She was on her way home, when she spotted a few of the river boys and smiled as they waved. Brax had never let her anywhere near any business that he was involved with, but, through surfing and spending time with her brothers, she'd come to know the boys pretty well.
"Hey there baby Braxton," Noah greeted with a smile, running to catch up and falling into step beside her.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Nothing much, just about to head down to the lookout to do some surfing."
"Is that still the place to be?"
"It sure is, why don't you come with us?" Noah suggested, "The waters perfect."
Not really wanting to go home, Mckenna hesitated momentarily and nodded. Stood on the sand a while later, she watched as the boys surfed and chuckled when Noah wiped out whilst showing off.
It was dark by the time she arrived home, finding her mom passed out on the sofa and sighing as she tidied up. Laid on her bed an hour later, Mckenna grabbed her phone as it chimed and smiled when she saw a text from Heath.
'Meet me at the beach in the morning at about 9?'
'Sure, I'll see you then.'
Sleep came easy that night, but the nightmares soon took root and she woke up a little after sunrise with a gasp. With a couple of hours before she had to meet Heath, Mckenna decided to head to the diner to grab a muffin and some coffee.
Sat at a table near the back, she picked at the muffin she'd bought and looked up as someone took a seat opposite her.
"There was a time that that muffin wouldn't have stood a chance," Heath commented, causing Mckenna to chuckle, "Take a walk with me?"
"Let's go."
They had been walking for nearly ten minutes in silence, when Heath stopped and turned to face her as he spoke.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't do that," Mckenna told him, "There's nothing to apologize for."
"Yes, there is, you knew that I'd be looking at time if I was convicted... you were trying to protect me and ended up losing a year of your life," Heath argued.
"I don't regret my decision and I'd do it all again," Mckenna added, "One thing that you and Brax have always taught me is that we look out for one another."
Without another word, Heath pulled her into a hug and kissed her head. Heath soon went to meet Bianca and Mckenna made her way to Angelo's, sitting at the bar as Liam went to get Brax.
"Everything okay?" Brax inquired, grabbing a can of soda and pushing it towards her.
"Yeah," Mckenna replied, "I was just wondering if you still had your spare surfboard?"
"I do, but it needs some serious work, how come?"
"If I put the work in, would it be okay to use it?"
"Of course," Brax agreed.
She didn't know how she was going to get her life back on track, but she had missed being out on the water and maybe getting back into it would help.
Author's Notes: Happy Reading guys! Does Mckenna really not blame Heath? Or is there more to it than meets the eye?