Wrecked Read Online Free PDF Page B

damn thing to protect her. When she walked out of the house the following
morning, she’d said good riddance to both of them.
    “You look completely lost in thought,” Ethan noted as he’d
watched her expression change, her brows furrow, and her lips purse.
    “It’s nothing.” Bess lifted her head and pasted a smile on
her face. “Do you get to see your brother very often?”
    “We try to get together in the summer. He brings a different
woman here every year,” he chuckled. “He doesn’t appear to be the marrying
kind.”
    “Ah,” Bess smiled.
    “And we alternate holidays as best we can. He usually comes
here because of my work schedule. But he loves it here, almost as much as I
do.”
    “But you got the house?” Bess was curious how Ethan’s
brother thought about that.
    “Yeah. Evan is a city guy. He would suffocate out here. Too
much open space and not enough women.”
    “Gotcha,” Bess nodded.
    “Do you have siblings?”
    On the outside, Bess looked at ease sitting in the corner of
the loveseat, her long legs folded underneath her, her near-empty plate in her
hands. But unease raged on the inside as, once again, memories of her family
were brought to the forefront of her mind.
    “I have a half-brother,” she responded.
    “Older? Younger?”
    “Younger. I was twelve when he was born.”
    “Are you close?” Ethan ventured, wondering if she would open
up to him.
    “No. I haven’t seen him in… in years. I guess he’d be eleven
now?”
    Ethan tried to gauge her mood. There was a tightness in her
voice that told him it pained her to speak of her family, but he persisted.
    “So, you have a stepfather then?”
    “I did. I do not consider him family. He’s just the asshole
my mother married.”
    “Not a nice guy then,” Ethan said, knowing it was time to
change the subject. “How was your dinner?”
    “Excellent!” Bess replied immediately, happy not to talk any
more of them. “I can’t believe I ate so much.”
    “Well there’s plenty more for you to eat tomorrow.”
    “Thank you, Ethan. You have been very kind to me and I don’t
know how to thank you.”
    “No need to thank me. Just get well. That’s all I want,” he
smiled. “I should get going. I have an early shift in the morning and you need
to get your rest.” Ethan stood and took their plates through to the sink,
rinsed them off and placed them on the bottom rack of the dishwasher. “I’ll
lock the door on my way out. Sleep well, Bess.”

4.
    It was determined that Bess would not need chemo or
radiation. She was one of the very lucky ones. She’d been admitted into
the drug trial being overseen by Dr. Eric Ryder at a moments’ notice, and was
fortunate to not experience any of the possible side effects, so far. Plus, the
drug company was paying all of her medical expenses. Yes, Bess most definitely
considered herself to be lucky, indeed.
    Her strength was returning, her incisions healing, and she
was taking shorter and shorter naps every day. Bess took walks along the cliff,
feeling the salt water spray against her cheeks and the wind whip through her
hair. Regina stopped by every few days to check on her and Ethan had brought by
a trunk full of groceries to fill the fridge and the pantry. If it wasn’t for
the unknown that awaited her once the trial was over, she might have thought
she was happy.
    Happy . One gorgeous afternoon, Bess sat on the porch
swing, a cold glass of lemonade in her hand, her sunglasses sitting on her
nose, enjoying the blue sky and the warm sun, she contemplated the idea of
being happy. She couldn’t remember actually feeling unadulterated joy… ever. The
realization was the saddest feeling in the world. What were the odds that she
would experience happiness in her future?
    Despair overtook her as the minutes ticked by. Homeless.
Alone. Almost penniless. She was still sitting on the swing as the sun began to
set, her cheeks crusty from dried tears and her eyes bloodshot red.