A shiver runs through me that has nothing to do with fear or cold, but a soul-deep attraction that has me desperate and terrified of being around him.He’s the peace and the storm.
The calm and the chaos.
“Don’t be silly,” I reply.“It’s just ice cream.”I smile at him, hoping that he can’t see past the mask I’ve so clearly slipped on.
The moment between us on the beach yesterday has my emotions toward him already charged.Especially since he had a front row seat to my momentary panic when that guy was running toward us on the beach.
Garrison offers me a curt nod, then moves into the apartment.I close the door behind him and head into the kitchen to prep another bowl, all while Thomas grabs a second controller and gets it set up to teach Garrison how to play.
Seeing them sitting side by side on the couch sends my pulse racing as the same fears I had seeing them together at the diner hit me full force.
What if he gets too close to Thomas?
What if my son gets hurt worse when we have to leave because he’s attached to Garrison?
What if—Calm your mind, Katelyn.
Lord, please take these anxious thoughts.Please shield my heart and mind, God.I am spiraling, and I know You have a plan.Please help me focus on it.I pray this in the name of Jesus, amen.
I take a deep breath, then nearly jump out of my skin when Thomas lets loose a cheer loud enough to compete with the thunder just outside.
Get.It.Together.
After topping all three bowls with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and a cherry, I carry them into the living room, balancing one of them on my upper arm just as I do when carrying plates at the diner.
“Dessert is served,” I announce with a smile, then hand Thomas the first bowl before taking the one in my other hand and offering it to Garrison.
Our fingers brush, and warmth shoots through me.It’s stupid—this reaction I’m having to him.Like I’m some foolish teenage girl unburdened by what’s happened to me, simply excited about the cute boy next door.
Unfortunately, I know all too well what happened to kill that girl in me.It haunts me every time I close my eyes.
“Thank you so much for this,” Garrison says as he takes a bite.“It’s delicious.”
“You’re welcome, and thank you.”
“Mom makes the best sundaes.”Thomas sets his controller down and flips the TV channel to a show he’s been watching for the last few weeks.
And as the three of us sit there, enjoying sundaes and watching a television show together, it takeseverythingin me to remain seated instead of grabbing my son and running as fast as I can.
“You excited for baseball camp?”
“Oh yeah.”Thomas beams at Garrison.“I seriously cannot wait.Coach said how we perform at camp plays a huge part in the lineup for the fall season.”
“Is this your first time playing?”
Thomas nods.“I wanted to play before, but I didn’t get the chance.”His joy dies down just a bit, and hearing that disappointment cements that promise I made to myself: I have to do whatever I can to keep us here in Stormwatch Landing.Even if it means facing down the darkness in my past.Who knows, maybe this place is just far enough off the map that it won’t be able to find us.
“I played baseball in high school, too.Loved it.”
“Really?”Thomas’s eyes get so big it’s almost comical.
“Yeah, I—” The power flickers and dies, plunging the apartment into darkness.
My heart catches in my throat, and the bowl in my now-trembling hand clatters to the floor.Logically, I know it’s the storm.
Logically, I know I’m safe—especially with Garrison here.
But that fear slips in so quickly that I don’t have any time for logic.