Page 105 of The Beach Trap

I shake my head no as Sunny nods yes. Her lower lip quivers and her eyes fill with tears. Beside me, Henry stiffens. His eyes dart toward me, and I decide to take that as an invitation to butt in.

“I can fix him,” I say.

Sunny turns and looks at me, a glimmer of hope in her sad eyes. “All I need is thread and a needle,” I tell her. “Do you have that?”

Sunny nods and looks from me to Henry as if asking for his permission to keep her bunny for a while longer.

“You don’t have to give him up yet,” Henry says. “You’re not even seven. Kat still has her old stuffed animal and she’sa lotolder than seven.”

I elbow him playfully in the side—he knows Blake was the one who kept Beary and brought him back for me.

Sunny hands me the broken bunny and I take Nuh-Nuh carefully, holding him as if he’s as precious to me as he is to Sunny.

“Let’s go save this bunny,” I say, and Sunny leads me inside to find the lifesaving craft supplies.

•••

Fifteen minutes later,Nuh-Nuh has an ear that’s as good as new, and I have a friend for life in Sunny. There was a lot more than needles and thread in the craft kit, so while I was at it, I added a little fashion flair. Not only did the purple ribbon make the bunny more stylish, but it covered the lopsided stitches I did my best to make secure.

“Daddy!” Sunny calls, running back out to the front porch, the new and improved Nuh-Nuh tucked beneath her arm. She launches into Henry’s lap, knocking the book out of his hands. “Kat saved him!”

“Let’s see her handiwork,” Henry says. Sunny looks as proud as if she’d sewn the ear on herself as she hands it over. “Very nice,” he says, pulling Sunny closer to his chest and kissing the top of her head. “What do you say we take Kat out to lunch to thank her?”

“Can we go to LuLu’s?” Sunny asks.

“I wish I could,” I tell them both. LuLu’s has become one of my favorite spots—it has a tiny beach for kids to play on, and drinks and live music for adults to enjoy—but there’s somewhere else I have to be. “The real estate agent’s going to be at the beach house in about an hour.”

“Want some company?” Henry asks.

I nod, overcome with gratitude. It’s amazing how much my world has changed in the last few months. At the beginning of the summer, I was grieving and reeling and all alone. I’m still grieving—I have a feeling I will be for a while, especially since my feelings toward my dad are so complicated—but I’m no longer alone. And that gives me the strength for what I’m about to do. No matter what happens today, I’ll be okay.

“I would love that,” I tell him.

“But what about lunch?” Sunny asks.

I smile at her. “I think we’ve got stuff to make PB and J?”

“With or without the crust?” she asks, posing the question as if this is a win-or-lose detail.

“Without, obviously,” I say, hoping I picked the right answer.

I’m rewarded with a bright smile as Sunny holds her bunny tighter. “Let’s go!”

•••

When we getto the beach house, Blake looks nervous. She won’t stop fidgeting and playing with her hair.

At first, I assume it’s because Noah is there, and this is thefirst time he and I have seen each other since “the incident.” But I’m a grown-up about it, and he is, too. If anything, Henry seems the most uncomfortable. He shakes Noah’s hand stiffly and says, “Been a while,” then stands to the side, arms folded.

When Noah and Blake go out back to show Sunny the new sidewalk chalk they bought for her, I tug Henry’s hand to stay back, pulling him out of sight and against the wall for a kiss to remind him he’s the one I want to be with and that Junior—Noah—was just a temporary lapse in judgment.

Seeing Junior and Blake together, I realize they’re perfect for each other. They’re both glowing, constantly touching each other—not in a PDA way, but like they can’t bear to be separated by even a foot of distance. It’s the same way I feel about Henry.

At the sound of the back door closing, Henry and I pull apart and take a seat on the couch.Ourcouch. He smirks as he pulls me closer, and I can’t wait until the next time we’re alone in the house again.

I realize with a sinking feeling that our days of owning this house might be numbered. Depending on what happens in the next few minutes, there’s still a chance I’m going to lose the house.

When Blake and Junior come back in, they sit on the love seat across from me and Henry. The room is heavy with tension and the significance of the real estate agent’s imminent arrival. This is the moment the whole summer has been leading up to.

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