Catching Raindrops (The Sutter Family #1)

by H. D'Agostino

  Catching Raindrops

  By H. D’Agostino

  Catching Raindrops

  H. D’Agostino

  Copyright © January 2017 by Heather D’Agostino

  All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect is appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. The following story contains mature themes, profanity, and sexual situations. It is intended for adult readers.

  Cover Design by Cover Me Darling

  Editing by Kellie Montgomery

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Catching Raindrops Playlist

  Other Works by H. D’Agostino

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Prologue

  6 years ago...

  Emma

  Growing up as a girl in a family like mine meant two things: One, you had to love football or at least pretend to, and two, you never got to date. My father put the fear of God in every boy that’s ever set foot on our property. Other than my cousins, Aaron and Cayden, and my little brother Ryan, I spent most of my time by myself. When we were younger we played together quite a bit, but now all they talk about is girls. Just last week when my friend Ashley came over, I caught Aaron trying to spy on us when we were changing to go swimming. I shoved him, hard, before ratting him out to my dad. Dad just chuckled but when Uncle Cam found out, Aaron got his phone taken away. I laughed at that. He’s been giving me the stink eye ever since. Stupid boys!

  “Whatcha starin’ at?” Ryan, my little brother shouted as he bounded down the beach. I’d come out here in hope of seeing one person, Brock Foster. He lived a few houses down, and was ‘the new kid’ in the neighborhood. He was a lot older than me, but my thirteen-year-old heart didn’t seem to understand that. He played football for the high school, and went running every morning on the beach. My mom caught me watching out the window one day, but hasn’t said anything to my dad. I’d know if she did because I wouldn’t be allowed to do this anymore if he found out. Brock was off limits, even I knew this. At eighteen, his body was more of a man’s and as I saw him in the distance, I quickly began picking at the sand beside me.

  Each day when he ran by I told myself I’d wave, and as he approached today I thought I’d finally worked up the courage to finally do it. I could see him in the distance. His arms were swinging as he feet pounded against the sand. His hair was blowing in the breeze, and as he approached, the sun that shone down on him made it hard to see. I slowly lifted my hand, preparing to wave when Ryan sat down beside me.

  “Huh?” he shoved my shoulder and I scowled at him. “Why are you always down here so early? It’s Saturday.”

  “Go away,” I gritted out. I didn’t want my secret obsession getting out. Ryan would blab. He always did, and as he got older it got worse. Nothing was a secret around him. He’d told Aaron about the boy I had a crush on last year, and by the next day, the whole school knew. I absently swatted in his direction, but he wasn’t having it.

  “Mom said to tell you we’re going out to breakfast. We’re leaving in ten minutes, and you need to be ready,” he jumped up and ran away as fast as he’d appeared and gave me just enough time to work up my nerves again.

  Brock’s speed picked up as he neared my spot, and I scrambled to my feet. My palm began to sweat, and my heart felt as if it were going to beat out of my chest. This was it. The moment of truth. My fingers twitched as I raised my hand. When he was within hearing distance I opened my mouth to say hi, and gave a slight wave of my fingers, but he breezed by as if I weren’t there. The cord to his earbuds bounced on his bare chest as he barreled past me, causing my heart to sink. Who was I kidding? Brock Foster was never going to look at me the way I did him. It just wasn’t possible, at least that’s what I thought.

  “I really wish you would have asked me first,” my mother groaned as she climbed out of our car. We’d been informed by my dad that we were hosting yet another cookout for the football team at our house. The coaching staff was supposed to be wooing prospective players for the fall. This meant that a bunch of high school seniors were going to be invading our pool while my dad and uncle told them how great they were and why they should play at Wilmington. My mom always rolled with the punches on these, but Dad had been out of control lately with his entertaining.

  “Babe,” Dad sighed. “It’s not my fault that I’m a great coach and live next door to one of my assistants.” He gave her this little pouty face that I’ve seen him do before, and she gave in. He winked as she rolled her eyes, and I couldn’t help but be a little jealous. I wanted that. I wanted a boy to look at me the way my dad looked at my mom. I’d seen them fight over the years, but Dad just had this way to make it all better. Mom couldn’t stay angry at him for long, and I think he learned the pout from me. “You’ll help your mom, right Emma?” Dad called as he rounded the back of the car and grabbed a few grocery bags.

  “Sure,” I shrugged as I went to help them. Ryan took off up the stairs, leaving us as Dad rushed after him.

  “Don’t think you’re getting out of this Ry!” he shouted as Ryan slammed the door in his face. He reappeared within a few minutes dressed in board shorts. He rushed down the steps, grabbed his surfboard, and took off for the beach. At ten he’s gotten pretty proficient on the thing, and I wondered if Dad had started to worry yet. With me being a girl, I knew he’d planned it all out for Ryan to follow in his footsteps as a football star. Ryan seemed to have other plans, though.

  “I can’t. I’m meeting Jess for surfing!” he’d shouting before skipping over the dunes. I laughed as I’d watching my dad’s face scrunch up.

  “We need to find him a new hobby,” he muttered as we carried another load of groceries up the steps.

  “Oh, let him be,” Mom sighed as she went to work preparing food for the evening.

  “I’ll be in my room. Let me know if you need me,” I called as I wandered down the hall.

  I spent most of my time hidden away in the confines of my room. Dad had been hosting these events for years, and they got old after a while. Mom always smiled, but I knew she was tired of them too. When I started hearing the splashing coming from the pool, I decided to peek outside. You could see the pool from my bedroom, and something in me told me to look. When I saw who was standing on the diving board, I all but swallowed my tongue. There in all his glory was Brock. He was wearing a pair of blue trunks that hung low, and his muscled chest was gleaming with water droplets. His hair was slicked back, and he was bouncing on the board. It swayed under his weight before he sprung into the air, effectively completing a flip before plunging into the water.

  My mouth dropped open as I watched him. His body cut through the water before he surfaced on the other end with his arms raised.
“Yeah!” he shouted as he shoved a guy next to him. They ribbed each other before the other boy climbed from the water. It looked as though they were locked into some kind of competition, but what they didn’t know was that I had mastered pretty much every flip possible last summer.

  I scrambled to my dresser as I dug for a swimsuit. I had several. It was a perk from living on the beach my entire life. This year I’d chosen a bikini when my mom took me shopping. Dad hadn’t seen yet, and I figured now was as good a time as any to show him. He wouldn’t be able to do anything about it with all these people around. I slipped the purple bottoms on, and then tied the strings around my neck and back. I turned from side-to-side in front of the mirror, appraising myself. My boobs had just started to show up last summer, and even though I didn’t have much, I was proud of what I did have; I just wished they’d grow a little. “You guys are taking forever,” I grumbled as I adjusted the top. I pulled my hair back, grabbed my towel, and began making my way outside.

  When I slid open the door and stepped out on the deck, every nerve in my body went on high alert. I’d never been this exposed in front of Brock. I felt like he was staring right at me when in reality he probably didn’t even notice that I’d appeared. Dad was standing by the grill cooking and Mom was sitting at a table talking to Aunt Avery. Uncle Cam was in the pool with the guys, and Aaron and Cayden were joining in on the flipping contest.

  “So glad you could grace us with your presence,” Aaron shouted, causing a few of the guys to stop and look at me.

  “I only came out here to show you up,” I teased as I tossed my towel on a lounger.

  “Little girl’s got some attitude,” one of the guys laughed. If he only knew.

  “Don’t start something you can’t finish,” Aaron taunted as I rounded the pool and stepped up on the board.

  My knees shook slightly as I turned around, putting my back to the group. I bounced a few times and glanced over my shoulder to make sure I had room to land this. Once the water was clear, I hurled myself backwards into the air. I flipped twice before sinking into the water, barely making a splash. When I surfaced, a few of the guys clapped, causing a smile to spread across my face.

  “Emma Sutter!” His voice pierced my ears, causing me to stiffen. I turned around just in time to see my dad glaring at me. “Come here,” he pointed at the spot beside him. I sighed as I slowly swam to the edge of the pool and lifted myself out. Without even grabbing my towel, I walked over to where he was demanding my presence.

  “Yes, Daddy?” I smiled the sweetest smile I could muster. I knew what this was about, and so did Mom apparently. My swimsuit.

  “What are you wearing?” he growled.

  “A bathing suit,” I continued to smile. “Isn’t it great?”

  “Did you know about this?” he glared at Mom as she snickered.

  “I bought it,” she straightened up and squared her shoulders. Go Mom.

  “Well, you need to change,” he pointed at the house, but Mom shook her head subtly.

  “She’s fine, Nick. It covers everything that needs to be covered. She’s a teenager now. You need to lighten up,” Mom hugged him and whispered something into his ear that I couldn’t hear. “Go swim, honey,” she glanced at me before going back to whatever she was saying to Dad. I scurried away before Dad realized that he’d been outsmarted by the two of us forgetting that Mom was probably talking about something gross with him.

  When I reached the edge of the pool, I sat down and dipped my feet in. A few of the guys were setting up the floating basketball set we had, but Brock and another one were coming my way. I swallowed a few times trying to get the lump in my throat to go away as my stomach tightened in knots. He smiled at me as he pushed a pair of sunglasses up on top of his head. “That was pretty good,” he nodded when he reached the spot right in front of my legs.

  “Thanks,” I chewed my lip as I tried not to stumble over my own words. He was talking to me. Brock Foster was talking to me, Emma Sutter.

  “You’re Coach Sutter’s little girl, huh?” he smirked as he attempted to dodge the splash from his friend who was standing beside him.

  “I’m not a little girl,” I scowled as I started to stand. “I’m thirteen!”

  “Sorry,” he held his hands up in front of himself apologetically. “You gonna get back in the pool and show us how you did that?” he smiled and backed up slightly.

  “Did what exactly?” I knew what he was getting at, but I wanted to keep him talking.

  “That flip. Wanna teach me how you managed to get around twice before you hit the water?”

  “Lots of bounce,” I jerked my head once before glancing back at the board. “If you go over there I’ll show you again,” I tipped my head toward the other end of the pool.

  “Sure,” he grinned as he moved to the spot beside me and hoisted himself out.

  As we walked toward the diving board, I watched his body move. The muscles flexed and I imagined myself wrapped in his arms. I wondered what it would be like to kiss him. Of course I had no idea about any of this stuff. It only existed in my head, and I didn’t see myself getting any experience any time soon.

  We talked for all of five minutes that day. Brock landed the dive, and I didn’t know if it was me or something he’d been able to do all along. At the time I believed it was me. I spent years remembering that day. I committed everything that happened to memory. The way he smiled, his laugh, the way his arms flexed when he tossed the football across the pool to my dad. There were no pictures of us together; no videos, or selfies. I didn’t have anything but my fantasies to help me remember. Brock Foster was the boy I’d never have. The one who only lived in my dreams. Too bad no one tells you at thirteen that your dreams can come back to haunt you. No one tells you that the one that you always wanted, dreamed of having, may come barreling into your life when you least expect it.

  After pining away for him for four years, I finally gave up. I moved on with someone my own age, several someones actually, until one of them broke my heart and sent me running home and finding love in one of the most unlikely and forbidden places.

  Chapter 1

  Present Day...

  Emma

  “I can’t believe you’re really going home. What do your parents think about this, or have you not told them?” my best friend Melinda flopped across my bed. We’d been roommates for the last year. I was one of the lucky ones when I was assigned to this dorm. Mel and I hit it off right away, and have been inseparable since.

  “Why would I stay here?” I sighed. “I quit the team.”

  “I get that, but does your dad know? I mean, the only reason you came here was to play. You’re not doing that now, so...” she trailed off and I finally understood where she was coming from.

  “I’m coming back in the fall. I’m not leaving you,” I mumbled as I continued to stuff items into a suitcase. “I’ll just have to get a job to help pay for things.” I’d come to Eastman University to play lacrosse for the Lady Tigers. Dad had always wanted me to be an athlete, and this was the one sport I really excelled at. When I graduated high school I applied everywhere that had a women’s team that was at least two states away. I wanted to go away to school. My parents were ok with it when I landed my scholarship, but last week I quit.

  “You are going to get a job?” Mel scoffed.

  “Why is that so hard to believe?” I rolled my eyes.

  “I’ve seen you as a customer when we go anywhere. Would you want to deal with that?” she waved her finger in front of me and laughed.

  “Guess not, but I need money. I can’t expect my parents to pay for all this. It’s going to be expensive to be an out-of-state student here with no scholarship,” I zipped my bag closed and pulled it to the floor.

  “I’m going to kill him,” she muttered. “If you see me on the news, that’s why,” she shook her head.

  “I’ll help you,” I grumbled.

  “You didn’t quit because of him, did you?” she grabbed one
of my bags and lifted it on her shoulder. “I mean, I would hate for you to stop playing because he was such an ass.”

  “Jordan Douglas can kiss my ass,” I growled as I shoved open the door to our room and began lugging things down to my car. “Not having the privileges of a student athlete is going to suck next year, though.”

  “Yeah, no car,” Mel sighed when we reached my Prius.

  “I’m gonna pay for that too. I think sophomores can pay for a space. I wouldn’t survive without my baby,” I opened the door and began shoving things into the backseat.

  “Well, call me when you get in. We can plot his demise,” she smirked as I climbed in the driver’s seat.

  “I’ll call, but I really don’t want to talk about Jordan. I want to be as far away as possible from anything that reminds me of him,” I cranked the car as Mel stood there holding on to my door.

  “This is why I don’t think you’ll be back,” she kicked at the ground.

  “Maybe you can come stay with me some? My parents live right on the beach,” I smiled as I watched her.

  “Don’t remind me,” she groaned. “I’ve been regretting signing up for summer classes for weeks now. While you’re surrounded by hot guys and lying in the sand all summer, I’m going to be white as a ghost from hanging out in the library.”

  “I tried to warn you,” I giggled as she stepped back and I closed the door. She waved as I backed out of my spot, turned out of the lot, and began my long trek home. Going to school six hours away never seemed so far until that day.

  I took my time getting there; the house that I grew up in. Wilmington hadn’t changed much over the last year. I’d spent the last Christmas with my boyfriend, Jordan, and my parents had come to see me instead of me going home. I spent the summer after graduation at training camp, and most of the spring was spent on the field playing. I understood my dad’s warnings about sports consuming my life when I’d told him I was going to take the scholarship. I never really worked hard to be a lacrosse star. It came naturally, and my parents just supported that. I didn’t have to work more than what my coaches required, and when Eastman offered, I accepted. This last season was great. We’d come out with a winning record, and made it to the second round of the playoffs. If Jordan and I hadn’t screwed up, then I probably would have stayed and gone to training camp again. As it stands now, I don’t care if I ever pick up my stick again. It holds too many memories that I’d rather forget.