Beyond the Waves (Pacific Shores Book 1) (17 page)

“Hi, Taysia, this is Loraine.”

Loraine…Loraine…? Loraine
who
?

“I met you the other night. I was with your father…”

“Oh! Yes, of course. Hi, Loraine. What can I do for you?”

“Well, honey, I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

Taysia’s heart lurched, and she jerked to a halt right in the middle of the path. “What happened?”

Kylen turned to study her with a worried frown.

Loraine was still talking. “First, I want you to know your daddy is fine. But he’s in the hospital.”

Taysia pulled free of Kylen and pressed her hand to her forehead. “Hospital?” The question sounded dim-witted even to her own ears, but nothing else would come to mind.

“Yes, dear. He’s had a mini stroke. They are going to keep him overnight for observation, but think he should be able to go home in the morning.”

“A stroke…how bad? Does he have paralysis?”

“No, honey. He seems to have full feeling. The doctors are calling it a mini stroke and will do some more follow-up tests today and tomorrow. We’ll know more after a while.”

“Oh, good. Okay. Well…I’m up in Seattle, but”—she glanced at Kylen, and he was already nodding and prompting her to follow him to the exit—”we’re leaving right now. I’ll get there just as soon as I can. Thank you for calling me.”

“Of course, honey. I would have called you sooner, but your daddy couldn’t remember your number, and his phone was in his pants, and they confiscated those in the ER the minute we got here and didn’t bring them back until just now.” She giggled like a schoolgirl. “Can’t say that I mind, though. Ever since I found out he was going to be fine, I haven’t been able to stop staring at his legs in that sexy hospital gown he’s wearing.”

“Oh, pshaw!” Daddy’s voice filtered through the line, and Taysia could tell Loraine was doing her part to keep him in good spirits. Maybe she was all right, this woman her daddy was dating.

She smiled as Kylen led her through the turnstile exit. “I’m glad you’re there with him, Loraine. Don’t let him give any of the nurses a bad time.”

“I won’t, honey. And I’ve got your number in my phone now, so if anything else happens before you get here, I’ll be sure to call right away. You drive careful now. I’ll wager you’re with a certain new police officer from the Marinville force?”

“Yes…how did you know?”

“Oh, word travels fast in a town like this, child. My neighbor, Mrs. Conoughy, saw you two driving out of town together yesterday.”

“Oh.” Kylen held the car door for her, and she sank into her seat. “Well, we’re on our way. Give Daddy my love, and I’ll see you around…” She checked her watch. “Seven thirty.”

“Okay, I’ll tell him.”

She hung up and told Kylen what had happened.

He squeezed her hand as they pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the freeway. “Let’s pray for him right quick.” Kylen prayed quietly as he drove, and Taysia leaned her head back and closed her eyes. As she listened to him pray for her daddy, she knew she had found the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

Chapter 10

Loraine and Daddy were watching the first round of
Jeopardy
when Taysia and Kylen arrived at the hospital room.

Loraine lowered the volume on the TV.

Daddy stretched out a gnarled hand and smiled. “Hey, Snookums!”

The tension in Taysia’s shoulders eased, and tears filled her eyes and fell across her cheeks. She hadn’t realized how worried she’d been until this moment. “Daddy, I’m so glad you are alright!” She bent over his bed and pulled him into a firm hug.

“Bah!” He patted her back and then grasped her shoulders and put her from him. “It wasn’t anything. You know doctors. Always needing someone new to poke and prod.”

Taysia glanced over at Loraine.

Lips pinched together in a firm, straight line and eyes narrowed, she leaned forward and slapped Daddy on the leg. “Don’t you make light of this, Dale Green! She’s your daughter, and she deserves to know what is going on in your life!”

Daddy cleared his throat and toyed with the edge of his blanket.

Kylen reached out and touched Taysia’s shoulder. “I’m going to go down to the cafeteria and get us something to eat before they close…Snookums.”

Taysia stilled and tossed him a friendly glare. “Now see what you’ve done, Daddy?”

The patient chuckled and glanced back and forth between them, a speculative gleam in his eye.

With a light smile and a tug on her hair, Kylen said, “I’ll bring you up something in a few minutes.”

“Thanks.” She gave his arm a swat as he left her side.

Thankful for the moment of privacy Kylen had just granted them and the lightness he’d injected into the room, she turned back to Daddy. “Tell me everything that happened, Daddy. Please?”

Daddy peeked at Loraine, who folded her arms and lowered her chin with the air of a woman ready to do battle.

Taysia suppressed a grin. She liked this woman more and more each time she met her.

Waving a hand as though shooing away a pesky fly, Daddy turned back to her. “Really, it wasn’t anything serious. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Loraine cleared her throat.

Daddy rolled his eyes and continued, “I woke up this morning feeling a little funny. Loraine was supposed to come over, and we were going to go golfing. By the time she got to the house, I couldn’t seem to put two thoughts together. She called 9-1-1, and the paramedics brought me here. I don’t remember much in between waking up and seeing the doctor here.”

Loraine dropped the battle-ax air, and Taysia could see tears glimmering in her eyes. “I was never so scared in all my born days! I asked him which of our cars he wanted to take, and he couldn’t even form an answer. His words were all slurred, and he almost fell when he let go of the door to reach for his coat.” She brushed her fingers under each eye. “I got him to the couch and called for help. Thankfully by the time we got here, he was back to his normal, cranky self.”

Taysia pulled the woman into a tight hug.

Loraine’s body tensed, momentarily startled by the abrupt embrace.

Taysia didn’t let go. “I’m so thankful you were there to help him. Thank you!”

The tension eased from Loraine’s shoulders. And her arms tightened around Taysia. “Me too, dolly. Me too.”

Pulling back, Taysia moved to stand by Daddy’s side. “So the doctors say you are going to be all right?”

“Yes. They want me to take some blood thinners. But they say I should pretty much be back to normal in a couple days.”

“Thank the Lord!”

Kylen returned a few moments later with a tray of food, and they chatted for a few more minutes. But soon Taysia could see Daddy flagging and trying not to show it.

She stood. “We should be going, Daddy, so you can get some sleep. What time are you getting out tomorrow?”

“Should be in the morning sometime, but Loraine will be here to help me get home.”

Loraine nodded assurance to that statement.

“Okay. Well, I’ll come by and check on you before church tomorrow, okay?”

Daddy waved a hand. “No need for you to rush around so early. After church is fine. And Taysia?”

“Yes?”

“Say a prayer for your old man at church tomorrow, would you?”

Taysia blinked away tears. “You bet I will, Daddy.”

Kylen stretched out his hand. “Glad you are going to be fine, Mr. Green. I’ll be praying for you, as well.”

“Thank you, son. And it’s Dale.”

Out at the elevators, as Kylen pushed the button, Taysia arched a brow at him. “That was a high compliment coming from Daddy.”

“What?”

“Him telling you to call him Dale.”

“Really?”

“Mmm-hmm.” The elevator doors slid open and they stepped inside. “Not even Blaine has been given that privilege, and I’ve been seeing him off and on for over a year.”

“Well”—he shrugged—”Blaine’s not as good for you as I am.” His lips spread in a wide grin.

Taysia chuckled. “And not since Moses has such a humble man as yourself walked the face of the earth?”

“Well, Jesus was here between Moses and me, so I wouldn’t go that far.”

She laughed again.

“No.” His face turned suddenly serious, and he reached for her hand. “I didn’t mean that I was better than Blaine. Just better for
you
.”

Warmth traced her spine, and she leaned up on her toes to give him a quick kiss. “You’re right.”

She started to pull away, but he leaned after her and captured her mouth with his again. After only a moment, he framed her face with his hands and rested his forehead against hers.

“I had a great time this weekend. Thanks for coming with me.”

She wanted to kiss him again, but the way her knees had turned to jelly, she knew she didn’t dare. “I had fun too. Sorry Daddy kinda cut our day short.”

The elevator doors slid open, and they stepped out into the hospital’s garage.

Kylen tugged her in the direction of the Mustang, his fingers laced between hers. “So. Tomorrow we meet with Sophia, don’t forget.”

Taysia sighed. “How could I forget?”

He gave her hand a squeeze. “It’s going to be fine. I think she is ready to drop the lawsuit, if you give her a free year’s membership to the gym.”

Fisherman’s Wharf pulsed with the bustle of waiters rushing to satisfy clientele, the clang of patrons’ utensils on plates, and the clash of clumsy busboys clearing tables. Kylen was glad for the noisy crowd. It meant that even though he was alone at a table with Sophia, he wasn’t really alone with her. He looked around the room; at a waiter hurrying by; at a child across the way tossing spaghetti on the floor while his parents argued with quiet heat; out the window where a white sail poked a hole in the azure blue of the oceanic slate; anywhere but at Sophia, who hadn’t taken her calculating eyes off him since he showed up.

Under the table he rubbed his hands together. Somehow, whenever he was in her presence, he couldn’t help but feel like a skittish gazelle locked in a cage with a hungry lioness.

Today her clothes only added to his discomfort. The neckline of her scant, filmy black top plunged embarrassingly low. The thing was more like a pair of wide suspenders than a shirt. Kylen shifted in his chair and eyed the entry, wishing Taysia would hurry up.

“So…” Sophia hunched over the table and toyed with the straw in her moisture-frosted glass with a long red fingernail. “Are you busy later? After we’re done talking things over with Taysia?”

Kylen met her eyes and felt the first twinge of sympathy for her. What must it be like to be so unsure of yourself that you had to try and seduce your way into a relationship? She hadn’t been like this in high school. Catty, yes. Haughty, yes. But loose and easy had never been her style. She’d started down this path when Jim dumped her for the first time.

“Why do you do this to yourself?”

She pulled back. “What?”

A gesture took in her attire. “This.”

She smirked and took a sultry sip of her drink. “So you did notice…you don’t like my outfit?”

Kylen swallowed and took a different tack. “Where’d you meet the last guy you dated?”

Sophia shrugged. “Down at Pete’s.”

The local bar. Of course. “And how did that work out for you?”

“Jed was a deadbeat. He didn’t like Jimmy.” She quirked a penciled brow.

Kylen softened at the mention of her son. “Where’s Jimmy now? I’d like to meet him sometime.”

Her whole face transformed, and she actually smiled without trying to be seductive. “He’s at my mom’s. She watches him for me whenever I need her to, and he loves going to Grammy’s.” She looked out the window and studied the ocean horizon, finally adding, “He’s a good kid; I think you would like him.”

“I’m sure I would.” Kylen drew a pattern in the water droplets on his glass. “Don’t you want to give Jimmy a better life than what the next idiot from Pete’s has to offer?”

Her head snapped toward him, and fire blazed in her eyes. “Don’t you judge me, Kylen Sumner. Mr. ‘I have my life all together.’ Besides”—she leaned forward, easily transforming into the seductress once more—”I’m here with you. And I know you wouldn’t be anything like Jed.”

Gesturing for her to stop, Kylen met her gaze. “That’s not what I was doing. Trust me, Sophia, if anybody needed to get his life together, it was me. With God’s help I’m working my way toward that. But I simply meant that the way you are dressing, for starters, is going to attract a certain type of guy. Guys like—Jed.”

She huffed and studied the ocean once more. “Yes. Jed.” Her voice was flat. Lifeless. “Sometimes you have to take companionship where you can find it, Kylen.”

“You were meant for more than that, Sophia.”

She chuckled and angled her eyes toward him. “So now you are going to try and save my soul?”

Kylen sighed. “Would that I could. Only you can make the choice to do that, Sophia.”

She waved a hand. “Yeah, yeah. I remember the Sunday school lessons.”

Kylen pressed his lips together, holding his silence. He remembered, now, that Sophia’s parents had been churchgoing people back in high school. Sophia had often mocked her parents’ beliefs with him and their friends. If only he hadn’t joined her in that. Now, his life would have to speak for him. He didn’t know what to say that would change her mind about the way she was living. But he had to try. “They aren’t just stories, Soph. They are lessons. Ones that can change your life for the better if you’ll heed them.”