Page 47 of Wrecked By You

Everyone on the boat cheered.

His father took off again, going back and forth in the boat, and then he turned in a steep curve so the boat took on air. Then it started to flip, but it came back down.

“I’m done, Grandpa!” Trent yelled.

His grandpa slowed, and then they were pulling us back to the boat.

I hugged Trent. “Are you okay?”

He nodded with a grin. “We were brave, but I had him come back for you.”

I hugged him and grinned at Damon. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

Trent snuggled into me. “You’re welcome.”

For the rest of the afternoon, all of the adults except his parents took turns surfing, which was really fun. Even I got up on the board and stayed in the wake, with everyone cheering me on.

We got back to the dock around six at night, and everyone was starving. We loaded all the stuff into different trucks and headed out to Damon’s parents’ place. I’d brought extra clothes, and I showered quickly before going and helping Nora prepare dinner. The boys were outside, making sure the boat was cleaned off and drying everything out.

Kayla came into the kitchen and turned on some light rock-’n’-roll music. All of us began dancing in the kitchen. I found myself lost in fun with these women.

Right before we were ready to eat, McCrae showed up. He was done working for the day. I could tell he wasn’t his usual self, and I worried that something was on his mind.

“Did something happen?” I asked. “If you can tell me.”

He turned to me and tried to put on a happy face. “Nope. The same old stuff. I guess I’m just concerned. I’m thinking we need to get those cameras up at your place sooner than later.”

I was grateful for all the Armstrongs.

Damon’s mother gathered the family for dinner. We all sat and prayed over the food.

After a bit, Damon asked, “Are you okay if I go with the guys and we put up the security system? I don’t really want to take myboys, because I don’t want to alert them that something’s wrong. Do you want to stay here with my mom and Kayla and Ella and the boys?”

Kayla, who was sitting on my other side, grinned. “Stay here with us. We’ll watch some chick flick and put on cartoons in the other room for the boys.”

I was exhausted, so I agreed. “Thank you so much.”

The men left, and the boys ended up snuggling by me and Kayla. We watchedSleepless in Seattlewith Nora and Ella, snuggling under the blankets on their big couch. I wondered again what it would be like to be part of this family. To feel so protected and loved. I felt myself falling asleep. I couldn’t stop it.

Twenty-Two

Damon

After we got the cameras set up, Noah got everything set up straight to people’s phones. I still needed to send the feed to her phone, but my brothers and I were ready to receive any notifications of movement at the property.

When we came home and found everyone asleep on the couch, it was well past midnight. My parents insisted that everyone just stay at the house. Isla disagreed at first, but then she gave in when my mother told her she had a room set up for her.

Sunday morning came early with the boys coming into my room. I held my boys for a minute, and then I said, “Let’s get up and make breakfast for everyone.” I was pretty sure most people wouldn’t be up by now.

I paused next to Isla’s room and peeked in on her. She was still fast asleep, and I was happy to see her look so peaceful. I checked the security app, and there were no notifications.

The boys and I padded our way down to the kitchen, and I got out eggs and milk and some bread for French toast. The boys helped me start getting everything together.

My mom came out into the kitchen. “Do we have some elves making us breakfast so early?”

Jason laughed and hugged my mom. “Elves are only at Christmas.”

Trent took the cue and hugged her as well. “Yeah, Grandma, you’re silly.”