Lost and Found Read Online Free Page A

the wet sand and return
     abruptly, depositing fresh seaweed and broken seashells onto the beach before the
     ebb of the ocean pulls the waves back again. Even though the sun is partially obscured
     by the clouds, there is no mistaking the summer feel of the day. It smells of salt
     and coconut lotion…and goldfish crackers.
    "Mommy, look! Look what I found!" Dean skids to a stop at my feet, dripping cold water
     onto my toes and holds his cupped hands up to my face.
    "Eww, what is it?" I ask, while catching a glimpse of something slimy in his little
     hand.
    "Gel-fish! Mommy, it's a gel-fish!" He grins at me as I push myself up to my knees
     to get a better look at what he has.
    "Do you mean jelly-fish?" I ask with a smile, sure that it must be something else
     in his hand but when I peel back his short fingers I see that he is indeed holding
     a sandy piece of jelly-fish.
    "Oh, Dean! Where'd you find this? It stays in the water; jellyfish can sting you.
     Go put it back, baby."
    I turn him around and pat his bottom as he scurries toward the shore to deposit the
     chunk of jelly into the next wave. I don't have the heart to tell him it's no longer
     alive. I wave at Shannon as she jumps through the waves a few yards to our right,
     diving under the big ones and floating on her back when the water calms. As I look
     up and down the beach, I smile at the families playing in the surf.
    Eventually Dean comes bounding back up the sand and plops down on the towel next to
     me. Another mischievous smile lights up his face.
    I sigh before asking with a crooked grin, "So, what do you have now, my little biologist?"
    He tilts his head to the side, as if challenging me to wrestle his three-year-old
     hand open. I try not to cave in too quickly but my curiosity has my full attention,
     so I tickle his side until his fingers splay open on his lap revealing a large chunk
     of bloody flesh. I recoil from his hand in horror. I would know those blue eyes anywhere
     and I start screaming.... Because he's holding his sister's face in his hands.
     
    ***
     
    The strangled sound of my voice pierced through the night air, loud enough to wake
     the whole house. Kris came stumbling into the bedroom in her over-sized sleep shirt
     just as Connor shook me awake, ripping me out of my nightmare. At first, I struggled
     against him as my body shook but he refused to let go, even after my hot tears soaked
     into his shirt. Feeling the sudden urge to throw up, I scrambled away from him and
     barely made it to the toilet in time to release my dinner.
    "Is she okay?" I heard Kris's shaky voice in the next room while I rinsed my still
     raw face off with cold water from the tap.
    "Just a bad dream, she'll be okay. Go back to bed kiddo, it's alright."
    Connor's answer was enough to send Kris stumbling groggily back to her room. His sleepy
     voice was fully loaded with hints of his Irish heritage. I loved to hear his accent;
     it was rare on account of all the time he spent in the States over the last twenty
     years.
    "I'm sorry," I mumbled when I finally left the solitary confinement of the bathroom.
    "Babe, don't apologize for having a bad dream. I've had a lot of them myself, lately."
    He pulled the covers back and scooted to the side, leaving enough room for me to climb
     under the sheets and cuddle up against him. I tried to relax and concentrate on the
     curves of Connor's body as his chest rested against my back, his legs tucked up close
     behind my thighs.
    Zoey huffed softly from down the hall, no doubt from Kris's room where she was not
     only allowed, but also encouraged to sleep on the bed every night. I shifted slightly,
     feeling comfort in the heaviness of Connor's arm draped securely around me. We sighed
     against each other silently and then something on the other side of the room caught
     my eye. My heart skipped a beat just before I squeezed my eyes tightly shut. A dark
     shadow was standing in the corner. It's not real, it's not real, I