by Carrie Elks
Autumn laughed loudly at that one.
“Don’t swear in front of my daughter,” Griff grumbled.
“Sorry.” Jackson smirked. “I meant big pain in the patootie.”
“Not much better.”
Ignoring him, Jackson looked down at Skyler’s interested face again. “I don’t profess to know what it takes to be a parent,” he told her. “But I know that every child needs a safe haven. An escape. Somebody who can be their brick wall when everything else is tumbling down. And I’ll be that for you, Skyler. Wherever you are, and whatever you’re doing, if you call I’ll be there.” He pressed his lips to her brow, and it felt like every woman in the place sighed audibly.
Autumn’s eyes were shining as she took her daughter back from him. Griff wiped his own eyes with the back of his hand, and clapped Jackson on the back.
Jackson walked back to where Lydia was standing, and slid his hand into hers.
“That was beautiful,” Lydia whispered. Her heart felt congested. Like it was too big for her chest.
“Thanks.” Jackson looked shy again. For some reason she really liked that side of him. It made her want to pull his glasses off and kiss him like crazy.
“Now we have a speech from Lydia Paxton, Skyler’s godmother,” the emcee announced. Lydia raised an eyebrow. “Wish me luck,” she murmured. There was no way she could top Jackson’s sweet words. He had an unfair advantage of looking so damn attractive with a baby in his arms. Still, she walked over and held her hands out, smiling as Autumn slid Skyler into them.
“Hey sweetie,” Lydia said, pressing a kiss to Skyler’s nose. It made her giggle loudly, and the audience laughed, too.
From the corner of her eye, she could see Jackson staring right at her. What was he thinking? She wasn’t sure, but she thought she could see the same heat in his gaze as she felt in the pit of her stomach.
She took a deep breath and faced the people. “I haven’t prepared a speech,” she told them, smiling when she saw Autumn laugh. “Those of you who’ve met me before know that I tend to do things a little differently. I like spontaneity and flying through life by the seat of my pants. And if I can teach Skyler anything, it’s that life isn’t about surviving or enduring, or all those other things that we sometimes think it is.” She smiled down at her niece, warmth washing through her as Skyler smiled back. “Skyler Lambert, life is for the living. I want you to eat it up like it’s your favorite piece of cake. And by the way, I know you haven’t tried cake yet, but when you do, it’s the best thing ever. And I don’t want you to ever think you shouldn’t eat the cake. Because you always should. Cake tastes so much better than being skinny feels.”
All the women in the audience laughed.
“As your godmother, it’s my job to show you the world. To show you how to live, how to love, how to look at the sun setting over the bay of Naples and realize that whatever you do, it’s going to rise back up again. There’s no problem so insurmountable that it can’t be solved. And if it can’t be solved, then there’s cake. That solves everything.”
She took a deep breath, tracing Skyler’s brow with her finger. “You have the best mom and dad in the world, so you don’t need me to show you how to grow up and be a fantastic adult. But I can show you how to have fun, how to experience life, and how to see the world with fresh eyes.”
“And how to make cake,” somebody shouted out.
Lydia looked up. “Hey, I don’t make the cake, I just eat it.” She wrinkled her nose at Skyler, making her giggle again. “Being your godmother is the biggest privilege I’ve ever been given. And I promise not to mess it up.” She looked over at Autumn and Griff. “Is that okay?”
Autumn nodded, her lips smashed together. “It’s beautiful,” she managed to choke out. Lydia passed Skyler back to her, and Autumn pressed a kiss to her cheek. Griff hugged Lydia tightly. “Thank you,” he whispered. “That was wonderful.”
“Thank you to Lydia and Jackson,” the emcee called out. “And now we invite all of you to come up and formally introduce yourself to Skyler.”
“Until she starts crying,” Griff warned. “And then you’d better back off.”
A wave of emotion passed over Lydia as she watched Griff and Autumn’s friends surround them with love. Her sister was truly happy, you could tell that from her shining face.
She had her home, her beloved fiancé, and the family she hadn’t dared to dream about.
“You did good,” Jackson whispered, sliding his hand around Lydia’s waist and kissing the top of her head. She leaned into him, not caring what anybody else thought. If they only had one week left together, she was determined to make every moment count.
Somebody cleared their throat. Her dad raised his eyebrows and forced out a smile. “That was a very good speech,” he told her. “From both of you.”
Jackson squeezed her waist. She liked the way he kept hold of her in front of her dad. As though he had no fear at all.
“Thank you,” Lydia said softly. “I appreciate that.”
“I have to head to the airport,” he told them. “My flight to Hawaii leaves in two hours.”
Lydia nodded. “It was good to see you.”
“You, too. Will you be coming back to New York soon?”
“I don’t think so.” She squinted her eyes, trying to remember her itinerary. “Not before summer at least.”
“Well, maybe you can let me know. It would be good to see you.” He caught her eye. “And, um, I hope your job goes well.”
Lydia blinked back her surprise. “Thank you.”
He turned to Jackson, their gazes meeting. “Jackson,” he said, giving him a nod.
“Sir.” Jackson nodded back, his voice strong.
“It was good to meet you.” Her dad held out his hand, and Jackson shook it. “What you said about Lydia, you were right. I’m very proud of her.”
“Maybe you should tell her that,” Jackson suggested. Lydia’s heart clenched at his protective tone.
Richard inhaled sharply, then looked at her again. “Sweetheart, you’re doing a wonderful job.”
Her throat felt scratchy. “Thank you, Daddy. I hope your vote goes well.”
He waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll get a majority somehow.”
She didn’t doubt it. What Richard Paxton wanted, he always got. Well, almost always. Pulling out of Jackson’s hold, she leaned forward to hug her father. “Have a safe journey,” she whispered against his chest.
Richard patted her hair. “You, too, sweetheart.”
As he walked away, she lifted her eyes to Jackson. He was smiling softly at her, his eyes holding promises only she could understand.
“You okay?” he murmured.
“Yeah. I am now.” Life was for the living, wasn’t that the essence of her promise to Skyler? And now she was ready to eat Jackson up like her favorite piece of cake.
“Tell me about your trip to Spain,” Jackson asked as they walked along the ocean’s edge at twilight. Eddie was running in and out of the water, yelping with happiness every time Jackson threw a ball for him.
The naming day had been perfect. They’d stayed until people started to say their goodbyes, then helped Autumn and Griff clear up the pier. On their way home, Jackson had picked Eddie up from Lisa’s house, promising her a day off very soon to repay her for dog-sitting.
Of course, Lisa had shooed him away. “I like Eddie. You can just buy me lunch some time.”
And then he and Lydia had spent the next two hours in bed, touching every inch of each other like they were trying to commit it to memory. And it had felt so damn good to have her in his arms. Even knowing that this thing between them couldn’t last.
Lydia looked up at him, the setting sun casting a pink and orange glow on her skin. “Well, I’m flying into Barcelona and meeting with a family who’re traveling their way through Europe. I’ve told them to do the usual stuff before I get there. The Sagrada Familia, Las Ramblas, and maybe Monserrat.”
; “Sagrada Familia?”
“It’s probably the most amazing basilica in Spain. Gaudi designed it a hundred and forty years ago, and it still isn’t finished.” She laughed. “They do things at a much slower pace in Europe.”
“I guess time seems different there,” Jackson mused. “They have so much history, they don’t need to rush.”
“The Spanish are so laid back,” Lydia agreed. “It’s one of the reasons I love the country so much. When they say mañana it means that whatever you’ve asked for might happen tomorrow or not until next week or next year. But it doesn’t matter, because there’s so much to enjoy in the meantime.”
“Where will you take the family?”
Lydia took the ball from Eddie’s panting mouth, throwing it for him again. “They’re a couple with teenage kids. When I met them to plan their itinerary, they seemed kind of frazzled, you know? So I’m going to take them into the hills. I have some friends who run a beautiful vineyard, and the parents will do wine tasting and get a lesson in making authentic paella. That evening they’ll go to a local flamenco show. The next morning, if they’re a little rested, we’ll head back into Barcelona itself and I’ll take them to all the little places the tourists don’t know about.”
“What about the kids?” Jackson asked. “Will they do the same thing?”
“Not on the first day.” Lydia smiled. “The family we’re staying with have two college age sons, and I’m employing them to show the kids around so they can get an authentic teenage experience of the area. There’s a lot of sports and ziplines and stuff around there. And hopefully, they’ll be ready to spend some quality time with their parents in Barcelona for the next few days.”
They were strolling slowly, shoes in hand as their feet padded through the breaking waves.
“You’re going to be busy,” he said softly. There was a strange twisting in his chest at the thought of her working around Europe. “I hope you get some down time, too.”
“I’ll have Paris,” she said brightly. “And after I spend some of June in Brazil, I should have a week or two free. I’m not sure where I’ll go though.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her to come back here, to spend time with him, but he chased the thought away. He didn’t want to be another man who thought her job was disposable. She’d heard enough of that from her father.
If she had the choice between time in South America or a week in Angel Sands, it was no contest.
Eddie splashed through the water toward them, and dropped something in the sand. Whatever it was, it stank to high heaven. Jackson leaned down, and realized it was half of a damn jellyfish.
Eddie started to prod at it with his paw.
“No,” Jackson told him. “Leave it. Where’s your ball?”
Eddie gave a little whine and looked at the jellyfish, then hopefully up at Jackson.
“Get your ball,” Jackson repeated firmly. Realizing he was fighting a losing battle, Eddie turned and headed back into the water.
“Will you keep him, if nobody claims him?” Lydia asked, watching Eddie splash through the ocean.
Eddie found the ball bobbing in the shallows. Jackson could swear he saw the dog smile before he scooped it up in his jaws.
“Yeah, I guess I will. I’m getting used to having him around. And he’s not too much of a hassle. He sleeps in the office as well as he sleeps at home.”
“And you have your dad and Lisa to help,” Lydia added.
Jackson nodded. “Brooke mentioned that she knows a good dog sitter, too. If I need one.” If, for example, he ever got the urge to fly to Spain or Brazil between working twelve hours a day, six days a week.
“I’m glad you’re keeping him,” Lydia told him, sliding her hand into his. “I hate to think of him all alone in one of those shelters, looking up hopefully whenever somebody walks in, and letting out a whimper when he realizes it’s not you.”
“I’m glad, too.” Jackson’s voice was thick. He couldn’t stand the thought of a shelter any more than Lydia could. He hadn’t lied, he was getting used to having Eddie around. And if Lydia was leaving – which, let’s face it, she was – having Eddie around would make him feel a little less lonely.
And give him a connection to her, even if she was far away.
A breeze danced in from the ocean, lifting Lydia’s hair as it tangled around her face. He tenderly brushed it away, leaning in until his lips covered hers. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer until her soft body molded to his lean contours, deepening the kiss and making them both breathless.
Without taking his eyes from hers, Jackson lifted his hand and called for Eddie. “Walk’s over, boy,” he said, as Eddie ran toward them. “It’s time for bed.”
Lydia awoke to the sound of somebody coughing. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she looked at Jackson, whose eyes were tightly closed, his arm slung over his head.
The noise cut through the silence again. Three wheezing coughs coming from somewhere downstairs. Immediately alert, she sat up, looking around Jackson’s bedroom in the moonlight to try to find something to protect them both.
There had to be an intruder down there. It didn’t sound like a noise Jackson’s dad would make, and she knew for a fact he was the only person other than Jackson to have a key. Her heart rate switched to overdrive as she swung her legs out of the bed and stood.
Jackson mumbled something and turned on his side, cranking open half an eyelid. “Whassup?”
There were four hacking coughs this time. “Did you hear that?” Lydia whispered.
“What?” He frowned.
“Somebody’s broken into the house. I can hear them downstairs.
“It’s probably Eddie.” Jackson’s eye shut again.
“It sounds like a person,” Lydia told him. “Not a dog.”
This time when the coughs came, Jackson sat straight up. “There’s somebody here,” he said, scooting out of bed onto his knees. When he stood, he was holding a baseball bat he must have retrieved from beneath the divan. “Stay here,” he told Lydia. “Be ready to call the police.”
“I’m not staying. I’m coming with you,” she told him, following him out of his bedroom and down the stairs. She was wearing one of his t-shirts with I translate coffee into code printed across her chest in black writing.
Jackson was in his shorts, and she really tried not to notice the way his back muscles knotted and tightened as he lifted the bat up and kicked the kitchen door open.
Almost immediately, he dropped it and ran into the room. “Jesus, Eddie,” he said, scooting down next to the dog. “You stink, boy.”
Instead of wagging his tail the way he always did when he saw Jackson or Lydia, Eddie whimpered and started hacking again. A mass of brown sludge escaped from his mouth and onto the tiled floor, joining five piles he’d already made.
Along with piles of something else that Lydia didn’t even want to acknowledge, because she knew those hadn’t come from his mouth.
When he’d finished vomiting, Eddie collapsed to the floor, his body shaking. “What should we do?” Lydia asked urgently, tiptoeing through the minefield of excrement until she reached Jackson’s side. He was cradling Eddie’s head and telling him softly it was going to be okay.
“Call the emergency vet,” Jackson said. “We need to take him in.”
20
“We’re giving Eddie fluids through an IV drip,” Max Jenkins, the on-call vet, said, walking out into the waiting room. Jackson and Lydia were the only people there. “The vomiting has stopped for now, but his airways are swollen, so we’ve given him some anti-histamine. Do you know if he’s eaten anything unusual in the past twenty-four hours?”
“No.” Jackson shook his head. “He’s had his usual food. He was watched by a friend this afternoon, but she would have told me if she’d given him anything.”
“Maybe best to check anyway,” Max suggested, his grey eyebrows knitting together. “What about last night? Did you take him anywhere he
doesn’t usually go?”
“We took him to the beach the way we always do.” Lydia curled her fingers around Jackson’s hand. She wasn’t sure who was more shook up over Eddie’s horrible sickness. While they’d waited for the vet to examine him, Jackson had sat staring at the floor, his elbows on his hard thighs, his hands raked in his hair. “He was in the water and played catch a lot. He seemed happy, you know?”
“Maybe there was something in the water,” Max mused. He’d taken his cap and gloves off, but was still wearing the plastic gown he’d put on as soon as Eddie had arrived. “Though I’d have expected to see more animals come in if there was. Half of Angel Sands walk their dogs on that beach.”
Lydia looked up, her eyes widening. “What about the jellyfish?” she asked Jackson, before turning to Max. “Eddie brought half a jellyfish to us. We made him drop it, but I didn’t think about the other half. Could that have caused a reaction?”
“Damn,” Jackson swore softly. “I hadn’t thought about that. Jellyfish can be poisonous, can’t they?”
“They can certainly cause extreme reactions if they’re eaten,” Max agreed. “Depending on what type. I don’t suppose you got a good look at it?”
“Not really. I was too busy making Eddie drop it.” Jackson looked like he wanted to kick himself. “Will he be okay?”
Lydia held her breath until the vet nodded. “If it’s just half a jellyfish, he should be fine. I’d like to keep him in for a few hours to make sure the anti-histamine is working, and I’ll call you when you can take him home.” He checked his watch. “It’s still early. You should go home and get some sleep. You’ll need to watch Eddie carefully for the next day or so until he’s back on his feet.”
“We can stay,” Lydia offered. “In case he needs us.”
