Moonglass

finish up, help Mrs. Matthews get her kitchen clean, and then get home and get some rest.”
    Coach Martin wasn’t one for big speeches, but he got his point across. After helping with the dishes, I left Jillian’s more than a little nervous about being charged with the task of leading the team.
    By the time I got home, I was nervous in an entirely different way. The tingly, butterfly, electric way. Every day since the beginning of the week, Tyler had come down after practice in the evening when the sun was setting, and we’d wait for my dad to do his patrol lap before we headed, barefoot, onto the darkened beach. Once the lights of the truck bumped up the hill to patrol the parking lots above, the night, the beach, and the cottages were ours. In a week’s time we’d made our way through several of them, with Tyler as my personal guide and me more than happy to go along listening to his random bits of history and stories about the cove.
    I checked the clock when I came in from dinner and was relieved I had a few minutes before he was supposed to meet me. Enough time at least for a spritz of perfume and a mint. Once freshened up, I sat on the couch and waited for the now familiar sound of his flip-flops coming up our front steps. The sun had just set, but it was darker than usual because of the clouds that had moved in. A storm was supposed to hit hard by the next evening, but from the looks of the sky, it was gonna be early. I hoped, after all the buildup this week, the race wouldn’t be rained out. I was nervous, but I’d stored up a lot in the last few weeks that I needed to let loose. And for now, at least, running seemed to be the best way to do it.
    Tyler’s knock interrupted my thoughts. I hadn’t heard the shuffle of his feet, but he stood silhouetted against the sky when I opened the door.
    “Hey.” He stepped into me and smiled. “You smell good.”
    I stood on tiptoes and kissed him lightly. “You smell like a pool.”
    “You love it.”
    “I don’t know about love , but it’s growing on me.” I took a step back. “Where to tonight?” He glanced out the door. “It’s looking like it’s gonna rain soon. You wanna stick close?”
    “Yeah, we probably should. Let me just get my sweater.”
    We sat on the gritty deck of the lifeguard tower in front my house, feet propped up on the railing. A layer of clouds hung low in the sky, illuminated by the lights below, and a set wave pounded the sand, exploding in a white line down the length of the beach. At the rocks it sprayed high into the air, then pulled back in preparation for another surge.
    “Man, I’m glad we never got this much swell this summer. That’d be a sketchy rescue out there in waves like that.” The next wave thundered down onto the rocks, erupting white water into the sky. “My dad’s got some scary stories about rock rescues.”
    “I know.” He smiled. “I heard the best ones last weekend.”
    I laughed under my breath. “They get like that when they’re together, him and Andy. That’s what they’ve always done … for as long as I can remember.” Tyler nodded slowly, like he was thinking about something, then he looked over at me. “Andy’s like family to you guys, huh?”
    Another wave—this one small er than the others—washed over the rocks, and I swallowed, suddenly wary of where our conversation could go. But then I steered it in that direction. “Yeah. He’s like family. Ever since my mom died. He’s always been there for us.” I looked down at my hands, surprised at what I’d said. I’d wanted nothing more than to avoid mentioning or thinking about her since Tyler had put his hand to my cheek and kissed me that night. And now there she was again.
    Tyler glanced over his shoulder, toward her cottage. “Is it hard for you, or him, to live here?” I hadn’t realized he could know it had been hers. But then again, it made sense. He knew about all the other ones.
    I watched another wave explode on the rocks. “Not any harder than it was living at the beach where she drowned.” It came out sounding harsher than I’d meant it to, and I cleared my throat and sat up straight. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound …” Tyler put a warm hand on my leg. “You didn’t. Don’t worry about it.” He sat up and listened. “What you should worry about is that your dad must have hidden cameras around here or something.” He shook his head. “Damn.”
    I looked around, confused at first, but