by David Banner
"I know!" Micah smiled. "After that little hidden camera trick of yours the whole damned state knows. That was brilliant, dude."
"Wasn't me,” I said, my eyes wet from joy.
"You?" Micah asked, looking to Rachel.
"Nope." Rachel smiled. "A friend."
"Who? Where is he?" Micah asked.
"She,” I said, wiping my cheeks. "And she's not here. She left. Said she had a few things to do."
"Will I meet her?" Micah asked. "To say thanks."
"Don't know,” I said, wrapping my arms around him again. "I'm just glad you're okay."
"Shit!" Micah smiled. "I'm fine. There was a pretty hot nurse in there and for some reason I just couldn’t get rid of my cough."
I had never been so thankful in all of my life. Thankful to God, to Rachel, to Hope and to everyone else who had played even the smallest part in freeing my brother. We had been through a lot in the last few weeks, but seeing Micah now, standing as a free man made all of those memories disappear. It was as though the warm Florida sun just melted them away.
I had spent so much of my time lately thinking about how to free my brother that I really hadn't thought about what would happen once I finally did it. I knew going back to our apartment in Miami probably wasn't going to happen. Even if Micah said he was okay with it I knew him well enough to know he'd be lying.
My brother, like my parents has never been the type to hang around a place after something bad happened. That’s why I never mentioned going back to Carolina, I knew it would hurt him too much, even if he tried to tell me it was okay and put on a brave face I knew that deep down he'd just be reliving that day over and over. That’s why I couldn't wait to tell him the good news.
"So," Micah said. "Where are we headed?"
"Well," I said. "After everything that happened to me and after exposing the sadistic mayor and his sons, the city of Anna Maria Island reversed that property sale. Now we really do own a house there."
"The murder house?" Micah asked.
"Not so much,” I replied. "The city is still determining what is to become of that thing. We ended up with a different house."
"Sweet!" Micah replied.
"Yeah," I smiled. "It even has a little building on the property, right on the beach. I was thinking about remodeling it and turning it into a bar."
"Bro!" Micah gave my shoulder a hard punch. "You know I'm like a mix master. I'll tend bar."
"Kinda already got someone in mind for that,” I said.
Micah turned to Rachel and smiled. Extending his arms and wrapping them around her in a way I hadn't really seen him do before and for a second it kind of felt like our family was becoming whole again.
"Well," Micah said. "Let's go! There're a lot of girls on that beach waiting to meet me."
That was it, in that moment I had everything I needed. And I couldn't wait to find my home and start anew. "Oh,” I said, tapping Micah's shoulder as we walked toward the car. "I got a phone call earlier today."
"Yeah...?” Micah said.
"It was from this lady,” I said. "Her daughter is missing. She saw what happened with us on the news. Now she wants my help finding her."
"Are you gonna do it?" Micah asked wide-eyed.
"Am I going to do the thing I said I never would, you mean?" I asked. "Am I going to become Mom and Dad?" I said. "I think I will."
Want to know what happens next to Brandon, Micah, Hope, and the rest of the Anna Maria Island gang?
Well, you'll have to click here to find out, because Amazon WON'T TELL YOU when my next book is coming out. So again, please click here to join my mailing list and make sure you're up to date on the latest news, book releases, and special offers from me, David Banner.
Thanks so much for your time and for reading my work. You are truly appreciated.
-David
Authors Note:
Hello, as the author I hope you love the book and I look forward to bringing more stories to life. But one of the most important things a reader can do is leaving a review on Amazon or any other book platform. It’s a small, quick thing, but it will help out in such an important way. So, if you have time I would love to hear your feedback.
Thanks,
David.
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