Half Shelled Heart (Oyster Cove, #2) Read online

  Copying this title is a crime. Don’t be a thief!

  Copyright © 2016 Jennifer Foor

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is a written act of fiction. Any places, characters, or similarities are purely coincidence. If certain places or characters are referenced it is for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. This book is set in Chincoteague Virginia. Other places and names are created or changed for entertainment purposes only.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. This book is not allowed to be offered for sale, discounted, or free on any sites than the author’s selected retailers. This book may only be distributed by Jennifer Foor, the owner and Author of this series ONLY. This author does not authorize sharing or reproducing for free sites. All copies reproduced or shared are violations of the copyright laws and subject to legal action.

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Page

  Copyright Page

  Half Shelled Heart (Oyster Cove, #2)

  Chapter 1 | Brant

  Chapter 2 | Brant

  Chapter 3 | Jamie

  Chapter 4 | Brant

  Chapter 5 | Jamie

  Chapter 6 | Brant

  Chapter 7 | Jamie

  Chapter 8 | Brant

  Chapter 9 | Jamie

  Chapter 10 | Brant

  Chapter 11 | Jamie

  Chapter 12 | Brant

  Chapter 13 | Jamie

  Chapter 14 | Brant

  Chapter 15 | Jamie

  Chapter 16 | Brant

  Chapter 17 | Jamie

  Chapter 18 | Brant

  Chapter 19 | Jamie

  Chapter 20 | Brant

  Chapter 21 | Jamie

  Chapter 22 | Brant

  Chapter 23 | Jamie

  I owe a ton of thanks to my readers. Without you I wouldn’t be where I am in my life. You’ve helped me achieve dreams I never thought were reachable. I’m so grateful. From the bottom of my heart, and top and sides, thank you for the continued support.

  I’d also like to thank my family and friends for being my rock when I’m down, or cheering me on when I’m racing for a deadline.

  GOD IS GOOD

  This series is dear to my heart. As a young girl I remember camping every year on Chincoteague Island. Most people aren’t aware that I struggled with a relationship with my father since I became a teenager. These memories of camping take me back to a time when he was my hero. I cherish those times I got to spend with him, because we never know when someone will disappear from our lives.

  Years later we’re still visiting Chincoteague, my husband, and kids, dogs included. Each time we’re there I’m swept away by memories of the beautiful island and experiences I had there.

  The Assateague ponies have always been my most favorite things about vacationing in Virginia. When I was a teenager my father purchased two of them from the annual auction. He went to the hardware store and purchased plywood and other lumber, then made a half-assed giant box in the bed of his pickup. We literally drove two hours home with a wild colt trying to kick himself free. Talk about a memory.

  While I can appreciate those memories growing up, the islands hold more significance now. I take in the beautiful nature of Assateague and appreciate that some things have been preserved the way God made them. Chincoteague island is no different. The people are wonderful. It’s like going to a town from the fifties. Everyone knows you, AND THEY’RE KIND.

  Wouldn’t life be better if it was still this way everywhere?

  Obviously the purpose of writing this series is to share a beautiful place and a real family, with struggles, but yet hope at the end of the day. Thank you for taking a chance on this series.

  XOXO-J4

  Places referenced in this series:

  Chincoteague-Assateague-Island Creamery

  J&B Subs-Beulah Cemetery-Don’s Seafood

  The Crab Shack-Mr. Paul’s Place-Mr. Whippy’s

  Island Grocery-Tom’s Cove Campground

  Atlantic Shoals Surf Shop

  Chapter 1

  Brant

  We’re running, the warm wind blowing against my bare chest as I chase after her. She’s giggling, or maybe it’s an excited scream, I’ve yet to tell the difference. No matter the response I don’t give up. I’m eager to catch her; to wrap my strong arms around her small waist and kiss her until the sun sets and then rises again. She’s beauty at it’s best. She’s sweet like candy, her cherry flavored lips do things to me. She represents everything I’m not supposed to want, yet I can’t seem to get enough. My legs work harder, pressing my body to the limit in order to finally be able to reach her. The head start I gave her was probably a mistake, but I like seeing her smile. God, when she smiles I practically fall to pieces. That’s what her love does for me.

  I’m admitting it. I’m in love. This is our second summer together, and even though it’s coming to an end, I know it’s not over for us. This time we’ll keep in touch. We’ll figure out a way to stay together until next summer comes.

  My finger hooks the back of her tiny bikini bottoms, enough hold for me to halt and jerk her backward into my awaiting arms. “Gotcha!” I announce while capturing her gaze. Those sparkling blue eyes make me love drunk every time I stare into them. “Now what?”

  Her hands take mine and lace them together on either side of us. “Now you kiss me and promise to love me forever.”

  We’ve never said the words before, not to each other, and for me, never to anyone else. “Saying it will only make it more difficult when you have to leave tomorrow. It’s hard enough knowing you’re heading back to school in New York, where every damn guy will want to get into your pants.”

  She shakes her head, smirking. “It’s not like that, Brant. You know I only have eyes for you.”

  “Yeah, well distance changes that.”

  “I worry about you the same way. We have to trust one another.”

  “There’s thirty chicks in my graduating class, and most of them I’ve known since kindergarten. I’m not interested.”

  “Been there done that, right?” I can tell she assumes I’ve gone through all the girls at my high school in the past four years.

  “They don’t compare to you. Never have. Never will.”

  “I leave tomorrow, Brant. We can’t change that.”

  “I know,” I sadly agree. One last night together and then she’s gone for the next nine months. “Maybe we could drive to see each other this time.”

  She continues to smile while peering into my eyes. She’s so intense it scares me. Biting down on her lip, she considers what to say. “We could do that. It won’t be terrible. I’ll call every day. We’ll make it work this time.”

  She’s referring to the previous year, where we lost touch after the first few months, only to rekindle the relationship the day she returned to the island. “I’m not saying it, because it means I have to say goodbye, and I refuse to say that to you. It’s not goodbye. You’re mine and I’m yours. That’s never going to change. I want you. I want this.” I bring both of her hands up to my lips and kiss them while a wild Assateague pony neighs behind me. When I turn the mare is approaching us in a steady gallop. She stops near the area of where my boat is beached, probably checking it out since it’s not supposed to be there. This is our private spot. I have a habit of never having privacy at the house, so I come here to be alone. This is where we first had sex, and where it’s about to happen again.

  Jamie shoves our hands down and
leans forward, her lips coursing over mine as she speaks. “I love you, Brantley Wallace. I’ll never...”

  The alarm sounds, ringing my ears with the redundant chime, telling me it was all just a dream - a memory I wish I could have changed in my life. It happens every once in a while, probably my minds way of deliberately reminding me how bad I screwed up my first real relationship. There’s no way of knowing what we could have been, or if maybe things happened the way they were supposed to. Jamie Sorenson never returned to the island, and if she did, she never got in contact with me, not that I blame her for it.

  I’m lying. She came back once, to pay respects to my mother and support me while I mourned the loss of her. Pushing her away was a mistake, but it was so long ago I refuse to let it get to me. It’s bad enough the memories often haunt my dreams. She’ll always be a regret, but let’s face it, Jamie’s life was never on the island. We wouldn’t have worked out. Besides, I ruined whatever it was between us with broken promises, the kind I will never have the chance at making good on.

  My lies and deceit to push her away are what cause the repetitive nightmare. It’s like my soul is being tortured and no matter how much of a good man I try to be in the present, it will never change the mistakes I made back then.

  The past ten years have been productive. I’ve changed. My life is on track, and for the most part I have everything I want. Why I keep dreaming of my first love makes no sense, especially when I have a sexy ass woman lying naked in the bed next to me. Leigh is the whole package. I’m surprised I was able to convince her to date me, but glad I didn’t give up when she played hard to get. She made me work for every single first, not that I regret every minute of effort I put forth to make them happen.

  She’s a blonde, natural in every way. Her sky blue eyes remind me of little gems when I peer into them. She’s got this little button nose I enjoy teasing her for, even though I actually find it adorable. Don’t get me started on her ass. She’s teaching me to twerk, or at least that’s what she thinks she’s doing. I’m really only there for the entertainment. Seeing her attributes jiggle in such an unnatural way certainly gets a reaction out of me.

  Leigh is smart. She’s smarter than me. Her classy charm making me feel like I don’t’ deserve her. She’s compassionate, so much that I wonder if she’ll leave me to work in a foreign country saving refugees. I’m so in awe of her that I overlook the little things, at least until she gives me reasons not to.

  The repetitive siren continues on the table next to me, though I refuse to turn it off because I know how much it annoys my fiancée. I like getting a rise out of her, purposely pushing her to catch an attitude. I’m ornery like that.

  Our latest feud still heavy on my mind. I’m exhausted, and having to wake up only makes the animosity worse.

  Leigh was fully aware of me having to wake early in order to get out on the water. It’s peak Oyster season. It’s my job.

  But no. She had to press. Argue. Pick a fight. Badger me until I lost it.

  Leigh is relentless. She starts the fights, and refuses to let up until she knows she’s won the battle.

  The echoing sounds fill the room, forcing me to cover my head with a pillow. I feel the smack of a hand on my back. “Get that, Brant. Turn it off.”

  I roll over and give a snarky stare, even if I know she’s got her eyes closed. “Serves you right for keeping me up past my bedtime.”

  Her middle finger lifts up, and all I can catch is the diamond ring I slipped on her finger a couple months ago. Every day my family rags on me about asking her to marry me, and each time I cringe wondering if they’re going to prove me wrong at some point or another. I hate to burden myself with such ridiculous thoughts. Leigh isn’t going anywhere. She loves me, and for the most part we’re happy. We argue about dumb things. It’s often, but usually ends just as quickly as they started.

  I lean forward on the bed and play with her long blonde hair, taking a chunk and placing it over my top lip like it’s my moustache. “Give me a kiss goodbye.”

  “No. You don’t deserve it. I’ll never be able to fall back asleep now, besides, you still refuse to talk about the future.”

  I sigh heavily. It’s frustrating. She’s frustrating me. “That’s because you already know my answer. I ain’t driving over an hour every morning to come to work.”

  She sits straight up, leaning on her elbows. “You could put your boat in anywhere. Salisbury has plenty of boat slips for commercial use.”

  “My business is here. My brothers’ are here. You know that, Leigh. I can’t just up and move everything. We run a family business. It’s not like I’m even able to make a decision like that on my own.”

  “You run the company. Isn’t it yours? Isn’t that why your father gave you the reigns and bought the restaurant with your step-mother? I thought he wanted you to be in control.”

  This conversation isn’t going anywhere but out the window. I’m so damn tired of discussing it I’m ready to blow a fuse. She doesn’t get it. Leigh was born and raised in Easton Maryland. It’s about a two hour drive from Chincoteague. In the broad spectrum of things that’s not too far. We live in the country. Everything is at least twenty minutes away from the little island we reside on. She’s bored though. Leigh likes to live in a larger area with amenities. Although we have them here in Chincoteague, most close for the winter season. It’s October and she’s already bitching.

  I suppose this is all my fault. We met at a social gathering, a festival of music where she attends college at Salisbury University. After talking on the phone and texting for several months, we started making the hour drive to visit one another. Then she up and decided to work the summer months on the island catering to tourists. Now that the job has ended, and school has started back up for her, she’s tired of making the long haul back and forth three days a week.

  It’s been a month and I’m sick of hearing her bitch. Leigh hates to drive. She misses her friends and the convenience of being able to hang out with them like she used to do. Her parents keep pushing for her to relocate. I get it. Most college students leave the island to return to campus life. She moved here for the summer to be close to me, and shortly after I started staying over until eventually most of my belongings ended up here.

  It’s not like we rushed it. We’ve been involved for almost two years, both of us making an effort even though fifty miles separated us. When she moved to Chincoteague for me I was elated. I’d never had another female go out of her way to make me happy, and for the most part she does.

  I’m hard to deal with. Most of the blame falls on my father, but not all of it. Mom died when I was a teenager, basically a young adult. There are six of us kids, and it was up to Dad to manage everything when all he really knew was to work on the water. He built the company from the ground up. He’s the best waterman on the island, well-known for his large catches, and oyster beds.

  Raising kids is a different story.

  I tried to help, but after watching my mother die of cancer we were a disaster waiting to happen. Dad did his best. He drank to ease the pain, and also his burdens he blindly handled. I’ve got to give him credit where it’s due. My dad never gave up on us, and after years of self inflicted depression, he finally met someone and fell in love again. We love Alice. She’s great for Dad. They own a restaurant and bar, and work side by side each day. I don’t know how that’s possible. I can’t imagine spending every waking second with Leigh, but hopefully that will change once she graduates college and stops annoying the hell out of me with her immature inclinations of how and where we should end up. My life is and always will be on this island. She knew that going in. Not even love can change that. I promised my mother on her deathbed that we’d stick together and keep the business going. I may be a shitty boyfriend, but I’m a good son. My siblings rely on me, and I them. If Leigh loves me, she’ll understand and stay by side. If not, I’ll be a lonely son of a bitch with only myself to blame.

  Chapter 2

&nb
sp; Brant

  I’m an animal lover. When I was growing up on the island I used to dream of being one of the cowboys to wrangle up the ponies for the annual swim across and auction. As I got older I learned of the many duties carried out by those brave individuals, and the hard work they put into making sure every single pony is cared for throughout the years.

  After my mom died I knew there was no chance of me doing anything other than working on the boat alongside my brothers. There was no choice. It’s how it had to be then, and even now, but it still doesn’t sway me from remembering that aspiration and embracing the fact that I may never be able to be anyone other than who I am now.

  I’m not angry or miserable. I actually love my job. I exercise without having to go to the gym. My tan is constant, even in the winter months, a result of being on the water with the sun reflecting against my visible skin. I feel healthy, and if I wasn’t before, Leigh’s vegan diet keeps me in check.

  She’s been trying to get me to give up meat, but my brothers think it’s a joke. They are constantly feeding me things like Pizza with sausage, or even bacon on sandwiches. I think they get a kick out of seeing me fail, because it’s less for them to have to respect.

  After finally leaving the place I share with Leigh, I head to the marina to meet the crew. I’m halfway there when I get a call from my little sister Bristol. Since graduating high school, I haven’t known her to ever be up this early, so it’s alarming.

  Swiping my phone to pick up the call, I raise it to my ear and greet her. “Hey, sis. What’s got your panties tangled up before daybreak?”

  “It’s Brimley. He’s been throwing up since last night, and he’s just lying on the floor shaking.”

  “Take him to the vets.” I’m already in a panic. Brimley was the puppy I got right after my mother passed away. If Leigh wasn’t allergic I’d have him with me all the time. Even though he’s kind of my dog, the rest of the family takes equal responsibility for him. “Tell Dad.”