บททั้งหมดของ Lay Me Down: บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 29

“What do you think of it?” Price asked.She stood still and let the water wash over her ankles. It tickled as it pulled back, scratching the soles of her feet. “It’s wonderful. I love it.”“Yeah.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. He pried his foot from his flip-flop and dug his big toe into the sand. “It’s great here. I used to come—a lot.”There was something in his tone of voice that caught her attention. Like there was more to the story—and he wanted her to ask. “Yeah?” She matched his strides, walking side by side with Price through the water. “Why used to?”He took so long to answer that she thought he wasn’t going to. “My mom brought us here the first Sunday of every month.”She’d never heard him speak about his mom. She pictured Price and Lisa playing at the beach with a woman. The image in her head matched the other c

“Where are we going now?” Kylee asked as they exited the cafe and started down the sidewalk, moving farther away from the boardwalk. Not that she really cared. Price had taken her hand again, his fingers slowly running over each knuckle. They could go nowhere, as far as she was concerned.“The bike shop.” His eyes lit up. “I haven't been in months. Come on.”He pulled her down the street, turning a corner and stopping in front of a store with a bike tire hanging from the front, spinning in the wind. The name rippled on the awning. It took Kylee a few seconds to make out the words, “North End Cyclery.”“I didn’t know you ride,” Kylee said, squinting up at the flashing spokes. “Actually, I didn’t even know you have a bike.”“I do,” he said, his voice slightly miffed. “I just haven’t ridden it since we moved.”“Why?” Kylee focu

Kylee choked back a gasp. “Yeah, okay,” she said, aware of the prickly burning creeping up her face and into her hairline. Hot, it was so hot in here. She resisted the urge to run from the store screaming. She pushed opened the door, annoyed by the jingling bell.Price paced the sidewalk in front of the store. He stopped and stared at her when she appeared, his rigid expression relaxing. “I thought maybe you wouldn’t come out.”“Okay, that lady was weird.” She stepped up to him, stopping a few inches from him and looking up into his face. “But I don’t think she’d get away with kidnapping me.”“What did she say to you?”Kylee shrugged. “Nothing that made any sense. Let’s go back to the beach.”Price found a shady spot where they watched the volleyball game. He lay down in the sand, taking Kylee’s hand and tugging her down next to him. She didn’t try to resist, relishing the warm feeling bubbling up in her chest.“What time is it?” she asked after what seemed like a few minutes but was

Her parents were eating without her and hadn’t even set a place for her. Her mom poked at a piece of chicken with her fork, her eyes tired and droopy. Kylee paused, surprised to note she’d gotten a haircut. Her dark blond hair hung around her face. But it wasn’t styled, and the cut didn’t flatter her. Bill shoveled his food into his mouth, his perpetual sneer in place. In the kitchen, flies buzzed over the sink full of dirty dishes.“Theresa, you know how to use salt, woman?” He kicked at her chair leg.She lifted her eyes to glower at him. “Next time salt your own food.”Kylee cleared her throat. “Sorry I wasn’t here. I needed to get out for a bit.” She waited for a reprimand,