A Kiss of Sand and Sorrow by Scott William Carter

Author:Scott William Carter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scott William Carter

Gage was still hunched over his phone at the dining table when he heard a familiar sound outside—the obnoxious grumble of a 1600 cc engine that more than a few people had compared to the death rattle of a lifelong smoker in the final stages of lung cancer.

As he stepped into the chill air, his boxy, mustard-yellow old friend, better known to the world as a '71 Volkswagen, skidded to a stop on the gravel. The smell of burned oil wafted over him. Alex rolled down his window and leaned outside. His gray mustache was the same color as his felt riding cap.

"I knew you'd still be up," he said.

"I'm not paying for delivery, if that's what you're after," Gage said. "I could have gotten the van myself in the morning."

"I was afraid you might report it stolen before then," Alex said. "Come on, let's go."

"Go? Go where? It's two in the morning!"

"Everywhere, my friend. Until we find her. Until we find both of them. Just like me, you know you're not going to sleep, so we might as well be doing something useful. Now, are you going to get in, or am I going to drive off without you?"

There was a lot of muttering and grumbling, and a few minute’s delay while Gage popped back inside to use the bathroom and fetch his coat and walking sticks, but Gage eventually climbed into the passenger seat. Alex put the van in gear, and they rattled down the hill.

"What is it?" Alex asked.

"What?"

"You look like you were just punched in the gut. And you didn't insist on driving. For your own van, that's almost unheard of. Spill the beans."

Gage looked at him. They were at the bottom of the hill. The harsh light from the gas station deepened the dark bags under Alex's eyes. A sedan swept past, its headlights casting their shadows along the ceiling of the van.

"I just learned something about Jo," Gage said. "Or about her father, really. He committed suicide at Secret Beach when she was nineteen years old."

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