~ 17 ~
ShadowsOut of the corner of her eye, Cassie sees someone creeping alongside the garage wall. She turns abruptly and there are only the tangoing shadows of trees. She leans on the veranda rail. The breeze is like a cool cotton sheet on a summer night.
‘Hey.’
Cassie jumps.
‘Alex, you gave me a fright.’ Cassie lays her hand on her chest to settle her thumping heart. ‘You shouldn’t sneak up on people.’
‘I’ve been here the whole time,’ Alex says.
‘I thought you were in bed.’
‘Everyone thinks I’m in bed. I went to bed. I just didn’t go to bed.’
‘I’ll never trust you again.’ Cassie slouches in the cane chair on the other side of the table from where Alex sits. ‘What are you doing?’ she asks.
‘Nothing.’
‘Me too.’
In the distance, thunder rumbles.
‘There’s a storm somewhere.’ An
