1
Aiden Black steered his Audi RS onto the grassy cliff overlooking the beach, and climbed out of the car. He wanted to breathe in the sea air, see if it tasted as good as he remembered. His mom had always said the ocean was a little sweeter in Angel Sands. But everything had been a little sweeter in those days.
Until it wasn’t.
He didn’t want to think about that now. He walked toward the cliff edge, his hair lifting in the breeze. The sun was shining brightly, reflecting off the foam-topped waves as they crashed into the shore. He scanned the long stretch of sand, trying to ignore the memories attempting to creep into his brain. Those long youthful days of surfing. The even longer teenage nights around the makeshift bonfire. It all seemed so long ago.
A sudden movement caught his eye. He turned to see a woman in the distance, running along the water line. As she darted in and out of the ocean, her long blonde hair rippled in waves behind her. For the shortest of moments he let himself believe it was her. Pretended he could hear her laughter lifting in the wind. Pretended he could see her running toward him, her smile brightening her face the way she always brightened his day.
On the beach below, the woman turned and called out. Somebody else appeared. A child? Not her, then. The boy was young, but not that young. Maybe seven or eight. He ran toward her, his arms held up in front of him. As soon as he reached her, she lifted him up, swinging him around.
Aiden felt as though he was an intruder, seeing something he shouldn’t. The scene playing out before him made his chest ache. Shaking his head, he pulled his sunglasses down over his eyes and turned back to the Audi, climbing in and cranking the music loud.
He wasn’t here for the beach. He wasn’t here for the girl, either. Not even if she was still living around here. He was here for business, not to reminisce about old times, let alone old flames.
It was important to remember that.
* * *
“Mom, can we watch a movie tonight? And have some popcorn too?”
“Sure we can. What movie were you thinking about, Nick?”
Brooke Newton kept her eyes on the road as she swung into the long driveway leading up to the house, her lips curling into a smile at the thought of a night with her son. Between his school and her college work, not to mention the volunteer work she did at the local animal shelter, having a free Friday evening was almost unheard of.
“Can we watch ‘The Greatest Showman’ again? I like the songs.”
Brooke opened her window and pressed in the keycode to the gates, waiting as they slowly swung open. With her foot on the break, she glanced back at her eight-year-old son who was smiling and swinging his legs – still covered in sand from their impromptu visit to the cove on their way home from school. Yes, she’d be working on her assignment late into the night thanks to their detour, but it had been worth it.
Every moment with her son was worth it.
The gates had fully opened, revealing a sprawling white stucco mansion set on the clifftop, sun rays bouncing off the sparkling windows. But rather than head toward the circular fountain with angels and cherubs adorning the front driveway, Brooke steered her Nissan toward the service road to her bungalow at the back.
It was a pool house, really, built for guests of her parents when they first had the house designed back in the early 1990s. But for the past eight years it had been their home.
Compared to the main house it was sparse. Though it was finished with the same white stucco as her parents’ home, the low red-tiled building consisted of two small bedrooms, a bathroom, and a main living area – big enough for Brooke and her son. And every time she pulled up outside she felt grateful for having this safe haven, even if the cost was sometimes more than the meager rent she paid to her parents.
As she put the car into park, Brooke finally responded to her son. “Let’s put some dinner on and change into our pajamas while it’s cooking. That way we can watch the movie as soon as we’ve finished up dinner.” She turned again, watching as Nick unfastened his seatbelt and tugged at the door knob. “And tomorrow, we both have to do our homework.”
“Ugh, I hate homework.” He jumped onto the graveled driveway as Brooke climbed out to join him. “Hey look, there’s Grandma.” He started to wave. “Grandma, we went to the beach,” he shouted. “Mom chased me into the ocean and I got my legs wet.”
Lillian Newton smiled at her grandson as she walked toward them from the main house. As always, she was immaculate. Her hair was perfectly styled, and her make-up beautifully applied on her unwrinkled face. Her pale grey skirt and pink blouse were modest and still emphasized her slim figure – something Brooke had inherited from her.
Glancing down at her own attire – a pair of cut-off jeans and a tank – Brooke took a deep breath and arranged her face into a smile.
“Hello, darling,” her mom said to Nick, leaning down to press her lips against his cheek. Her body was angled to make sure the sand which clung to his legs and shorts had no possibility of touching her clothes. “How was school?”
“Good.” Nick shrugged. “We’re having a movie night. Mom promised we can watch ‘The Greatest Showman’ again.” His eyes sparkled. “In our pajamas.”
Lillian brought her cool gaze up to Brooke, her nose wrinkling as she took in her daughter’s attire. “Remind me to call my personal shopper. It looks like your closet needs an overhaul.”
Brooke took another deep breath. She should be used to this by now. “I was at the animal shelter, and then I went to the beach,” she said, keeping her
voice as even as she could. “That’s why I’m wearing some old clothes. There’s no point in wearing anything else. They’d get ruined.”
“I don’t know why you spend so much time at the shelter.” Lillian wrinkled her nose. “All the things you could do, all the contacts we have, and you prefer clearing up animal muck.”
“It’s animal poo,” Nick said helpfully. “And it stinks.”
Lillian smiled indulgently at him, and Brooke felt the stiffness in her spine relax. She and her mom might have their differences, but they both loved Nick with a passion.
“Anyway, there’s a reason for my visit. I’ve been calling you for the past hour.”
Brooke thought of her phone casually thrown into her purse. The only time she checked it regularly was when she wasn’t with Nick. When they were together – and she knew he was okay – she preferred to spend time with him rather than staring at a screen.
“I’m sorry. I haven’t checked it for a while.” She passed her keys to Nick. “Why don’t you go open up the door for me?” she asked her son. “And remember to go wash your legs.”
“If you let us buy you a new car you could connect your phone to Bluetooth. That way you’d actually answer when I call.” She looked over her shoulder at Brooke’s old Nissan. “I hate having this pile of junk parked behind our house. I’m sure everyone must think it belongs to the maid.”
“You do enough for us already.” Brooke shot her mom a conciliatory smile. She could feel this conversation slipping and sliding into their familiar refrain. “And anyway, I like to pay my own way as much as I can. Maybe I’ll upgrade once I finish my degree.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe we can buy you a car as a graduation present.”