Shattered Secrets (Book of Red #1) (17 page)

y skin cried out in pain. Sleeping on a Florida beach after spending my life in the more dreary state of Virginia was not a wise idea. The sun burned me… bad. I didn’t need to open my eyes to figure that out.

At some point, I must have nestled into Derick’s arms. Moving seemed tragic, but I needed food. And aloe. I wiggled free of his embrace and then looked around. So quiet. So empty.

I glanced at my hands. They were as red as a cooked lobster, so was Derick’s face. I laughed.
Thank God we’re overdressed
.

He cracked open an eye, squinting against the midday sun.

We slept outside for so long!

“What’s so funny?”

Not snorting took every ounce of self-control I could muster. “You look like you held your head over a steaming pot for the last, oh, I don’t know, ten years.”

“How do you think you look?”

Touching my cheeks, I knew they were swollen. “I’m sure better than you.”

I nudged him in his ribs, right in his most ticklish spot.

He got up with blinding speed, fingers wiggling in front of him. He was such a dork, but for whatever reason I was already dying laughing, my self-control button set to minimum. He hadn’t even touched me yet.

I jumped up and ran for the condo. “Race ya!”

Derick blew right by me, kicking up sand with his bare feet. “You can’t beat an All-American track star, Abby.”

“I can try!” And I would fail. Always. Such speed.

In no time at all, we were back inside the condo, bent over laughing and breathing heavily. He draped our towels over the white plastic chairs on the patio, then closed the door… right as my stomach rumbled.

“I guess I need to feed you, right?” he asked, a wide grin lining his beet-red face.

I nodded, holding my hands over my loud gurgling belly. “And soon, too, Red Face.”

“I like that nickname. Makes me sound like a chief of something.” Derick grabbed his keys from the kitchen table, took my hand, then led me to his car. “You don’t come with any warnings, do you? It’s okay to give you water and feed you after midnight, right?”

“You tell me. You’ve taken me out to dinner how many times now?”

“Not enough, especially in the last three months, but I have a feeling I’ll be able to make up for that now.” He tugged me closer and bumped be with his hip. “So how about lunch at the Lazy Lobster?”

“Ooh. Sounds islandy and matches our faces—for now. Perfect.”

Best lunch ever. Not because we ate at a restaurant on a key off the Gulf Coast of Florida. Not because the most important person in my world played footsies with me the whole time. But because the food was to die for.

New England seafood sliders. Amazing. Who cares if I should have eaten something a little more tropical. Didn’t matter where the fish came from, so long as it was good. And it was.

Too bad the staff didn’t offer to take us back to the Mustang by dolly. Certainly would have helped us out. They did, however, offer us tips on skin care.

“Groceries?” Derick asked, eyes closed, hands on his abs.

“Ugh.”

“Mom always told me it was better to shop when you’re full. I think I understand why.”

I pictured walking up and down aisles, deciding on which foods to add to our cart. My stomach lurched. “Totally.”

“We should just go and get it over with, though. Once we unload the food, we can go buy some more appropriate beach attire.”

Clothes shopping? On a full stomach. Megan would point and laugh at him for being idiotic. “Okay. As long as we buy aloe at the store, I don’t care what else we do for the rest of the day.”

“Your face isn’t as red anymore.”

“Still hurts like it is.” I looked in the visor mirror anyway. He was right. Not nearly as red. “Hey, your dad told me we heal faster when we’re together—or when Kalóans are together.”

“Your shoulder proves that theory. I always thought it was odd neither of us ever missed school because we were sick.” He pulled into the Publix parking lot, then cut the engine. “Maybe we should read more of that book today—”

“I thought we were taking the week off!” I glared at him.

“Doesn’t it make you the least bit uneasy to not know why we’re protected here?”

Not until now. Thanks. “I guess so.”

“There must be something in there about it. We need to figure out why so we don’t end up doing something wrong.”

So much for a relaxing week off. Reading that book could take “years.”

“What?”

I disconnected a shopping cart from a long line of others. “I didn’t say anything.”

He smiled. “You’re mad. You don’t even realize how mad you are. You just said years… out loud.”

Crap. “I was thinking reading that book could take years. The thing is like three times larger than the Bible. And the pages are just as thin.”

“But there are pictures,” he said, pinching my side.

The act nearly made me lose my lunch. So full. “Make that wondrous food come back up and I’ll punch you. Watch out.”

I shook my fist at him.

“You’re the one who said you didn’t care what we did for the rest of the day.” He didn’t take me seriously; I saw humor in his smiling eyes.

I didn’t take me seriously either. “I don’t see any aloe in the cart yet.”

Pointing at the empty buggy, I stuck out my tongue, and he snuck in a kiss.

Dropping everything and making out seemed like a fantastic idea. But, umm, public. We were in public.

“So, can we read?” he asked.

“You’re a cheater.”

“I’ll find a way to make it up to you.” Derick loaded a bag of apples, a container of caramel, some strawberries, and microwavable chocolate into our cart. “Tonight.”

My heart pounded, making the world spin around me, and I had to put my head down.

“You okay?” He lifted my chin, a spark of playfulness written all over his now lightly burned face.

“Fine. I’m fine.” Part of me wanted to blurt out that we should buy protection, but I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. Maybe he planned for us to eat these things like normal people.

“Do you know how to cook anything?”

Change of subject, I love you
. “My mom taught me how to make a lot of foods. Most were simple things because she works so far from home, but that’s good, too. We don’t need complicated.”

I led us through the rest of the shopping trip. Grocery stores at the beach were much different from those in Fredericksburg. Boogie boards, buckets, chairs, towels, and shelves with sunblock lined aisles near the entryway. Everything else was the same, I guess—even assorted Christmas cookie tins overflowed the stands in the bakery section—but it’d been awhile since I helped Mom with weekly trips to the store.

I missed her. For the first time since we left, I really missed her. My parents loved me. How could I leave them that way? How could I not have said goodbye? Hugged my dad? Kissed my mom’s cheek? Told them I’d call? Who knew if I’d ever see them again; even they seemed resigned to the fact I was leaving. A lump formed in my throat; I swallowed back my emotions, and Derick and I checked out, loaded the car, then went home.

Home
. Odd how I was already so used to this new place and worried I’d never see my parents again all at the same time.

“Okay. We’re done being responsible. Let’s go buy some bathing suits and flip-flops,” Derick said after I put the milk in the fridge. He closed the door and wrapped his arms around me. “Maybe retail will be therapy for you?”

Resting my head on his chest, I listened to the muffled sounds of his breathing and allowed tears to fall. I’d held them back since the vegetable section. “How’d you know?”

“As soon as you started talking about your mom, I knew that triggered something in you. The two of you are very close; you always have been.”

“I didn’t say goodbye, Derick. I want to be here, please don’t think I don’t, but I didn’t say goodbye. What if they think I hate them? Mom is probably broken. Dad… he’s so protective of me. I can’t imagine what they’re going through. I’m not sure I want to.”

“You’re in shock. You’ve been through so much with the kidnapping and everything; I think it’s all finally settling in, and that’s okay. It’s normal to be upset. Hell, when they hired Dr. Pavarti after the kidnapping, I didn’t think it was a bad idea for you to see him—at least once or twice.”

I leaned back, tilting my chin up so I could see his face. “What?”

“Just because we’re special doesn’t mean we don’t have complex emotions to work through. And what you experienced, that kind of thing stays with a person. The only problem is, when you saw Boredas in Capitol Ale House, I was so worried you’d think you
were
crazy. And I didn’t want you to think that, no matter how horrible the truth was.” He held me at arm’s length, a question raising his eyebrows; he was worried I was mad at him, but I couldn’t be mad about that. “Should we go shopping tomorrow instead?”

Derick was so beautiful. The perfect man inside and out. Somehow, someway, I would make sure I saw my parents again, but I needed to enjoy myself. Follow my own rules. I was almost eighteen. Instead of acting like a scared child at summer camp for the first time, I needed to grow up.

“Let’s shop now. These clothes make us stand out.”

hoever said money ‘doesn’t buy happiness’, lied. We walked out of the Centre Shops with only two bags, but shorts, skirts, shirts, wraps, towels, pajamas and flip-flops overflowed from the brown paper.