Castles in the Sand Read Online Free

storm that left sand displaced and strewn with seaweed all the way up to the retaining wall.
    “Well,” he said, “be sure to let me know if there’s anything you need.” His crow’s-feet crinkled, and he turned to go.
    “Julian!”
    He faced her again.
    “There is, um, one thing. I might…I might need to use a phone.” It was an amenity the beach house did not offer.
    “You’re welcome to use mine anytime.”
    “I don’t have a cellular. There just never seemed to be a reason for me to get one. I mean, I’m usually at home or at the church. People can reach me fairly easily. Drake, on the other hand, can’t possibly survive without his, so he couldn’t loan it to me. I could use the pay phone at the 7-Eleven.” She paused to take a breath and recognized her chimp routine again.
    “No problem.”
    Her lower lip trembled. She bit it.
    “Susan, I don’t mean to pry, but are you all right?”
    “I’m fine.” She cringed. She truly did hate that perky tone, the gushy soft rah-rah twist she employed in almost every conversation.
    In truth she wanted to pour out the story to Julian’s sympathetic ear. But how could she? Drake thought it best they not share the news with anyone. It was a private matter, not yet settled. It wasn’t ready for public viewing. He said he would tell people in his own way in his own time. The situation had to be presented with dignity. A repentant Kenzie, wedding invitations in hand, wouldn’t hurt matters.
    As far as they knew, word had not gotten out. Absolutely no one knew about Kenzie besides Natalie and Rex.
    It couldn’t be helped.
    But then neither could it be helped that she was not fine. Two months and three weeks and five days were too long to pretend her world was hunky-dory. To pretend it had not, in fact, swiveled right off its axis and spun out of orbit, leaving her with a sense that she was free-falling.
    Julian slid his thumbs into his jeans pockets. “One time Faith Fontaine and I stood back here, almost in this very same spot. She could tell I was agitated, though she didn’t pry. And I didn’t want to talk. After all, it wasn’t any of her business. She didn’t know I was fiddling with a bullet in my pocket, thinking about going inside and playing Russian roulette until I lost.”
    Susan gawked at him. “My goodness. What happened?”
    “I didn’t play.” He smiled. “I don’t know exactly what happened. I’m sure she was praying. Suddenly I realized I had two choices: Russian roulette or tell her my life was a mess. Obviously I chose the second option. She didn’t have any startling revelations of how to fix it. It was just in the telling that my weight lessened. Considerably.”
    “Well.” She fingered a piece of paper in her skirt pocket and attempted a smile. “I don’t have a bullet. Only a phone number.”
    Julian leaned forward.
    Without the perky tone, her voice was so soft it was nearly inaudible.
    “My life is a mess. No, it’s not that bad. Comparatively speaking, it’s really all right. Probably average. I mean, we hear so many heartrending stories at the church and—”
    “Susan, I forgot to mention the one conversational rule.”
    She waited.
    “You can only talk about your own mess. Other people’s heartrending stories don’t count.”
    She felt awash in safety. “Kenzie, our daughter, is…pregnant.” Intense heat obliterated the safe feeling, but she continued. “She’s not married, though she says the young man is committed. And…and…”
    He nodded. “That tends to create a mess.”
    “Yes. I’m having a hard time with it. I just need to get used to the idea. And to…well, Drake and I believe Kenzie should suffer the consequences. She does not want to get married. Drake says that is unacceptable.”
    “If she married, things would be different? Acceptable?”
    “Y-yes.”
    Why? He didn’t ask it, but she heard it.
    Poof. A flash of white lit up a dark corner of her mind and the answer came. Because if