Chapter 16
Every time thunder struck,Timmy’s eyes widened. They were going to take over his whole face soon. I picked him up and held him close. Jasmine and Bailey were outside putting the bikes away. Rose was gathering torches and placing them on the dining room table.
From where I stood in the dining room, I could see the rain approaching. It was like a curtain of water pelting down on the sand. Everything before it was sharp, noticeable. Everything behind it was hazy.
Where were Jasmine and Bailey? I strode to the front door. Rose followed.
“Here, take Timmy,” I said, handing him to Rose. “Stay inside. I’ll be back in a minute.”
I pushed my way out the door. Wind and sand whipped at my face. A quick scan of the yard showed me that Jasmine and Bailey weren’t there. I spun around and spotted them at the house next door, clearing away items the builders had left on their last visit.
I ran over and grabbed Bailey’s arm. “Go inside with Rose,” I yelled but it still sounded faint. He nodded and ran to the house. I grabbed lengths of wood and dragged them into the house. Jasmine was slamming windows closed. The rain was in the yard now. I ran from window to window, closing them.
Jasmine went outside. “We can’t save anything else.”
I nodded and grabbed her hand. It was small in mine but strong, like everything else about her. We ran to the house. Rain flew sideways, stinging as it hit my bare skin and following us into the house until I forced the door shut behind us. Puddles formed at our feet.
Jasmine did a quick scan of her children. “Are you OK?”
They nodded. She always thought about them first. Like a good mother should. Like my mother hadn’t.
“Timmy has gone into hiding,” Rose said.
“I don’t blame him.” Jasmine smoothed down Rose’s hair. She turned to Bailey. “Can you get us some towels, please?”
He was gone before she even finished the sentence. And was back just as quick. He dropped towels on the floor for us to stand on and handed us a towel each. Jasmine’s clothes were plastered to her skin, revealing every curve I’d only imagined. Every single one. Heat surged through me. I snapped my mouth shut and turned my attention to drying myself enough to walk to my room to get changed. The only thing better than what I’d just seen would be seeing Jasmine naked.
What the fuck? Mind out of the gutter now. This was Jasmine I was thinking about. Jasmine who had children. Jasmine who was only going to be a part of my life for another four months. Jasmine who I worked with.
She was cooking dinner when I came out of my room. The storm was still raging. Rain hammered the windows which rattled from the strength of the wind. Rose and Bailey were playing Snap at the dining room table.
“All the electronics have been unplugged,” Jasmine said. “We’ll likely lose power from the storm.”
A bang on the roof caused Rose to yelp. Bailey tapped the table, demanding her concentration on the game.
Jasmine edged closer to me and whispered, “Rose is not good in storms. When she was four, a bad thing happened during a storm. She doesn’t remember it much, but the storm brings her fear back.”
I nodded. It must have been bad if the fear stayed with her for five years. “Do you need help?”
“No. I’m nearly done.”
I went to the front windows and looked out. It was black out there. Lightning lit up the front yard and beach. Branches were whipped around in the wind. How they didn’t snap was beyond me.
“Ethan,” Rose said, her voice scared.
I turned back to the table.
“Is there something out there?” Her hands tightened around her cards, bending them.
“No, nothing. Just the storm.”
I sat down at the table and watched them play. It was obvious that Bailey was letting his sister win every two or three turns. I glanced back to the window. How could I try to help ease Rose’s fear? “My mom loved storms. When I was a kid, we’d go outside to watch them, unless it wasn’t safe.”
That was one of the good memories I had of my mother. She was usually too self-absorbed to pay us much attention, or obsessed with my father even though he’d treated her like crap.
Rose stared at me with her big blue eyes. “You weren’t scared?”
“Sometimes I was.”
“What did you do if you were scared?”
“Held my mom’s hand tighter.” And never tell my dad. Weakness was dangerous.
“If we go to the window, will you hold my hand?”
Jasmine stopped dishing up dinner. Bailey’s hand paused in mid-air as he was putting his next card down. I stopped breathing. Rose looked at me with wide, expectant eyes.
“Yes.” I wasn’t going to deny her, especially when she was being brave like this. To face your fears, even if it’s while holding someone’s hand, could be life-changing. And she’d chosen to do it with me. I swallowed my anxiety and took a settling breath.
Rose stood up, glancing at Jasmine who gave her a small nod. She held out her hand to me. Bailey put the cards down and watched. My stomach tightened as I stood and took her hand, so tiny. Her eyes rose to mine, and she swallowed. Rumbles of thunder, cracks of lightning and the driving wind didn’t drown out my heartbeat. I gave her hand a squeeze.
We walked to the window; with each step, she tightened her grip. I held firm, hoping to convey confidence and safety. Another round of lightning cracked. Rose jumped. She moved closer to me.
“That was a loud one, wasn’t it?” I asked.
She nodded.
More lightning. The whole area in front of the house lit up.
“Nothing out there but the storm,” I said.
We watched some more as lightning intermittently illuminated the darkness, the pounding water distorting the scene in front of us. I expected her hand to loosen, but it didn’t.
“Finished watching?” I asked.
She nodded and led me back to the table. “I still don’t like storms.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Dinner’s ready,” Jasmine said, approaching the table. As she placed my plate in front of me, she whispered in my ear, “Thank you.”
My heart swelled. It was as if those two words had imbedded themselves in there and expanded. What was I doing? I was here to research the sea lions not become part of…of what? I glanced around the table. Of this.