No wonder Blaze wanted an extra eye on her.
Her dog growls my way as he hits the bottom step, and I bare my teeth back.
Get used to me, girl.
I’m not going anywhere.
She wraps the leash around her hand and tugs her dog out to the sidewalk in front of her house, and together they set off toward town.
Hm.
I survey the neighbors’ houses once more before following.
Blaze didn’t mention any excursions, though if I know my brother well enough, he’s memorized the route of her morningdog walk, and despite the fact that he should be worrying about himself, he’s likely going to be waiting wherever her destination is.
I stay a few feet back so as to not alert her dog too much. Her pet keeps turning back every now and then, but she pays it no mind. She keeps walking—across the main road, to the right, down the street to the furthest beach access.
I was not prepared for a sandy excursion.
The woman takes her shoes off and leaves them behind once we’re on the beach. I do the same, taking a moment to watch her run out into the surf and let her dog off the leash. I’m grateful the pup is distracted. The chances of me following her and her dog leaving me alone whilst off the leash are slim.
She tosses the dog a few sticks, and together, they make their way toward the jetty a quarter mile down. It’s a long line of rocks set to break the edge of the island, making it so boats can easily get out to sea from the inlet instead of running ashore. There’s a flat slab of asphalt poured over the top like a constructed sidewalk. Just large enough that someone could walk out into the ocean if they wanted to.
I turn my coat collar up before going after her.
The moment I fully take in our destination, I notice the figure already standing atop the rocks.
Just like I knew he would be.
My hopeless romantic of a brother.
Each time her dog peers my way, I pick up a shell or piece of drift wood to toss it. The woman isn’t paying any attention to what’s behind her, and the surf is so loud, there’s no way she could hear me anyway.
Closer to the rocks, the dog barks a couple of times at Blaze, though it doesn’t launch at him. The woman takes a bone from her hoodie pocket and tosses it to the pup for it to chew on. Thedog trots around by itself, entirely content, playing with the bone and chasing away seagulls whilst she ascends the rocky jetty.
Blaze’s eyes squint against the sunrise as he watches her, his trench coat undulating against the breeze. He has his hands in his pockets, and I know it’s so that he doesn’t try to help her climb up. Even when she almost loses her balance, he stays steady despite the tick in his jaw telling me how badly he wants to reveal himself.
It’s almost comical.
“Morning, brother,” I say to him.
Blaze doesn’t shift until she’s safely on the flat ledge, and even then, he doesn’t turn toward me when he says, “Hey.”
I help myself onto the rocks and stand at his side. The woman has her attention set on the horizon. She takes a few sure-footed steps toward the ocean as if she’s walked these rocks a hundred times. There’s an intensity in her eyes, a depth to the look on her face that’s quite different from the last few hours.
“You never told me her name,” I say, hands in my pockets.
“Juniper,” Blaze answers. “She comes here every morning.”
“You could have told me,” I reply.
But Blaze is too fixated on her face to reply. He appears to be in pain watching her, like he’d give up the entire world just to be corporeal at her side.
“What are we?—”
Juniper’s scream cuts me off. I nearly stumble backward out of surprise, but Blaze catches my coat and pulls me back up. I’m still catching my balance when Juniper lets out another shrill, heart-dropping shout.
Seagulls rise, the ocean waves splash harder.
