In the Waning Light by Loreth Anne White Read Free Book Online Page B

thump thump thump in the wind, accompanied by the low, metronomic moan of the foghorns.
    As lightning cracked out over the bay, he caught sight of a hooded figure in a glistening wet coat running along the fence above the small harbor, and ducking into a camper fitted onto a dark truck. A light went on inside the camper, but the blinds were drawn.
    Blake watched for a few moments longer. No one in their right mind would be out on a camping trip now. Had to be a traveler passing through.
    “Dad!” Noah’s voice came from the top of the stairs. “You coming to read to me, already? You promise d ! ”
    Lucy bounded back up the stairs at the sound of his son’s voice.
    Blake hesitated, watching as a shadow moved behind the camper blinds. Lightning cracked again and thunder boomed, the sound rumbling like a giant off into the dark night. He wondered if that rig would even be there come morning, or if the occupants might decamp before paying. It didn’t matter. His priority right this minute was Noah. He’d learned this the hard way. Way too hard—and reading bedtime stories was one of the few real connections he had with his eight-year-old son at the moment.
    “Sure, kid,” he called up. “You better be all tucked in by the time I get up there!”
    The thumping of socked feet sounded on the upstairs landing, followed by a skittering of dog claws. Blake clicked off the lights downstairs. He’d check in the newcomers tomorrow, if the rig was still there.
    Once he was upstairs and had snugged back into pillows propped against the headboard, Noah cuddled under the covers next to him, Lucy lying like a heavy log on their feet, Blake cleared his throat theatrically, and began, “Once upon a time—”
    “Oh jeeze, that’s for babies , Dad. Read the proper story.”
    Blake smiled, just a little. It was rare to tease fun out of Noah. He began to read from their latest boys’ adventure series while outside lightning lashed over the bay and thunder growled. As he read, a part of Blake’s mind wondered again who was huddled outside in that camper, and if they would be there come dawn.

    Jonah snagged a fresh, white towel from the pile his housekeeper maintained daily. Naked, he made for the floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors. Beyond the glass, the black surface of his infinity pool shimmered with pockmarks of rain. Mist obscured the ocean view, making eerie halos of lights on the opposite shore. He reached for the door handle.
    “What’re you doing?”
    He stilled, glanced over his shoulder. Jan Mascioni propped herself up onto her elbow, her breasts small and pale in the dim candlelight. Her hair was blonde, again. It fell in a mussed tangle over her shoulder.
    She was beautiful. A good fuck. And not interested in any sort of relationship beyond a hot tumble in the sack. His head pounded. He wished he hadn’t taken Meg’s call. She couldn’t comprehend this side of him—his need for tactile comfort in the face of hurt. She was unable to wrap her head around the idea that he could sleep with a woman, and it didn’t have to mean anything more than that. Besides, she was the one who’d made it crystal clear that it was over—three years of their life together. And now this bombshell—he’d had no hint that she was spiraling in this direction. He wasn’t sure how to process the fact she’d returned to Shelter Bay. And why.
    “Going for a swim,” he said, coolly. “Coming?”
    Jan gave a throaty chuckle as she flopped back onto the pillows, flinging her arms out wide as if in sated bliss. She was comfortable in her own skin, this woman, and had reason to be. She ran at least forty miles a week, held a black belt in karate, taught Krav Maga classes, practiced mindful meditation, and only ate plants. Her physique was faultless. Her mind formidable. Jonah had yet to unearth whatever vulnerability it was that she worked so hard to hide behind her carapace of so-called perfection.
    “I’ll keep the bed warm for