Tipping my chin up to the moon, I think back to the beach earlier, and the man who found me laying in the sand.
He’s a new face in town, one that didn’t belong but was a welcome sight, nonetheless. While I hadn’t met him before, I had heard of him from Grace. She used to spend hours talking about Torin and his brothers, Everett and Kolten, but while everyone had met both Torin and Rett, Kolten remained a mystery. Until now.
I glance over my shoulder, toward the newly built waterside house, which was supposed to be Grace’s forever home with her husband and son. The lights are off, but the bright silver light of the moon reflects off the wall of windows that make up the first floor. The tragedy of Grace and Leo’s deaths had hit the town hard, she was a friend of mine and someone who had grown up here also, and to lose someone so close to the town and so young too, had rattled us all.
Torin had come to town some years ago now, and never left after he met Grace. But now she’s gone, he’ll be all alone in that big house after his brothers leave. Would he even stay in town now he no longer had anything to tie him here?
He’s a quiet man, decent as far as I can tell, but he’s always kept to himself, not like his younger brother, Everett, who is loud,very loud.
I’m still looking towards the house when a shadow starts to move. My breath lodges in my throat as the silhouette of a man starts toward me. Wide shoulders, casual gait, hands loose at his sides. The dark conceals his face, but I already know.
“Hello trouble,” His voice is like the whisper of the wind on a summer’s day, a soothing caress that you want to keep chasing and yet it’s roughened around the edges, turning it raspy and smoky.
“Trouble?” I counter, “How do you figure that?”
He stops a good ten feet away from me, still concealed by the night, but close enough I can smell his deeply masculine scent, something earthy and warm.
There’s absolutely no denial on my part, this man is attractive in a way that makes it hard to think. Dark, so damn dark, just like the night, his hair is a deep brown, shortened at the sides and left longer on the top so it falls across his brow boyishly, dark low set brows and his eyes are so brown they could pass as black. Days old stubble surrounds his mouth and a single ring hangs from one ear lobe. He’s so much bigger than I am too, him standing over me at this moment only makes me realize it more. He’s at least six foot three to my five foot five –and a half, because the half counts– and broad, with muscles that stretch the material of his shirt, clinging to each curve and dip of his body.
“I can tell,” his voice is almost a purr, “It’s late, why are you out here?”
“Thinking about taking a midnight swim,” I lie, turning back to the inky water. I’d swam in these waters plenty of times, butnever have I been stupid enough to swim at night alone. “The town is asleep, no one around to see me naked.”
He makes a strangled noise that has my lips rising on a smile. “Don’t panic,” I whisper, “It’s only a joke.”
His shoes thump on the planks of the docks, coming closer, “Trouble,” He rasps.
“You’re not from here,” I state, “You’re the third brother.”
“The third brother?” He repeats as he takes another step closer.
“The elusive one,” I gasp dramatically, “We’ve all met Torin and we’ve all certainly heard Everett, but you, no one has ever met you. People questioned if you even existed when Grace used to talk about you and your brothers.”
“Well, I exist.”
“That you do, Kolt,” I like the way his name feels on my tongue.
Another step and he’s right at my back, the warmth of his body pressing into my spine.
“My brothers are the only ones who call me Kolt.” He says.
“Now me, too,” I turn fully, crossing my legs on the dock as he continues to stand, and tip my head up. He tilts his chin down to stare at me, not moving an inch. I lean back onto the heels of my hands, “So Kolt, oh mysterious one, what do you do?”
Even though it’s dark I swear one side of his lips quirk up in a smile, “A lot of things, some of which I can’t tell you.”
“Are you a spy?” I joke.
He doesn’t answer.
“A serial killer?” I continue like the silence isn’t deafening. “Just so you know, I have a lot of friends, they’ll notice if I go missing.”
“A boyfriend?” He presses.
“Not anymore. I’m too young to be tied down.” I answer, hiding the smile on my face. It’s fun to be flirty, but I’m not lying. I didn’t want to start anything serious; I’m just twenty-one, barely legal to drink and I have no idea what I want to do with my life. This sleepy town has been my home forever, the idea of leaving it scares me, but I know I will have to sooner or later, if only to figure out what the rest of my life might look like.
And Grace dying, a woman only a few years older than me, just cements that fact. I’m destined for more, I know I am, more than the diner where my sister and I work, more than this island, justmore. And time only waits for so long.
Getting myself into a relationship now will only hinder me.
