Walker's Run

by Mel Favreaux

  The last thing Jaren Davies expected while on vacation was to fall in love. In Kimra’s care-free laughter and absolute passion for everything he found what he never believed existed. One week and he was done, she truly was the woman of his dreams.

  Not wanting to ruin the magic they shared, Kimra kept her illness a secret. Was it wrong to want to spend as much time surrounded by love and happiness as possible?

  Could she walk away and break Jaren’s heart?

  Would he allow her to leave?

  This heartbreaking story follows choices that are the most difficult to make, ones no one should have to make.

  Preface

  She wriggled her toes in the sand, delighting in its texture. For too long, she'd worked hard and denied herself the opportunity to relax. Eight years of classes and holding down two jobs to make it through had finally paid off. Now there was a nice little nest egg and a decent job.

  The wind buffeted her, whipping her light brown hair around her face. The long skirt of the sundress billowed out behind her, and she shivered. Summer had ended fast, and it seemed as if autumn was going to breeze through in no time. The scent of winter was already in the air.

  The sun had set. The reflections in the waters of the west were fading fast, and the purple-black shadows of twilight were trailing in. Sighing, she looked up at the stars and pulled the shawl around her shoulders.

  Two days into her two-week vacation and she'd done nothing but sit on the beach with her laptop.

  The wind kicked up again, and her sunhat went flying down the beach. Squealing, she turned and saw blackness when she was hit. Her entire body went numb from the impact.

  “Ma'am…”

  It was a man's voice, she realized opening her eyes. Her chest hurt as she struggled to draw air in.

  “Are you all right?”

  Her eyes refocused. The dim lights from the boardwalk shadowed his face, but from what she could see, it was a handsome face.

  “I don't know, what happened?”

  He cleared his throat and gave her a lopsided grin. “My dog was chasing a Frisbee, and I wasn't paying close enough attention, I'm sorry.”

  “Dog? What kind of dog can hit like that?” She accepted his extended hand and sat up face to face with the largest dog she'd ever seen. The mammoth canine looked her in the eyes, rather he could have propped his chin on top of her head from her seated position.

  “An English Mastiff, Mac's about two hundred and ten pounds.” The man placed his hand on top of the dog's head, and a string of drool dropped from its massive maw.

  “You are a big one, aren't you?” She laughed softly. “I haven't been tackled like that since I played football as a teenager.”

  The stranger stood and helped her to her feet. “I'm Jaren Davies by the way.”

  “Kimra Valor.” She cleared her throat, scanning the shoreline for her hat. It was gone.

  A rumble of thunder and a simultaneous streak of lightening lit up the sky. The dog whimpered and pressed between her and his master.

  She laid a hand on his head. “A great big baby?”

  Jaren sighed and nodded. “Yeah, the biggest, and it looks like I'm going to have to share the bed with him tonight. It's going to be a long one.”

  There was another bright flash of lightening closely followed by a deep rumble of thunder. She felt the tiny hairs on her arms rise to the electricity in the air, and she shivered.

  “We need to get some cover quick, this is coming in fast.” He folded up her chair and she grabbed the laptop, trying to shield it from the torrent. The sound of rain as it started down the beach rapidly approached as they ran for the covered gazebo on the boardwalk.

  Mac woofed a deep, whispery sound as he sat down and nuzzled her hand.

  Kimra patted his head, marveling at how wide it was. Mac leaned into her, and she stumbled under his weight, but managed to hold her ground.

  Jaren grinned and shook his head. “Looks like Mac's found a new friend. I promise he's really a gentle giant. He still thinks he's a tiny puppy.”

  “Something tells me, he was never a tiny puppy.”

  “He's only two years old, so he still thinks that way.”

  The rain roared around them. The lights of the boardwalk flickered under the onslaught.

  Kimra peered down the beach. “I wonder how long this will last. My bungalow is about a twenty minute walk from here.”

  “If you can handle about a hundred yards in this, mine is right over the dunes,” he offered with a nonchalant shrug.

  Turning, her gaze caught on the enormous beach house behind them. “That's your place?”

  “Well, it's my father's actually. I've got it on timeshare for a couple of weeks. Everywhere else I checked into freaked out once they saw Mac, and we're pretty much a package deal.”

  She watched the grin spread across Jaren's handsome face. His hair was the same shade of light brown as hers. A little long on top, but trimmed around the back. She was sure the wind had played just as much havoc with her medium length locks as it had his.

  Another crack of blinding lightening and an even louder peal of thunder shook the boardwalk beneath their feet. She felt Mac lean into her and whimper as she struggled to remain upright.

  “Let's make a run for it.” Her words were carried away as sand blasted her face. Closing her eyes against the torrent, she felt a tug on her arm. They were running through the rain. Unable to contain her laughter, she hugged the laptop close to her chest as they ran up the dunes and stumbled down the other side, heading toward the back door of the beach house.

  Mac slid to a halt on the porch and shook his coat. Jaren groaned, fumbling with the keys to unlock the door. He pushed open the door and held it for her, grabbed a thin blue blanket from a hook on the wall, and began to dry Mac as he stumbled through the door.

  Jaren smiled, pulled the blanket away, and pointed to the rug. Mac lumbered over and wiped all four feet; then glanced back up at him, mouth open with his tongue hanging out the side.

  Kimra laughed. “He's so adorable.”

  “Only when he wants something. He's letting me know he wants water now.”

  At the mention of liquid sustenance, Mac woofed once and licked his lips.

  “Oh, a trade off? Give and get?”

  “Pretty much.” Jaren ran a hand through his hair. “We're both soaked to the skin. I might have something you can slip on, and I can put your clothes in the dryer if you'd like to hang here and wait out the storm.”

  She shivered and realized they were both dripping on the floor. The wind kicked up outside; the windows rattled. With a sigh, she realized it would be a while before she could attempt to venture toward her bungalow.

  “Yeah, that sounds like it would be for the best.” Kimra smiled as she tried to pull her sand coated hair back from her face. “I don't want to mess up the floors though.”

  “Okay, hang on.” He dashed away, gliding across the hard wood floors. A door opened and closed, and then Jaren came back holding out a large plush towel.

  Wrapping the towel around her, she felt a little better about the billowy sundress that was nearly see through now that it was soaked. Lifting her eyes to his, she caught him staring at her not so well concealed breasts. His cheeks reddened. He glanced away and cleared his throat.

  “Let me see if I can find you something to put on.” He motioned for her to follow him into the kitchen.

  “God I'd never leave the kitchen if I had one like this,” she murmured as her gaze traveled over the double ovens in the wall.

  “Yeah it's not half bad. I feel like a dummy in here though. I don't know what half of the appliances do,” Jaren admitted, following her gaze.

  Kimra grinned, hearing Jaren's stomach rumble and realized she was hungry as well. “How about I show you how to work a couple of them after I get a shower?”

  His face lit up with another dazzling smile as he opened a bedroom door and began rifling through the closet. “That sounds great a
ctually. Mac and I had been going down to Sandy Bottoms and eating out on the deck. That won't be happening tonight.” He stepped back from the closet with a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt. “Sorry, it's either this or a robe. I figured you'd be a little more comfortable with pants.”

  “Thank you.” She gratefully accepted the clothes and followed him into the bathroom.

  “Towels are in the cabinet there. Help yourself to anything else you might need,” Jaren said as he backed out of the bathroom and closed the door.

  Shaking her head Kimra remembered his blush when he realized she'd seen him staring at her. Running her fingers through her sandblasted hair, she let the towel fall and peeled out of her soaked clothing. She wrung out her clothes and set them in the bathtub, while she turned on the water in the shower stall.

  This was turning out to be an interesting evening.

  Chapter One

  Jaren set a fresh bowl of water down for Mac and leaned against the counter, thinking about the strange and beautiful woman in his shower. He mentally berated himself for gawking at her, but it had been quite some time since he'd been in the presence of a woman as beautiful as Kimra. He was lucky she wasn't screaming for the cops the way Mac had trampled her.

  “You know Mac; you can't go running over beautiful women on the beach. You could get me sued. I could've been charged with assault with a deadly weapon, big guy.” He scratched the dog behind the ears; then strode back toward the downstairs bedroom where he stored some clothes.

  Grabbing the towel off the foot of the bed, he began to towel dry his hair. Leaving the towel over his head, he unbuttoned his jeans. He slid them down, but hearing the gasp from the hallway, jerked them back up.

  He turned his back to the door. “I thought you'd take a little longer in there,” he muttered, glad the towel was hiding his scorching cheeks.

  Her musical laugh filled him. “Sorry, just needed to rinse the sand from my hair. I'll, uh…see you in the kitchen?”

  He heard her soft giggle as she walked away from the door. Groaning, he leaned over and closed the door before yanking down his pants down, and wondered how he'd be able to face her now.

  Changing into a pair of flannel lounge pants and a plain T-shirt, Jaren took a few deep breaths and made his way back to the kitchen.

  Rounding the corner, he stopped. Wearing his sweats and tee, she was sitting on the floor with Mac lying across her lap. The dog was nearly twice her size. It warmed his heart to see someone else loving and enjoying Mac as much as he did. The canine's sheer size alone had scared off many potential girlfriends.

  Kimra giggled as the dog groaned and laid his head against her shoulder. She looked up. Her eyes met Jaren's.

  He watched the corner of her mouth lift and remembered she'd seen slightly more than just his naked ass. Jaren found himself blushing all over again. “You know if Mac sees you again, he's going to come right for you. He hasn't had much attention from women because of his size, so he's enjoying the heck out of this,” he said, sucking up his pride as he entered the kitchen.

  She put her arms around Mac and gave him a hug. “I don't mind at all actually. I love dogs.” Nudging the dog, she managed to maneuver him from her lap and stood up. “So, what have you got that's edible?”

  Jaren pursed his lips and opened the fridge. “I have lots of fresh fruits and veggies.”

  “Don't tell me you're a vegan.” The phrase came out sounding exasperated.

  He laughed, peering at her over his shoulder. “Not quite. I like meats but I try to eat lots of fresh stuff every day.”

  “I can handle that.” She moved over next to him, looking into the fridge. “The last guy I dated tried to get me into tofu…I just couldn't quite handle it. I had to have my steak.”

  He grinned and pulled out a large rib eye and raised a brow.

  “Ooh, now that I think I can handle.” Kimra took the steak from him. “What do you feed big boy?”

  “I can't afford to feed him rib-eyes, though I do sneak him table food on occasion. For the most part he's on a special diet.”

  “I bet he eats a ton.”

  “Pretty close.” He pulled out some vegetables and followed her over to the island.

  “An indoor grill, I would kill for one of these in my kitchen!” she squealed, setting the steak down and looking over the controls.

  “I'm guessing you like to cook?”

  “It's a hobby.” She unwrapped the steak and eyed the spice rack.

  “So what do you do? I noticed the laptop.”

  “Oh, I'm a computer systems analyst. Nothing super exciting about that, really. What about you? I bet you have to make close to a fortune to keep him fed.” Glancing at the behemoth sprawled across the floor made her grin.

  He laughed. “I'm an architect. I actually designed this house for my father.”

  “Really? You build houses for a living?”

  Jaren narrowed his eyes. “I design them mostly. But not just homes. I do office buildings and restaurants, too.”

  “I bet it's very rewarding work.” She grabbed some spices and began to sprinkle them over the steak.

  He tried to keep up the conversation, watching Kimra move around the kitchen, chopping veggies, and working the grill. She moved like a practiced dancer, each movement was as if it had been placed to music.

  For the first time in a very long time, he was enjoying spending time with someone other than his dog. She was fascinating.

  Turning, she caught him staring at her and smiled. “What?”

  He smiled and shrugged. “I was just trying to remember the last time I've enjoyed spending time with someone other than Mac.”

  “Been a while?”

  “Yeah, a lot longer than I'd thought.”

  Kimra turned the veggies out onto a plate and lifted the steak from the grill. “Let's eat.”

  Jaren looked over to see Mac sitting up, licking his chops. “No table scraps for you tonight, buddy.” He opened the cabinet, pulled out the bag of dog food, and poured the measured amount into the stainless steel dish.

  Mac dropped his head to the bowl without hesitation.

  Smiling, Jaren watched Kimra set the plates on the high-rise table and climb into her chair. The lights flickered as another flash of lightening brightened the windows. Before joining her, he reached in a drawer, pulled out two hurricane candles, and carried them to the table.

  “For just in case the lights go out,” he said and sat down across from her.

  Her lips curved into a smile, but she kept her eyes on her plate instead of looking up, making him wonder what she was thinking. Picking up his knife he sliced a piece of the steak, and then placed the chunk in his mouth.

  He had to admit it was the best piece of steak he'd ever had; far better than the hundred dollar or more plates at high priced restaurants from clients to woo him for contracts. And she'd cooked it right in front of him, all the while kidding and joking around.

  “Jaren?”

  He opened his eyes as he set his utensils down, reached across the table, and took her hands. “Marry me.”

  Kimra laughed and squeezed his hand. “A marriage proposal from just one bite? That only makes me want to cook for you all the more; this is far from my best.”

  “I can't wait to try more.” Jaren smiled as she winked at him.

  “If I'd had more time to plan anything, we'd have dessert too.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, this will be so much better with some wine.” She dropped down from the stool, danced over to the fridge, and pulled out a bottle of wine. “Glasses?”

  “Cabinet on the left.” He leaned back in his chair and watched her glide across the floor. Kimra was amazing. The way she moved, smiled, laughed, and giggled all without abandon. So open, free, and just…enjoying life.

  She hooked two glasses down from the cabinet and came back over to the table.

  He stood, took the bottle and opener from her, and pried out the cork. Tipping the glasses, he poured them both a hearty amount.
Kimra set the candles in the center of the table and lit them both.

  “Come on, steak, wine, candles…this is probably the best first date I've had in a while,” she said, climbing back onto her stool and lifted her glass.

  Jaren laughed as he lifted his. “Yeah, I'd have to say the same. I'm sorry it had to start with my dog tackling you.”

  “No, I enjoy life's nuances; it's what makes things interesting after all.” She raised her glass to his. “To life's unexpected qualities and may our lives be full of wonderful surprises.”

  He tapped his glass to hers, finding himself unable to take his eyes off her when she took a long swallow of the wine before setting her glass down.

  “You're here on vacation, how much longer are you going to be around?” Jaren asked, watching her cut into her steak.

  “Twelve more days.” He noticed her smile faltered a moment, and then shone bright again as she looked up at him. “I squandered away two of those days sitting on the beach with my laptop.”

  “You don't know anyone around here?”

  She shook her head. “Just you and it seems you're visiting as well.”

  “Ah, don't let that fool you. I've been around here enough to know the best places to eat and the best views.” He looked down at his plate and sighed. “But hands down the meal you've prepared tonight kicks all those restaurants out of my book.”

  She grinned. “I'll cook for you again, I promise.”

  Chapter Two

  Just as they cleared the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher, the lights went out.

  A rumble of thunder shook the house. Mac half groaned and whelped in the corner of the kitchen.

  Kimra walked back over to the table, picked up one of the candles, and turned toward Mac. “It's all right big guy, we're still here.” She felt him nuzzle her belly as he leaned into her for comfort.

  Lightning lit up the windows.