Barefoot Bay: Silhouettes on the Sand (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Chris Keniston Read Free Book Online

feel the waves of tension emanating from her. She stood nearby in that same rigid stance he'd grown accustomed to seeing. He'd even begun to tense up himself. "Ours is the villa closest to the main resort. If you don't mind, it's a very short walk, or I could have them bring around a golf cart."
    "I'd prefer to walk. Normally I run in the morning, and I haven't been able to the last few days."
    Chase waved her through the rear double doors and the path to their villa. "Nate raves about running on the beach here. It's very quiet and very private. If you'd like, we can do an early morning run tomorrow."
    "That would be nice. Is six too early?"
    "The sun doesn't rise until almost seven."
    "I know. I like to watch it come over the horizon."
    "Then six o'clock it is." From where they stood, he could see the row of villas dotted along the beachfront perimeter of the resort. "We'll be staying in Bay Laurel. The Colonel and Mimsy are next door in Saffron. Mitch and Greg are in the two after that, then Beth has the one-bedroom villa tucked into a garden at the very end."
    "You mentioned other family. Who else will be coming?"
    "The bets are still out on whether or not my father will show up. He and my grandfather are having a bit of a snit over Father’s wife number four. My mother is due to arrive Thursday evening. This will be the first Ivory family shindig she'll have attended since … well, for a long time. As for the rest of the Ivorys, my father is one of six children, and this is the first wedding since Mitch’s, so there should be a good-size crowd, except for my uncle Jim, the eldest, who was killed in a training accident during the first Gulf War."
    "I'm sorry for your loss."
    "Thank you. I was too young to remember him, but his two sons will be here."
    "Not their wives?"
    "They're not married."
    "Oh."
    "That's one of the Colonel's complaints. Most of his grandchildren circle about on either side of thirty, and yet none are married."
    "Really? Out of how many cousins?"
    "I have twenty-one first cousins, four siblings, and two half sisters. One from wife number two, while Dad was still married to my mother—"
    "Oh, dear. That sounds messy."
    "It was. My grandfather was less than happy. I don't think my mother has ever fully recovered. But the affair apparently lasted much longer than the marriage did. My other half sister"—he felt his cheeks tug at the edges of his mouth—"Siobhan. Her mom's Irish. Maura fell for Dad's charms and got pregnant before she figured out Dad didn't have a clue how to be a faithful husband. Siobhan is pretty cool. She's only a teenager, but she's got lots of spunk. She's all Ivory with an Irish twist."
    "You really like her."
    "I really love her. Family is important to Ivorys—no matter how connected or how much of an ass the father is. It's why the Colonel has become so crazy about finding everyone spouses."
    "And why you felt the need to bring a date."
    "More like a distraction. A little bit of smoke and mirrors. I'm hoping, if he thinks I'm seeing someone, he'll focus on any of my other siblings or cousins."
    "And how many of these cousins are attending?"
    "Frankly I lost count, but I think it will be near a full house. Every time we have a birth or baptism, the event becomes a borderline circus of Ivorys."
    "Baptisms? I thought you said all the cousins were single and teetering on thirty?"
    "I did. A few of the younger aunts and uncles got married a little older and have younger kids, and, of course, both my half-sisters are in their teens. I remember their baptisms very well. I think the Colonel went especially hog wild on that one to make sure everyone understood the girls were as much an Ivory as my mom's kids."
    "Did any of your other aunts or uncles have second families?"
    He nodded. "My uncle Doug has two kids in their late teens too, but my aunt Margie passed away from cancer. For a while there he came pretty damn close to crawling into a grave beside his wife."
    "But then he met