Beyond the Waves (Pacific Shores Book 1) (12 page)

She chuckled as she pulled into her drive and killed the motor. She glanced toward the house.

Kylen, hands clasped behind his head, rocked easily in her porch swing, the final rays of the setting sun gilding his features.

She closed her eyes, her heart beginning to hammer as though she were in the middle of a tough workout.
What is he doing here?
Wasn’t it just this morning that she’d been wishing for some time with him?
I’m crazy to be feeling things for him again!
Well, she couldn’t just sit here in the car all night. Quietly she headed for the house.

He grinned as she stepped up onto the porch. “Hi.” The word was a soft caress.

“Hi.” She adjusted her purse strap. “I got your bouquet.” Remembering the words on the card, she flushed and looked down for a moment, then peered back up at him. “It was nice.”

He arched his brows, a twinkle in his eyes.

“A lot more than nice. They were beautiful. Thank you.” She shuffled her feet.

His face turned serious, and the motion of the swing stopped as he leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees, and looked intently into her face. “Not half as beautiful as you are,” he whispered.

She swallowed and collapsed as casually as she could against the post by her shoulder, pushing down the desire to wrap her arms around him and thank him properly. She did not dare step closer to him. Didn’t dare even to look at him. She turned her back to the house and stared out over the street to the golden sunset that was just turning pink along the edges.

She heard him stand, felt him come up beside her. He took her hand.

A tremor raced the length of her spine and back. Still, she did not meet his gaze.

Tugging her over to the swing, he pulled her down beside him. As soon as they were seated, he let go of her hand and tucked his own hands underneath his thighs. He looked over at her. “How was your day?”

She huffed softly, fiddling with a bit of fuzz on her skirt. “Crazy. Strange. Good.”

He leaned back to get a better view of her.

She chuckled. “Yeah. All of that. I forgot I was supposed to meet Daddy for breakfast because I was hurrying to the office to see—” Her cheeks flamed. “Well, anyway, he called to remind me and asked me to meet him for dinner.”

“Hold on, now.” Kylen grinned and bumped her with his shoulder. “You were hurrying to the office to see…what?”

She worried her lower lip, but was unsuccessful at keeping a smile at bay. “You’re not playing fair.” She met his gaze. “I love getting presents.”

His eyes held a smile, but his voice was serious when he said, “Hmmm, I’ll have to remember that.”

For one heated moment their eyes locked, then Kylen took a visible breath and leaned back. “So you had dinner with your dad tonight. How’s the Bungling Burglar doing?”

She chuckled, started to answer, paused, then went ahead and said it, crazy as it sounded and all. “Daddy has a girlfriend.”

Kylen arched his brows and folded his arms. “You did have a crazy day.”

She nodded. “It does seem a little strange. But I’m so relieved at the same time. I was really worried that he was starting to lose it. But the couple times he’s been supposed to meet me and forgot were because he was with his girlfriend. Her name is Loraine.”

“So are you okay with it? Not that you have any say in the matter.” He grinned.

“At first it felt a little disloyal to Mom. But”—she shrugged—”he deserves to find happiness again. I’m happy for him; at least I will be when I get all the emotional baggage about Mom out of the way.”

“Sounds like some exercise therapy is in order. Want to go for a jog?”

She sighed. A jog sounded really good about now. “Sure. Just let me change and I’ll be right out.”

“First”—he touched her arm to stop her before she stood—”I need to talk to you about Sophia.”

She looked at him, holding her breath. She’d known this was coming; she just wasn’t sure she was ready for whatever he was about to say. Had Sophia decided to be reasonable? More than likely, not.

“I’ve met with her a couple of times. She hasn’t wanted to meet directly with you, but I’ve finally talked her into it. She wants to know if we can all get together for lunch next Sunday after church to talk this over.”

“Do you think she’s going to see reason?”

He shrugged. “One never knows with Sophia.”

“Sunday is fine. Where should I meet you?”

“We planned on Fisherman’s Wharf.”

She shrugged. “Okay, that works for me.”

She headed inside to change, hoping Sophia would be sensible for the first time in her life.

Chapter 7

Marie lay back on her couch, hands behind her head as she stared at the familiar water stain on the ceiling. She mashed her lips together and clenched her fists. Her whole body was trembling.

What was she going to do?

Brice was a nice enough guy, maybe. But he certainly didn’t seem like a man who—

With a jolt she sat up and hunched forward, her arms curled around her midsection. She rocked forward and back, staring at the bald spot in the carpet between her feet.

She would not cry. She would not cry. She would not cry.

Oh, but this was a fine mess she’d gotten herself into. And there were no easy answers.

She should go talk to Taysia. But the thought of the shock that would be on her face…the disappointment…that held her back. The woman had done so much for her already. She didn’t need to be burdened with this.

Her laptop sat on the coffee table, and the website she’d looked up snagged her attention—again. She had
options
, it said. She should list the pros and cons and decide what would make her happy in the future, it said. There were no risks, it said. They could even give her a pill.

Just one little pill.

Her stomach cramped at just the thought, and she scooped her fingers back into her hair and bit her lip. She was unable to stop the tears this time.

Why was she even contemplating this? How had her life choices brought her to this decision? But what would her life be like if she didn’t take action?

Her cell phone lay within easy reach. She drew her finger over the screen and swiped in her unlock sequence. The phone number was right there at the top corner of the web page. With a trembling finger, she dialed.

“Family Services Clinic, how may I help you?”

Marie swallowed. “Um…I think I need to make an appointment.”

“Certainly. Let me check our schedule.”

The woman hadn’t even asked why she needed an appointment. Maybe every woman who called for this reason sounded as choked up as she had.

“The soonest I can get you in is on the twenty-eighth at four thirty in the afternoon.”

Almost two weeks away?
“Uh, yeah, I can make that. Thanks.”

She hung up a few minutes later and dropped her phone onto the coffee table, allowing a puff of air to bulge out her cheeks. She could do this. She’d just be her regular self for a few more days. Then she’d take care of this and move on with her life, and no one would be the wiser.

Maybe Brice would be free to hang out later in the week. He might be able to pull her from this melancholy mood.

And even if he couldn’t, she would just
act
happy, and then maybe the feelings would follow.

Fake it till you make it—wasn’t that what people advised these days?

Taysia gawked at the huge stuffed panda on her porch. She looked around. No one. The morning sun streamed down on a perfectly empty yard. The thing was almost as tall as she was, and it was sitting down! She glanced toward Kylen’s house, saw the shutters jostle as a separation between two blinds disappeared, and grinned.

Dropping her gym bag on the porch, she wrestled the beast through her front door and settled it into one of her dining room chairs. It flopped forward, lolling lazily on the tabletop.

“Come on, now. Sit up,” she chided, straightening it in the seat. Tucked into the bright red bow tied around its neck was an envelope with her name scrawled on it in Kylen’s handwriting. The card was a panda bear chewing on a stalk of bamboo. She grinned and flipped it open. “Do you have room in your heart for one lonely panda bear?” There was no signature, but the handwriting was unmistakable.

She poked the panda in the nose. “No, I do not have room for you.” She sighed. “As for the man who sent you? I just might have some room for him.” She huffed. “Who am I kidding? I’ve always had room for him.”

Kylen set the twin panda on the top step of Layne’s porch and settled into her swing to await her arrival. Grinning, he leaned back and stretched his legs out before him. He hadn’t had so much fun in a long time. The look on her face yesterday as she thanked him for the flowers had nearly sent his heart into arrhythmia.

He clasped his hands behind his head. He’d purposely been staying away, giving her time to get used to the idea that he was back in her life.
For good
. But one conversation with her last night and he found he couldn’t stay away tonight. He set the swing in motion, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the duet the crickets and gulls sang above the low pulse of the ocean.

A few moments later he heard her turn into the drive. Her little blue car rolled to a stop. Through the windshield he saw her mouth drop open when she caught sight of the panda.

He chuckled and gave the swing another push with his toe.

Blonde hair escaping from her ponytail, she stepped from the car and bent into the backseat to get her things. He wanted to run down the walk and meet her, but he forced himself to stay where he was.

She paused at the bottom of the steps and looked over at him through the porch railings. “I don’t have enough room in my little place for another one of these!” The spark of pleasure in her eyes belied the aggravation of her words.

He sauntered over and lifted the huge beast into his arms. Walking back to the swing, he set the panda at one end and seated himself in the middle next to it. “He can sit right here on your swing.” He patted the open spot by his side.

Tossing her gym bag by the door, she rolled her lower lip between her teeth, eyeing the small space he’d left for her on the swing.

He scooted a fraction of an inch farther into the panda and thumped the spot again.

Slowly she inched toward him and sat down, plastered like wallpaper to the arm of the swing. Still, their shoulders and knees touched. Gently he set the swing in motion, and they rocked in silence.

Finally she looked over at him. “Thanks for the pandas.”

He nodded.

“And the roses. And the coffee and chocolates.” She chuckled.

He grinned. “How about adding ice cream to that list?”

“Ice cream?”

“Come down to Joe’s with me for old times’ sake?” He held his breath.

“Okay, but the panda has to stay here.”

“You got it.” He stood and reached for her hand, pulling her to her feet. Much as he wanted to hang onto her, he let go as soon as they were off the porch, and stuffed his hands deep into his pockets.

Joe’s Ice Cream Truck had been parked at the edge of the beach for so long Kylen seriously doubted if the engine would even turn over anymore. It was an old box truck with the back end converted into a mini ice cream shop. The side of the truck had been retrofitted with a hinged door that, when opened, acted as a roof to keep customers shaded or dry. On sunny days Joe would put out a few small round tables with umbrellas for patrons to sit at.

Kylen cast a sideways glance at Taysia. Coming to Joe’s used to be a daily occurrence for them. He wondered what she was thinking, but her face remained impassive.

As they walked along the path, the bottom half of the sun slid past the black line of ocean horizon, painting the smooth surface of the water a bright shade of orange. Soft cirrus clouds wisped across the sky, reflecting the orange sunset in peach hues. The soft swish of ocean waves pulsed against the shore, and somewhere a bullfrog croaked out a tympanic rhythm.

Kylen swallowed hard and fisted the lining of his pockets into his tight grip, because with all the beauty surrounding him, he still was having a hard time keeping his eyes off the woman at his side. What would he do if she never came to a place where she could trust him again? He didn’t want to think on that. The consequences of that were too painful to even contemplate. He wanted to spend every minute of the rest of his life knowing this woman by his side was his to cherish.
Lord, give me patience
.