Summer Ever After (Windswan Lake) by A.J. Wynter

Author:A.J. Wynter [Wynter, A.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-15T16:00:00+00:00

NINE

MAX

Washing off the city. That’s what I called my first swim in Windswan Lake after being at the office. There was something about diving into the lake that cleared the slate. I was no longer Max Starling, businessman. I was Max, the guy who knew the names of all the people at the marina. The guy who had formed friendships with people from all over Windswan Lake, regardless of how many zeroes were in their bank account.

I set my towel on the dock next to me and Fanta rolled onto his back, basking on the dock in a beam of sunlight. Closing my eyes, I did the same, stretching my hands over my head, and turning my face to the sun. Every year I started to hate the city even more. I didn’t care about the restaurants, the nightlife, the women. It was so weird. I was bored in the city that could offer me everything, but when I came to the cottage, where the loudest sound that morning was the water lapping against the dock and a faraway loon call, I felt energized.

After consulting the thermometer, it confirmed what I already suspected – that the water had reached its peak summer temperature, a refreshing seventy degrees. I dove in and swam as far as I could before my lungs felt like they were going to explode. When I surfaced, Jess was standing on the dock. She held up a cup of coffee.

Back in the lounge chair with the towel wrapped around my shoulders, I sat and sipped my morning coffee. “I can’t believe you’re up,” I said.

Jessica moaned and draped her arm across her forehead. “I need to jump in the lake to get rid of this hangover.”

“Do you need assistance with that?” I jerked on the chair, threatening to get up and throw her in.

My sister didn’t flinch. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“You’re right. You would probably throw up on me.” The coffee and the swim had left me feeling energized.

“Nah. I’m only medium hungover.” Jessica took a sip of her green juice and chased it with black coffee. “I’ll bet Triple J and Ramona are feeling a hell of a lot worse.”

The last thing I wanted to do after arriving in Windswan was pick up my sister and her drunken friends at the Stone Oven. “You four were a mess.”

Jessica sat up and pulled her sunglasses down her nose to look at me with her bloodshot eyes. “Don’t you lecture me, Max. You and your buddies were ten times worse – especially when you hung out with the construction guys.”

It was true. I had done my fair share of partying, but when I walked into the Stone Oven and saw the scene in front of me, I was glad that those days were over. Sure, I still drank here and there, but after the accident, and the death of a friend of mine, I hadn’t looked at booze the same way. That was the main reason that I’d gone to pick up Jessica.

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