Read Online Stormfront (Undertow Book 2) by K.R. Conway - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: K.R. Conway
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tapping her finger against the window. Stacked against the fencing of the cemetery was a pile of freshly cut tree trunks and not far from them, the carnage of what a massive spruce could inflict when it fell.
Raef slowed the Jeep to a stop and we all got out. By some instinct, I knew Ana just wanted me with her, so I asked Raef to wait by the car. He didn’t argue and seemed to understand.
Ana and I slowly stepped through the stones. This section of the cemetery had only flat stones that lay flush with the frozen ground. Many were crushed beyond recognition, but we still went through them, brushing snow from the engraved letters to read the names.
One stone, heavily caked with snow, had been split into three pieces. I stopped next to it and started working away the snow when I caught sight of an “L” and “A.” I worked faster, pulling off my gloves so I could fit my finger into the grooves within the granite that formed the name. When I was done, Ana’s father’s name was facing me.
“Ana!” I called. “He’s here.”
She jogged her way through the snow and stopped next to me. The words on the stone, now split and twisted, were simple:
Harold Lane
June 3, 1968 – September 2, 2012
Ana just stood there, looking down at her father’s gravesite for a long time before she spoke. “I . . . I didn’t have money for a nice stone,” she said quietly. “I barely had money to bury him, so the guys from his work kicked in to help.”
Tears started to silently trace her fair, wind-kissed cheeks, and my heart clenched, thinking of what she went through alone. Of what Kian went through, knowing how much pain she was in. I couldn’t help it, and soon my own tears came just as quietly.
Ana sunk to her knees on the icy ground and began pushing the snow farther away, attempting to fit the broken pieces back into place, as if doing so would fix the past.
I had to look away and saw Raef, watching me, his arms crossed. He saw my tears and his arms fell to his sides, concerned, and he began walking toward me, but I shook my head for him to stay where he was.
I had nothing to offer Ana in that moment except my unfailing love as her friend, and I got down next to her to help. When we were done, the pieces fit roughly together, but I knew Ana’s heart was shattered.
When we finally got back to my house, Mae was spinning with activity. She had pulled me aside as soon as we arrived home, asking why Ana looked so upset. I filled her in on what had happened to the stone, and though she was very sad for Ana, we didn’t have a few thousand dollars to replace it either. According to the cemetery, it would take more than a year for their insurance to order a new plaque, and that weighed heavy on Ana.
I stayed in the kitchen, helping Mae with the food, but Ana went up to her room and closed the door.
Raef had texted Kian when we were at the gravesite, letting him know what was going on. Kian however, didn’t reply. At first I thought he might not have gotten the message, because when we got back to the house, he was gone. Raef tried to get him on the phone, but he wasn’t answering. Dinner was supposed to be in a few hours and no one could find him.
Frustrated that I couldn’t locate Kian or ease Ana’s sadness, I called the one person who could find the sun in the worst of a hurricane: MJ. He picked up after just a few rings.
“WOMAN! How the heck are ya? Happy Turkey day!” he yelled as soon as he answered the phone.
“Happy Thanksgiving weirdo! We miss ya! How’s Florida?” I asked, my entire mood lifted just by hearing his voice.
“West Palm is ‘da bomb, well except for my Aunt Lois and her strange casserole. I took two bites and decided death-by-food-poisoning was not the way to go. Don’t ever eat what she serves you. Seriously.”
I started laughing as I tucked the phone into my shoulder so I could continue lining up the ladyfingers in the pan for tiramisu. Mae glanced at me. “Is that MJ?
Raef slowed the Jeep to a stop and we all got out. By some instinct, I knew Ana just wanted me with her, so I asked Raef to wait by the car. He didn’t argue and seemed to understand.
Ana and I slowly stepped through the stones. This section of the cemetery had only flat stones that lay flush with the frozen ground. Many were crushed beyond recognition, but we still went through them, brushing snow from the engraved letters to read the names.
One stone, heavily caked with snow, had been split into three pieces. I stopped next to it and started working away the snow when I caught sight of an “L” and “A.” I worked faster, pulling off my gloves so I could fit my finger into the grooves within the granite that formed the name. When I was done, Ana’s father’s name was facing me.
“Ana!” I called. “He’s here.”
She jogged her way through the snow and stopped next to me. The words on the stone, now split and twisted, were simple:
Harold Lane
June 3, 1968 – September 2, 2012
Ana just stood there, looking down at her father’s gravesite for a long time before she spoke. “I . . . I didn’t have money for a nice stone,” she said quietly. “I barely had money to bury him, so the guys from his work kicked in to help.”
Tears started to silently trace her fair, wind-kissed cheeks, and my heart clenched, thinking of what she went through alone. Of what Kian went through, knowing how much pain she was in. I couldn’t help it, and soon my own tears came just as quietly.
Ana sunk to her knees on the icy ground and began pushing the snow farther away, attempting to fit the broken pieces back into place, as if doing so would fix the past.
I had to look away and saw Raef, watching me, his arms crossed. He saw my tears and his arms fell to his sides, concerned, and he began walking toward me, but I shook my head for him to stay where he was.
I had nothing to offer Ana in that moment except my unfailing love as her friend, and I got down next to her to help. When we were done, the pieces fit roughly together, but I knew Ana’s heart was shattered.
When we finally got back to my house, Mae was spinning with activity. She had pulled me aside as soon as we arrived home, asking why Ana looked so upset. I filled her in on what had happened to the stone, and though she was very sad for Ana, we didn’t have a few thousand dollars to replace it either. According to the cemetery, it would take more than a year for their insurance to order a new plaque, and that weighed heavy on Ana.
I stayed in the kitchen, helping Mae with the food, but Ana went up to her room and closed the door.
Raef had texted Kian when we were at the gravesite, letting him know what was going on. Kian however, didn’t reply. At first I thought he might not have gotten the message, because when we got back to the house, he was gone. Raef tried to get him on the phone, but he wasn’t answering. Dinner was supposed to be in a few hours and no one could find him.
Frustrated that I couldn’t locate Kian or ease Ana’s sadness, I called the one person who could find the sun in the worst of a hurricane: MJ. He picked up after just a few rings.
“WOMAN! How the heck are ya? Happy Turkey day!” he yelled as soon as he answered the phone.
“Happy Thanksgiving weirdo! We miss ya! How’s Florida?” I asked, my entire mood lifted just by hearing his voice.
“West Palm is ‘da bomb, well except for my Aunt Lois and her strange casserole. I took two bites and decided death-by-food-poisoning was not the way to go. Don’t ever eat what she serves you. Seriously.”
I started laughing as I tucked the phone into my shoulder so I could continue lining up the ladyfingers in the pan for tiramisu. Mae glanced at me. “Is that MJ?
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