Page 24 of As a Last Resort
“You heading to your mom’s?”he asked.
Right.This was going to happen a lot here.People knew things about me—where I was from, who my mom was, that I lived in the little house on Rocky Point with the blue shutters that never brought the trash cans in.There was a familiarity that existed on this island I was all too happy to give up when I left, and here I was being blasted back into it within five minutes of setting foot on the soil.
“No, I’m staying at the Starfish.”His eyes flicked over to me questioningly.“I’m actually here for work.Not really to visit.”
“Well, looks like she didn’t get the memo,” he said casually.
“Wait, what?”
“Your mom.”He nodded toward the shore.“She’s across the street walking over here.”
“Crap.Duck!”I crouched behind a large plastic dock box on the pier.
“What?”
“Duck!”I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down next to me so we were both out of view.
“Why are we hiding from your mom?”We were huddled so close.The gold flecks in his eyes shimmered as they widened, the truth dawning across his face.“You didn’t tell her you were coming.”
“Shh!She’s going to hear you.”
“She’s across the street.She’s not going to hear me.Why doesn’t she know you’re here?”
“Did she see me?”
“Umm, I don’t think so,” he said.
I peeked around the container.“I told you I’m here for work.I didn’t really want to deal with her and the whole argument of staying at her place.”
“So you’re avoiding it until…”
“Until it’s unavoidable.”
“This doesn’t count as unavoidable?”
“Not yet.”I peeked around the container and watched in horror as she crossed the street and walked toward the dock.
Austin dipped his head to mine and dropped his voice to a whisper that shot goose bumps down my neck.“I feel like we’re approachingunavoidable.”
I couldn’t tell if my heart was ping-ponging out of my chest from my mother walking toward me or Austin’s lips that wereright there.
“Go stop her,” I ordered.
“And you’re going to…”
“Stay here until you get her to walk the other way.The Starfish is right there.I can make a run for it.”
“In those heels?”he questioned, eyeing the three-inch monstrosities I had put back on.
“Heels are like sneakers in the city.It’s fine.”
“You’ll break an ankle.”
I peeked around the storage container again.“You have ten seconds to stop her from walking onto this dock.If you don’t, I will shove you into the water and somehow find a way to sink your boat.”
His eyes dipped to my mouth.“You’re not exactly the tongue-tied awkward teenager you used to be, Scuttle.”Amusement dripped from his lips as he popped up and jogged off toward the marina walkway.I hadn’t even stepped onto the dirt of the island yet and I was already hugging a dock that smelled like fish guts and hiding from my mother.It took less than half an hour for myI have my shit togethergrown-up facade to go up in flames.
Mom’s eyes glittered up at him as he walked closer.She always loved Austin.Well, she loved generally any man that paid her attention, but Austin always had a way of making people feel seen.
