Drawn To You (Paloma's Edge) by Robin Shaw

drop these off”—I shook my hangers—“and then head to the beach. I saw some sweet pictures online.”
    “It’s really pretty. That’s where I am gonna go after I get my ice d coffee.”
    “And now we have a date.”
     
    ***
     
    Brianna and I got out of her station wagon and we ran into Rylan and Joel. We walked from the parking area to the long trail surrounded by tall luscious green trees that led to the beach. I inhaled the cool, salty air. Today was not as humid as yesterday.
    I wrapped my shawl around my shoulders and Joel walked in step with me. “Need some warming up?” He moved his hands against each other, up and down , and I couldn’t help but chuckle at him. He looked so cute with his wavy copper hair curling up a little bit at the nape of his neck.
    Brianna snickered at Joel when Rylan handed him two folding chairs, keeping his hands busy. Brianna was about to take a chair from Rylan and I was going to take one from Joel, but Rylan gestured to us that he and Joel would carry the chairs. Before Brianna had driven us here, we’d gone to Uncle Anton’s and Aunt Deborah’s, where she and Nancy had already had towels, sun block, and loose sundresses in case we needed them in a pretty tote. Brianna had been clearly surprised by Mrs. Pruitt and Nancy’s kindness towards her.
    “Thanks, Rylan,” I said as he walked beside Brianna . He notched his chin at me. “How come you guys are dateless today?”
    “They didn’t have the endurance to stick with daddy today,” Joel answered.
    Brianna sighed. “Eh, Joel. Never again refer to yourself in the third person, or as daddy.” She touched her stomach. “I almost lost my lunch right now.”
    “They wanted to get more hours of beauty sleep,” Rylan told us.
    “And Maude had to do something with her folks,” Joel groaned. “But I can play with you or Bri.” He wet his lips and flashed a mischievous smile.
    “Uh, no thanks, Joel.” Brianna swung her gaze from Rylan to me.
    Rylan shook his head. “You wouldn’t have made that offer if Gavin were with us,” he pointed out to Joel with a laugh.
    “Hell, no! I am not stupid.” Joel set the folding chairs out, gesturing for Brianna and I to take a seat. He shrugged his shoulders. “But it didn’t hurt to try.” He winked at Brianna.
    I cocked my brow at Joel. “Have you ever had a female friend?” He shot me a pointed look. “Okay, I have my answer then.” I lightly laughed.
    “How about you?” Brianna asked Rylan.
    “Yeah. And it works out best, ’cause I am not feeling them like that.” The beach near my home looked like a liquid waste site. Here, the beach water was a clear blue. I took off my flip-flops and I dug my feet into the warmth of the white sand.
    I started to put some lotion on Brianna’s back when I heard Joel groan two seats to my right. “Keep on going,” he said.
    Rylan smacked him on the side of his head, but he must have been used to it, because he didn’t even flinch.
    “Thanks, Beth. I’ll do your back now.”
    I turned around and Brianna started putting on the sun block where it was hard to reach on my back. The voices of the increasingly large crowd were at the same level as the sound of the currents.
    About an hour into sunbathing, I felt my body shift from the chair. Rylan had me over his shoulder. Squealing, Brianna tried to pull away as Joel carried her from the chair and placed her over his shoulder. I pinched Rylan’s back, but he didn’t let me go. They charged us into the water, then dunked our heads against the waves. Once Rylan thought I’d given up on getting him back from exhaustion, I tugged both of his calves and he fell into the water. Joel had gotten away before Brianna could do anything.
    Joel and Rylan held up towels big enough for two people to fit into them when Brianna and I came out of the water. Rylan met Brianna and they were both wrapped up in the towel. My teeth c hattered a little and I walked to Joel as he held his huge towel