The Coast is Clear (Breakaway Shores #1)

Zander

Hiding

I saw the kid first. He was hanging from the low branch of a small tree as I came around the side gate. I knew they were looking at the house, but I just wanted to be out of my truck. The drive from the airport had not calmed me down; instead, it made me feel even more antsy. The boy’s brown hair hung over his eyes, sticking up in odd places around his ears. He immediately dropped to the ground when he spotted me. “Who are you?” he paused before saying confidently, “This is our house.”

I stifled a laugh. “Oh yeah?”

The kid folded his arms over his chest and scrunched his face up like kids do. “Yeah, my mommy is buying it.”

I shoved my keys into my pocket and smiled at him. Something about him batted down the frustration that had built up in my chest on the drive home. “That’s great news. Your mommy is buying it from me.”

His eyes widened and then shot toward the deck. I took a few steps past him and saw another little boy with long blonde hair lying in the grass. Luke stood on the porch watching him. “, man, did I not tell you we were gonna be here?” He wore his work clothes, which consisted of his pants, which were entirely too tight, and a crisp button-up shirt. I kept telling him the pants were not right, but he insisted that the ladies had no complaints. Typical Luke.

“No, you did. I took an earlier flight back.” I waved my hand through the air and nodded at my friend.

Luke looked visibly relieved, his fingers holding tightly onto his phone. “Okay, we’re almost done. Christian, Kingston, this is my friend, .”

The boy I saw first stalked over, rushing to Luke. “I met this guy already. He was very protective of the house.”

“Mommy says strangers are not for talking to.” Christian leaned back onto Luke, and it was unusual to see Luke with kids. I hadn’t seen him interact with any kids in the year and a half that I’d known him. Women, yes, but never kids. But these were his nephews, I guessed. He told me his sister was coming to town and that she had two kids. She was a widow, which just made me think of my mom. Until I saw her, I could see where her kid got his steely gaze and confidence .

She held herself so carefully but confidently when she came out on the back patio. Her brown hair was short, easy to maintain, and wavy around her face. Her brown eyes were big, making her more noticeable. She wore a gray pullover sweatshirt without a hood and jeans that she cuffed at the bottom. Everything about her clothes was casual but didn’t hide the curves underneath. And it was the way her shoulders stood tall that was hard to get out of my head.

They were held tall like she wanted everyone to see her strength. And maybe she was that strong. But the glint of sadness in her eyes made me think there was more to those strong shoulders. We’d spoken briefly, and I had tried hard to keep my eyes from lingering too long.

Luke had texted, apologizing again and letting me know she wanted to make an offer on the house. I knew it would be a quick sell, especially with Luke on it, but I had no clue where I was going next. I needed to think about what I wanted to do. I’d come to hide on the Oregon coast after getting my heart broken a year and a half ago, and now, I just felt a bit lost.

I needed a project, maybe. Something that would help others or something that would just get me around other people. More than just Luke, who kept trying to get me to be his wingman. We’d tried that, and it wasn’t entirely successful. It was for him, but it wasn’t my thing.

It hadn’t helped my overall mood that I’d run into my ex in LA. It had been a quick trip. My teammate was being honored by the team. Natalie shouldn’t have been there. She was not a fan of football. Not really. Football players and their exposure? Sure, but not the sport itself. But there she was, draped all over one of the current players.

I shouldn’t be bothered. It had been long enough, but still. Something about it rubbed me the wrong way.

I’d spent the last sixteen hours unsettled and then came home to a family in my house. Led by a woman who’d been through something you wouldn’t wish on anyone, and I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I was lying on the couch, some ridiculously dramatized movie playing on the screen, but I’d stopped watching. My phone buzzed on my chest, and I smiled when I saw Dee’s face pop up.

“Dee, how’s it going, girl?” I asked, putting her on speaker.

“Pops! Today kind of sucked.” Her voice broke, and I could picture her fighting tears. Dee was my niece, but I’d raised her for most of her life. “I was late to my class and then the bottom of my backpack ripped. My lunch spilled all over me. It was just thing after thing. And now, I’m trying to study, but my roommate is watching a movie with her girlfriend, and they don’t seem to care that I’m here.”

I took a moment to formulate a game plan. I knew that sometimes Dee wanted me to advise, and sometimes she just wanted someone to hear her out. I took a chance on this being one of those times. “I’m sorry, Dee girl. That sounds like a truly terrible day. Do you need me to order you a new bag?”

Her voice quivered, “Yeah, can you just get me one you would get and not one I would get because it’s cute?”

This made me laugh because we’d had a whole argument about it before she left for college. I’d wanted her to get a plain but sturdy kind of backpack, and she’d thrown down over a very cute but flimsy thing. I wanted to say I told you so, but this wasn’t the time. “Of course. I’ll order it right now.”

“What about your day? What did you do?” Dee’s voice was calmer, and I was so grateful to hear it. It’d been a few days since she called.

I put a hand behind his head, talking as I stared at the ceiling. “I came home from LA today, and it was a fun trip. Nice to see some of the team, but you know how I’m selling the beach house? Luke showed it to someone today, and she will make an offer. So… that’s good.”

“She? Is it a local there?”

“No, she’s from out of town. Luke’s sister, actually. Her name is Izzy.”

Dee’s voice picked up. “Oh yeah, she has kids, right?”

Luke was a regular at the house and had fallen into a great faux-uncle role with Dee. I loved seeing her have that relationship, considering we had no other family. “Yeah. She was…” ’s voice drifted off.

“Oh my gosh!” Dee squealed on the other end, and I had to pull my phone away from my ear.

“Oh my, what?”

Dee laughed, crackling through the speaker. “You like her.”

I rolled my eyes. Dee always thought I liked everyone. She’d been trying to force me into a relationship since I’d broken up with my ex. “That’s silly. I barely said like four words to her. Her kids were funny, though. Very strong-willed.”

“And what does she look like?”

The answer came tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop myself, “Beautiful. Her hair was short, soft-looking, and like this deep chocolate color.” I stopped, blushing at the realization that I may have a small crush on Luke’s sister.

“Pops, you’ve got it bad. Please, ask her out, okay? Do it for me!” Dee sounded like her usual self now, the sadness and frustration wiped from her voice.

I sat up, running a hand through my hair. “I don’t think that’s the most professional thing to do if she wants to buy my house. And besides, I don’t like her like that.”

“Sure,” Dee said, really dragging out the word. “I feel better now. Thanks for that.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m glad I could help. I’ll order the backpack, Dee girl. I’ll get you some noise-cancelling headphones, too. Get back to studying for me, okay?”

“Thanks, Pops. I love you.”

“Love you, too,” I said before hanging up the phone.

I glanced around my perfectly decorated home. I’d paid someone to decorate it, but they’d added lots of touches of me. There were pictures everywhere, Dee and my mom. My late brother and Dee when she was a baby. It felt like home but also not like home. I loved the Oregon coast, the stormy days, and the small town. I’d come to know many of the locals in town and didn’t want to leave. But I also just felt sort of stale, stagnant. I knew I needed to make a change, and for the first time in my adult life, I could do so. Dee was at school, starting her own life. This was my time to try something new.

I just had no idea what to try.