by Kieran Scott
A tiny yellow and black bird flew from one palm tree to another on the enclosed back patio, chasing after its mate. I’d been watching their game for five minutes and kept rooting for the little guy to catch up, but he never did. When Kaia opened the door behind me, the two birds took off into the sky.
I was so nervous I felt sick. Kaia walked around the picnic table and climbed up to sit next to me on the tabletop. I looked down at our matching black boots, covered in the dirt and grime from four days on the road. I kind of wanted to take a picture of them.
Kaia lifted my arm and draped it around her. I pulled her in close.
“I love you, you know,” she said.
“Yeah, I do.” It was hard to keep my voice from cracking, but I managed. “I love you too.” I kissed her temple and sighed. “So what now?”
“Apparently, no one has figured that one out,” she said. “But I do know one thing.” She lifted her head to look me in the eye. “You are not going back to that house.”
My breath caught. “You mean Robin’s? What about Trevor?”
“It’s not your responsibility to worry about Trevor,” she told me. “It’s his mom’s.”
“I know, but—”
“Oliver, you can’t go back there,” she said firmly.
And even though I knew it was true, even though I’d wanted nothing more than to get away, it felt wrong somehow.
“But I can’t just leave him,” I said. “I have to at least do something to help him.”
She considered, her brow knitting. “Maybe my dad can get someone to go over there and help them,” she said. “He does have a lot of government connections, and from what I can tell, they owe him big time at this point.”
“You think? And maybe they can tell Robin I’m okay? I mean, assuming she cares.” I said. “Would you really talk to your dad about it?”
“Of course.” Kaia smiled. “I’m sure he’ll figure something out. I know I don’t look like a spoiled brat, but he’s pretty much never said no to me in my life.”
“I think that was clear from the motorcycle. And the iPad. And the absurd number of ceramic unicorns in your bedroom.”
“Which we will never speak of again,” she said, raising her eyebrows in warning.
“Oh, I have so much dirt on you now,” I joked. “I know you drool in your sleep… I know you hum Elmo songs… I know your dad is a superhero geek…”
She shut me up with a kiss and when she went to pull away, I held her to me. I didn’t know how many more of these we were going to get. I had to make the most of them.
“So…what about your family?” I asked, when we finally parted. It was the hardest question to ask, but I had to ask it. “Do you think you’ll go back to Houston?”
Kaia sighed and took my hand, entwining our fingers and holding them atop her thigh.
“I don’t know. I don’t even want to think about it. Which is funny, because it used to be the only thing I ever thought about.” She shook her hair behind her shoulders and smiled. “I say, we live in the now.”
“How do we do that, exactly?” I asked, a little flutter of excitement inside my heart.
“We’re in California, right?”
I grinned. “Yeah, we are.”
“Well, I’ve still never seen the Pacific Ocean,” she reminded me.
“From this side, anyway,” I finished.
She jumped down onto the flagstone patio, tugged me from the table, and we were off.
chapter 39
KAIA
My parents weren’t about to let me out of their sight, but at least they kept their distance, hanging back on the boardwalk while Oliver and I dug our toes into the sand. There were half a dozen CIA agents around too, watching over us, protecting us from whatever unknown threats were still out there—but I tried not to think about that. Oliver, standing in the pink light as the sun went down, was too beautiful to allow me thoughts of anyone else.
“I could get used to this,” he said, dropping to grab a handful of sand and letting it slowly slip through his fingers as he straightened up again.
“Best afternoon adventure ever,” I said, and he laughed. “Plus, it is so much prettier from this side.”
Oliver turned me toward him and looked into my eyes. He slipped his warm hands along my cheeks and held my face.
“It’s over,” he said. “How does it feel?”
I glanced over my shoulder. My parents held each other on the other side of the guardrail, yards and yards away, kissing like it was their first time. Gross. But also, awesome.
“It feels good,” I said. “I actually feel…peaceful.”
Oliver smiled wistfully, maybe a little sadly, then leaned in for our own first-time-like kiss. When we parted, he was smiling for real.
“When I was a kid and my mom would take me to the beach, she’d always race me to the water and let me win.”
“Aw! That’s so cute,” I said squeezing his hand.
“You up for it?” he challenged.
I blinked. “Um, I think we’ve done enough running for one lifetime. And also…”
I lifted my foot to show him my ACE Bandage.
“Right. Sorry. From now on, no more running.”
“A stroll then?” I suggested with a smile.
He grinned back. “I’ll take it.”
• • •
The wind tossed our hair back from our faces as the sun dipped below the water’s edge. There was so much turmoil behind us, but all that was in front of us was the endless ocean and a million possibilities.
I took Oliver’s hand, and we walked, very slowly, to the water’s edge.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you so much to my bafflingly tireless agent Sarah Burnes, who champions everything I do, and to Aubrey Poole, who first saw the potential in Kaia’s story. Special thanks also go out to Annette Pollert-Morgan, who made an already cinematic story read like a blockbuster, and to Cassie Gutman and Katelyn Hunter, for their incredible eye for detail. Heartfelt thanks to Jason Richman, whose enthusiasm for this book made it all seem worthwhile.
I couldn’t have written about motorcycles with anything approaching accuracy without the help of my brother, Ian Scott, and my old friend Joe Mandile, so thanks for your input, you guys! And, as always, I have to thank my mom—gone from this world, but present in every tap of the keyboard—my sister, Erin, and the three loves of my life—Matt, Brady, and William.
Thank you to my author support group—Jen Calonita, Elizabeth Eulberg, and Jen Smith. Where would I be without you guys to vent to and laugh with? (Answer: curled in a ball in the corner.)
To all the librarians, booksellers, bloggers, reviewers, and fans who continue to support my books, thank you, thank you, thank you for continuing to give me a reason to write. You occupy a huge space in my heart.
Lastly, thanks to Chris Hemsworth, who appeared in my dream one night (G-rated, people! Get your minds out of the gutter!) and inspired this story.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kieran Scott is the author of several acclaimed young adult novels, including the Non-Blonde Cheerleader trilogy, the He’s So/She’s So trilogy, the True Love trilogy, and Geek Magnet. She is a senior editor at Disney/Hyperion and resides in New Jersey with her family. Visit kieranscott.net.
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