Captivated in Cancun

by KaLyn Cooper

  “I know these guys,” Jack reassured her. “They come down a few times every year and their wives are diving with them.” He threw his arm around Jillian’s shoulders. “I wish you didn’t have that last-minute tour at the museum this morning, but I promise we’ll dive again soon.” He placed a kiss on her temple.

  “Calita is all set to take care of Addi,” Jillian reassured him. “They want to double check the fitting on my wedding dress with my shoes so I have to go into Cancun anyway.” She smiled up at him and sassed, “You’re going to love my dress.”

  Jack’s gaze grew heated as though his whole family and company weren’t sitting right there. “I can’t wait to see you in it on Saturday. Then you’ll be mine. Forever.” He leaned in and kissed his fiancée. Jillian’s hand went up to cup Jack’s cheek and they deepened the kiss.

  “Me kiss.” Addi puckered her jelly-smeared lips into a tiny bow. When her mother and soon-to-be-father didn’t respond immediately, she patted Jack on the shoulder. “Me want a kiss, too.”

  Yep. If Josh could have children like these, he’d consider it. But with his luck he’d have whiny brats like Honey’s.

  “Get a room,” Levi jeered from the other end of the table. “Oh, yeah. You already have one. A whole pool house filled with rooms. Before you start groping each other and giving our nephews a real education, how about finishing breakfast so you can get to that dive boat?”

  Jack’s middle finger flew up in Levi’s direction.

  Mother Girard sighed. “Will they ever grow up?”

  Lilly smiled. “Nope.”

  When the lovebirds finally broke the kiss, Josh heard Jack’s whisper, “I love you so much.” He then leaned over to the little girl he would soon adopt legally. Their lips smacked. “I love you, my little princess.”

  “Love you, too, Daddy.”

  Josh was amazed at how easily his friend said those words. And meant them. Josh had only ever said them to his wife and by comparison to the two across the table from him, Josh wasn’t sure he’d been in love with his ex. He was sure he’d been in lust and loved having a hot woman to come home to after training or a mission.

  Then she’d found someone else while he was on a six month deployment that had turned into nearly a year. They’d been separated more than they’d been together during the time they’d been married. Strangely, except for the convenient sex, he’d never really missed her.

  “Josh, you going with me today?” Jack asked, then before Josh could answer he added, “We’ll be back in plenty of time for our appointment on Cozumel. It’ll help take your mind off...things.”

  Yeah, like the fact that he had no control over the quality of the mission. Just like in the SEALs, he was depending on unreliable intelligence gathered by untrained people he didn’t know. Josh fucking hated this. But he couldn’t do a damn thing about it except take Ed’s calls every hour when the PMI agent checked in. If it hadn’t been for Arturo Mendoza’s promise of cooperation at their meeting the other day, Josh wasn’t sure if Jorge Guzman wouldn’t shove Josh and his team out of the way to garner his government’s praise for capturing an international terrorist. Fucking politics and brown-nosers.

  They’d have at least six hours to kill. Josh shrugged. “Sure. I’ll go down anytime.”

  Lilly almost spit out her juice. “Sorry,” she choked out. “Something went down the wrong pipe.” Her cheeks reddened, and she continued to cough. “That didn’t come out right.” She coughed some more.

  “Stop while you’re ahead, sis.” Levi suggested then bit off a chuckle. “See, you’ve got me doing it.”

  “Mommy.” A wide-eyed Greyson patted his mother on the back. “Are you going to be okay?”

  “Yes.” She sucked in a breath. “I’ll be fine.” She sipped her juice.

  “Good. Then can we go on the dive boat with Uncle Jack?”

  “Come with us, Lilly,” Josh encouraged. Quietly he added in that commanding voice she responded to so well in the bedroom, “Dive with me. Let me show you my favorite world. I’ll be right there at your side.”

  “Fine.” Her gaze swept the table. “I’ll go, but I won’t dive. I’ll take the boys snorkeling.”

  The boys wiggled their butts in their chairs and waved their hands in the air while whooping with joy.

  In a non-verbal conversation with Jack, he and Josh agreed Lilly’s gear would go on the boat.

  “Do you have room for me?” Stacie asked. “I’m available and a certified instructor, just in case you need a second dive master.”

  “Absolutely, Stacie. And I'll be glad to have you aboard.” Jack’s double meaning wasn’t evident to his family but Josh caught it. She smiled and nodded.

  Josh finished his breakfast, wiped his mouth with the pretty cotton napkin, and laid it next to his empty plate. “How about I help you prep the boat?”

  “Thanks. It’ll go twice as fast.” Jack gave both Jillian and Addi a kiss then stood. “Ready?”

  Preston shoved the last of his waffle into his mouth and talked around it. “Can I go with them, Mom?”

  Lilly looked at her boy with raised eyebrows. “Don’t you think you should have asked your Uncle Jack first?”

  His pleading eyes asked the question before Preston could swallow.

  Jack threw his arm around his nephew. “Come on. It’s about time you learned the hard work to boating. It’s not all jump in and go.”

  “We’re going to do a man’s work, Mom.” Preston peered over his shoulder. “But will you bring my mask? And snorkel? And a towel?” He added, “Please?”

  “Give me a second to grab my gear.” Josh needed to retrieve his dive gear, but it was the gun he wanted to be sure to slip into his bag. And his knives.

  “Preston, real men take care of their own gear. Go get yours.” Jack instructed, releasing the boy. “We’ll meet back here in five minutes.”

  Josh was ready and waiting in two. He saw Lilly open the blackout drapes to her room and couldn’t have stopped his feet from heading her way if a gun had been pointed at his head. “I’m glad you’re going with us this morning.”

  “I rolled over, and you were gone.” She stepped close to him and slid her hands up his forearms, and over his biceps and shoulders before she pulled his face to hers. “Where’s my good morning kiss?”

  He dropped his lips to hers and kissed her sweetly. “I want you to dive with me today.”

  Chapter 21

  As the dive boat smoothly slid over the short chop on the way to Isla Mujeres, Lilly couldn’t stop herself from glancing at the BCD that had been hers since she was a teen. The last time she’d worn it...the accident had happened.

  “You can do this, you know.” Josh had said almost those same words in her room before he had to leave to help Jack get the boat ready. She wanted to ask him now about his conversation with Preston but didn’t want to embarrass her son since he was only a few feet away chatting with his grandmother who had decided to come at the last minute.

  Lilly needed to face her fear, and she knew it. The tiny lung embolism had been a one-time occurrence and would most likely never happen again, unless she was stupid enough to let something scare her into ascending too fast. Only a small bubble of air had forced its way through the lining of her lung taking less than a few drops of blood with it. She’d bled more from a kitchen cut.

  The hyperbaric chamber had been a precaution, not a necessity. Gramps had stayed with her, by her side, to reassure her throughout the hours of decompression. Although the chamber had been small, the process wasn’t bad. It had actually been boring. She might have gone to sleep if Gramps hadn’t been there talking the entire time.

  Compared to everything else she’d been through since then, that was a bump in the road that she’s built into a mountain in her mind. She’d been through childbirth twice, all the fears while Greyson had heart surgery as an infant, a cheating husband, and a divorce. Hell, a few hours in the chamber was nothing. She needed to retake that part of her life, too.
Physically she was in great shape. The fear was just in her mind. It wasn’t real.

  Then why was her heart beating so loud? Why couldn’t she seem to get enough air in her lungs?

  “Yes, I can do this,” she told herself in encouragement as much as reassurance.

  Everyone slid into their gear as though they did it every day. Jack adjusted the straps of one of the guest wives because he didn’t like the way her BCD fit. Stacie was in cruise director mode, helping where she could, or joking with the guests making sure she spoke with each and every one of them. Lilly was sad to lose her as an employee of their new cruise line. She’d grown to like the woman and secretly wanted to quiz her about Josh. There seemed to be so much more to this man that she wanted to know.

  Lilly’s mom helped the boys into their life vests, flippers and masks then followed the divers onto the platform and into the water. The boys were fearless little water bugs. Lilly couldn’t look like a coward and stay in the boat, not now. She picked up her gear and struggled into a rash shirt.

  Josh pulled Lilly off to the side where no one could see them and kissed her. “I’m so fucking proud of you. Let’s do this.” He helped her into her dive gear.

  When he hooked in her tank, she had a moment of mild trepidation but as soon as she put her regulator into her mouth and tested a few breaths, her breathing settled. She could do this.

  “Do you wear a knife?”

  “No.” She admitted. “I haven’t a clue where mine is. I’ll be fine without it.”

  “I’ve got you covered. Then let’s go.” Josh helped her to the dive platform. “Ready?”

  No. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” She took Josh’s hand and together they leaped into the water. As they descended down, she had a second or two of anxiousness, but she remembered her yoga breathing and drew in a cleansing breath. Exhaling slowly, she took in her surroundings. A school of young yellow jacks passed fifteen feet away.

  That was it. She’d forgotten the wonders of the underwater world. Missed it. She turned her head to look at Josh. He had a graceful stroke that powered him quickly through the crystal clear water. He pointed at a foot-long parrotfish slaloming though a forest of yellowish-green elkhorn coral. He signaled for her to follow as they swam toward the reef where purple fans waved at them and brain coral dotted the bottom of the ocean.

  She loved this. And was so glad Josh had given this part of her life back. He’d given her so much, and she’d given him nothing except her body. That would need to change.

  Chapter 22

  Preston sat in the front seat of the white Mercedes as his mom drove toward Cancun. “So,” she glanced at him. “Did you have fun snorkeling with your grandmother?

  “Yeah.” His grandmother Girard was cool for a grandmother. She let them do stuff his mom and dad didn’t. Especially stuff his dad didn’t like him to do. But Grandma Betsy was okay, too.

  “I saw a couple parrotfish,” his mom said. Preston was surprised his mom had gone diving. She’d never done that before. He didn’t even know she knew how. “Did you see anything cool?”

  “Yeah.” Preston wasn’t sure he wanted to talk to his mom right now. He had stuff to think about. But he figured he’d tell her about their swim. “We saw lots of fish and coral and Grandma said next time we can go to the Virgin Mary.”

  “Sure, we can do that. Maybe tomorrow.”

  Thank goodness she paid more attention to her driving than him for the next several miles.

  “So, what did you and Uncle Jack talk about on the way to the boat this morning?” She was pushing. He wondered if Jack or Mr. Josh had said something to her about their conversation.

  “Just guy stuff.” Would she be upset if she knew he’d asked the men to teach him to fight? They didn’t seem too excited about the idea. But Preston was tired of being called a pretty boy. Girls were pretty. Not boys. He’d hated the helpless feeling he’d had in that alley when those big boys came after him. He needed to learn to fight.

  “What kind of guy stuff?” She was really pushing, and it made Preston mad.

  “Just stuff.” Preston shrugged.

  “Like what? Could you be more specific?”

  He sighed. She probably already knew and was testing him to see if he’d lie about it. “We talked about fighting. Uncle Jack and Mr. Josh are going to teach me some martial arts moves. Can I take martial arts when I get back? Ricky Sledgemyer takes martial arts at the Y. I could go with him.” That might get her to say yes.

  “Your Uncle Jack taught me how to fight and shoot a gun.” She slid a glance his way.

  “You got a gun?” How cool was that? His mom had a gun.

  “Yes, back home in the safe.”

  “Ever shoot anybody?” Not that Preston could ever imagine his mother shooting someone but the ladies on those cop shows shot people.

  “No,” she snickered. “I leave that up to the cops. I sometimes carry it when I’m working late. But back to this fighting. You really want to learn to fight?”

  “Yeah.” He most certainly did.

  “Because of the boys in the alley?” Darn it, she’d guessed why.

  “Yeah.” He hung his head. His dad would never let him take fighting classes. He’d said fighting was juvenile and that Preston needed to concentrate on his studies so he could make it into medical school and be just like him. Well, Preston didn’t want to be anything like him. He was mean and forgot about his kids. And he forgot their birthdays. And didn’t love his mom anymore. Preston would always love his mom.

  “Okay,” she said and smiled over at him.

  What? His eyes almost popped out of his head. “You mean I can?”

  “Yes. I think you can handle it.” Then she asked the big question, “So what did Josh and Jack say about fighting?”

  Here it came. She’d change her mind about the martial arts classes. “They told me to walk away. That pretty much nothing is worth fighting over.” Preston wasn’t sure about that.

  “That’s true, you know.” What did mom’s really know about fighting?

  “Mr. Josh said real fighting isn’t like in the movies where the other guy backs down. He said it doesn’t end, especially if both sides think they’re right.”

  “I think Josh is a very smart man.” She smiled but didn’t look his way this time.

  “Is that why you kissed him?” He stared at her waiting for an answer for a long time.

  “When did you see me kiss Josh?” She didn’t look at him.

  “On the boat.” Then he asked the real question he wanted to know, “Are you going to marry Mr. Josh?”

  She sighed. “No, Preston, I’m not going to marry Josh.” Before he could ask why, she asked, “Did your Uncle Jack give you any other advice?”

  “He said if I was going to do something to get away, do it fast and furious and run like hell. He said that word, Mom, not me. I’m just telling you what he said.”

  She laughed. “He gave me the same advice.”

  “Mr. Josh fixed my phone and made me promise to always carry it.” He pulled it out of his pocket. “See. He did something special to it. He said it was a good phone.”

  “It is a good phone.” She pulled into a parking space and turned the car off. “I’m glad I got it for your birthday.”

  “Me, too.” The phone was awesome. It had games and everyone in his family had been programmed in. Now even his sister was on speed dial.

  His mom turned in her seat to stare at him. Oh, no. Here was the mother talk. She shook her head. “You’re growing up so fast.” She pulled him into a hug. Good thing he wasn’t at the mall at home. Someone might see them. “Now, what kind of clothes are we looking for here? More polo shirts and khaki slacks?”

  “No.” Oops. That might have come out too loud. He needed to use an indoor voice. “I like the clothes Uncle Jack wears. I need those kind of clothes for here in Cancun.”

  An hour later, Preston carried two shopping bags and his mom had three more. This had been the greatest d
ay of his life. She’d let him pick out whatever he wanted. His mom popped the trunk from a good distance away so the lid would be up when they got there. Good thing because Preston couldn’t see the car. A big brown van with no windows was parked right beside it. He trotted to the car and flung the bags filled with his new clothes into the trunk. When he turned back to wait for his mom, a big fat man stepped in front of him and he couldn’t see her.

  “Excuse me, sir.” Preston tried to step around him but the man grabbed his shoulders.

  “What’s your name, kid?” Another man with lots of muscles and tattoos in a tight t-shirt walked up on the other side of him.

  “I’m...I’m Preston.” He tried to move around the big man and find his mom.

  “You Girard?” Muscles and tattoos asked.

  All Preston could do was nod his head. Fat guy picked him up and the side door of the van opened.

  Fast and furious Josh had said. Well, Preston was in perfect position so he kicked fat guy in the privates.

  The man dropped him. Preston caught his balance and started to run.

  But Muscle Man caught him in a few steps and flung him over his shoulder.

  Preston started screaming. “Help! Mom! Put me down!” He wiggled and kicked, but the man had a tight hold on him.

  He looked up to see his mother running down the parking lot screaming in Spanish at the man. She dropped the shopping bags and swung her purse at the man’s knees.

  “Bitch.” Muscle Man whirled around making Preston a little dizzy, especially since his belly bounced against a rock hard shoulder.

  His mother smacked the guy with her purse, but he grabbed it one handed and threw it across the pavement where it slid under a car.

  “Put him down!” she yelled in English. Muscle Man back-handed his mom, but it didn’t stop her. His mom would save him.

  Preston reached out his hands, and she grabbed them. She tried to pull him off the man’s shoulders, but the tight grip Muscle Man had on Preston’s legs was too tight. “Mom!”