The Hurricane Read Online Free

watch me build a sand castle? I’m really good at it. I practice every week,” she asked as she latched onto my hand, and started pulling me towards the bank.
    “Honey, I’m not sure if Ryker can stay, he may be busy,” Nat said as she gave me a questioning look.
    “Do you want me to stay?” I asked quietly.
    “Come on,” she said as she nodded her head towards the towels.
    “Yay! You’re going to love my sand castle. It will be freaking awesome!” she said as she led me toward the water.
    “Brooklyn!” Natalie scolded.
    “Sorry, Mommy doesn’t like it when I say the F word, she knows that’s not the real F word, but I can’t say that either.”
    I tried my best to keep a straight face as I listened to her explanation.
    “Pull up a towel,” Natalie said as she sat down and watched Brooklyn fill her bucket with wet sand.
    “She’s a mess,” Natalie said with a laugh as she kept her eyes on Brooklyn.
    “She looks just like you,” I said as I watched Natalie’s hair blow in the wind.
    “She’s the best part of me.”
    “I’m glad she asked me to stay,” I said. It wasn’t close to the things I wanted to say to her, but it was a start.
    “Me, too,” she said as she wrapped her arms around her folded up knees and gave me a little smile.
    I wasn’t letting go this time. No way in hell.
     

 
    I shouldn’t do this
     
     

    9:04 p.m.
     
    Brooklyn was sleeping like a log and I was lying in bed thinking of him. I was so shocked when I saw him on the beach. I wanted to run up to him, but my pride wouldn’t let me. He never called. I spent way too long waiting for that phone call. He said it was a long story. I didn’t ask, because I don’t think I wanted to know. I let him go years ago. It was only a few days together, but he hit me like a ton of bricks. I fell hard and fast and it took too long to forget him. Not that I ever really forgot him, which made me feel guilty. Because I loved Kyle, I really did. He was a good man. But he was gone.
    “Momma!” Brooklyn yelled from her room. I shot out of bed and ran to her quickly.
    “What’s wrong honey?” I asked.
    “I had a bad dream; will you sleep in my bed?” she asked as she rubbed her eyes, and looking too adorable for words. How could I say no?
    “Just until you fall asleep, ok?” I said as I crawled into her twin bed, wrapping my arms around her.
    “Ok, thank you, momma,” she said with a yawn.
    “You’re welcome, Brookie,” I said as I kissed her forehead.
    My thoughts drifted back to Ryker, immediately. We didn’t get to talk much on the beach. Brooklyn decided to plant herself in between us and stayed engaged in conversation with Ryker. She had a ton of questions for him. Mostly about his tattoos and his motorcycle. The only man she was ever around was her Papa, my dad. But she didn’t see him as often since we moved to Corpus last year. Not to mention that Ryker was the complete opposite of my father, so she was naturally curious. She probably missed having a male figure in her life, which caused the knot to creep into my stomach again. I forced those thoughts away and concentrated on Brookie’s breathing. She was already snoring lightly so I crawled out of her bed without disturbing her; it was a skill I had practiced for years now. I was a klutz most of the time, but could crawl out of my daughter’s bed like a ninja master.
    Just as I walked into my bedroom, I noticed my phone light up. I glanced at it and saw a Facebook notification. I scooped it up as I crawled into bed. I knew it would be a while before I fell asleep, and I could scroll Pinterest until my eyes got heavy. It was a nightly ritual. Those little red notifications drove me a little crazy so I hit the Facebook app and saw a friend request.
    Ryker Hamilton. My stomach did a little flip.
    I clicked on his profile. He didn’t have any friends or posts, not even a profile picture. It was a new account.
    Confirm.
    I stared at the screen, waiting. For