Eye of the Storm

Corpus Christi, Texas

"GOD, YOU SCARED the life out of me." Simone Cooper Sheridan skidded to a stop at the doorway of her kitchen, hand on chest, her heart pounding to beat the band.

Her brother-in-law, Martin, squinted myopically up at her from the kitchen table, looking almost as startled as she felt. A half-finished peanut-butter sandwich dangled from one hand, the other circling a glass of milk. "Well, the feeling's mutual. I thought you were gone."

"Which gave you the run of my kitchen?" she asked, anger replacing fear, the emotion centered more on herself than on Martin. She was getting soft.

"I'm sorry. I knocked."

"I was in the basement working out." She'd bugged Reece for almost a year to rig the doorbell so that she could hear it downstairs. Truth was she should have done it herself. And now — well, now she had no other choice.

"When no one answered, I let myself in." Martin set down the milk and picked up a key, his smile beguiling.

"I didn't think you'd mind."

"I don't," Simone was quick to assure him. "I was just surprised, that's all. I thought you were in Florida." Martin was a senior at the University of Texas, majoring in information technology. But at the moment he was supposed to be in Panama Beach celebrating spring break.

"Randy's car broke down. No wheels, no trip." Martin shrugged. "I figured I'd crash here for the duration. Get some studying done."

"And laundry." Simone tipped her head toward two overflowing canvas bags parked by the door.

"Well, yeah." Martin laughed, the sound so much like his brother's Simone winced. "That, too." His expression turned serious as he studied her for a moment. "It's all right, isn't it? I mean, it's not me you're divorcing?"

He sounded a little lost, the sharp edge of loneliness coloring his voice. But then, Simone knew the feeling only too well. "Of course not. You're always welcome here. You know that."

Martin reached for a stack of papers lying on the table. "You haven't changed your mind, have you?"

Simone blew out a long breath, staring down at her divorce papers. It wouldn't matter if she did change her mind. Reece wouldn't. Once he made a decision it was final. And even if it wasn't, there was no going back. Too much water under the bridge.

"No. I haven't." She shook her head to underscore the words, not certain whom exactly she was trying to convince.

"But they're not signed."

"They just got here." A little white lie, actually; they'd been on the table for almost a week. "I just haven't had time." She turned her back on the papers, going instead to the refrigerator for some water.

"I'm sorry," Martin apologized. "It's none of my business, really."

"Of course it is." Simone turned back to him with a smile. "We're family." And she meant it. Before Reece and Martin, Simone had never had a real family. At least not in any normal sense of the word. "Just because Reece and I can't live together doesn't mean I have to cut you out of my life, too."

"I'm not sure you have to cut either of us. Reece is stubborn, I'll grant you that. But whatever happened between the two of you, it can't be totally irreparable."

Simone smiled, her thoughts bittersweet. Martin's optimism made anything seem possible. But she'd lived in the shadows far too long to believe in things like happily ever after. Her life with Reece had been impossible from the very beginning. She'd just been too in love to see the truth of it. "It's over, Martin. Believe me, there's no going back."

Martin sighed and reached for the sandwich. "Well, at least you still have me."

"Yeah. And you have someone to feed and clothe you." She tipped her head toward the laundry again, and he laughed.

"It's a tough job, I know." His words were garbled over the peanut butter.

"And who better to do it than me? How long you staying?"

"The whole week, if that's okay. I thought I'd spend some time on the island. The waves aren't as good as Florida, but they still rock."

Padre wasn't exactly a surfing capitol, but this time of year there was at least enough surf to make it worth taking a board out.

"Sounds good. It'll be nice to have the company."

Simone was surprised at how much she meant it. She loved her house, every rambling foot of it. But living here on her own was a far cry from living in it with Martin and Reece underfoot. "The carriage house is waiting."

"Carriage house" was a bit euphemistic, but the name had stuck. Sometime in the forties, the old barn on their property had been converted into a one-car garage. When Simone and Reece had bought the place, the dilapidated structure, like the rest of the house, had practically been falling down. But the lines were good, and so when they remodeled, she'd suggested turning the building into a two-car garage with an apartment for Martin above it. He'd been almost ready to head off to UT at the time, so it had seemed right for him to have a space of his own in their new house. A subtle nod to his need for independence.

"Great." Martin jumped out of the chair, brushing crumbs onto the floor. "I'll just settle in, and then maybe head for the beach." He stopped by the back door, turning a guilty look to the overflowing laundry bags. "Maybe I should get started on these first?"

"Go on." Simone shooed him out the door with a smile.

"I'll start the wash."

"You're sure?" It was a question, but his grin signaled he already knew the answer.

"Positive. Go." She leaned against the doorjamb, watching as he walked down the back drive. Even his gait was reminiscent of Reece's. Separated by almost sixteen years, the two brothers had too much of a gap between them to have ever been joined at the hip. In fact, growing up, Martin had hardly seen his older brother. But when their parents were killed in a traffic accident, Reece had been there, ready to take responsibility for his eight-year-old brother.

He'd given up a promising career in the military and instead come home to south Texas to put himself through law school, all the while serving as a surrogate parent for Martin. It had been tough for them both. But a real relationship had developed.

When Simone had met Reece, Martin had simply been part of the package. And in all honesty, she'd fallen in love with them both. After Reece had asked her to marry him, Martin had followed up with a proposal of his own. And from that moment on, they'd been a family.

The three of them against the world. It was everything she'd ever wanted. An instant connection. Two people on whom she could lavish all the love she'd been hoarding over the years. It had seemed a perfect existence. Unfortunately, it hadn't held up over time. What had started as mutual attraction had devolved into mutual distrust, Reece's constant questioning turning into an inquisition that ultimately had forced Simone to retreat behind the facade she'd depended on for so many years.

And now there was simply no crossing the gulf that had grown between them, but that didn't mean that Martin couldn't remain a part of her life. She'd held his hand through first dates and football injuries, flunked tests and college entrance exams. He was part of her family. And nothing was going to change that.

She knew better than most how fleeting human connection could be. And she wasn't about to lose Martin just because she hadn't been able to make a life with his brother.

She stood for a moment more, fighting against the empty feeling gnawing at her gut, then drew in a deep breath, letting the sound of the ocean soothe her. The bay was calmer than open water, but there was still a peaceful ebb and flow as the water lapped gently against the shore.

She'd loved this house...