Cherish Hard

by Nalini Singh

  "I told you," Jacqueline said softly, "you always wanted your father to be different. To be a better man. But men don't change, Isa. Don't forget that."

  Isa said nothing, but part of her wondered. Was that what she was doing? Hoping for her gardener with demon-blue eyes to change?

  "No," she said once she was back in her office, her eye on her row of cactus plants. "I see him. And I choose to be with him." Until the day he trampled so badly on her heart that even Isa's stubborn will couldn't fix it.

  * * *

  WHEN SAILOR DROPPED BY HIS parents' on his way to a job a couple of days later and told his mother he was bringing Isa along on the family camping trip that coming weekend, she said, "Oh? A friend, is she?"

  Sailor had been expecting the pointed question. He'd never invited a woman to join in any of the Bishop-Esera camping trips or barbeques; that time was about family, about connection, about love. None of his previous--and short-term--relationships had ever come close to that. But Isa...

  Isa owned him body and soul.

  "Mine," he said with unhidden satisfaction. "She's mine."

  Pure delight in his mother's expression. "How did you two meet?"

  "I was doing a job at the school where she teaches." It was hard to keep a straight face while giving that answer when he just wanted to grin at the memory of being jumped by his redhead.

  Early that Friday afternoon as he drove into the parking lot of Isa's apartment complex, he was unsurprised to see not just Isa but Catie out front. The teenager had messaged him to ask if she could come along, the request written in an offhand manner, but Sailor had seen right through it to her genuine desire and curiosity.

  He'd not only invited her, he'd told her to bring along her brother. But it turned out Jacqueline was taking Harlow to an out-of-town social-slash business event, so Sailor would have to wait to meet Isa's kid brother.

  "Two gorgeous ladies waiting for me," he said before bending Isa over his arm to claim a ravenous kiss.

  It had been two nights since he'd last seen her, their schedules out of whack. Sailor missed her like she was his heartbeat, and he'd made damn sure she wouldn't forget him or begin to second-guess her decision to stick with him.

  "Did you get the flowers I sent?" he asked after coming up for air while keeping her in that dramatic pose.

  Pushing at his shoulders, laughter in her eyes, she said, "I don't think increasingly spiky cacti count as flowers."

  "Succulents," he murmured in her ear, too low for Catie to overhear. "Juicy, juicy succulents. Nearly as succulent as a redhead I know."

  Isa blushed, Sailor kissed her again, and Catie took a photo.

  Finally rising to his full height, Isa in his arms--where she belonged--he reached out to tug on one of Catie's twin braids. "Send me that photo so I can print it out and draw hearts around Isa's face."

  Though Isa elbowed him for his teasing, she was laughing. So he stole another kiss, tasted her happiness. And felt things in him settle, become firm again. As if he'd been on quicksand and then, there it was, solid ground.

  "Off to my lair we go," he said afterward, his exhaustion from the grueling week having disappeared as if it didn't exist.

  Catie got into the back seat with a grin while Sailor lifted the luggage into the bed of the truck. "You can choose the radio station," he told Isa after they were in the truck.

  "Oooh," Catie announced from the back, "that's a sign of love, twue love."

  Sailor saw Isa's fingers freeze for a single millisecond on the buttons of the radio before she threw Catie a smiling look, then continued on as if everything was normal. But Sailor had caught that pause, and he felt it like a punch to the jaw. Did Isa not know exactly how much she meant to him? Had he fucked up that badly?

  Running his knuckles over her cheek, he clenched his gut and made a silent vow that he'd fix the fuckup before the weekend was over. A single moment of privacy with Isa and he'd lay his heart at her feet. And hope she wouldn't kick it.

  "Hey, Issie," Catie said from the back, "did the Dragon breathe fire on you for taking off early?"

  Sailor had meant to ask Isa the same thing. "Yeah, spitfire, did Jacqueline give you any flak?"

  Isa shook her head just as her phone rang. "I swear, if you two have summoned her by speaking her name," she muttered while digging into her handbag, "I'll put a hex on you." Having located her phone, she looked at the screen. "You're safe. It's my father."

  "Hi, Dad," she said in English before switching to what he guessed must be Icelandic.

  After she hung up, she checked something on her phone. "Dad's fiancee just sent me her 'visual concept' for the bridesmaids dresses. Because--according to Dad--she'll be 'devastated, honey, just devastated' if I'm not part of the bridal party."

  Catie, whom Sailor had thought was listening to her iPod, said, "Uh-oh. How bad?"

  "Purple. Make-your-eyes-bleed purple."

  Even Sailor knew to wince at that. "It's the thought that counts?" he suggested.

  Isa shot him a speaking look... before bursting out into giggles, laughing too hard to say anything. Catie fell victim to the same moments later.

  And that set the tone for the rest of the drive. Having grown up with three brothers, Sailor hadn't realized how different it would be to make the drive with two females who were sisters. They laughed, argued over music, teased Sailor, and filled the car with cheerful noise.

  When Isa went looking in his glovebox for a charging cable and found his marked-up copy of Poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, she shot him a smile so luminous it stole his breath. "I didn't know you were into poetry."

  "My brothers caught me reading that book," Sailor muttered, his voice husky from the impact of Isa. "I hope you know what I've suffered for you."

  She blew him a kiss.

  And Sailor decided he'd take any ragging his brothers cared to throw his way. Isa's delight was worth everything.

  38

  Never Trust a Cute Redhead

  THE CAMPGROUND WAS BUSY THAT time of year, but Sailor knew exactly where to find his family. The Bishop-Esera crew always booked the same spot.

  "No vehicles on the grass," he told Isa and Catie after bringing the truck to a halt in the paved parking lot. "We'll have to schlep our stuff to the tents."

  Catie flung open the door and sniffed suspiciously. "It smells green and salty." Despite her disdain, the teen put away her earbuds and phone, then came around to help Isa and Sailor carry their gear.

  Sailor wasn't sure what she could handle since she'd already be navigating uneven ground. Instead of asking Isa, he asked Catie directly.

  The teenager put her hands on her hips and checked out the grassy area they'd crossing. "Better give me something that won't break if I drop it."

  He handed her his small duffel.

  She could sling it over her shoulder, and since he mostly just wore shorts and tees out here, it wasn't too heavy. To Isa he handed the lightweight backpack that held her clothing, then piled her arms with bedding. He put on Catie's heavier pack. "You want your crutches, Cat?" She'd left them in the back of the truck. "Probably safer to take them and just leave them in your tent if it turns out you're stable enough without the help."

  Catie made a face but didn't argue.

  Lastly, Sailor grabbed the cooler he'd packed with all the snacks and drinks, then hefted a large outdoor umbrella.

  The two females flanked him as he walked into the campground--there was definitely something to be said for being accompanied by a cute redhead and her smart-aleck miniature sidekick.

  "It's more spread out than I expected," Isa commented. "The sites aren't right next to one another."

  "It's more expensive than usual, that's why. My parents insist on paying--they say it's their version of a summer house." The last time he and Gabe had tried to chip in, the money had been quietly deposited back into their accounts.

  Leaves rustled in the wind, the campground surrounded by rich native forest. Ponga ferns grew
out plush and silvery-green from treelike trunks, while Pohutukawa trees bloomed a stunning scarlet along the waterline. Those trees also provided shade in that part of the campground, dappling the area in a leafy pattern that meant it was possible to sit outside without being fried to a crisp.

  "Hmm," Catie said in a sage tone. "That's actually supersmart. Your mom and dad don't have the hassle and expense of insurance and upkeep but still get to come hang out at the beach."

  Startled at the deeply mature statement, Sailor glanced at Isa. She shook her head subtly and mouthed, Clive.

  Right. A kid with a father like Catie's had probably had to become money-smart at a young age. "You make sure you tell my dad that," he said to Catie with a wink. "You'll be his new favorite person."

  A dimpled smile. "We're getting closer to the beach."

  "See that large dark green tent right before the sand? That's my folks. It has a separate living room, so if it rains or whatever, we can hang out in there."

  "Are those your brothers putting up the blue tent?"

  Sailor nodded at Catie's question. "Jake and Danny get to have their own tent--then they can hooligan around all they want, listen to their music, stay up late." It wasn't like the boys could get into any trouble this far out from civilization. The worst they might do was sneak a cigarette with friends in the campground, but Sailor and Gabriel had both done that and survived.

  "We'll put you two there." He pointed to a spot to the left and slightly in front of the main family tent. "Gabe and I will share one between you and the boys." It'd create a small square with the entrances all facing the center, where his father would set up the mobile barbeque and where they'd kick back in the evening.

  "Sailor!" Danny came running over, skidding to a stop when he saw that his brother wasn't alone. His eyes went to Isa, then to Catie. And though Catie was dressed in three-quarter-length capris that exposed her articulated metal legs, that wasn't what caught Danny's attention.

  "You're wearing makeup." It was a disdainful statement.

  Catie curled her lip at Sailor's youngest brother, who, despite being a year older than Catie, was much shorter and looked far more like a child. "And you have dirt on your face, hunter-gatherer caveboy."

  Scowling, Danny folded his arms. "At least I don't come to camp with goop on my face." He fluttered his lashes and pretended to put on mascara.

  "Danny." Amused by the two of them, Sailor nonetheless cut off the insult-fest before it degenerated any further. "Where are Mom and Dad?"

  "They got all smoochy"--rolled eyes--"and went for a walk on the beach. You're early."

  Sailor nodded--they'd hit almost no traffic on the way down. He indicated the bedding Isa was carrying. "Take that into Mom and Dad's tent."

  While Danny did that, Jake waved at Sailor from where he was pounding in a tent peg. Sailor called out a hello to his brother before he had Isa and Catie put their things in the center of the site, then grabbed one of the tent packages it was Gabe's job to bring. He hadn't seen his brother's SUV in the parking area; he had a feeling Gabe had made a run into the small local township to buy something they needed before the shops all shut.

  "Come on," he said to his girls. "Let's put this up."

  They were ridiculously bad at the task--but they laughed throughout, making random and terrible suggestions as to how to speed up the process, which had him cracking up. Catie fell once, her smile fading for a second before Sailor hauled her up and told her to stop trying to get out of putting up the tent. She stuck out her tongue at him, but the light was back in her eyes.

  But it was the naked emotion on Isa's face that got him. Running his hand down her back while Catie was distracted, he nuzzled a kiss to her temple.

  She said, "Thank you for taking care of my baby sister."

  "If she's yours, she's mine," Sailor said, because that was the absolute truth.

  Isa's gaze shimmered.

  "Hey, eyeshadow girl, what happened to your legs?" Danny's curious question had them both looking up.

  "A crocodile ate them."

  Sailor bit back a grin while beside him, Isa fought not to laugh.

  Danny, meanwhile, was having none of it. Narrowing his eyes, he said, "Yeah? What kind of crocodile?"

  "Leggus eatus crocodilus."

  Isa snorted a laugh. "Catie."

  Gabe walked into the campsite just as Danny seemed to be building up to a scowling response. Sailor's elder brother was a broad-shouldered and muscled man, six foot five inches in height. Not many people wanted to get in his way on the rugby field. But women liked his size, black hair, and gray eyes just fine.

  Unfortunately for those women, Gabe's focus was on his stellar rugby career.

  But Sailor's brother always found time for family.

  Currently his arms were full of shopping bags that Jake and Danny quickly grabbed and ran off to store. "Potato chips," Gabriel said to Sailor. "Mom forgot to put that on your list, and the boys were about to have a meltdown at the idea of camping without their favorite salty snacks."

  "Isa, Cat," Sailor said, "this is my brother Gabriel."

  "Hi." Catie waved from where she was pushing in a tent peg with the kind of concentration most people reserved for surgical operations. "Did you bring chocolate too?"

  "Sorry, Cat." Gabe took in the badly constructed tent with an amused glint in his eye. "I will next time."

  Going over to the cooler, Sailor rummaged around in it before he found the large family-size bar he'd added to his shopping list after recalling the chocolate he'd seen in Catie's kitchen. "Hide it," he said after passing her the bar. "Or Jake and Danny will see it, and then it's all over." His brothers didn't have much of a sweet tooth, but they were teenage boys--they ate anything and everything in sight.

  Beaming, Catie quickly put the chocolate bar into her backpack. "Thanks, Sailor."

  "It's lovely to meet you," Isa said to Gabriel at the same time.

  "Right back at you." Those steely eyes took in the way Sailor was hovering close to Isa's side. A glint lit his gaze. "You sure Sail here isn't a bit puny for you?"

  "Hands off." Sailor pointed a finger at his troublemaking brother. "I may not be able to take you down in a fair fight, but I can spike your beer with laxatives."

  "Try it and feel Mom's wrath," Gabriel said darkly before nodding at the tent. "You want some help?"

  "Nah. Why don't you get ours up?" Sailor bumped fists with his brother while Isa and Catie gave them strange looks. "I'll make sure the girls' won't collapse on them."

  "Hey," Isa protested. "It's not that bad. We got that central pole thingy up, didn't we?"

  Sailor didn't resist the temptation to kiss her. "You're so cute."

  Eyebrows drawing into a dark vee, she said, "You and Gabriel--is that normal brother behavior? Insults and warnings, then being best buds?"

  Sailor shrugged. "Yep."

  "Boys are weird," Catie pronounced.

  Isa nodded in agreement. "But, sadly, I appear to like this one a whole lot." She was the one who stole a kiss this time.

  And Sailor's heart, it melted.

  "Hey, enough mushy stuff." Catie scowled at them. "Gabe's gonna beat us with putting up his tent."

  Driven by the spirit of competition, they finished up at the same time--just as Alison and Joseph walked up from the beach.

  His mother made a beeline for them. "This is wonderful," she said to Isa after a round of tight hugs. "I'm usually surrounded by so much testosterone I begin to worry I'm going to sprout chest hair and start belching."

  Catie giggled while Isa's smile was shy but real. "I should admit that we're not the most experienced campers," she told his mother.

  Alison waved a hand. "I wasn't either until I met my husband." Turning just as Joseph reached them, she introduced Sailor's father to Isa and Catie.

  Both Sailor's redhead and her sidekick fit into the Bishop-Esera family like keys turning in a lock. Though Catie's version of fitting in seemed to be to make fun of Danny. H
is youngest brother, in turn, made a production of pretending to paint his nails or put on mascara anytime Catie so much as looked in his direction.

  As for Isa, Sailor could literally see her falling in love with his parents.

  Hope burst in his heart. It'd work.

  But even as he thought that, his gut told him he was being a bullshitter of the highest order. Yes, it might work. He'd planned it all out, hadn't he? And he'd gotten Isa's agreement. It'd involve a serious lack of sleep and a serious lack of spare time, but he and Isa would soldier through.

  At what cost, dumbass?

  The question came from the part of him that was all about harsh truths. And the truth it showed him was a staggering one that cut his legs out from under him.

  * * *

  OF COURSE THERE HAD TO be a rugby game post-dinner. Isa tried to sit it out, but Sailor dragged her onto the field. "No shirkers, that's the rule," the blue-eyed demon said firmly. "Cat! You too!"

  Her sister, who'd been sitting by the tent pretending to play on her phone while Isa knew her heart was breaking, looked up. Mouth dropping open, she said, "I don't have legs, in case you haven't noticed!"

  "I noticed that you're an athlete who's very stable on those prosthetics now," Sailor said with total equanimity. "Don't tell me you can't play a friendly family game."

  Growling low in her throat, Catie got up and limped onto the field.

  "Oh, honey, you're limping." Alison's worried tone. "Did you fall?"

  Looking abashed, Catie said, "Oh wow, looks like my leg is all better." She took position when a scowling Sailor pointed.

  Across from her, Danny snickered. "Busted."

  "Shut up, caveboy."

  Putting two fingers to his mouth, Sailor whistled. "Ladies and gents, let's get this show on the road. Gabe, you want to call teams?"

  Nodding, Sailor's ruggedly handsome older brother stepped forward to quickly divide them into two teams.

  Gabriel, Alison, Isa, Catie.

  Sailor, Joseph, Danny, Jake.

  "Hey!" Sailor protested. "You can't have all the women. Here, we'll give Danny back." He pushed his younger brother across with rough humor.

  "Whatever," Danny said good-naturedly. "I didn't want to be on the losing team anyway."