The Hurricane by Nicole Hart

too sweet, you know that?” she said quietly.
    “That might be the first time anyone has ever called me sweet.”
    “Well you are,” she reassured me.
    I had been called a lot of things in my lifetime; sweet was never one of them.
    Because I never was. These two were changing me.
     

 
    Attached
     
     

    The rational part of me was screaming that we were moving too fast. I shouldn’t let Brooklyn around a man I’ve only been with for such a short time. No matter how easy it was, how comfortable it was, when we were all together. But I hadn’t even introduced them on purpose. I knew I should keep my relationship with Ryker away from Brooklyn. But she was determined to be around him. She was so strong-willed. I knew she inherited that from Kyle. He was strong and full of determination. It showed in his dedication to his career. I felt so weak sometimes, so I knew Brookie didn’t get it from me. But I also knew that Brooklyn craved that male presence in her life. I just didn’t want this whole thing to backfire on me.
    “Please tell me I’m doing the right thing. Please tell me this isn’t wrong,” I mumbled to myself, to God, to Kyle, I wasn’t sure. I just wanted to be sure.
    After the words came out of my mouth, I heard the rumble of a motorcycle in the distance. Brooklyn must have heard it too, because she jumped to her feet, dropping the bucket of sand to the ground.
    “Momma, it’s Ryker!” she said excitedly, jumping up and down, clapping her hands. I couldn’t help but smile. She really liked him. My guilt fell away temporarily as my excitement took over. I followed suit and jumped to my feet, excluding the clapping and jumping part. That was only on the inside. Brooklyn ran over to me and slid her feet into her flip flops, grabbing my hand at the same time.
    “Let’s go see him,” she said as she started to pull me behind her. I glanced in his direction just as he was parking his motorcycle. The grin that spread across his face when he spotted us almost melted my heart.
    He hopped off his bike, shoving the key in his pocket then running his fingers through his hair quickly. His dirty blonde locks still perfectly in place. I don’t know how he managed that. When I rode on the bike with him, it took me twenty minutes to get the tangles out, and that was with a helmet. Just another perfect quality about him, to add to all the rest.
    “Ryker!” Brookie squealed, loosening her hand from mine and charging for him once we were a few feet away. She ran to him and wrapped her arms around his legs. Ryker scooped her up, even though she was soaking wet and gave her a hug. Brooklyn wrapped her little arms around his neck and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. My legs almost gave out from under me. Brooklyn wasn’t affectionate with anyone but me. My parents had to ask for hugs and kisses before they got them. Not to mention that he has a beard and was covered in tattoos. Brooklyn had never been around anyone that looked like Ryker. I had seen the way other people looked at him. Sometimes they seemed nervous. Other times you could just feel their judgment radiating off of them. But not my Brookie; she saw how kind and loving Ryker was from the first moment, no matter how intimidating he looked to everyone else.
    “Your beard is scratchy.” She giggled as Ryker put her back down on the ground.
    “It’s itchy to me sometimes, too,” he said as he raised back up and looked in my direction. I wanted to run to him, wrap my arms around him and kiss his lips. But I was trying to control my urges, around Brooklyn anyway.
    “Momma, aren’t you happy to see Ryker?” she asked, genuinely confused.
    “Of course I am, sweetie,” I said as I ruffled the wet mop of hair on her head.
    “Then why didn’t you hug him? I know you missed him momma!” she said as she grabbed me by the hand, and pulled me closer to Ryker.
    Ryker put his arms around me and kissed the side of my head before whispering in my ear,