Isabell had always set the wants of others above her own. Her wellbeing the likeness of a dust covered oak trunk, laying forgotten beneath the high shelf where she placed the polished needs of the people around her.
The type who would cut herself on the shards as she picked up the parts of a person gone to pieces, and make no complaint of the pain it caused her.
It was more than a desire to fix the broken. It was a need, driving her as ruthlessly as any whip to a horse’s flank. Endlessly galloping over unstable terrain to seek out the damage and try to mend it.
Chase, who was selfish in comparison, figured he would never understand.
Fine sand slipped beneath the soles of his shoes as he left the sidewalk and hit the beach. A stained bag slung over one shoulder, holding all his worldly belongings.
The late autumn breeze teased the coils of brown hanging untidily about his face. The odor of the ocean thick in his airways.
Dark clouds loomed on the horizon, blowing in with the tide. Misty tendrils of the storm rolling one over the other in an eagerness to break against the shore. He eyed it a moment, savoring the vista, before his gaze flicked to Isabell.
As ever desiring the feel of earth under her feet she went barefoot, walking the line where ground met water. The waves lapping against her toes, swirling and receding.
He couldn’t fathom the pleasure it gave her to go without footwear. He had asked after it, once. But the reply she had offered had been as cryptic as ancient Egyptian runes. Unable to read them any better than he could her answer.
Finn circled around her legs, the German Shepherd’s bassy bark easily transcending the gentler sounds of the rhythmic ocean. When Isabell threw the ball she held, the dog tore off after it.
Catching it on the second bounce, Finn carved gouges in the sand with the force of his halt. Triangular ears pressed forward as he caught sight of Chase, tail giving a single wag before the dog shot across the span between them.
Further back, Isabell smiled. Unable to match it, unable to feel worthy of it, Chase dropped his eyes to Finn as the canine reached him.
Dirt kicked up as the dog danced, only just containing himself to keep from jumping. Chase passed a hand between Finn’s ears, scratched affectionately at the Shepherd’s scruff.
When eventually he moved to meet his only friend, he did so reluctantly, with Finn matching his slow stride.
A warmer voice he had never heard. It always startled him, the depths in which her care for him descended.
She embraced him immediately, arms sliding easily around his too slender frame. He hesitated before gingerly returning the gesture.
Moisture welled in his eyes, but he had blinked it away by the time they separated. The warmth of her against him was snatched quickly by the cool air, stealing from him the undeserved comfort of her.
When she studied his face concern lit her expression, and he loathed himself for thrusting his problems onto her.
And that’s exactly what it was. It was not in him to visit casually, to seek her company socially. Only ever did he find his way back to her doorstep when he had hit rock bottom, again and again.
“What happened?” Reaching out she ran her fingers featherlight over a bruise on his jaw, yellowed now with the beginning of age.
The usual, he thought. “Nothing,” he said.
Worry pinched her features, brought her eyebrows closer together. “It looks like someone hit you.”
The intensity of her stare had him breaking contact. Easing out from beneath her touch, he set his eyes on the horizon, where the storm was eating its way across the sky.
“Who hit you?” Voice gaining strength in determination, he knew she wouldn’t let it go. Stubborn, as always. Unwilling to back down until she had wrested the information from him.
“A man.” Though well aware that it was a battle he would lose, it was not his way to disclose his hurts so easily. Unable to lay himself bare in the manner that she so easily could.
A step to the side, and she forced herself back into his line of sight. “What man?”
“Just a man.” Refusing to meet her gaze, he stared over her shoulder at the ceaseless motion of the waves. “Luke.”
Luke. The latest of a long line of hurricanes to blow into his life. A whirlwind of intense passion, of emotions as deep as the sea. And just as violent as when one clashed with the other.
“Have you called the police?” she demanded. Often slow to anger, her temper never failed to flare each time he came to her. And it was almost always the same story. It was a wonder she even asked anymore; she should know the answers by now.
“No.” Pushing the hair from his eyes, he forced himself to meet her gaze. “It’s not worth the trouble.”
“Not worth..?” By all rights, the glare she gave him should have set him aflame. “This is serious.”
“It’s not-“ He rubbed a hand hard against his face, grounding himself with the pain his bruised jaw issued. “It’s over with him. I just need a place to stay,” he said. “Just for a few days, while I get back on my feet. Please.”
And as he knew it would, her expression softened. A plea working better against her than any argument he could make.
“Of course.” She took a breath, held it a moment. Anger dimming beneath the weight of that need to prioritize others, to make them safe. Comfortable. “Of course you can stay. Come on.”
Beckoning him with a hand, she turned for the parking lot. The last of the sun glinted off her red Toyota before the clouds overtook the sky.
Casting a look at the rolling sea, he tried and failed to soothe himself; he had few options, but to burden her with his presence.
With Finn roaming ahead of them, Chase followed in Isabell’s wake, feeling every bit like the stray he was.
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