Sea Breeze 03 - While It Lasts

never needed. But Eva, if you do receive this letter fr om my mom one day, then know : I loved you until my last breat h. You were the only thing on my mind when I closed my eyes the last time. Our time together was more perfect than anyone’s life should be. The life I lived was heaven on E arth because I spent it with you.”

    “Oh God , Josh, I can ’t do this without you! I can’t do this without you. I love you so much. Please, please God,” I wept loudly. No one heard me. The graveyard was empty. The last few lines of the letter were the most impossible to accept. How could he even think that his words were possible?

    “One day you will heal. Life will go on for you. Another guy will be lucky enough to find a place in your heart. When that happens, love him. Move on. Live that life of happiness that you deserve. Know that I loved you. Know that you made my life complete. But move on Eva. Love again. Live your life.”
    Love,
    Josh

Eighteen months later…

    Chapter One

    Cage

    “Thanks for giving me a ride,” I said , reaching for my duffle bag holding my entire summer wardrobe.
    “I did it for Low,” Marcus Hardy reminded me for the second time. My best friend was a chick— a smoking hot chick. Marcus, her fiancé, was an elitist ass at times but I dealt with him; h ad to if I wanted to keep Low in my life. All that mattered was that he understood tha t Low walked on fucking water. As l ong as he kept that in mind and treated her as such, I could live with the prick.
    “I never questioned that,” I replied with a smirk , pulling the straps of my bag up on my shoulder. Turning my attention from Marcus , I looked at the large white and tan farmhouse in front of me. It was surrounded by miles and mi les of green grass and a helluva lot of cows— m y purgatory for the entire summer . Glancing back at Marcus I nodded and started to close the door. I knew he was ready to get back to Sea Breeze where Low was waiting on him. No one wanted to be stuck in this fucking cow town.
    “Cage. Wait,” Marcus called out before I could completely close the truck door. Slowly , I opened it back up and arched an eyebrow in question. What else could Marcus want with me? He’d barely spoken to me on the hour ride up here.
    “Don’t screw this up, okay. Stay sober. Don’t drive a car until you get your license back and try not to piss off your coach’s brother. Your future is riding on this summer and you’re upsetting Low. I don’t want her worried about you. Think about someone other than yourself for a change.” Well hell, I’d jus t got a parental lecture from Marcus fucking Hardy. Wasn’t that sweet?
    “I know what happens if I screw things up , Marcus. Thanks for the reminder though. ” I let the sarcasm drip from my voice .
    Marcus frowned and started to say something more before just shaking his head and putting his truck in reverse. Conversation over. Good. The guy should learn to mind his own damn business.

    I slammed the door and turned my attention back to the house while Marcus’s tires spun out of the gravel drive. Guess I’d better go meet my warden for the rest of the summer and get this party started. All I had to do was make this guy happy. I’d t ake care of his cows and do manual labor for t wo and a half months then my coach wouldn’t kick my ass off the baseball team. The DUI , he’d had to bail me out of jail for, would be forgotten and my baseball scholarship would remain intact. I only had three problems with this plan:
    1. No girls.
    2. I hated manual labor
    3. No girls.
    Other than that this wasn ’t all that bad. I’d get Sunday s off. I’d just have to get my fill of sexy little sorority girls in tiny bikinis on Sundays. I reached the front door of the house. The wrap around porch was pretty damn nice. I wasn’t into the farm t hing but this place wasn’t half- bad. I bet the bedrooms were a nice size.
    “You must be the fella W ilson hired for the summer.” A guy in a pair of faded jeans and some worn- looking bad ass boots started up the steps of the porch. He was smiling like he was really glad to see me. Must be the guy’s son. I’d be shoveling hay and cow shit all summer instead of him. Bet he liked me a lot.
    “Yeah,” I replied, “Cage York. Coach Mack sent me.”
    The guy grinned and nodded , sticking both his hands in his front pockets. All he needed was a damn piece of straw hanging out of his mouth to look like every stereotypical country boy