Chapter Nineteen: Art by the Beach

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Art by the Beach

Brad woke up before Bias. The young man lay on his side, dark hair spread on the pillow like an ink stain, snoring softly. Brad watched him for a moment in the scant, early-morning sunlight that filtered through the window, then slowly untangled himself from the sheets and slid out of bed. In just a pair of sweats, he left Bias sleeping and walked down the hall into the kitchen.

The house was nice. Two bedrooms, each with their own full bath; large front room with built-in bookshelves and a brick fireplace; kitchen/dining room with stainless steel appliances and a butcher block table in the “shabby chic” style where people paid a lot of money for things made to look old and worn. The house was literally on the beach, the back deck stretching out like a pier, with stairs that led down to the sand only a few feet from where the ocean washed up on shore in gently rolling waves.

The clock in the kitchen told him it was not quite seven, and he busi