced me to remember years ago. My words slurred, and she made me repeat myself three times before finally, a male voice spoke through the line.
“Good afternoon. I need you to calmly tell me the emergency.”
Calmly tell him.
My hand started to shake that was holding the phone to my ear, and I started to move in almost slow motion down the steps leading to the lake.
“I don’t know what happened. The jet skis are upside down, and there’s blood – so much blood.” I couldn’t see anything other than Maddi’s flash of red hair as she jumped into the water and swam out to where the boys were trying to flip the jet skis the right way and pull two small, flailing bodies to the dock.
“Don’t worry. We will be there in a few minutes. I need someone to be at the entrance of the house ready to lead us to the scene. Can you do that for us? Make sure all the lights are on and that we have a clear path.”
I nodded numbly, barely managing to whisper an answer as I watched my brother flip the one jet ski while Mason helped Maddi pull their now unconscious siblings from the water.
Nicky ran up the hill, his body soaked from the water, his emerald-green eyes wide with panic. “It was an accident! It was an accident!” he screamed, running straight into me, clinging to my shoulders.
I wrapped my arms around my younger cousin and held him to me for a brief moment before I made him walk up the steps with me into the house.
I had to be strong.
I had to be the adult.
“I didn’t mean it!” he cried, gripping me tightly.
“It’s okay, Nicky. It’s okay,” I soothed, but I didn’t truly know if it was okay. All I knew was that I had to open the door for the paramedics. “Help me create a path for the paramedics.” He nodded and darted through the house, moving furniture aside, and then waited with me at the front door.
We waited in silence, holding each other. When I finally heard the sirens a few minutes later, my heart began to beat a little faster, and a small ounce of relief filled me.
Four big men in gear hopped from the ambulance. An older man rushed to me with a clipboard, and I showed him the way through the house. He asked me questions I couldn’t answer, and then, when we stepped outside, Maddi’s screams of panic reached our ears. The paramedics ran past me down the steps to the doc where Maddi was holding her younger siblings.
I rushed behind them, feeling the ground fall out from beneath my feet the closer we got. Someone should have called our parents. I turned around and saw Nicky standing at the top of the stairs, hot tears rushing down his flushed cheeks.
“Call your parents. Tell them to come home now!” He nodded and rushed back up to the house, his long legs eating up the dirt path.
When I finally reached the dock, the paramedics had Jeremy and Kennedy on their own stretchers, stretchers I didn’t even remember them bringing.
Mason was holding Maddi up as she cried, her body shaking with sobs.
The twins were unconscious. Blood was trickling down Kennedy’s head and down Jeremy’s face from his nose. I sucked in a gasp, trying to control my heart that was a second away from failing, and looked towards the paramedics who were making quick work of getting my little cousins help.
“I need to know what happened.” The lead paramedic turned to Mason and my brother, the two oldest of the group, looking for some kind of answer.
“It was an accident. Nicky lost control of his jet ski, and it hit the twins who were sharing one. We think they hit their heads and then swallowed too much water before we could get them to the dock.” My brother stepped forward to answer more questions while Mason and Maddi hovered protectively over their younger siblings.
This was an absolute nightmare.
Nicky ran down to the dock, holding my long-forgotten phone out in his hand for me. His terror-filled eyes haunted me as he practically threw the phone at me and then wrapped himself around me. At almost seventeen, he already towered over me, but he was seeking comfort.
“And how hold are the kids?”
If this had been any other moment, Nicholas would have scoffed, insisting that he wasn’t a kid anymore, though we all knew he was terrified of being an adult.
“Sixteen and fifteen. Those two are twins. We are all family, Sir.” My brother walked away with the paramedic and continued to answer his questions.
I pushed past my own fear and brought Maddi into my arms. “It’s okay, Mads. They are going to be okay.” She shook her head and just pointed to them, words blubbering past her incoherent lips.
“I was watching them. I don’t know how this happened.” Mason shook his head, pulling a stressed hand through his hair and down his face. He looked much older than twenty at that moment.
When I heard my aunt’s scream of terror, I was sure my own legs were going to give out from beneath me. The agony in that scream chilled me to the bone.
“What happened? What happened?” she cried, falling to her knees beside the two stretchers. Uncle Ryan was hot on her heels, his hands firm on her shoulders.
“They are going to be okay, ma’am. We need to get them to the hospital for stitches and a CT scan to confirm that they both have a concussion and have passed out from the force of the hit and shock.” Aunt Amber cried but nodded, rising to her feet with the help of Uncle Ryan. They followed behind the paramedics all the way up the dirt road.
We all followed. Charlie, my brother, went to tie the jet skis to the dock, and I helped him with Jessie, our youngest brother, who was swallowing back his own emotions.
When we finished, I turned to see Nicky standing there, his arms crossed over his bare chest, his body shaking with silent tears.
Charlie and Jessie headed up, giving me each a silent nod of understanding. I did my best to comfort my little cousin who cried in my embrace. After a few minutes, I urged him up the hill, threw a shirt at him, and got everyone into Charlie’s truck. He drove us to the local hospital where everyone else was waiting in the large lobby, sullen expressions wearing everyone’s faces down.
Mom and Dad were sitting with everyone. Mom was holding Aunt Amber, the two sitting away from everyone else as they whispered back and forth. Dad and Uncle Ryan were standing, watching over the rest of the lot. Uncle Ryan was a snap away from a meltdown, but I could see he had a need to be glued together for his wife and kids. He had always been the glue of their family.
Sinking into a seat, I waited with everyone else for some news. Nicky dropped his head into his hands and cried. I heard his whispered, broken apologies, and my heart nearly split in two at the pain coming from him.
It was an accident from everything I had heard. Charlie and Jessie both confirmed it in the car as they tried to soothe Nicholas.
A male doctor came and addressed Uncle Ryan who walked over to Aunt Amber. My parents gathered with them, and together, they listened to everything he said. Eventually, I heard their collective sighs of relief.
We all watched, sitting on the edge of our seats when Aunt Amber smiled, and I sighed in relief. “They’re going to be okay,” she announced, relief flooding her voice. Uncle Ryan strode over to his son who was still bent over crying and pulled him up into his embrace.
“Hush now, boy. It was an accident. They are going to be okay. Your mother and I know you would never do this on purpose. Let’s go see them.” Nicky nodded and hugged his father before the two of them walked off.
I was about to walk over and talk to Maddi when a warm hand gripped my forearm, whirling me around.
I was met with the most gorgeous, caramel eyes, rugged face, sharp jawline, thick, blonde hair, and smirking lips. “Summer, it’s nice to see you again, sugar.”
This was not happening.
“Can’t say I remember meeting?” I yanked my arm from his warm grip, and his lips turned up into a devilish grin.
“Do you still think Brookshire is a girly name or was that just the tequila talking?”
A blush stained my cheeks at the mention of my drunken spewing. I heard Charlie snort beside me, and I elbowed him. “I’ll wait for you by the truck, Sum.” He chuckled and strode off.
I crossed my arms over my chest and watched the gorgeous man’s eyes dart down before scanning my face again.
“Still pretty girly.” He chuckled. “What are you doing here?”
“I was one of the paramedics who came to your house. I wanted to check on the kids.”
He was at my house. Why hadn’t I noticed?
Glancing down, I finally took note of his uniform.
“Thanks for the concern, but they are going to be okay.”
“Right. Well, that’s good to hear. It was nice seeing you again, sugar.” He started to walk away, but Maddi pushed me towards him.
She had to be fucking kidding me.
“Wait!” I grabbed his attention mid-stride, and he turned back, grinning at me.
“Yeah?”
“How about dinner?” I cleared my throat and swallowed back my embarrassment.
“How about tomorrow night?” he asked me.
“Pick me up at eight?” I couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at my lips. He was smooth – real smooth.
“Can’t wait, sugar.”
---
Brookshire Wheeler had been a Godsend.
He was the perfect replacement for Colton Michaels.
He was charming, handsome, caring, but most importantly, he was single.
On our first date, we hit it off immediately, and when he dropped me off at my parents’ house, he insisted on coming in to say goodnight to them, which then turned into a long meet and greet with my parents over cappuccinos.
The next day, when he showed up at my job with lunch, I could have swooned.
A month later, I was spending every spare moment with him. It wasn’t a question of making time for him. I wanted to see him every day. I needed him to fill the ache in my heart.
How could I love someone new when every night I still dreamed of Colt?
Colton had pushed me straight into another man’s arms without even knowing it. No matter how much my heart longed for Colton, the love between Brook and I was blooming like a rose in spring.
There was no stopping it.