"Damn. I can't get anything by you," he said with a grin. "But, no, you're wrong. That wasn't what I was thinking. I have a much more G-rated idea. However, we can go with your plan if you want."
"Why don't you tell me yours instead?"
"Why don’t I just show you? Do you trust me, Olivia?"
She looked into his blue eyes and nodded. "Surprisingly, yes. Don't let me down."
"I won't."
Chapter Nineteen
"You like to be mysterious," Olivia said, as Colton drove out of the hospital parking lot.
"I'd rather have you puzzling about where we're going now and not stewing about your possible biological family."
"So you're making this intriguing for me. How generous."
He grinned. "I do what I can to help."
"And you're happy to help now because the story has moved away from your grandmother," she said pointedly.
"That is true. Not that I don't feel for you, Olivia."
"Even though there's a good chance my imagination has taken this story to a place it didn't need to go?"
He gave her a sympathetic smile. "I think you have good instincts. And while you don't have concrete proof, there's enough circumstantial evidence to believe there's a connection between you and Molly."
"I do believe that."
"Believing that means your world has just turned upside down."
"That's exactly the way it feels. I don't know which side is up. I do wish that Peter had had a more positive reaction when I suggested that I might be related to him. But looking at it from his viewpoint, I can see where he might think I'm a lunatic."
"I've been thinking about Peter, about how it must have been impossibly difficult to grow up in a house where his father was beating up his mom. I can't even imagine what that would have been like. My parents rarely raise their voices to each other. And I know my mother would have never tolerated my dad hitting her."
"My mother wouldn't have allowed that, either. I'd be out the door if someone gave me so much as a shove. But everyone is different, and I don't want to blame Molly for not leaving Stan. It was a different time, and judging by those horrific bruises we saw, she was dealing with something really bad." She paused for a moment, her thoughts moving back to Peter. "Maybe growing up in that environment is why Peter turned out to be such a cold, unfriendly person. He may have had to find a way to stop himself from caring too much."
"The violence could also explain why his sister turned to drugs and alcohol," Colton said. "They were probably two messed-up kids."
She shifted in her seat to give him a smile. "That's pretty good psychoanalysis for a firefighter."
He tipped his head. "I have my moments."
"Well, hopefully the DNA test will at least shed some light on whether or not I'm a Harper by blood. Until then I'm just speculating. It's a good thing you have so many siblings. I think we have half your family working on this puzzle now."
He shot her a smile. "Big families are good for some things."
"A lot of things, from what I can see. I just don't know how any woman has eight kids."
"Oh. Well, Lynda didn't have eight kids." He shot her a quick look. "I didn't mention that my parents were both married before?"
"No, you didn't."
"My dad's first wife died. He was a widower with four little boys and then he met Lynda. She was divorced and she had two little girls."
"Emma and Nicole."
He nodded. "And together Jack and Lynda had twins—Shayla and me."
"A familiar theme song is starting to play in my head," she teased.
He laughed. "Yeah, I know. You're not the first one to sing that tune. I guess we were a little like The Brady Bunch, but we didn't have a housekeeper, and as kids we weren't nearly as nice to each other. I got shoved around pretty regularly by my four older brothers."
"They toughened you up."
"They did. I probably had an easier time handling the firehouse because of them. I learned how to stand up for myself when I was very young."
"Even though they tortured you, I suspect they also watched out for you."
"Yeah. Being on the younger end of the spectrum, I've always had a lot of people in my business."
She thought again how nice that all sounded. While she couldn't complain about her childhood, Colton's sounded a lot more fun.
As Colton took a turn, she caught a glimpse of the blue ocean ahead and realized where they were going. "Ah, the beach. Nice choice for an escape."
"Well, you are a southern California surfer girl at heart. I'm just sorry I don't have a surfboard with me."
"That's fine. I'm sure the water is freezing and neither of us is dressed for swimming."
"You've never heard of skinny dipping?" he teased.
"I've heard of it; I've just never done it."
"Never?" he asked with surprise. "Really? Not even when you were a teenager?"
"Nope. I'm a little boring, what can I say?"
"You can say you might try it sometime."
"I might try it sometime," she echoed. "If I have the right incentive."
He flung a grin at her. "That sounds like a challenge."
She smiled back at him. "You take everything as a challenge."
"It's good to push the boundaries, Olivia."
He was right. She'd just never been very good at doing that. Or maybe she had been good—once. But she'd backed away from life after her dad died. She'd stopped taking chances. She'd stopped wanting to feel anything. She didn't want to care about anything too much or love someone too much or want something too much.
Frowning, she realized how her fear had kept her in the background of life. She'd also stayed behind Philip for far too long. She'd grown out of that job after a year, but she'd stayed for four years. And she was still there.
Maybe not for much longer.
Even if she couldn't cull together a book out of this San Francisco trip, even if it turned out she wasn't Molly's granddaughter, even if everything about this week was a bust, she'd still changed. And she wasn't going to change back. She was going to find a way to step out of the shadows of her own life.
As she cast a sly glance at Colton, she couldn't help but think that she'd found the perfect partner in crime for just such a journey.
Colton pulled into a parking lot off the Great Highway. They were about a mile and a half north of the beach that faced the senior center, and she thought that was probably deliberate. Colton wanted her to enjoy the beach and not think about his grandmother and her stories of the past.
She got out of the car and walked toward the sand, enjoying the brisk afternoon breeze that made her shiver just a little. But it was a good shiver. She already felt rejuvenated. The beach was deserted, the sun was sinking low in the sky at a little before five. The days were definitely getting shorter, but thankfully the weather was still good.
She couldn't believe how much had happened in the last few days. Every hour seemed to arrive with a new twist or turn. It was no wonder she was spinning, but being out here on the beach did make her feel more grounded. It was easy to get tunnel vision when she was working on a research project but now, looking out over the horizon, she felt her world opening up again.
She turned her head to see Colton grabbing something out of the back of his car. When he came nearer, she could see it was a bright orange plastic disc.
"I promised you some exercise," he said.
"I was thinking we could just walk on the beach, watch the sun set. It should be down in the next hour."
"Then we've got sixty minutes left for fun."
She couldn't say no, not in the face of the irresistible smile that he flashed her. "I'm not good at throwing those things. There's a good chance it will end up in the water."
"I'll give you a few tips." He paused as he joined her. "First tip, we take off our shoes." He kicked off his tennis shoes and pulled off his socks.
She was happy to do the same since she didn't really wan
t to walk in the sand with her ankle boots on. Barefoot, she rolled up her jeans to just below her knees and followed Colton across the sand. He had a lanky, long stride and she had to rush a little to keep up with him.
He stopped about ten feet from the waves and dropped his shoes on the ground. She did the same.
"Okay, so there's a trick to throwing the disc correctly."
"Really? There's a trick?"
"It's all in the wrist."
"I guess I should be glad you didn't break the fingers on your right hand."
"I could still throw it with broken fingers, but I am better right-handed."
"Cocky, too."
"I know what I'm good at."
She laughed and rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you do."
"Do you want me to show you or not?"
"Please do."
"We're going to have to get a little closer," he said with a wicked light in his eyes.
"Why am I not surprised?"
"It's easier this way."
He came around behind her, putting one hand on her waist as he proceeded to demonstrate the proper grip and the way to spin the disc with the throw. His words washed over her in a delicious blurry wave of warmth, her focus more on the feel of his hand on her waist, his chest so solid behind her back, his fingers covering hers as they both gripped the disc. She could actually stay like this for a while.
Or maybe she'd turn around, drop the disc on the ground and kiss Colton the way she wanted to.
That thought got her heart pumping, and she was so very tempted to make that move, but then Colton stepped away from her.
"Ready to try it?" he asked.
She frowned, disappointed that the lesson was over and annoyed with herself for once again being too chicken to make a move. It shouldn't always be about what the guy wanted. It could be about what she wanted, too, couldn't it?"
"What's the problem?" Colton asked, his gaze narrowing in confusion.
"There's no problem. Let's do it. Give me the disc."
"You seem a little pissed off."
"Not at all. I'm just ready to play."
"Okay, great. Let's play." He handed her the disc. "You can take the first throw." Colton ran down the beach about ten yards. "Let's start at this distance."
"You're not very far away."
"So throw it over my head and prove me wrong."
She adjusted the disc in her hand and then threw it as hard as she could. Her wrist motion was all wrong, and the disc landed several feet in front of Colton.
"So that was a good start," he encouraged. He walked forward, picked up the disc and handed it back to her.
"It was a terrible start. Don't be so nice."
"Okay, then suck it up, throw harder and don't forget to use your whole arm, not just your hand. Try to spin it like a guy and not a girl."
Her frown deepened. "Now you've turned mean."
He laughed. "I can't win with you. Just throw it again and see how you do."
She kept some of his suggestions in mind as she tossed the disc in his direction once again. She was surprised at how much she'd improved with one throw.
Her next throw actually sent the disc sailing over Colton's head but at the last minute he leapt into the air and caught it.
"You're getting the hang of it," he yelled.
She continued to improve over the next fifteen minutes, challenging herself to throw it longer and straighter as Colton continued to lengthen the distance between them.
"Now, let's make it tougher," Colton said. "I'm going to make you run for it. You do the same. First one to let the disc hit the ground loses. Actually, I'll let you have one hit with no penalty since you're a—"
"A woman?" she asked, cutting him off. "I don't need any favors just because I'm a woman." She probably did need a practice point, but she hated to admit that she was not as good as he was.
"I wasn't giving you a favor because you're a woman but because you're a beginner, but suit yourself."
"Game on. What do I get when I win?"
"What do you want?"
"How about winner buys dinner?"
"Let's go."
With a renewed sense of purpose, Olivia found herself scrambling across the sand and sometimes diving for the disc as Colton's throws became increasingly more difficult. At one point, she actually came up with a mouthful of sand. She spit it out as Colton asked if she was okay and jumped to her feet. She wasn't going to wimp out now. He might have made her hit the dirt, but she had another plan in mind.
It was clear to her that Colton didn't just like to compete, he also liked to win. And he'd do whatever it took to not let the disc hit the ground.
Her next throw went sailing toward the sea. Colton sprinted across the sand, his focus so pure and precise that he didn't even hesitate to launch himself into the air. He came down with the disc, but he landed in two feet of water, and a rolling wave took him down on his ass.
He struggled to get up, the disc in his hand but murderous intent in his eyes.
"Good catch," she said, laughing at his sopping clothes and disgruntled expression.
"You did that on purpose, Olivia."
"We didn't have any boundaries." She backed up as he stalked toward her.
"The ocean was an implied boundary."
"You never said that." Another laugh slipped past her lips as he paused for a moment to wring out the edge of his t-shirt.
"You're enjoying this a little too much," he said.
She was enjoying herself. The tension of the last three days had completely disappeared with the crashing of the waves, the salty sea breeze dampening her cheeks, and the occasional squawk of a seagull. The beach had worked its magic.
Or maybe it was Colton, the man who was stomping deliberately in her direction. And judging by the expression on his face, he was about to exact payback.
She took off running down the beach, knowing she was probably only postponing the inevitable. Colton ran every day. He was in excellent physical shape, and while she occasionally made it to the gym and got on the elliptical for an hour, most of her days were spent sitting at a desk and working on her computer.
Flinging a quick look over her shoulder, she saw he was closing in on her. Probably the only thing slowing him down was the fact that his jeans and shirt were soaked and heavy with water.
She tried to speed up, but she couldn't get enough traction in the slippery sand. A second later, Colton grabbed her around the waist, and before she could react he had flung her up and over his shoulder like she was no heavier than a rag doll. Then he headed straight for the sea.
"Don't," she squealed, trying to squirm out of his hold, but the man had a grip on her. He was used to carrying people out of burning buildings, so this was probably nothing for him.
He ran right into the water. She could see it swirling around his ankles, and she put every last ounce of energy and guile she had into staying out of the ocean.
"I'll do whatever you want," she pleaded. "Just don't drop me."
"Whatever I want?"
"Well, within reason," she quickly amended.
"I was going to give in until you said that."
"Colton, you can't throw me in."
"You didn't hesitate to get me wet," he retorted.
Up until the second the icy cold water hit her feet, she thought he would save her, but the next thing she knew she was sitting in three feet of freezing water, her eyes blurred from the spray, her heart almost stopping from the cold, and a pile of seaweed wrapping itself around her hand.
As the current began its pull toward the ocean, Colton grabbed her hand and yanked her to her feet. They half ran, half stumbled to dry land. Once her toes curled in the warmer dry sand, she stopped to catch her breath.
Then she looked at Colton, who had a huge smile on his face. "I can't believe you did that."
"I owed you, and you said you didn't want any favors because you're a woman," he reminded her.
"Yeah, but…" She couldn't
really finish that sentence because she had no real defense. She had been cocky enough to say that earlier, and she had been the one to send him into the sea first.
He laughed. "Can't think of anything to say? This must be a first."
She thought for a moment and then realized the plastic disc was no longer in his hands. "Actually, I have two words for you—I win."
"What are you talking about? I caught it before I landed in the water."
"But where is it now? You must have dropped it."
"I didn't drop it. I put it down over there," he said pointing down the beach.
"All I know is that it's on the ground and you didn't throw it to me, so I win. And winner buys dinner, remember?"
He stared back at her, his brows drawing into a frown. "Well…"
"Nothing to say?" she prodded a moment later.
"I think you're winning on a technicality."
"A win is a win." She wrapped her arms around her waist as another chill ran through her. "I need to dry off."
"Let's go back to the car. We can argue with the heat on."
As they started to walk, Colton put an arm around her shoulders, and she couldn't resist snuggling up to his side as they made their way down the beach. She told herself she was only being practical and trying to share some of his body heat, but that was a lie. She liked his arm around her. Liked being next to him. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun.
She even kind of liked the fact that he'd tossed her into the sea, although she'd never admit that to him. But the action showed that he respected her. He'd treated her like an equal and showed that he could take a prank as well as give it back in return. She'd never liked people who took themselves too seriously, who couldn't be the butt of a joke without getting pissed off or embarrassed.
But Colton didn't care that his clothes were soaked in saltwater and that there was sand now clinging to his jeans in thick clumps. And the truth was, she didn't really care, either, because maybe, just maybe, she'd been taking her own life a little too seriously, and she'd needed a vivid reminder that not every day had to be a battle.
Or at least not every part of every day…
When Shadows Fall (Callaways #7) Page 18
