Nothing about my life was typical. People looked at me as lucky since I grew up in a large house surrounded by material goods and servants. But nothing about my life was as grand as it seemed on the surface.
“Fancy and sad.”
“I know, but that was my life. Anyway…” I needed to change the subject. “I just got off the phone with my brother, and he’s happy we’re coming for the weekend.”
“I could use a few days away from here,” she said, drawing in the sand with her fingertip. “Besides Disney and the base, I haven’t seen much of Florida.”
“There’s not much to see unless you’re into trees and small towns.”
She peered up from the sand, the sun hitting her eyes. “It’s Florida. There has to be more here to see.”
“The only difference between where my brother lives and Tennessee is mountains and hills. Florida’s flat and boring.”
“Well, I’m coming for a home-cooked meal. The scenery doesn’t interest me as much.”
I placed my hand over my heart. “You’ve wounded me. I thought you were coming to spend time with me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course.” She smiled. “You, food, and a tattoo.”
“In that order?” I asked, studying her face.
“Sure.”
I jumped to my feet, brushing the sand off my legs. “You’re full of shit, Dynasty. Completely full of shit.”
She placed her hand over her forehead, gazing up at me. “Where ya going?”
“Walking you home.” I held out my hand, wanting to help her up.
“You have duty, and I have a meeting. And don’t forget to pack. We’re leaving at first light.”
She groaned, placing her palm in my hand. “Don’t you ever sleep in?”
“I used to, but it’s been years.”
“You should work on that. Sleep’s good for the body.”
“Okay, Mom. I’ll get more rest.”
“Still lying,” she teased, slipping her hand out of mine as soon as she found her footing. “But get some tonight, or else I’ll drive and you really don’t want that.”
“Why?”
“Let’s just say I’m a bit reckless.” I gasped, not completely surprised by the revelation. “My dad may have taught me how to ride a bike, but my mom taught me how to drive a car. I make the movieTheItalian Jobseem like child’s play.”
I nodded. “Good to know.”
We walked across the sand to the pavement, only stopping to clean as much of the fine grains from our sticky skin as we could. When I was finished, I caught Mak staring at me.
“What?” I asked, still bent over.
“I wish you’d tell me what’s wrong. You’re off today. We may have only known each other a few days, but…”
“It’s just a bad day, darlin’. I have them sometimes. Seen bad shit. Done bad shit. It sticks with you after a while. It comes and goes, but by tomorrow, I’ll be back to my old self.”
“I miss the cocky asshole I met the first night.”
“Oh, he’s still here, and he’ll be back tomorrow.”
