Chapters (33)
He shook his head. “We all live with the mistakes we make, don’t we, Nanna?”
“Yes we do,” she said softly.
They’d reached a shaded edge of the beach, where a pair of refurbished lounge chairs sat almost tucked in the woods. “And here is Tommy’s favorite napping spot. And I say that with complete sarcasm.”
“I remember another red-headed boy who hated to take naps, too.”
“I need to check on a build just down the way, see if the pillars of this dock we’re working on held overnight. Think you could rock a baby to sleep?”
“I have some experience with that.”
As Lynn settled in the chair, William handed her the baby, who was already starting to whine. She held him, already humming in his ear.
“I’ll be right back,” William said, kissing her on the forehead and jogging down the beach.
Tommy raised his head and began to cry. Lynn swayed back and forth.
“Blackbird singing in the dead of night,” she sang softly.
With William rounding a bend in the beach and disappearing, Tommy began to wail.
“Take these broken wings and learn to fly…”
The boy was strong, trying to push himself up, reaching for the direction of his father.
“All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise,” she sang a bit louder.
He’d reached full tantrum mode, his sweet rounded cheeks flushed, his eyes narrowed fighting sleep.
“Blackbird singing in the dead—“
The thunderclap jolted her as she saw the lightning bolt flash on the horizon. The boy screamed, and the lightning flared again. A strong wind picked up, tossing the trees around them. As his little fist curled almost painfully on the sagging skin of her arm, the crack of thunder resounded across the water, now beginning to churn in the distance.
My God. My God.
Lynn leaned in, their foreheads touching. “Listen to me. No sir. No sir, you will not.”
His eyes, the deepest of blue, then began to close. He laid his head on her shoulder, whimpered once more, and sighed.
Lynn looked across the water, now calming. She closed her eyes.
A storm was coming. But it would not be today.
Also by Jeremy Finley
ALSO BY JEREMY FINLEY
The Darkest Time of Night
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeremy Finley’s investigative reporting has resulted in criminal convictions, legislative hearings before the U.S. Congress, the payout of more than a million dollars to scam victims, and the discovery of missing girls. The winner of twenty regional Emmys and Edward R. Murrow Awards, he is also the winner of a national Headliner Award, a national Edward. R Murrow Award and is a two-time recipient of the IRE Award (recognizing the best in investigative journalism). He is the chief investigative reporter at the NBC station in Nashville, Tennessee, where he lives with his wife and daughters. You can sign up for email updates here.
