On The Rocks

I squeeze her hand reassuringly and even my voice out. “I’m fine. Just a little sick to my stomach is all.”


That’s all it takes… the prospect that I may barf, and Casey’s attention has been diverted. She reaches past me and rolls down the window. “There… you can throw up if you need to. I’ll hold your hair.”

It’s at this moment that Hunter opens the driver’s door, and the overhead light comes on. My eyes snap to his as he gets in, and he’s still wearing that look of disdain on his face. I’m not sure if it’s for me or for Casey, but it’s probably for both of us.

Wyatt gets in on the other side but before they close the doors and the overhead light goes out, Hunter says, “Let’s get these girls dropped off, and head over to Salty’s. I’m supposed to meet Mindy over there.”

Hunter looks in the rearview mirror at me, maybe to gauge my reaction over the fact he just blatantly made it clear that I’ve been forgotten. He’s hooking up with the biggest slut in the Outer Banks, and he said it to make sure that I’m not disillusioned about how he feels.

It’s weird… but just moments ago, my heart was filled with many warm feelings for Hunter. Love, care, friendship, desire.

Now?

It’s like ice, pushing out all of my gooey feelings and replacing them with bitterness and loathing. I’m so mad at him, and mad at myself for ever thinking there could be anything there. All those years I had fancied myself in love with him, I realize in one startling moment of clarity that I am the world’s biggest idiot, and Hunter Markham is the world’s biggest asshole.

As of this moment… he means nothing to me.





Present Day





I pull into the parking lot of The Sandshark, an old, dilapidated building that sits on the Roanoke Sound just outside of Nags Head. I meet Casey and Alyssa here every Monday morning for breakfast. It’s been our tradition for the last two years since Alyssa moved permanently to the Outer Banks.

Turning the ignition off, I wait patiently while my dad’s old ‘79 Ford truck grumbles and sputters, trying desperately for some reason to keep running even though I’ve cut it off. When it finally goes silent, a moment of sadness overwhelms me as I think of my dad. This weekend will mark the third anniversary of his passing, and I miss him just as much today as I did the day he died.

Laying my head against the steering wheel, I take a deep breath and try to push away my sorrow. Today’s a big day. I’m going to put in a bid on a construction project that will, if accepted, put Ward Construction in the black and make me an honest-to-goodness, bona fide, general contractor. It’s what I’ve been seeking since I took over my dad’s business when he died.

I never thought my life would end up here… with me running a construction business.

The self-doubt and uncertainty plagues me daily, but I always remember my daddy telling me that I could do anything I set my mind to. When he died three years ago, I never thought twice about leaving college at the beginning of my senior year at Carolina and returning to the Outer Banks to take over his business. Mom thought I was crazy, but she supported me. I think she hated to see Ward Construction die along with my dad just as much as I did.