That Day, Karen Deen [early readers .txt] 📗

age. My sister will back me up on that. She’s always telling me stories of the calls she gets for people seriously injured from falling off ladders. Dad might be the fittest sixty-seven-year-old I know, but that doesn’t stop accidents from happening.

“Okay, well, tell Dad I’ll be there shortly. I just want to swing past my place to check any damage, get changed, and then I’ll be right there.”

“Thanks, Kurt. He’ll appreciate your help.”

“No, he won’t. He will complain about how he doesn’t need me there, but too bad, he’ll get the help anyway.” We both start laughing.

“So true. You know him well. See you soon, Son. Love you.”

“Love you too, Mom.” Hanging up, my conscience pokes me, reminding myself never to forget that. You should never leave anything unsaid, because who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Eight hours later, I’m finally sitting on my back deck watching another mini storm roll towards us and enjoying a cold beer. After helping Dad, I checked on Jodie’s place while she was sleeping off her night shift at the station because they had generator back-up power and air conditioning. Then I stopped into my elderly neighbors’ house, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton’s, to help them. After showering, I finally get to put my feet up.

Thank god the power came back on during the day, so my beer is cold. There are certain things you can’t drink warm, and beer is one of them. It’s sacrilege and goes against the man code.

Watching the swell, I am itching to be out there to burn off some of this nervous energy. Even though it’s too dangerous, that doesn’t stop the longing for taking the risk.

My fingers hover over my phone, tempting me. I want to call Asha or even message her, but I know I shouldn’t.

I could say she came out of nowhere, but that isn’t true. I might not have met her, but I’ve known she’s been there since the day she moved in. I don’t miss much. I should have just stayed at a distance like I planned on all along. Then damn Coco wrecked that plan. I couldn’t leave Asha there, struggling with the dog, and even though she’s so short, she was the highest point on the beach. I had to protect her.

Goddamn my overprotective nature!

I almost drop my phone as it starts buzzing in my hand. I hope it’s her, but instead, it’s my sister, who I know I can’t ignore. She’s probably just waking up and checking in after last night’s debacle.

“Hey, Sis, did you get in a good sleep after your night shift?”

“Yeah, thanks, but let’s talk about where you slept last night. Or better still, with whom.”

“Seriously, you’re going straight there?” I try not to laugh.

“Damn straight I am. I drove past your truck several times last night, still sitting in the lot at the beach. I knew I didn’t have to panic that you were still in the surf, because your board was on the racks of the truck. Now, you can try to deny it all you like, but for you to not answer Mom’s phone calls, knowing it would be freaking her out, kind of gives it away. You were definitely seriously occupied, and that has to mean with a woman.”

Sitting up in the chair, my feet drop to the ground off the deck railing. I stand and pace a little, trying to work out what to tell her.

The woman I’ve been watching for a year needed my help in more ways than one, and I kept her safe by fucking her brains out. Yeah, that’s super cool, telling my big sister that. Not happening. I need something else to say.

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Your imagination is as big as Mom’s. I was just helping a friend through the storm. Simple as that. I just forgot to grab my phone from the truck and then it was too late to go back.” All truth, just with a few details missing.

“I call bullshit, but whatever. I know you. You play your cards close to your chest, so you won’t tell me anyway. I have my ways, don’t worry about it, I’ll find out your little secret.” Hearing her yawning, I guess it was a long shift last night.

“Whatever. So, do you want the status report on your condo, or don’t you care that it was flattened in the storm?” God, I’m awful. Her screaming in the phone is enough to know I got her good.

“Oh my god, Kurt, what happened? It was fine the last time I drove past last night.” I can’t help myself and the laughing gives me away.

“You’re an ass-wipe, you know that, right!” Jodie screams at me.

“Pretty sure we agreed on that years ago.” I pull back my laughing. “Yes, it’s okay, your place is fine, and I just cleared a few branches, as well as checking inside to make sure there were no water leaks. This is the part where you say, ‘thank you, little brother.’”

“No, this is the part where I remind you that you haven’t gotten off the hook from telling me what happened last night and who your mystery friend is. So, you can run, little brother, but you can’t hide.”

“Remind me again why I chose to come home to live, bringing me back near you? I’m a little foggy on the reason.”

Now Jodie is the one laughing.

“Hey, that was your choice, buddy. You missed us and couldn’t stay away any longer. And before you say a word, don’t even think about trying to leave again. Mom will hunt you down and bring you back. She can’t let little baby Kurt leave the nest again.”

“Seriously, the women in my family kill me. When will I stop being treated like a child and the baby of the family?”

“Ah, like never. You know our mother. She likes to fuss, and you will always be the baby, because I doubt our parents are going to have