Clallam Bay (A Fresh Start #2) by L. C. Morgan Page B

chocolate chunk. Wednesday had become official cookie day, and while the kids loved them, there were still a couple left over. If they kept it up things were going to have to change. Or maybe I just needed to make a few less cookies if I was going to end up eating the extra. God knew I didn’t need them.
    I was dead set on running when I got home. But when I pulled up to check the mail and found his letter hidden in a pile of bills and credit card offers, that plan flew right out the window. There was no need to exercise. My heart was already speeding and my lungs were already burning as if I already had.
    The envelope was long and stained with what I could only assume were dots of dried sea water. The salt sparkled in the sun, scratching across the crinkled parchment when I wiped my hand across the front. The blue ink bled and blurred to the point I could hardly read it.
    Sliding a finger under the flap, I stopped myself and sat it on the pile of mail in my passenger seat. I didn’t want to read it sitting in my car. I wanted to feel the breeze on my face and breathe in the smell of the ocean. Same as him when I imagined him writing it.
    I snuck glances at my seat as I drove down the driveway. My fingers were itching but I wanted to do this right. I wanted to savor it. Who knew if or when he’d write again? Who knew he would to begin with?
    I parked and unpacked my car same as I always did every day after school. I set the papers to be graded on my living room table along with my stickers and red pen to look over a few until the antsy feeling went away. But it wouldn’t. I couldn’t concentrate. Wouldn’t stop looking at the pile of mail sitting by the door.
    Throwing down my pen, I made a glass of tea before grabbing the letter and heading outside to try and relax on my porch swing. A few sips and I took a deep breath, closing my eyes to better appreciate how the wind blew lightly across my face before opening the envelope.
    The letter inside was just as stained with smudges of ink here and there. I skimmed the words once before sitting back to read them.
    Hailey,
    You probably heard we missed the worst of the storm. A few of the guys got tossed around pretty good but nobody was thrown overboard, which makes for a promising start.
    Lowering the letter to my lap, I looked out over the bay and shook my head before continuing.
    I won’t tell you not to worry since I’m pretty sure you will anyway. Who knows, maybe you should. I kind of like it and I don’t know if you realized or not, but I still have your plate.
    I smiled despite the fact he wasn’t funny at all. Because he was right. I would worry. Now even more so because he didn’t tell me not to. What did he have? Some kind of sick sense of humor to better deal with the very real possibility he could die out there? Well, I didn’t appreciate it. And the next part only made me feel slightly better.
    In all seriousness, I meant to keep it. I figured you couldn’t actually leave until I gave it back, so I’m probably never going to.
    Anyway, we’re getting ready to set off. I’ll be sending this out next time we stop. Don’t worry about writing me back. It’s tough to stick to a schedule out here. I’d probably end up missing anything you sent by a day or two. And I just couldn’t have the not knowing weighing on me like that. The days are already long enough.
    Coll
    Glancing over the words again, I looked out over the bay, knowing exactly what he meant about the days feeling long.
    *
    “What do you want to do? Watch a movie?” Alyssa asked, flipping through the channels on my TV.
    I shook my head, eyeing the mail I’d brought in earlier. There was a letter in there. I saw it when I emptied out the mailbox, but couldn’t read it since Alyssa had followed me home after school. I didn’t dare open it in front of her out of fear that she’d ask a million questions and then try to read it. I knew she’d want to. But this just wasn’t something I was