Unbroken

“They’re living their dream,” I explained, yanking the liquorice from his hand and taking a giant bite of my own. “They’re captains in their vessels, and you ain’t a captain if you’re running to the front, throwing lines at the guys at the fill up station.”

He eyed the boat coming in, noticing the mature woman at the front as she threw the rope to the dock where a worker stood, catching it. “They could at least make them wear a bikini or something.”

I gave him a pointed look. “If he’s gonna make his wife wear a bikini, that jerk could strip down to his briefs, too.”

“Oh, yeah?” He gestured at the sweaty, ungroomed man in the pilothouse. “How much to see that man in his underwear, Skye?”

“Ew. I’ll pass.”

I demolished his liquorice and stood up, dusting my jean shorts off. “Come on. Let’s find something else to do.”

Hunter leaned back on his elbows instead, staring up at me, one brown eye closed from the sun. “There’s nothing to do, Nugget.”

Nugget. Because I was more than half his size now, and he never let me forget it.

“We’ll find something to do. Just want time to pass before Leo gets back.”

Hunter’s gaze flicked to the ocean. A slight frown forming at his lips. “He won’t be the same.”

I looked down at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“After a summer with all those stuffy fucks, he’s too good for us now. Probably forgot all about us.”

I glared, teeth clenching as I bent over and scooped a pile of rocks. I said nothing as I stomped to the shoreline and threw rock after rock in, my swings hard and angry. My arm fell tiredly at my side as I looked out, lips pinched together. Terror gripped my guts, churning them at the thought of Leo discarding us.

“I wasn’t trying to upset you,” Hunter said quietly from behind me, remorse thick in his voice as he approached. “Just preparing you. Preparingme, too.”

I shook my head slightly. “You’re always preparing for the worst, aren’t you, Hunt?”

I felt him come nearer, felt his front against my back. His arms came around me, hugging at my waist, tugging me back against him. Another huge growth spurt had him standing a head taller than me. He rested his chin on the top of my head, murmuring softly, “Always, Skye.”

Shaking me from my thoughts was atap, tapfrom my window.

Heart leaping, I raced to it. I lifted it open, catching Hunter’s shaggy black hair as he poked his head into the room, looking up at me. “Hey, Nugget.”

I looked past him, searching hopefully. “You with Leo?”

“He ain’t back yet.”

I frowned, stepping back as he climbed into the room with such practiced ease. I immediately raised a finger to my lips. “My mom is still up.”

He kicked off his shoes, knowing I hated when he wore them in my room—it was the only clean room in the home—and slid them under my bed, smirking at me. “Oh, I know. She’s been ripping that new girl apart. I can hear her from my bedroom, and I’m on the other side of the park.”

I groaned, shaking my head. “She doesn’t know when to shut up.”

He smirked, running a hand through his shaggy hair. It was at his chin now, in complete disarray. “She’s going to get her ass kicked.”

“Mom has too many people on her side.”

“I’m talking about the new chick. She’s been walking around—”

“In tiny shorts, supposedly asking all the husbands for help, I know,” I cut in, chewing my bottom lip impatiently.

“You don’t believe that?”

“I think the women here are full of crap, but never mind that. Why hasn’t Leo come back yet?”

He shrugged. “House was still dark. Maybe they’re late.”