Saving Summer (10 page)

“Where is Lou?” her mom asked, waving to her dad as he walked over with their bags.

“The hospital,” I said. “She’s got her own suite…and you already know about her new friend.”

“This is unbelievable.” Summer’s dad said as he hugged her, and then to my surprise, me. They were a really warm and friendly family, much like mine. “She can barely remember Summer. Unfortunately, we aren’t equipped to handle her when she slips out of reality. She’ll be safe, and cared for with her at a nursing home in the area. Really nice place, great people.”

I didn’t like that the old woman was going to be taken from her home, but there was nothing else we could do for her, and she didn’t have a home to go back to.

“What about Half Mile?” Summer glanced between her parents.

Her mom shifted uneasily, and looked at her hands before meeting Summer’s eyes. “Your father and I were thinking of selling Lou’s half…but we can’t.”

“Why?” she gasped. “I thought Lou left everything to you.”

Her dad grinned. “Lou changed the will a couple years ago without telling us. We didn’t find out until we were contacted by her attorney.”

“Let me guess…” Summer frowned. “She left it to a charity, or some person we’ve never met. Not that that’s a bad thing, but I don’t want anyone putting a hotel or something commercial on the island.”

“They can’t.” her mom sighed. “Because Lou left it all to you, honey.”

Summer blinked, gripping my arm for support. “M-Me? She left the house to me?”

“No, she left her half of the island.” Her dad laughed. “Every single thing. Right down to the last penny in her bank account. It all goes to you, Summer.”

It looked like Summer wanted to pass out, so she sat on a bench and shook her head. “But I can’t own half of an island…what am I going to do with it?”

I smirked and sat down next to her. “I guess you could always live there?”

Her parents looked just as stumped.

I wasn’t sure what was going on in her head after that, but she was very thoughtful as we drove back to the Keys. It wasn’t till later that night, after we’d finally gotten a frantic phone call from my parents to tell us they were flying home, that Summer asked me to go with her and Wilbur for a walk.

We were strolling down by the beach—Wilbur—my boat, was gone with the rest of the junk. Danny was being questioned by the police, and seemed to be regretting his decision. He was also missing a front tooth, that I am proud to say, was my doing.

The city was slowly starting to clean up, and we’d been helping out with everything we could. Summer had been volunteering with the shelter to round up all the loose animals that had been separated from their families. She really had a knack for it.

“You know Gael, a few weeks ago if you asked me who I was, what I wanted, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you.” She laced our fingers together. “I was always looking at my older sister, feeling like I would never measure up.”

“I felt the same way with my brothers,” I said, kissing the back of her hand.

“But now I feel like I have a better idea of who I am. I think I know what I’m supposed to do.” She stopped by the water and dug her toes in the sand, looking out into the sunset. “I’m going to rebuild on Half Mile. It will be a house like Lou’s old one, only updated. With a TV and a computer and everything. And then one day, I’m going to build another house. But this time it will be for dogs.” She smiled at Wilbur and ruffled his fur. “Ones that need a safe place to go. I want to find them homes and families. Because if there is anything I’ve learned through all of this, it’s that pets are just as affected as people.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” I said, thinking that the island would be the perfect place for a bunch of dogs. They could be free to play and swim, and there wasn’t any traffic or people to complain about the barking.

The sun swirled orange and pink as it began to sink into the sea, and I wrapped my arm around Summer, hoping that we had many more sunsets to come together after this one.

“Hey, I’ve got to ask you something,” I said, leaning around to look into her big brown eyes.

“Sure,” she beamed up at me.

“Would you like to go out with me sometime?”

“Like on a date?” She tilted her head to the side as if considering my offer.

I nodded. “Flowers, dinner, a romantic walk on the beach. The whole enchilada.”

“Only if I can ask you something,” She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me. “Gael Cortez, will you be my boyfriend?”

I laughed, hugging her tight. “Summer Bergmann, I thought you’d never ask.”

Bonus Story
Through Violet’s Eyes

Chapter 1
Violet

A hurricane. I didn’t want to be worried about that, or about making sure the coffee shop was securely buttoned up. I didn’t have a choice, though. Instead of getting out of town like everyone else, I was helping my parents close up their shop. They couldn’t do it without me. My mom was eight months along with a surprise sibling, I wasn’t going to be an only child anymore, and my dad wasn’t exactly a handyman. Which was why he excelled at coffee making and my mom kept up the shop…when she wasn’t pregnant.

I was trying to take my mom’s place as best I could in helping dad, but I had inherited his inability to use power tools or participate in the heavy lifting.

I felt like a wuss.

I dragged and filled sandbags. Tried my hardest to board windows. But my arms seemed to give out after an hour of forcing them to do things they weren’t used to.

My mom had trouble standing by and watching.

So when my father and I weren’t looking, she decided to help.

And that was how she went into contractions, or whatever they called it. The kid was early. Dad rushed mom to the hospital, and I stayed behind to try and finish what they left.

A cop by the name of Vic, who my dad asked to check on me, offered to send a guy to help me.

I told him that would be great.

Until twenty minutes later someone I wasn’t expecting to see sauntered into the shop, looking like he’d rather get a tooth pulled than help me out.

“How can I help?” Damian asked, staying close to the door.

I bit my lip. “Well, if I wasn’t so desperate, seeing you walk out that door would be the most helpful thing you could ever do for me. Then I wouldn’t be forced to look at your face.”

His brow furrowed. “Ouch.”

“Oh, I’m just getting started, Damian. But I’ll keep my mouth shut if you can board those windows and help me lock up.”

“Sure.” And he set to work. Doing everything I told him, without so much as a grunt or an eye roll. It was very satisfying to bark orders at him. Made being around him that much more bearable.

But once he was done, and the shop was locked up, he didn’t leave…

I started walking up the street for my car, and much to my surprise, Damian followed.

“What are you doing?” I glanced over my shoulder, bracing myself against a gust of wind.

“Waiting.”

“For what?”

His face was dead serious. “You said you were just getting started.”

“Damian, I don’t want to do this with you. My mom is probably going to have my sister early. That means we can’t get off the island. They’re stuck at the hospital and I’m not going to argue with you and miss being with them.”

“Violet, please.” He reached for me, but I stepped back with a shake of my head.

“You hurt me. And the sickest part of all of this is that I still think about you.” I kept my voice steady, even though I wanted to scream and cry and punch him in the gut. “So do me another favor and leave me alone.”

I turned for my car, and quickly got inside, locking all of the doors.

I couldn’t, however, make myself drive away.

There was a soft tap on the window, and I looked up. Damian was standing there, just looking at me through the glass.

“Can I get a ride?”

I barely made out his voice through the door, but nodded, and hit the unlock button.

It was clear that I had no defense against him.

Once he was in, I started the car, heading for the police station like he told me.

“It was a mistake,” he said quietly. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“Celso and I were just friends. He told me that he had a thing for Felicity, but you chose to believe otherwise.” I glowered at him. “I never kissed your brother. I never even held hands with him. And you won’t believe me.”

“Celso told me that you guys had kissed before you ever told me anything.” He ran a hand over his face. “When I confronted him about the lie he said that he did it to protect you.”

“Celso doesn’t have to do that. I can damn well take care of myself!” I hit the brakes hard outside the police station and waited for Damian to get out of the car.

He didn’t move.

I turned on him. “And this reputation you’ve built up for yourself is something you’re proud of? Your brother thinks that he needs to lie to you to keep me from being just another girl you mow through like the others? Why should I even want to be with you if he thinks that’s going to happen?”

Damian groaned, holding his face in his hands. “I have no problem admitting that my behavior made me look like a jerk. But the girls I went out with were not looking to get serious either.”

“So can you ever get serious? Or will you always want someone like the rest of those girls? Cheap and easy.”

His dark eyes seemed to darken even more in the car. “I can get very serious. I only went out with them because I couldn’t go out with you. I’d try, but no one else compared to you. So I dumped them, or they dumped me because they suddenly wanted more. I can’t give them what I’ve already given away, Vi.”

Wow.

I could not process any of what he just said. It was too much to hear, I felt like I was on overload. With the hurricane and my mom and my little sister on the way, possibly in danger.

So I did the only thing I could do. “Please get out of my car.”

The door slamming as he left shook me worse than the thunder outside.

Chapter 2

My ride to the hospital was one full of frustrated tears. The last two years had been torture seeing him out with other girls. But as I thought back, and remembered every single time I saw him with someone else, I remembered something.

He’d never smiled.

Not the real smile he gave me that reached his eyes. The one that made me smile just because it was so contagious. It was a smile I dreamed about.

We were a mess. I had doubt in me, after everything Celso had said and done. Damian had a reputation that would take a lot of time to erase. There were a lot of girls that I’d seen him with at parties. But was it just for show?

Because I would watch him from the back of the room, and when he left the parties, it was always with Celso and Felicity.

I’d never seen him leave alone with another girl.

None of that mattered now though. I was at the hospital, and I had to focus on finding my parents. When I got to labor and delivery, I was not allowed to go into the room to see my mom and dad. The nurse said they were being prepped for an emergency C-section to get out the baby.

It felt like forever as I sat in a cold plastic chair, staring at the floor.

“Hey.”

I glanced up at a cheap cup of coffee, and then at the muscular tan arm attached to the hand holding it.

“What are you doing here, Damian?”

He shrugged, taking the seat beside me. “I don’t know…”

I rolled my eyes and took a sip from the cup he handed me, wanting to gag. “Er, thanks.”

“It’s shit. I figured it was the thought that counts.”

“Yep.” I set it on the floor under the chair, thinking it might be better cold. “So, why are you really here?”

“I like being reprimanded.”

“Be serious.”

“Fine…I didn’t like the idea of you having to wait alone to see if your mom was okay.” He gave another shrug, as if he was trying to act cool. I knew better. He was trying to get back on my good side. After what he said in the car, I figured the only person I should really be mad at was Celso. After two years it seemed kind of silly to be pissed at him.

“Thanks, but I’m okay. You can go back to saving people.”

He laughed. “I’ll leave that to, Vic. He’s the one with the badge.”

“Yeah, but you want one. Admit it.”

“And I’ll get one. Count on it.” He winked at me, and I let myself slide just a little bit into the feeling of bliss that I felt whenever we were together.

“Vi…” Damian reached for my hand, and I didn’t pull away.

“Violet, sweetie.” My dad burst through the double doors at the end of the hallway, a relieved smile on his face.

I leapt out of my seat, running towards him. “Is mom okay?”

“Yes, she’s going to be fine. Your sister Kayla is healthy and beautiful.” He nodded, still seeming to take it all in. “We were very lucky.”

“Great.” I felt so much better now that my mom and new sister were going to be alright. And on top of that, starting to fix things with Damian was like the perfect end to today. “When can I see them?”

“Not now. Mom is still in surgery, and Kayla needs to be monitored. No visitors yet. But you’ll be first once we’re given the all clear.”

I could deal with that. “The shop is taken care of. Damian helped me.”

Dad shook hands with him, and said hello, but I knew he wanted to get back to my mom and sister. “Thanks, you don’t know how grateful I am for your help.”

“Anytime, sir.” Damian smiled.

“Uh, Violet,” my dad said, looking at me. “Considering what’s happened, your mom and sister have to stay in the hospital. We’re talking to the nurse about letting you stay in the hospital with us. You can’t be home alone during a this storm.”

Stay at the hospital?

“Okay…” I could do this for twenty-four hours. It wouldn’t be so bad. I could bring a few books and watch movies on my laptop.

“Sir,” Damian said. “I can take Violet with me. I’m staying at the Shell Key Hotel with some of emergency services. It’s right behind the police station. She’ll be perfectly safe.”