3. RJ
RJ
S ummer Sampson is the only woman I’ve ever truly loved. And I stole her sunshine. It wasn’t intentional, and fuck if I don’t regret it every day of my life.
I’m going to kill my sister. Or kiss her. I haven’t decided. It’ll depend on how this week goes.
Me
Why is Summer crashing our summer vacation?
Raven
What are you talking about? You’re at the house next week, right?
No. You know it was this week.
Oops.
That’s all you have to say?
Sorry?
Convincing.
This is an opportunity.
How so?
For years I’ve watched you float around aimlessly, searching for happiness in all the wrong places. Joining the fire department was good for you. You’re thriving in a way you never have before.
But what does that have to do with this?
I want to see you settle down. There’s still this restless energy in you. And maybe you need to make amends with Summer so you can move on. You can finally get the closure you need to be happy.
I don’t want to move on from Summer, but I can’t admit that to my sister. Maybe this is the universe giving me a do-over. Or this will end in disaster and I’ll lose Summer. Again.
“Why are there people here?” Sophie grumbles as I set my phone down. Her face is glued to her phone as we stand in the kitchen. Summer and her kids have been gone for a little over an hour. I rub my temples, trying to stave off the impending headache. “I didn’t know there’d be people here.”
“Did you give her the wrong week?”
“No.”
Sophie finally looks up from her phone and wrinkles her nose. “How many kids are staying here?”
“Three. So, you better watch your language, and no inappropriate talk around the kids. I know how you and your mom can get, but this crowd is a little younger.”
She waves me off, tapping on her screen. “Who are you texting?”
Sophie ignores me, her attention glued to her phone.
“I guess we’re sharing a bedroom.”
“Umm, pass. I’m not sharing a room with my dad. Gross.”
“There’s only one room left unoccupied. I’ll sleep on the floor. I’ve had to do it at the firehouse before.”
“Why don’t you sleep in the living room on one of the couches?”
“You mean one of the many ridiculously tiny loveseats and wicker chairs? I’m way too tall to fit in those.” And despite being in excellent shape, I can’t comfortably bend that way all night. I blow out a deep breath, weighing out my options. Looks like I might be sleeping on the beach.
“Whatever, I’m calling Taylor.” She waves me off, walking up the stairs, never taking her eyes off her screen.
“Wait, is Taylor a boy or a girl?” I call after her. She ignores me.
The beach house is quiet, and I look around, surveying the mess.
Empty goldfish wrappers litter the kitchen island, along with a few rogue crackers still on the counter.
Grabbing the trash can, I sweep paper plates and empty snack wrappers into it as I walk around the counter.
When my foot lands on what I thought was an empty Capri Sun, I curse as liquid shoots out of the tiny yellow straw, soaking the top of my other foot.
“Sonofabitch,” I mutter as I bend down and clean the mess with a paper towel.
“That’s a bad word,” a small blond-haired boy says, startling me. “You need to pay the swear jar.”
“Sorry. I thought you were out on the beach with your mom. I’m RJ. You’re?—”
“Logan. I came back to get my book.” He holds up a book about sea animals. “Did you know octopuses have three hearts?”
“I think it’s octopi,” I correct.
“Actually, they’re both correct. You can also say octopodes.”
Blinking in shock, I rub a hand along my jaw. “I’ll be damned.”
“No swears.”
“Sorry. Darn.” Damn, I’ll have to watch myself. Normally my teenager rolls her eyes and calls me cringe. “How much do I owe you?”
“The first one is free since you didn’t know. But it’s five dollars per swear.”
“Got it.” I reach for my wallet when he stops me.
“You can just Venmo it. My mom can send it to you on her phone.” He runs out the patio door yelling “MOOOOM!”
Moments later, a sweaty, red-faced Summer dashes in, hot on his heels. “What is it, Logan? Is your blood sugar low? Do you need some juice?”
When she sees me in the kitchen, her eyes flash like she’s surprised I’m still here. But she quickly schools her features, her walls going back up.
“Can you give RJ the Venmo code? He said a swear.”
She pinches her brow, trying to maintain her composure, then turns and squats to address him. Her cover up slips off her shoulder, revealing her pink skin. Did she not put on sunscreen at all?
“You were yelling like it was an emergency. I thought you were about to pass out or something. You can’t scare me like that.”
“Are you diabetic?” I ask Logan.
Summer looks at me over her shoulder, answering at the same time as him. “Yes.”
“He’s type 1. Why?” Her eyes narrow on me in accusation, and it makes me wonder why she’s defensive about a simple question.
“There’s another rookie that joined at the same time as me, Sparky. He’s diabetic too. I’ve seen what he goes through managing his blood sugar, so I know a little about it.”
She stands, crossing her arms over her chest. The move is defensive, and it kills me that she feels the need to keep me at a distance. “Oh. Sorry. Not everyone is nice about it.”
“Why the f—” Logan clears his throat. “Why the heck would anyone be mean about that?”
“Not everyone understands that it’s hereditary. Some people assume it’s because I let him eat too much sugar or don’t control his diet or something. I’m used to having to give this whole speech educating people on the specifics.”
Well, fuck. “How is that anyone’s business?”
“When you become a mom, everything you do becomes everyone’s business.
I can’t make a single decision about rearing my children without people criticizing it.
If you don’t breastfeed, you’re a bad mom.
Don’t put them to sleep on their tummy, but if they lay on their back too much, they’ll get a flat spot.
Never let them sleep in their car seat, but what if that’s the only place they’ll sleep for more than thirty minutes at a time?
And that’s just when they’re babies. It never stops.
Everyone has an opinion about what you’re doing wrong, and for some reason people think a hereditary disease is something I should’ve been able to prevent with less sugar in his diet, and they have no issue telling me.
Even strangers.” Her shoulders are bunched to her ears as her hands clench at her sides.
Closing the distance between us, I grab her hand and wrap my arms around her in a hug. She stands there stiff as a board for several seconds, then moves a hand up, patting my back robotically.
“What’s this for?”
“Seemed like you could use a hug.” I drop my head, wishing I could kiss her shoulder. Her too-pink shoulder. “Did you put sunscreen on?”
“Ughhh.” She presses her face into my chest, using it to muffle her groan. “Ouch.” When she pulls back, I notice how pink her face is too.
“Looks like you got a little sun.” I stare into her eyes, my hands still wrapped around her waist. Fuck, she feels good in my arms.
“Umm, you can let me go now.” She drops her arms as I release her, shoving my hands in my pockets.
I could’ve sworn there was something still there between us. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I hurt her more than I realized and the thought of being trapped in a house with me for a week is her worst nightmare. How do I fix this?
“Logan, can you tell Lana and Lucas to come in from the porch? And make sure they leave their sandy shoes outside.”
He sulks over to the door. “Okay, but they won’t listen to me.”
She takes a step back. “I should help him. Then I need to start dinner. And at some point, I need to make a list of things to fix and stage some photos for the listing.”
“Are you working this week? I thought this was a vacation,” Logan whines, waiting on her.
I blink at her in confusion. “This house?”
“Yeah, Raven said she wants to sell the place.”
Why would my sister want to sell this place? She inherited several properties when her husband Kristopher passed, and I know it was hard for her to manage everything on her own, but normally she tells me about this kind of stuff.
Summer opens the door, calling her kids who come charging in the house like a herd of elephants.
“I’ll order something,” I shout over the chaos.
She cups a hand to her ear. “What?”
I walk toward the door, stopping several feet from her. “Dinner. It’s on me. Captain Tony said there’s a restaurant in town. We can walk over there, or I’ll get a delivery going so you can get started on your list, if you want.”
“I’m hungry!” Lucas yells.
Lana jumps up, excited. “Can we, Mom?”
Logan frowns, crossing his arms over his chest.
“You know we can’t,” she says to them then looks at me, determination in her eyes. “We’re fine. I had groceries delivered earlier. I’ll just make something.”
“We never get to go out to eat,” Lucas whines as Logan’s shoulders drop and he sneaks out of the room. I can’t help but wonder what that’s about.
I stand there, frozen in place, looking at where Logan disappeared. Summer ushers the other two into the kitchen so I climb the stairs to the bedrooms. The door is closed to the room with the bunk beds, and I knock on it.
“Come in,” a small voice says.
Logan is sprawled, face down on the bed. He looks at me briefly, and I note the moisture around his eyes before he drops his head onto his arms, burying his face into the bed.
I’m no stranger to a crying, upset kid. Raising a teenage daughter is no joke, and I often feel ill-prepared for half of the shit that comes out of her mouth.
Taking a seat on the end of the bed, I lean my forearms on my knees, so I don’t bump my head on the top bunk.
I don’t say anything since I’m uncertain what to say, and not entirely sure why he ran off.
“We never get to go out to eat and it’s all my fault,” he bursts out, but it’s muffled by his face still buried in the mattress.