Read Online 1 Sunshine Hunter by Maddie Cochere - Free Book Online Page A

anyway. You two have a great friendship, and that’s what counts.”
    “Oh my gosh,” I moaned. “That’s not all of it, Sam. There’s Skinny Guy.”
    I proceeded to fill her in on all of the Skinny Guy details including the recent, scary Edgar Allan Poe moment. I always hated that poem; it was sinister and gave me the creeps when I read it. That’s probably why I had such a fearful reaction when Skinny Guy was at the door. Maybe he was a jilted lover of Darby’s come to find him and make him take him back. That would make sense. But why would he run us off the road? He could still be a jilted lover come to kill Darby. I’d have to ask him about it when he got back.
    Samantha and I finished our conversation, and I flopped down on the bed. My phone was still in my hand and my pulse started to race as I punched Mick’s speed dial number.
     

 
Chapter Seven
     
    Awake at 6:00, I was jogging on the beach by 6:30. The sun was just coming up, and although the air was warm, it wasn’t yet hot, and the humidity was still low. It felt good to use my muscles after the weakness from the heatstroke yesterday.
    The beach was serene at this time of day. There were a few early birds hunting for shells, a man and a woman were holding hands while walking barefoot in the low surf, and there were a few other joggers.
    Darby must have come in late last night. I had shut the door between our rooms when I turned my lights out at midnight and never heard a sound from his room. My heart was heavy when I climbed into bed, and I couldn’t hold back the tears. Mick hadn’t answered his phone when I called, and I didn’t leave a message.
    The ocean had a calming effect on me, and I could think more clearly in the fresh morning air. I would try again today to talk with Mick. My anger was gone, and I was starting to miss him intensely. There is something to be said for homesickness. Because I had run away instead of facing my troubles, I wasn’t 100% in vacation mode, and I was longing to be back home. Back home in Mick’s arms, if that was possible. I needed to know that I positively had nothing to do with their marriage breaking up, and that his teenage son wouldn’t resent me for being in his father’s life. We still needed to talk it all through.
    I pulled up suddenly and stopped. What was that? I heard a sharp crack to my right in the sea oats at the edge of the sand. My heart stopped. I suddenly felt cold, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I looked intently into the grasses but didn’t see anything obvious. There was no movement other than their gentle sway in the breeze. I looked around the beach and everything was as it should be; nothing was out of the ordinary. The events of yesterday must have set me more on edge than I realized. Darby was right, I was acting paranoid. The joy of the jog was gone now. I took off my running shoes, tied them together by the laces, and slung them over my shoulder. I turned around and walked in the surf all the way back to the hotel.
    Darby was sitting in the lobby reading a newspaper when I walked in. “Hey, g’morning, Sunshine,” he said. “Want to join me for breakfast?”
    I smiled at him and said, “Let me grab a quick shower, and I’ll meet you in the restaurant.” I ran to catch the elevator.
    Forty-five minutes later, we were sitting down to pancakes, sausages, and orange juice.
    “What did you do last night?” I asked him with my mouth mostly full. “You came in late?”
    “I did,” he answered and wiped his mouth with a napkin before continuing. “I had dinner at the seafood bar next door and stayed for the duration.” He smiled and shook his head. “There was a party in the back room, and the people at the table next to mine invited me join in,” he paused for effect before saying, “and I came in second in the karaoke contest.”
    “Get out!” I squealed shoving him on the arm. “I had no idea you were a singer.”
    “I’m not,” he said