Page 67 of For Better or Hearse
“Root beer. It’s Nathaniel’s favorite flavor of anything.”
Surprised and horrified, Ash swivels her head to Nathaniel.
He’s frozen, jaw tight.
Her mouth tugs into a half smirk. “Looks like we’re twinsies.”
One large hand smears down his face. “Please don’t say that,” he mumbles.
She holds the shave ice out in offering. “Lick?”
He groans. “Especially that.” He blows out a breath and pushes a hand through his hair. “Fuck,” he says, looking frazzled. Then he abruptly stands and walks off.
Delaney evaluates Ash with shrewd eyes. “You annoy him.”
Ash laughs. “That’s what I like to hear.”
“He talks to you, at least.” Delaney props her chin in her palm. Picks at the box lunch. A wilted ham sandwich and a bag of chips. “More than us.”
Ash smirks. “It’s not really talking as much as arguing into oblivion.”
A bark of a laugh escapes Tater. “He can’t wait to get the hell off this island.”
“Can you blame him?” Delaney looks wistful. “Remember when Dad used to allow us to express our personalities?”
Tater guffaws. “Definitely in the embryo stage, dawg.”
Ash splits a look between the siblings. It feels like she’s at the children’s table at Thanksgiving. Which, in truth, is the best place to be. It always has the hottest gossip. Not to mention, less drama and fewer political conversations.
“Ugh,” Delaney groans. She throws a dramatic hand to her face. “And now I have one brother with a podcast and another who’s determined to kill himself in the North Sea.” She swivels her head to Ash. “How gross is that?”
Ash laughs, though her heart pounds in her ears and fingertips at the memory of her conversation with Nathaniel last night. “It’s just the ocean.”
Delaney’s eyes are wide. “No, it’s not just the ocean.” She reaches for her phone. Pulls up a TikTok video. “They say it’s the most treacherous sea in the world. Look at this vortex.”
On screen, the sea’s in an angry mood. A ship battles against devastating waves until it’s eventually engulfed completely. It capsizes and then slowly sinks beneath the waves.
Tate gapes. “Damn, dude.”
Ash opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. Worry weighs down her bones, her breath.
She shouldn’t care. But she does. It’s dangerous, and he’s an idiot.
She scans the beach, finds Nathaniel in the crowd of people. God, he’s obnoxious. He drives her crazy.
Delaney shudders. “You couldn’t pay me enough money.” She exits TikTok. Stands and says to Ash, “Swim?”
Nathaniel comes back to the picnic table just as Delaney and Ash head for the beach.
With an aggrieved sigh and a wary look at Ash, he sits. She’s at the shore, wearing cut-off shorts and that yellow bikini. Her long black hair hangs, disheveled, down to her waist.
When he’s around her, his headspace is frazzled. His breathing uneven. He hasn’t been on his game the last four days. He needs orderly. He needs planned. Ash Keller is none of those things.
She’s beautiful. So beautiful that she scalds his blood. But even better, she’s a morbid beauty with a smart mouth. It turns him on. He loathes himself.
Beside him, Tater bangs a fist on the picnic table, making Nathaniel scowl. “You’re not pitching it without me, dawg. I put the podcast together. I need to be there.”
Nathaniel side-eyes his brother, the phone pressed tight against his ear. It’s rare for him and his siblings to make conversation. Family is dutiful, not familiar, as his father often reminds him. Delaney’s daddy issues, Tate’s insecurity, all stem from their father’s country club rules for raising a family.