Free A Broken Promise by Megan McKenney Page A

wasn’t too far from the dock. The island was busy but not so busy that there were crowds all over.
    Brad opened the hotel room door for me. My jaw dropped as I walked in. It wasn’t just a hotel room, it was a whole suite. There was a king size bed in the middle of the room with a red canopy. A family room was hooked onto the bedroom, complete with a sofa and plasma screen tv. Peeking outside, we had our own patio that overlooked the entire island. Dad’s room was right next door, which meant we would have enough privacy for tonight.
    I jumped on the bed, landing directly on my back. “This is perfect,” I breathed out. Closing my eyes, I could make out Keiffer’s face. I quickly opened my eyes, wanting to get his image out of my memory. There was no need to think of him at a time like this.
    “Let’s get out and enjoy the day,” Brad suggested. He took my hand as we walked over to my dad’s room. Knocking only once, dad opened the door, he looked stressed.
    “Oh, hey, guys,” dad said. He wiped the sweat from his brow. “Just got off the phone with your mom.”
    “Is she okay?” I asked.
    Dad shrugged his shoulders. “Sure she is. How about you kids go out? Go celebrate your birthday, sweetie.” His kissed my cheek quickly. “Take good care of her, son.”
    “I plan too,” Brad answered confidently. I hesitated leaving my dad, especially because I could see the hurt in his eyes. But I took Brad’s hand anyway and we went out to explore the island a bit.
    We ate almost every chance that we got. Mackinaw Island was all about fudge. I probably tried every flavor of fudge that was ever invented. It wasn’t like I was complaining or anything, but I couldn’t believe the amount of food we went through that day. The whole island was full of tourist shops. We browsed through each store, buying little trinkets for all of our friends.
    “Oh my gosh, Brad,” I exclaimed as I held up a zebra print tank top that read Mackinaw Island. “Wouldn’t Lacey just love this?” Lacey loved anything zebra print. Checking the price carefully, I brought it up to the cashier.
    “Here, let me get it,” Brad said while taking out his wallet. He paid that money to the cashier and held onto the bag for me. Both of his hands were already full from how many things I had purchased throughout the day.
    Before exiting, another t-shirt caught my eye that read, I’m a fudgie . I laughed out loud while passing the shirt. It definitely reminded me of Keiffer. People in Mackinaw who came only to visit the island were called fudgies because they only came for the fudge. I didn’t want to tell Brad about the shirt so I kept it to myself.
    “Where to now, princess?” Brad asked, looking around the island. “It’s getting dark, should we go on a carriage ride?”
    I nodded my head, my mind still on the shirt. I just had to get it for Keiffer. “Actually, that sounds like a great plan. Let me go back inside and use the restroom. In the meantime, do you want to see if there are any available carriages for the night?”
    As soon as he agreed, I took off inside, watching carefully through the window to make sure he had left. Once he was out of sight, I grabbed the t-shirt and brought it up to the cashier. As soon as I paid her the money, I stuffed the shirt into my purse. The cashier eyed me suspiciously but I explained that it was a present for my boyfriend. She seemed to get the hint of my story and dropped her facial expression.
    Luckily, Brad was able to get a carriage for us. He helped me into the small bench and he slid in across from me. I got to face forward, whereas Brad had to face opposite. He didn’t seem to mind though. By this time the moon was out and the stars sparkled above us like Christmas lights. The only sounds we could hear was the lake lapping up on the shore and the clip clap of the horse’s hooves against the pavement.
    Brad took my hands in his and we sat across from each other, drowned in love. I almost