Rip Current

by Jill Sanders

  Why she found it so hard to keep the tiny place clean was beyond her. Maybe it was because she’d never had a good role model growing up or because she’d been running a house when she should have been going out with friends or playing sports in school.

  She spent the next two hours cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, and even boxing up old items she no longer needed. She planned on delivering them to the local donation center later that week.

  By the time she walked into her bathroom and started filling up her tub with hot water and bubbles, she felt sore and satisfied.

  If Cole could try to turn over a new leaf, so could she. Starting now, her condo would not only be clean, but organized.

  She couldn’t stop herself from dreaming about Cole as she sunk lower in the sudsy water. Or from dreaming of how wonderful it had felt to be held, touched again. She knew it was going to be very difficult tomorrow to fight the attraction she had for him.

  Sinking lower in the water, she tried to stop her body from remembering how wonderful it had felt to have his hands on her.

  Chapter Three

  Cole smiled over at Wendy as he leaned against the wheel of the small sailboat. The twenty-six footer was nothing special, but it was still in great shape and, most important, didn’t leak.

  He and his brothers had been taking Pete, the name Marcus had given the old thing years ago, out on the water for as long as Cole could remember. Roman had taken the old guy in several years back and had redone the entire cabin. Now, instead of old mattresses and waterlogged cushions below deck, there was a small kitchen, a sitting area, and a state-of-the-art cabin with a queen-sized bed. There was even a flat-screen television down there.

  He didn’t know why his brother had fixed it up, but he and Marcus had no complaints about it. Now, even their aunt was taking it out on day trips.

  “Do you go out often?” Wendy leaned against the railing as she sat back.

  “Not as often as I want. I was born to be on the water.” He looked around and lifted his face towards the sun. When he heard her laugh, he glanced down at her.

  “Anyone can see that. All they have to do is look at you.” She smiled up at him.

  “What about you?”

  She looked at him, her eyebrows shooting up in question.

  “You said it’s been a while since you’ve been out. What’s kept you away.”

  She sighed. “Well, I broke up with Kevin. He had a thirty-two foot Catalina.” She sighed. “He used to take me out on the water every other weekend.”

  He frowned a little as he thought about getting a bigger boat. “Why did you ditch the guy then?”

  She chuckled and looked up at him. Her eyes were half hidden under the cap she wore. Her long blonde hair was tied back from her face. He could see that that her cheeks had already turned a light shade of pink from the wind. “Because it wasn’t all about how big his boat was…”

  He blinked a few times and felt his own face flush as desire spread through him quickly. His fingers flexed a few times on the wheel as he tried to rein in his lust for her. What he wanted to do was throw the anchor overboard and haul her downstairs to take her as many ways as he could. He couldn’t answer her, since he didn’t know how to reply. Plus, he didn’t trust himself to keep the old Cole in check like he’d promised her.

  “Are you going to let me steer?” She smiled up at him when he was silent. Since his mind was already in the gutter, images of her straddling him flooded it.

  She chuckled. “Move over.” She nudged him with her hip until he stepped aside. He sat along the railing and leaned back to watch her. There was a smile on her lips as she steered them out of the bay and into the clear waters of the gulf.

  “So, what’s between you and Alan?” he blurted out.

  She glanced at him and frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Rose mentioned something about the two of you…” He waited and watched as recognition crossed her eyes. Then she smiled.

  “Jealous?”

  He stopped his chin from dropping and chose to shrug his shoulders and remain silent.

  She smiled and continued to steer them away from the crowded beaches.

  “Well?” he said a few minutes later when he couldn’t stand her silence.

  She looked over at him and smiled. He could tell she believed she’d won a little war. “Alan is a good friend. I’ve known him since I took my first job back in high school.”

  “And?”

  She shrugged his shoulders. “I was happy when he came back from his tour in the Marines in one piece. He’s the reason I tend bar. He taught me everything I know.”

  “And now you’re his boss.”

  She smiled. “It’s not that he think of me as his boss so much as he just doesn’t want to be a boss, so it doesn’t matter to him that I’m higher than him.”

  “Oh?” He crossed his ankle over his knee and watched her closely.

  She shook her head. “He had a rough time shortly after he came back. He likes the low commitment. Being a supervisor doesn’t fit well with what he wants in life right now.”

  “What do you want?”

  The question seemed to surprise her. She blinked a few times and looked off to where a school of dolphins played off the port side of the boat.

  He watched sadness flood her eyes, then she sighed. “I’m still working on that.”

  He stood up and walked over to her, resting his hands over hers on the large wheel. “There’s plenty of time.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Easy for you to say. You’ve always known what you wanted.”

  “Yeah, but getting it is a different story.” His eyes bore into hers. He loved the way her eyes heated when she understood his meaning.

  He didn’t know what had caused him to say it, but it was the truth. He did know what he wanted, at least for now. Her. But convincing her that he was a good idea was turning out to be more difficult than he’d expected.

  They sailed south along the coastline for almost an hour before he finally threw anchor at one of his favorite fishing spots.

  “What do you say we catch some fish?” She smiled and nodded.

  They sat on the back of the small boat for over an hour. When his stomach growled, he pulled some sandwiches his aunt had made for them from the cooler.

  They caught and released over a dozen small fish before, finally, a larger one took the bait.

  “You’re going to let him get away,” she warned, trying to take hold of his line with her gloved hand.

  “No, I’m not.” He chuckled and grabbed the belt on her shorts since she was leaning over the side of the boat a little too far for his comfort.

  “Reel him in,” she commanded, trying to get the net under the massive fish. It was big enough that he actually had to grip the side of the railing to haul it up.

  “Oh, isn’t he beautiful,” she exclaimed as the bright red fish flopped around in the net. He’d caught plenty of snapper in his life and they all looked the same to him.

  “You think he’s good looking now, wait until he’s grilled up for dinner.” He plopped the fish into the live hold. “Guess we’d better find him some friends if we plan on having enough for everyone.”

  “Everyone?” She glanced at him in question as she checked her fishing pole, which was sitting in its holder.

  He chuckled as he baited his line and tossed it in the water again. “Sure. Dad, Aunt Julie, Marcus, and Shelly. Cassey and Luke had plans with his folks tonight.”

  She shook her head. “I just assumed…”

  “What?” He slid his fishing pole into the holder and glanced over at her. He liked that fact that he could read her thoughts, which were clearly written in her eyes. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” He sat next to her on the bench and watched her.

  Sighing, she glanced out at the water. “It must have been wonderful growing up with your family.”

  He chuckled at how easily she co
uld change a subject. “It did have its moments.”

  “You’re all adopted, correct?” She glanced at him.

  He nodded and felt a sense of pride, knowing that they all thought of each other as blood.

  “Do you…” She stopped and he watched her bite her bottom lip. He knew the question. He’d been asked it tons of times. By the media and by friends. He’d asked himself the same thing over and over.

  “Do I ever think about my real folks?”

  She nodded and he reached over and took her hand. Enjoying the way her small fingers felt in his, he ran his thumb over her palm slowly.

  “I’ve avoided telling the media, but my real parents were killed shortly after I turned eight.” He turned his head and looked off over the water. He could still remember their faces and hear their laughter.

  “I’m sorry.” She looked down at their joined hands.

  “I’d like to think that they would have approved of the Graytons.” He smiled. “I mean, we all had such a wonderful time growing up together.” He tugged on her hand. “What about you? You’ve told me about your old man and your stepmother, but I haven’t heard about your real mom.”

  She frowned a little and he wondered if she had a story like his brothers or sisters did. Maybe he was digging too deep, too soon.

  “I never knew her; she died giving birth to me. Dad took it hard and snapped, I guess. My mother was the love of his life, or so he always told me. When she died, I guess so did his stability and sanity.”

  “I’m sorry.” He rubbed her hand in his, not knowing what more to say to her. He’d gotten a hint at why she acted the way she did around him last night. He wasn’t entirely sure why, but it meant a lot to him to prove to her that he was nothing like her old man.

  She sighed and leaned back, dropping his hand so she could rest back on her elbows. “You know, I always wanted siblings. When Willow came along, I thought it was my chance to finally have a normal family.”

  “Normal is boring,” he admitted under his breath.

  She chuckled. “You would think that. I mean, have you ever done anything normal in your life?”

  Her eyes sparkled as she smiled at him. He laughed. “I did go to prom.”

  She chuckled. “Right.”

  “Course, I took three girls as my dates.”

  She sat up a little. “Did they know about each other?”

  He nodded, remembering the fun night. “Two of them were even sisters.”

  She shook her head and sighed. He could tell a reprimand was coming so he tugged on her until she leaned against his side. “Not everything is as cut-and-dried as you think.”

  “Oh?” Her hands went to his chest as she tried to hold herself up.

  Nodding, he continued. “I originally asked one sister, but she had asked a girlfriend who was home-schooled to go with her. You know, so the friend would get some sort of a prom experience.” She nodded so he continued. “Well, since neither of them drove, and since her little sister hadn’t been asked yet, she asked me if I would drive them all. So, technically I guess you could say I had three dates to prom.”

  She smiled and chuckled. “You must have been the most popular boy in school.”

  His smile faltered. “Actually, Roman was the prom king of our clan.”

  “Roman?” She thought about it a moment, then he watched her smile grow. “Fitting. He does have a way about him. Doesn’t he?” She sighed and for a moment, he was a little jealous of his brother.

  It was like high school all over again. His brother had never struggled with finding a date. The guy was freaking James Bond when it came to women falling over him. And they weren’t like the women that came running to Cole, most of whom were just looking to spend a night or two with someone famous. No, Roman found the women that wanted long-term relationships, something Cole had spent his life trying to avoid. Then he looked over at Wendy and felt something shift deep inside him.

  ***

  Feeling a little uncomfortable, Wendy sat next to Cole’s father and watched Cole and his aunt argue over how to cook the fish they had caught that day. Not that there was any steam behind the argument, just humor. She’d never witnessed anything like it before and was glued to their every word.

  Cole had even grabbed his aunt and had danced around the back porch trying to distract her from putting lemon pepper seasoning on the fillets.

  “Cole Dalton Grayton.” She dropped her hands to her hips and looked at him. Wendy could see a slight smile on the woman’s lips. “The last time you tried to grill fish, they came out burnt.”

  “Maybe we should wait until Marcus gets here.” He held the bottle of spices over his head so his aunt couldn’t reach it. Cole was a little over six foot, and his aunt was shorter than Wendy at five six. She was reaching and playfully jumping at Cole, trying to get the bottle from his reach.

  She laughed. “I’ve made plenty of fish in my time, young man, and there is nothing wrong with the way I cook it.” She stopped jumping and held out her hand.

  Cole just looked at her and shook his head. “You’re right. There is nothing wrong with your cooking,” he said in a sarcastic voice with a smile.

  Cole’s father chuckled beside her, causing her to glance over at him.

  Whispering, she leaned closer to the older man and asked, “What’s this all about?”

  He shook his head. “Every one of the boys fancies themselves the best chef.” He smiled over at her and then said loud enough for everyone to hear, “Course, if my arthritis wasn’t acting up, I’d get right over there and show them how it’s done.”

  Smiling, Cole nodded. “Course you would, Pop.” He’d dropped his guard long enough that his aunt had jumped up and grabbed the bottle from his hands.

  “There!” Rushing over to the fish as she giggled, she dashed seasoning all over the fillets.

  He groaned. “Really?” Just then there was a chuckle from behind them. She turned just in time to watch Marcus and Shelly walk up the back stairs.

  “Lemon pepper again?”

  Their aunt turned towards him with a frown and nodded her head. “Bout time you two got here. I thought I was going to have to cook all this myself.” She smiled and walked over to hug the pair.

  “If you’d been here five minutes earlier, you could have helped me hide the bottle.” Cole walked over and picked up the seasoning.

  “What’s up with the lemon pepper?” Wendy asked, leaning closer to their father.

  Mr. Grayton smiled back at her. “Well, my Julie never really learned or had the patience to cook using anything but lemon pepper. It’s sort of an addiction.” He patted her hand. “Hope you like it. I know the boys outgrew it… oh, about two years after they came to us.” He chuckled.

  Marcus wrapped his arms around his aunt’s shoulders and smiled down at her. “She would use it in everything, even macaroni and cheese.”

  “Remember the time she made lemon pepper spaghetti.” Cole cringed as he sat next to her.

  She couldn’t stop herself from laughing. Even when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, her smile remained. She watched Shelly’s eyebrows shoot up when she noticed Cole’s move and decided she would have to talk to her friend alone, later.

  “We caught ’em, you cook ’em.” Cole nodded towards the fish when his brother tried to sit down across from them.

  Marcus sighed. “While you two sat around on a boat and threw a couple lines in the water, I worked on the house all day. I’m not only beat, I’m sore as heck.”

  Laughing, Cole shook his head. “You know the rules.”

  Throwing his head back and groaning, Marcus walked over to the hot grill. “Fine, but I’m scraping this off and using different seasoning.”

  Chapter Four

  By the time the food was served, Wendy was feeling more comfortable. She had a wonderful time talking with the group and had laughed as much as she always did around the Grayton family members.

  Their aunt, Julie, was even funnier than Mar
cus. But what had really thrown her for a loop was their father, Mark. The man was not only sharp as a tack, but was so quick on the comebacks that Wendy almost felt her head spin.

  She could see where Marcus and Cole had gotten their wit. Cole took after his aunt so much, and she wondered if they noticed how alike they were.

  The more time she spent with them, the more she liked them. When the food was gone, they sat around the small fire pit and talked. It was too warm to have a fire going, but that didn’t stop the men from propping their feet up on the stone and leaning back in their chairs. It was clear someone had taken the time to make it cozy out here, and she could tell this was something the family did often. She liked knowing that someone had taken the time to make it so inviting.

  Part of her was jealous of Cole and his family. She’d always dreamed of having what he had, but even so, she’d never imagined it could be like this.

  When Marcus and Shelly left, Cole took her hand and pulled her up from her chair.

  “We’d better head out too. Dad needs his rest.” He nodded to where his father was starting to doze off in his chair. The man’s feet were propped up, his arms were crossed over his chest, and a light snore was coming from his lips. When Cole spoke, however, his eyes opened.

  “I’m not as young as I used to be,” the older man said, shaking his head as he got up slowly from his chair.

  “Liar, you were never young.” Cole laughed as he helped the man up from his chair.

  Laughing, Mr. Grayton slapped Cole on the shoulder. “Ain’t that the truth.” He shook his head. “Well, it was sure nice to finally meet you.” He held out his hand to her.

  She walked over and hugged the frail-looking man.

  “Oh, well.” She watched his face turn a little red. “You come back any time you want.” He smiled and patted her arm.

  She nodded as she felt a lump in her throat. “Thank you for having me.” She shook Julie’s hand. The woman wasn’t having any of it and pulled her into her arms for a hug.

  “If he gets one…” She smiled. “We always have a big party for July Fourth. We take the party boat to Crab Island and watch the fireworks. We’d love to have you along.”