Page 49 of Cloudless
My instincts are screaming for me to pull her in for a hug. I stick my hands in the pockets of my swim trunks instead. “It’s okay. I’m glad it was me this time.”
“You and me both.” Her hair sways around her shoulders as she turns away from me. “Just let me grab our bags and we’ll be ready to go. We just need to grab the twins’ booster seats out of my car before we go.”
I scratch the back of my neck. “Oh, about that.”
She stops in the doorway of what I assume is her bedroom as she turns to me. “Yeah?”
“I, uh, went ahead and got them some booster seats and installed them this morning.” Her eyebrows raise as I hurry to continue. “I hope you don’t mind. I looked up their ages and guessed at their weights so I could get the best ones.”
A smile takes over her face. She moves so fast she’s almost a blur as she wraps her arms around my neck for a tight hug. My shoulder muffles her voice. “Thank you, Kam.”
She fits so perfectly in my arms, it nearly takes my breath away. I tighten my arms around her as I take in her mango scent. “You’re welcome.”
She pulls free from my arms and gives me a beaming smile as she turns to go back toward her room. I feel the loss of her in my arms immediately. “I’m just gonna grab my stuff.”
I nod as her warmth from our hug slowly seeps away from me. “Sure. Do you need any help?”
Her voice fades as she rounds the corner to what I assume is her bedroom. “No, thanks. I’ve got it.”
My legs strain with the force it takes for me to not follow her into her room. My curiosity is overwhelming me to the point I don’t see Jasper and Posey come out of the room at the end of the hall until they’re right in front of me.
Posey’s voice pulls my focus from Lila’s door as she throws herself at me for a hug. “Hey, Kam!”
I laugh as I pick her up off the ground and spin her around. “Hey, Rosie Posey. Are you ready to have a good time at the beach?”
Her giggles float through the air like clouds. “Yes! I’m bringing my sandcastle supplies and everything!”
I stabilize her on her feet before I let her go. “I guess we’ll be building an epic sandcastle today, then! Should it be medieval or fantasy inspired?”
She scoffs. “Fantasy, obviously.”
I hold my fist out for a fist bump she gladly gives. “Right on, Rosie Posey.”
A thunk at the end of the hall has all our eyes turning to find Lila struggling to get through the door with a huge tote on her shoulder and a cooler wedged under her arm.
My feet carry me to her before I have time to blink. “Are you going to let me help before you hurt yourself?”
She shakes out her fingers as I take the cooler and the tote bag from her possession. “I can carry it on my own.”
“I know you can, but you don’t have to.” I adjust the pink tote on my shoulder as I grab the cooler by the handle. A vibration courses through the ground as the cooler falls to the floor. I look from the handle still in my hand to the cooler on the ground as a chorus of laughs erupts from the siblings behind me.
Lila’s voice is unburdened by her previous worry. “I forgot to mention the broken handle, didn’t I?”
A smile takes over as I look over my shoulder. “Oh, you are so getting dunked in the water for that, Sunshine.”
Her laughter turns into a wicked smile. “You’ll have to catch me first, Trouble.”
CHAPTER 23
BITCH TENDENCIES
LILA
The beach used to be my mom’s favorite place in the world. I can feel her here just as clearly as I can feel the salty breeze blowing over my sun-warmed face.
I can hear her laugh drifting through the wind as clearly as I can hear the crashing waves in the distance.
The warm sand shifting between my toes feels like ahellofrom a long-lost friend as I take my first steps onto the sand without my mom. For the first time, memories of her don’t threaten to drown me in grief, but instead fill my heart with happiness for the time I had with her.
