Page 576 of One More Kiss
Chapter6
Rexton
What was I thinking?Crawling into bed next to her is a bad idea. I should keep my distance. We’re clearly both grieving. The last thing either one of us needs is some vacation hookup. Ginger would call it a vacation booty call. I smile at that thought. I need to call her. I had only texted her twice since I got here. Once to tell her I landed and once to tell her I scattered the ashes.
“Are you close to your sister…Rylin?” I ask, remembering her name.
“Yes,” Scarlett replies as she lies facing me, her hand tucked under her face. She looks adorable, all wrapped up under the blanket. “How about you?”
“Ginger and I are very close. I’m just a lot older than her. It’s only been the last few years that we’ve hung out as adults. What about you and Rylin?”
“Yep. I mean…not always, but we are now.” I wonder what she means by that but I decide not to press it. If she wants to share, she will.
“Was she here when you visited before?” I ask.
She nods. “Yep. She was just a little kid though, so she doesn’t remember it like I do.”
“Did your family travel a lot?”
She purses her lips as she considers it. “I guess so. I mean, not like all the time, but we came here, and we went to the Bahamas once, Canada, Mexico, a few other states, and Costa Rica. What about you?”
“No. We…didn’t have a lot of money,” I answer honestly.
Her silence makes me wonder if she feels bad for me.
“Money…doesn’t buy happiness,” she finally replies.
“That’s very true,” I agree. “But it does buy things.”
“I suppose, but not the most important things.”
“Such as?” I ask.
“People, life, more time…death, and taxes,” she says in a serious voice.
I want to ask her more, but my eyes are growing heavy. “Death and taxes,” I whisper. “Goodnight, Scarlett.”
“Goodnight, Rexton,” she replies as I feel her shift and roll away from me. Something about that movement leaves me feeling empty as if she was filling a void I didn’t want to admit that I had. Smelling her rose-scented lotion is the last thing I remember before falling asleep.
* * *
“Dad! No!”
The scream wakes me from a dead sleep. My eyes fly open, and I find Scarlett shaking.
“Scarlett?” I ask.
“No!” she screams again. Shit, she’s having a nightmare.
I gently reach over and touch her arm. Her eyes fly open, and she gasps. It’s only then that I notice the tears that are streaming down her face and sweat on her brow, visible even in the dim light of the room.
“Hey, it was only a nightmare. You’re alright,” I say gently as I squeeze her arm.
Her hand goes to her chest as she slows her breathing and looks around the room wide-eyed as if she’s seen a ghost.
“Scarlett?” I ask. She slowly looks over at me. I can’t help myself, I reach out and wipe a tear off her cheek. “I’m right here.”
I watch as she visibly releases another breath, and her body relaxes. She wipes her eyes and looks down. “Sorry…I haven’t had a nightmare in years…I…” She trails off as I put my finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at me.
