Shark Beach by Chris Jameson

Author:Chris Jameson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

* * *

Corinne stood in the living room, surrounded by tropical artwork in pastel colors, beneath a bamboo ceiling fan. All she needed was a Mai Tai to complete the picture of the island vacation. Instead, she stared at her husband and tried not to wish he hadn’t come along on this vacation.

“That’s a terrible idea,” she told him, instantly regretting the sting in her voice. “It can’t possibly be safe.”

Rick winced. She could see that he wanted to snap at her, but instead he nodded. “I get why you’d be concerned, but think about it. If there’s any danger, it’s here on the island. What could be safer right now than being on the water?”

Corinne frowned. “I can’t believe this guy is even operating his tours today. What if there are sunken boats? He could hit something. How many paying customers can he hope to get?”

“Zero if he cancels everything.” Rick threw up his hands. “Babe, listen, this vacation is over in a few days. The storm is a disaster for the people here, but once the cleanup is finished, they’ll still be here. We’ll be gone. I’d like to salvage as much of our time here as we can, and that means—”

The front door opened and the kids tromped in. Emma led the way, loudly running down the list of her teachers at school and how much she hated each one on a scale from one to ten. Jesse trailed behind her, beach towel draped around his neck, patiently listening to her rant. Kelsey came last, still brushing sand off her feet.

“Is there food?” Kelsey asked, turning hopeful eyes to her mother.

“If you mean ‘Are you making lunch?’” Corinne said, “sure. I’ll make you a grilled cheese. Who else wants one?”

Jesse’s hand shot up. Emma raised hers apologetically, at least courteous enough to realize she was old enough to make her own damn grilled cheese sandwich. Corinne didn’t mind. She had taught her kids a certain amount of independence, and they were pretty good about everything except preparing a meal. Unfortunately, they were expert snackers, so she didn’t mind cooking for them if it meant preventing them from eating too much junk.

Across the glass coffee table from her, Rick raised his hand, smiling innocently.

“Seriously?” she asked.

“Well, I mean, if you’re going to get the grilled cheese assembly line fired up.”

Corinne rolled her eyes. Times like these, she could almost forget how often she wanted to strangle him. “It’s a good thing you haven’t forgotten how to be charming.”

The door opened again, allowing Jenn and Matti inside.

“What’s up?” Matti said, glancing around at them.

“Mom’s making grilled cheeses!” Kelsey said happily.

Jenn grinned and cocked an eyebrow at her. “Is she? That’s so sweet of you.”

Corinne shook her head. “I’m going to murder you all.”

“I’ll help,” Matti said. “With the sandwiches, not the murders. The kids need to get plates and serve drinks.”

“Fair enough,” Jesse replied.

“We’ll have to make it quick if we want to see the dolphins,” Rick said.

Corinne shot him a dark look.

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