Beyond the Waves (Pacific Shores Book 1) (21 page)

Marie sobbed into her shoulder, and Taysia remained right where she was, clutching the girl to her for a few more minutes. Conscious of the clock and the impending inundation of pregnant clients, Taysia finally eased back. She looked right into Marie’s face. “Listen, now. Clients are going to start arriving soon, and you are in no condition to be here at work today.” She grabbed her house keys out of her purse. “Why don’t you run over to my place and just spend the day resting? Today’s a short day, so I should be home just after noon, and we can talk more then, okay?”

Marie nodded, took the keys, and stood dejectedly to her feet.

“Oh, hon.” Taysia gave her another quick hug. “Your life is not over, I promise. I’ll see you at lunchtime, okay?”

With a little nod, Marie shuffled toward the door.

Taysia glanced at her watch again. Should she cancel classes so she could spend the day with Marie? What if she tried to hurt herself? Or the baby? She was almost to the doors. “Marie?”

She turned.

“Would you like me to cancel classes and come with you now?”

Marie offered a sad smile and shook her head. “No. I’ll be fine. I’m just a bit of an emotional mess. But it feels good to finally have told you. I’ll go right to your place and wait for you. Don’t worry. I’m going to be okay.”

The rest of the week passed in a blur. Between teaching classes and running the front desk, Taysia spent all her free time helping Marie find a good obstetrician, speaking with Sophia’s lawyers, who confirmed she’d dropped the case, and checking in on Daddy from time to time. Marie had stayed at her house all week, and they’d talked late into the night on several occasions.

By the time Friday rolled around, Taysia was exhausted. She pushed through the front door to her house and dropped her gym bag, leaving it where it fell. The good news was that Daddy and Loraine had planned to take a trip to Seaside tomorrow, so she could sleep in, guilt-free.

Marie popped her head out of the kitchen. “Oh, good, you’re home. I made dinner, such as it is. But I think it’s time for me to move back to my place, and I was hoping you could drive me tonight?”

Taysia suppressed a groan of weariness. She was glad to see some of Marie’s spark returning. And it would be good for her to get back to her own place. Plus she’d made dinner. She forced a smile she hoped didn’t droop too much around the edges. “Sure. I’m happy to drive you home. I’m glad to see you bouncing back a little.” She pulled Marie into a hug and then released her. “What’s for dinner?”

“Chicken and Caesar salad.”

“Sounds delicious.”

Marie stopped her with a hand to her arm. “Listen, Taysia. I really want to say thanks for all you’ve done for me. I know I’ve let you down, but you didn’t turn your back on me, and for that I’ll be forever thankful.”

Taysia gripped Marie’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. “I wouldn’t turn my back on you for the world. We all make mistakes. And since there’s no going back, only forward, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to linger on those mistakes. We just ask for forgiveness from those we’ve wronged, and try to do better next time.”

Tears sprang to Marie’s eyes. “Will you forgive me?”

“Marie Sinclair, of course I forgive you. But I’m not the one you need to make amends with the most. Right?”

“Yeah, God. I know.”

Taysia cupped a hand to the girl’s cheek. “That’s right. People may fail you—will fail you. But Jesus never will. Even when you fail Him. He’s there with open arms saying, ‘Get up. Try again. I’m not leaving.’”

“I love you so much!” Marie threw her arms around Taysia’s neck and hugged her tight. “You’re the first one who ever…stuck around, you know? After my mom left when I was thirteen and then Daddy went to prison, it was just me. Until you hired me. And…well, I have no words to say how much you mean to me.”

Taysia squeezed her close and angled a glance at the ceiling.
Lord, help her to see Your love through me. She’s really going to need it now
. To Marie she whispered, “That’s what families do, Marie. They stick together. Now”—she set the girl at arm’s length—”how about we eat? I’m starving!”

Chuckling, Marie swiped tears from beneath her eyes. “Me too.”

Chapter 12

Taysia’s car wasn’t in her driveway and her house was all dark when Kylen arrived home Friday night. It was probably better she wasn’t home, because he might have been tempted to go right over to talk with her. Where could she be?

He glanced at his watch. It was ten o’clock. Was she still staying at her dad’s place?

He pushed through the garage door into the house and groaned when he saw the huge pile of mail lying on the floor in front of the main door.

After two weeks of late nights and terrible coffee, he was ready for some shut-eye. Thankfully they’d made an arrest in that abuse case just yesterday, so the new officer to Sunset Beach would have fairly smooth sailing on the case from here on out. And he’d seemed like a fairly competent guy.

He dropped his duffel bag by the laundry room door and glanced at the pile of mail again. First he would sleep. He could deal with the mail in the morning. He headed for his basement apartment and fell right to sleep, but at five thirty the next morning, the fact that he’d forgotten to close the blinds came back to bite him. The sunshine streaming in his window and the loud twittering of birds pulled him from the best night’s rest he’d had in two weeks.

He groaned and sat up, knowing he’d never fall back to sleep. Besides, after being gone for two weeks, there were plenty of chores around the place to keep him busy. He pushed himself to his feet.

He might as well start with the mail.

The persistent ringing of the doorbell woke Taysia from a sound sleep. She leaped, bleary eyed, out of bed imagining all sorts of emergencies.

Daddy and Loraine…heading to Seaside. What if they’d gotten into a wreck?

She lurched toward the door. Her shoulder cracked against the frame on her way into the hall. “Ow!”
Eyes open. Eyes open!

Marie…had something happened to Marie in the night?

She stubbed her toe on the coffee table. “Ow!” She scrambled over it.

What if Daddy’d had another stroke? Or something worse?

She fumbled with the lock, ripping a fingernail on the metal. “Ow!” She crammed the finger into her mouth as she yanked the door open.

Kylen stood on her porch, freshly showered, a latte in each hand, and looking better than any man had a right to.

She blinked. “What are you doing here?” Only then did she realize she’d spoken around her finger. She snatched it from her mouth, but that was when all the pain from every part of her body hit her. She gripped the doorframe and pressed her forehead into it.

“Layne?” His voice held a note of contrition and curiosity.

She couldn’t just leave him standing on her porch…but she needed a moment to let the pain subside. Not just the pain from her klutzy rush to the door, but from two weeks of worrying and wondering, and now having him standing right here beside her.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine. I think.” She forced herself upright and gestured him through to the living room, where she sank into the couch. Pressing one hand to her aching shoulder, she squinted at the clock. “Six? Kylen!” Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes with a groan.

He sank down next to her and bumped her gently with his shoulder. “I brought you coffee.”

One eye peeked open, then shut again. She couldn’t believe he was here. Sitting beside her. Acting like everything between them was normal. Truth be told, it was a good thing pain had made her head for the couch, because she didn’t know if her legs would have held her upright.

Tingles of desire emanated from the spot on her shoulder he’d just touched. Desire to press close to him and never pull away. She swallowed down the urge and held her silence, reminding herself she didn’t know why he was actually here.

“Tall vanilla macchiato, skinny, no whip, just like you like it.”

Yes, she could surely use a jolt of caffeine right now. She held out one hand.

He chuckled, but she felt the warmth of the paper cup settle into her palm. A fortifying sip sent a surge of contentment through her. “Mmmm. I could almost forgive you for waking me up before the birds and scaring the living daylights out of me.”

“The birds are up. They are what woke me and made me go read my mail.” His words were warm and thick with emotion.

Her pulse skittered. Had he just now gotten around to seeing her note? She was dying to know where he’d been for the past couple weeks. But instead of asking, she forced a grumble of joviality into her tone. “Surely it’s way too early for the birds to be awake.”

He chuckled.

She wasn’t ready to hear his answers to her questions yet, so she lifted her foot, eyes still sealed. “Is my toe bleeding?”

The couch jostled as he knelt down and captured her foot to examine it. “No. Why?” His fingers began a slow massage along the side of her foot.

A jolt traversed her leg, and she curled her French-tip toes.

“Because I almost took it off rushing for the door.”

“I’m sorry.” He hesitated, then added, “You said, ‘scaring the daylights out of you.’ Why? What’s happened?”

She sighed. “That is a long story, better left for when I’m more awake.”

His fingers worked the taut tendons of her ankle. “I should have called you instead of ringing the bell.”

Raising the cup of coffee, she said, “All is forgiven.”

Fingers barely missing a beat, he didn’t answer, just kept massaging her foot. The silence stretched so long Taysia knew he was questioning whether her statement held a deeper meaning. Finally, she forced herself to look at him.

Oooh, boy. That was a mistake
.

His dark eyes studied her intently, the black of his T-shirt only making them more forceful. She should look away—
needed
to look away, but like a powerful magnet, his gaze held hers captive.

His thumbs left the arch of her foot, where he’d massaged deep circles. He took the coffee cup from her hands and set it on the coffee table as he sat down on the couch beside her again. He leaned toward her, a glint in his gaze.

She had plenty of time to pull away if she wanted to. But the desire to do so had fled from her arsenal of self-preservation.

His shoulder connected with hers; his eyes dropped to her mouth.

Pulse racing like a marathon runner, she moistened her lips, and heaven help her, she wanted nothing more than to give in. But first she needed to hear his side of the story. “Kylen, I’m sorry. I never should have doubted you. Please, tell me your side of what happened.”

Relief seemed to sap his strength and rigidity. He collapsed forward and pressed his forehead against hers. “Sophia must have seen you coming. She said she’d be right back, and then the next thing I knew, she’d fallen into my lap and laid that kiss on me, and you were tearing back out of there.”

“She came and talked to me at the gym. She apologized and dropped the suit.”

He jolted back a bit. “She did?”

“I was surprised too.” Taysia nodded. “But she really seemed to mean it.”

Kylen sighed. “Well, that’s something, I guess.”

Taysia swallowed. “I’m so sorry, Ky. I should have stay—”

His thumb settled over her lips as he cupped her face. He shook his head. His gaze, so close and full of concern, never left hers. “We both know I’d given you plenty of reasons in the past to doubt me. We have lots of waves in our history, Layne. But I’m hoping it will be smooth sailing from here on out.”

She couldn’t disguise the concern that puckered her brow. “It’s been two weeks, Ky. I thought you—that you—well, that I had ruined everything. Where have you been?”

He grimaced. “I’m sorry. Sunset Beach. They needed an extra man for a couple weeks, and Captain Hansen sent me.” His thumb stroked her cheek ever so softly. “I didn’t think a phone call or email was the best way to deal with the way we left things. And of course I didn’t know that you had figured things out. Even if you hadn’t written me that note, I planned to track you down and make you see reason the minute I got home. But you were out last night when I arrived.”