Forever Never

She was not going to miss out on Eleanora Reedbottom’s Top Secret Party on Round Island. Just because she was grounded for some practically made-up offense did not mean she was going to skip the party of the season.

She and Audrey had already planned their outfits. Extra short cut-offs, coordinated tank tops, and cute hoodies for the boat ride.

Round Island was an uninhabited 300-plus-acre island just to the south of Mackinac’s ferry landing. Part of the Hiawatha National Forest, the island was overseen by the U.S. Forest Service. The sandy beach on the far side of the island was ideal for illicit parties. Like the one Eleanora Reedbottom was throwing tonight.

All Remi had to do was convince her parents she was spending the night in her room and not to bother her. Piece of cake.

Her mother had been too distracted by the logistics of some “work thing” that evening to pay much attention. So Remi had picked a fight with Kimber at dinner, whined about cramps to her dad, then took a pint of ice cream into her room with a serving spoon. No one would come near her in fear of PMS wrath.

Brick and Spencer Callan had been over for dinner. Spencer, her totally cute, often clueless sometimes boyfriend, flashed her the thumbs-up during her theatrics. Brick, his muscly, stoic, big brother, had eyed her with suspicion. The guy had an uncanny knack for sniffing out the tiniest fib.

Frankly, she thought his talents were wasted working with the horses on the island. He’d make a good cop. She’d have to mention it to her mother, when she wasn’t trying to sneak out of the house.

Though, maybe she’d wait until she was leaving for college to bring up the topic. Odds were, Brick would use his superpowers to do something stupid like arrest her for some harmless fun.

Her pink alarm clock ticked over to 9 o’clock, and Remi gave her hair one last shot of hair spray. Satisfied with the carefree summer waves she’d spent almost an hour perfecting, she turned off the light and removed the light bulb. The pillows under the covers wouldn’t fool any nosy family members if they happened to flip on the light switch.

In the dark, she pocketed a mini bug spray and lip gloss, then climbed out the window onto the roof of the porch. The summer air was thick with humidity and possibilities. Adventure and music and fun waited for her.

The shingles were rough against her knees as she stretched her leg back and down for a toehold on the trellis. One of these days, the rickety old thing was going to collapse on top of her. But tonight was not the night.

She climbed down quickly. Swearing under her breath when the hem of her shorts caught on a splinter of wood. She wondered if she could figure out a way to rebuild the damn thing without her parents getting suspicious. Maybe if she threw one of the street hockey balls through it, saying she was practicing? Or maybe she could just feign a new interest in climbing vines.

Pleased with her ninja-like escape skills, Remi jumped the last three feet, landing in the flowerbed between a petite Japanese maple and a clump of ornamental grass. When she took a step back, she came up against something warm, hard, and leafless.

When two hands closed around her arms from behind, she spun around and assumed the ball-kicking position.

“Easy, trouble,” came a low, familiar chuckle.

“Holy Billie Holiday, Brick!” She stomped her foot in the mulch. “You scared the hell out of me. I thought the landscaping grew arms!”

Silhouetted by streetlights, he made quite the hulking shadow.

“Good,” he said. “Get back upstairs.”

“You have got to be kidding me. No! What are you even doing here?”

“Keeping you out of trouble,” he said, crossing his very large arms over his massive chest and peering down at her.

“Well, what’s the fun in that?” she scoffed, refusing to be intimidated.

In the year that she’d known him and his brother, Remi had learned his secret. The man might have been built like a sequoia and had the conversational skills of a brick wall, but Brick was a teddy bear underneath. An extra-large one.

“I’m serious. Get your ass back up to your room and stay there.”

“Maybe you’re in charge of Spencer, but you have no authority here, Brick Callan,” she said, drilling a finger into his chest.

“You have no business going to Round Island to party, Remi Ford.”

Even though she was busy spitting fire, she sure liked how he said her name.

“My business is none of your business. Besides, Spencer’s going! He’s waiting for me.”

“No, he’s not. He’s sitting in front of the TV pouting because he’s grounded. Just like you will be if you don’t get your ass back up into that room. Now.”

There was something positively delicious about the way he gave her orders. Not that she had any intention of following them. But still, some previously undiscovered part of her felt like it was waking up for the first time. “Or what?”

She could have imagined the growl she heard rumbling in his chest.

“You’re a smart girl, right?” he whispered finally.

Remi narrowed her eyes at the man. She smelled a set-up. “Get to the point.”

“What kind of ‘work thing’ do you think your mom has going on tonight? Do you think it’s a coincidence that she’s running logistics on some secret operation the same night Eleanora Reedbottom decides to trespass on federal property to host an underage drinking party?”

She gasped. “How did you find out about the party?”

“Because Eleanora Reedbottom has a big fucking mouth. And so does my stupid little brother. He also doesn’t have your skill with lies.”

She gave a little curtsy. “Thank you.”

“Not a compliment, Remi.”

“I’m taking it as one anyway,” she said with a shrug.

He pinched the bridge of his nose as if he were in the throes of a migraine.

“You ever get your head checked? Seems like you get an unnatural amount of headaches.”

“Only when I talk to you,” he shot back.

She wrinkled her nose. “Mean. Can I at least come over and hang out with you and Spence?”

“You’re already grounded. I’m not busting the chief’s daughter out of her house. That’s illegal on a whole lot of different levels.”

“You’re no fun.”

“So I’ve been told. By you. Repeatedly.”

She wasn’t ready to climb back up the trellis just yet. This was the most number of words Brick had strung together around her, and she didn’t want to waste the conversation. “You could have just let me go and get caught,” she mused.

“I could have,” he agreed.

She tapped a finger to her chin and studied him in the dark. “You came swooping in to save me from having my own mom arrest me.”

“I pity the idiot who has to arrest you the first time.”

“There you go again with the compliments. You like me. You don’t want me to get arrested,” she sang.

He winced in the dark before recovering his flat expression.

“I didn’t mean that as a shot against your dad, and you know it. Lots of people get arrested. Pretty sure I’m gonna be one of them at some point. Lots of people go to jail. Doesn’t mean they’re bad people.”

He was back to pinching the bridge of his nose. “That’s exactly what it means.”

“Is it exhausting seeing everything in black and white? Don’t you have any room for any other colors?”

“Right is right. Wrong is wrong. Now, don’t make me regret sparing your mother from having to handcuff you and send you off to military school.”

“She knows better than that. I’d burn it to the ground and lead a rebellion within my first forty-eight hours. Hey, so how’s your grandma doing?”

“Stop stalling,” he ordered, putting his hands on his hips and staring down at the toes of his boots.

She waited, staring at him until he cracked. “She’s fine. The surgery went well. She’ll be home later this week.”

“Good. Maybe I’ll make her a pie.”

“Fine. You can give it to your sister to deliver since you’re grounded.”

“You are infuriating!”

“Right back at ya, baby. Now climb.” He pointed toward the porch roof. “Or I’ll march you through the front door and deliver you to your dad.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

Realizing she wasn’t going to get past the Wall of Good Time Ruining, she accepted temporary defeat in the battle to save the war. “Fine, fun police.” She climbed up onto the edge of the porch and reached for the trellis.

“Good girl,” he said.

Good girl.

The way he said it, with that rough edge, gave her a delicious, full-body shiver. She wanted him to say it again. She wanted to make him say it again.

“Oh, Trouble?”

She paused mid-climb and glanced down at him, the mountain of a man waiting in the shadows to catch her if she fell.

“Don’t wear those shorts again.”

“Why not?”

“You know why and because I said so.”

It was her least favorite reason. Remi let out a growl and released her hold with one hand to flip him the bird.

His soft laugh followed her back up onto the roof and in through her window.

She waited ten whole minutes, practically a lifetime, before her second attempt.

“Still here,” came the gruff whisper.

She peeked over the edge of the roof. “Damn it, Brick.”

He edged closer to the porch. “You’re gonna fall and break that face, and then I’m going to be pissed.”

“I’m not going to the island. I’m supposed to meet Audrey at the dock. I don’t want her to get in trouble.”

“Then call her,” he said dryly. Brick crossed his arms again and looked as immovable as an oak tree.

“I can’t. We decided not to take our phones.”

“Why?”

“Well, if you must know, nosy. If anyone’s parents or annoying big brother called, we could say we forgot our phones.”

Obviously not impressed with her ingenuity, he muttered something under his breath. It sounded like it involved the words “be the death of me,” but she wasn’t sure.

There was a weary sigh, then silence for a beat. “I’ll go tell Audrey,” he said finally.

“That’s fine and all, but if you leave to go tell Audrey, I’m just gonna go liberate Spencer from your house and see what trouble we can get into with the entire police department busy off-island.”

“God damn it, Remi.”

“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Brick groused, five minutes later.

“Oh, come on,” she said smugly, bumping his bulging bicep with her shoulder. “Have a little fun. I’ll buy you an ice cream if you cheer up.”

“Sneak attack!” Spencer raced past them, a wicked grin on his face. He was a leaner, shorter, happier copy of his brother. Remi didn’t know if Brick realized it, but the happy part was due to him. With one parent serving time and one permanently on the road, Brick was the reason Spencer was so well-adjusted.

A musty, cheesy scent reached her nose, and she clamped a hand over her face. “Spence!”

“Did you just crop dust your girlfriend?” Brick asked.

“And my brother,” Spencer announced proudly, jogging backward in front of them.

Brick moved like lightning, putting Remi’s own ninja moves to shame. In half a second, he caught Spencer and wrapped an arm around the boy’s neck. “I can’t believe you’re almost allowed to vote. You’re just a tall, skinny five-year-old,” he said, ruffling Spencer’s hair.

“Man! Do you know how much gel it took to get the style right?” Spencer complained.

“I do. You’re gonna need a second job just to pay for hair products.” Brick released him.

Spencer paused and held up a finger. “I only have one thing to say to that.” He farted audibly this time and then took off at a dead run.

Brick chivalrously nudged Remi out of the fart cloud. “You could do a lot better than my idiot brother, you know.”

She laughed, enjoying the brush of his arm against hers. She adored Spencer. He was like her aunt’s overenthusiastic golden retriever, pretty and always happy to see her. But there was something about his big brother that always had her pulse kicking into high gear. She liked being close to him. Liked talking to him. He was a man of few words and even fewer smiles, but every once in a while, when she pried one out of him, she felt like she was on the first drop of a roller coaster.

“Oh, I know. But he entertains me. Besides, we’re not really together anymore.”

There was a slight hitch to his stride. “You’re not?”

“Well, we’re still hanging out. But we’re not having sex anymore.”

This time he actually tripped. She reached out and steadied him.

“Jesus, Remi.”

“Honestly—and keep this to yourself—I think he might have a thing for Audrey. I think they’d be good for each other.”

“So, you’re not mad?” He sounded confused, concerned. It was adorable.

“What’s there to be mad about? You can’t fight fate. It’s a waste of time and energy when there’s a lot of other fun to be had.” She shrugged and stuffed her hands in the pockets of her sweatshirt.

He was silent next to her for an entire block, walking half a step behind her. Downtown was bustling that night with tourists, freshly scrubbed up from their days, wandering back to hotels and rentals after dinner out. The shops were closing up, herding everyone toward the bars and ice cream shops that stayed open late.

“Aren’t you grounded, girl?” Agnes Sopp, still dressed in her round of golf finery, called from the street corner where she held a towering triple-dip strawberry ice cream cone.

“Hi, Agnes,” Remi called back unperturbed. “I think it’s more of a suggestion than an actual order. But I’d be grateful if you didn’t mention to my parents you saw me.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” Agnes promised, shooting her a wink.

“She’s gonna tell every person on the island,” Remi’s grumpy companion predicted.

“She’s gonna tell every person except my parents,” Remi insisted.

“You’re exhausting,” Brick decided.

She rolled her eyes. “I know I’m a handful. I know I’m a lot. But it’s not my fault if people can’t keep up.”

“You don’t need someone who can keep up. You need someone who can lock you up.”

“I’m not opposed to either. I assume the right guy will be able to do both,” she quipped.

The silence stretched on, and the tension between them mounted. She wanted him to break first. To start a new conversation. To make an effort.

“If it’s not Spence, who do you like?” Brick asked, finally.

The man sounded disinterested, annoyed. But he wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t really want to know.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and shot him what she hoped was a saucy wink. “I’m keeping my options open.” Throwing a little extra swing into her hips, she quickened her pace and veered off the sidewalk in the direction of the dock. Spencer had found a group of friends outside the fudge shop, but there was no sign of Audrey.

Remi jogged down the dock, tickled that Brick’s footsteps picked up behind her. The man probably thought she was going to throw herself into a boat and take off. Briefly, she considered doing just that in Duncan Firth’s spiffy little runabout. Everyone knew he left the key under the life preserver. But the idea was discarded when she remembered she was here to save her friend, not push more of Brick’s buttons.

“Psst! Audrey?” she hissed into the dark.

Audrey’s head peeked around the weathered shed. She looked pretty and pissed off in cut-offs and a bright yellow tank that looked killer against her dark skin. Remi jogged to meet her, admiring Audrey’s new hair cut, tapered on the sides with tight curls at the crown. She was glaring at Remi through purple-rimmed glasses.

“Where have you been? I’ve been waiting— Oh, heeeey, Brick. Remi, did you bring my…calculus notes with you since we have that test to study for?” Like Spencer, Audrey also sucked at lying.

“It’s okay. He knows,” Remi told her. “He’s being the fun police and keeping us away from the actual police who are raiding Elle’s party.”

“You’re welcome,” Brick grumbled.

Audrey’s brown eyes widened, and her thick lashes fluttered. “Wow. Thanks, Brick. That’s really n…awesome of you.”

Remi bit her lip to hide her smile. Brick Callan had that kind of effect on women of all ages.

He grunted in response and, with a pointed look at them, turned to head back toward the street.

“Nawesome?” Remi teased.

“Shut up. He looked directly at me. What was I supposed to do? Form actual speech? Not everyone’s as brave as you are, you know,” Audrey muttered.

“Come on. Let’s go buy the big guy an ice cream cone,” Remi said, slinging an arm around her friend’s waist. “You can help me plan outfits around these shorts.”

Audrey looked down at Remi’s legs. “Why?”

“No reason. I just feel like wearing them for the rest of the summer.”