Free The Day That Saved Us by Mindy Hayes Page B

couldn’t help but miss my dad like crazy.
    Sometimes his loss hits me out of nowhere. I can be fine one minute and curled in the fetal position the next. Grief is funny like that. Not in the funny ha-ha way, but the unexpected, cruel kind. It feels like I’ll never get a hold on mine.
    So, when I finally fell asleep around three and was woken up at seven by Brodee to go surfing, I was less than ready to get out of bed. When I pulled back the covers, he tossed them off and wouldn’t let me have them back. He nearly died.
    The four of us are headed to Buxton now with Brodee at the wheel. He’s lucky I let him live. Skylar borrowed one of Brodee’s millions of boards. That kid collects surfboards the way Harper does wigs. He has a different reason why he needs each one of them. And I get it. Each wave is different. Sometimes the surf requires a different kind of board, but I love my baby. I learned on her and can’t imagine surfing on anything else. It’s a miracle I haven’t busted her with all the wipeouts I’ve survived.
    The sun feels hotter today than most. We’re out in the oceans for hours. It’s been so long since the four of us have gone out together I think we want to soak up as much time as we can. By the end of it I’m wiped out. Lack of sleep, the heat, exertion from the waves. I want to fall asleep and never wake up.
    After grabbing lunch, Brodee drives us back, and it takes everything in me not to fall asleep in the front seat. Even if I could sleep, he wouldn’t let me. Brodee keeps poking me in the shoulder.
    “Poke me one more time,” I warn, only half-joking. My eyes are closed as I lean my head against the headrest. “I dare you.”
    Poke .
    I pause. I hear him chuckling to himself. “If you weren’t driving, you’d regret that.”
    “So, are you saying I’m safe while I drive?”
    I level a stare. “After that, all bets are off.”
    “Noted.” He bites his lips to hold back a smug grin. I nearly smack it off.
    A minute later he sticks his finger in my ear.
    “Oh my gosh.” I throw my hands down and shift in my seat to get a good angle to punch him. “You’re gonna get it.”
    “Don’t poke the bear, Brodee. You know better,” Harper says from the back seat. “Especially since you’re driving, and I’d like to live to see tomorrow. I choose life!”
    “But it’s so much fun.”
    I hold back my punch. Rationally, I see how stupid it would be to punch the driver of the vehicle in which I’m traveling.
    Harper says, “Not when the bear is tired and could tear your head off with one look.”
    He chuckles. “I just can’t help myself.”
    “The big tormenting brother in him can’t be suppressed,” I murmur, leaning away from him, my head tapping on the passenger window. The tapping doesn’t even bother me this time. I don’t remember falling asleep.
     

     
    “PEYTON.” A LOW voice rouses me from my sweet sweet release as a hand rocks my shoulder. “Pete.” I open my eyes to see Brodee’s face above mine. “You slept the day away.”
    I blink, but I don’t try to get up. I’m laying on the couch in the living room, but I can tell it’s dark outside. “What time is it?”
    “A little after ten.” The corner of his mouth lifts up.
    Seriously? “Where are Harper and Skylar?” I rub my eyes.
    “They’re just as bad as you. Tuckered out on me about an hour ago.” He stands up and walks over to the TV, flipping it on. “You sleep like the freaking dead. You even slept through dinner. I was so tempted to jump on you, but Liv wouldn’t let me wake you up.”
    “It must’ve been the sun. And I would have punched you so hard.” I stretch my arms above my head.
    He lets out a low chuckle. “I know. Let’s watch a movie.”
    I lazily pick myself off the couch and head to the kitchen to get the taste of sleep out of my mouth. “You pick. I’m too tired to make any decisions.”
    “You can’t be tired. You just slept for like ten hours, and we have a