Code Redhead - A Serial Novel

by Sharon Kleve

“Ryder.” She managed a snappy one word greeting and even keep the crackle out of her voice.

  He pushed his hood back, unveiling his short military-style haircut and the light stubble on his lower jaw.

  “Where’s Paul?” she asked, hoping he would say outside.

  “I volunteered to come instead.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “I thought we should talk in private.”

  “Now you want to talk?”

  He advanced toward her.

  She held up her hand. “Don’t—”

  “I owe you an explanation.”

  “You should have thought about that ten years ago when it meant something.”

  She went to walk around him and he braced his hand on the doorway, blocking her path. His other hand brushed down her arm, igniting an old flame. She prayed he wouldn’t feel her tremble. Staring into his eyes, she sensed an internal battle waging inside him and tried to pretend like it didn’t matter.

  “Move,” she said defiantly.

  When he didn’t budge, she ducked under his arm and hurried down the sidewalk to her car. Once inside, she watched Ryder attached a pull rope to the underside of her Corvette, and the other end to a brush guard on the front of his black, jacked up truck. When he crawled inside, she put her car in neutral and he pulled it slowly back onto the road.

  Raindrops dappled the windshield. She flipped on the wipers when while Ryder unhooked her car. He raised the hood of his sweatshirt to shield his head from the light drizzle and approached from behind like he wanted to talk. She put the car into drive, and pulled away, leaving him in the middle of the road.

  Mindy and Paul’s two-story beach house was a welcome sight. As she pulled into the driveway, Mindy bounced off the porch and Tara crawled out to greet her.

  “Nice, ride!” Mindy said sloshing barefoot through the ankle-deep grass.

  Ryder pulled into the driveway behind her, blocking her in. Tara glared at Mindy, who devoured her in a bearlike hug like it would make everything okay.

  “About time you got here,” Paul said jogging down from the porch. “I thought Mindy was going to gnaw my arm off. She was worried sick about you driving in the rain.”

  “Speaking of rain,” Tara said, pointing up. “What’s this?”

  “Sorry,” Mindy shrugged. “It blew in overnight. Weatherman said it should be gone by morning.”

  “I sure hope so.”

  “Me too,” Mindy whispered. “Paul’s taking us snorkeling tomorrow. Don’t tell him though, it’s supposed to be a surprise.”

  Mindy never could keep a secret.

  “So how’s the new job?” Mindy asked while Paul wrestled her hot pink suitcase from the trunk.

  “Good.” Tara said, then clammed up when gravel crunched behind her. Even without turning around, she knew it was Ryder.

  Taking Mindy’s arm, she herded her into the house on the pretense she wanted to see the renovations.

  “Sure,” Mindy said grabbing her hand like they were still in elementary school and headed for the playground.

  Once inside, she noticed the new open floor plan. It was much more spacious without the dividing wall. Two leather sofas and matching recliners gathered around a white brick fireplace. The wooden mantel showcased five generations of family photos—aunts, uncles, nephews and cousins. There was even one of her and Mindy at graduation.

  Floor-to-ceiling windows flowed across the back of the house offering a spectacular view of the porch, infinity pool and in-ground spa. The walkway leading to the beach had a fresh coat of paint. She envied Mindy living on the water until she recalled why she moved in the first place. Storms like the one today and the fact that Ryder crushed all her lifelong dreams.

  The four of them had been friends since middle school. Paul and Ryder were in the living room and Paul was filling him in on what he had missed in the past ten years. He explained how Mindy lost her parents in a plane crash while vacationing in Alaska and she inherited the house.

  Being in Iraq for the last nine years, Ryder was clueless. But there was a lot he missed out on. Like, how she cried herself to sleep for months in his absence. Or that she moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, to get over him. When she pulled herself together, she attended law school and was now interning at a prestigious law firm.

  Sucks to be him.

  Mindy rattled on about Paul converting one of the bedrooms into a nursery and how they were trying to start a family.

  Ryder let out a deep throaty laugh at something Paul said and Tara found herself smiling with him just like the old days.

  Mindy nudged her. “So what do you think?” she asked filling four glasses with Mai Tai mix that they nicknamed bug juice.

  “What?” Tara asked.

  “I asked, what you thought about Cody for a boy’s name or Crystal for a girl?”

  “Are you—?”

  “No.” She chuckled. “Not yet.” Mindy glanced at Ryder and back. “You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?”

  “Yes I have. You turned a bedroom into a nursery—”

  Mindy winked over the top of her glass like it was a test and she’d passed.

  Tara shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t do this.” She went to the living room, grabbed the handle of her suitcase and headed for the door.

  “Where are you going?” Mindy asked, following her out onto the porch.

  “Home.”

  A gust of wind pushed Tara sideways and she almost fell. The sky lit up, followed by ominous thunder. She didn’t care. She’d driven there in the rain. She could drive out. Halfway to the car, a bolt of lightning hit a nearby light pole and arced, throwing her back onto the porch.

  “Can you hear me?” Ryder asked hovering over her.

  Dazed and shaking, she watched his mouth move but couldn’t make out a word. She tried to move and couldn’t.

  “Quick, get her in the house!” Mindy shouted from the doorway.

  Within seconds, Ryder scooped her up. Right before carrying her inside, she caught a glimpse of a downed power line across the hood of her Corvette, hissing and sparking like it was the Fourth of July.

  Ryder stretched her out on a sofa. Mindy covered her with one of her mother’s homemade quilts. After that, everything faded. Then nothing.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Tara tried to sit up, but Mindy forced her back down.

  “How do you feel?” her friend asked.

  “Fine,” said Tara, frowning. “Did I fall asleep?”

  “Rest. Doctor Brenner’s on the way.”

  “Why?” Tara asked sensing something terrible had taken place.

  Mindy stared for a moment. “Do you remember anything?”

  “Like what?”

  Mindy raised her hand. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

  Tara was in no mood for games, but answered anyway. “Two.”

  “Thank God,” Mindy said, grinning up at the ceiling. “You had me worried for a minute.”

  Tara forced a laugh, wondering what she missed.

  Paul leaned over the back of the sofa. “How do you feel?”

  “Why does everyone keep asking me that?”

  When no one answered, she turned to Mindy. “Okay, you can keep my friend card if you tell me what’s going on.”

  Mindy held up her hand. “I don’t want you to panic but, you were struck by lightning.”

  Tara’s jaw dropped. She raked her hand over her hair. It was wet but still intact.

  The doorbell rang. Paul left and returned with Doctor Brenner who was carrying a black shiny medical bag.

  “It’s been a long time,” the doctor said, setting it on the floor beside a chair.

  A long time indeed, she thought. She hadn’t seen Dr. Brenner since graduation when she had the flu. He still had a sweet, oval face and charming disposition. And was probably the only doctor that still made house calls.

  Dr. Brenner pulled a stethoscope out of his bag and it pressed to her chest. It was col
d, but she didn’t complain.

  “Your heart rate is a little fast,” he said. “But, it’s strong. Any vomiting? Trouble hearing?”

  She shook her head, glad that the ringing had stopped in her ears.

  Mindy bounced forward. “When Ryder carried her in, she was limp as a dishrag.”

  Tara frowned. “Ryder?”

  The room got quiet. Mindy, Paul and the doctor exchanged looks.

  The Doctor smiled. “Do you know, Ryder?”

  She thought for a second. The name didn’t ring a bell so she shook her head.

  “Am I supposed to know him?” she asked, pushing up on her elbows.

  “Don’t worry,” the doctor said. “You had a nasty jolt. It’s not uncommon to suffer a memory lapse.”

  “Is this Ryder person here? Maybe, if I saw him it would jog my memory.”

  The doctor glanced at Mindy. “She’s got a point.”

  “He’s outside with the power company trying to get the power line off of Tara’s car.”

  Tara collapsed back onto the sofa, hissing. “That car cost me a fortune. I’ve only made five payments.”

  “How long will you be in town?” the doctor asked.

  “A week—”

  “Good.” He turned to Mindy. “Keep a close eye on her for the next twenty-four hours. If her condition changes, give me a call,” He patted Tara’s arm. “Either way, I want to see you in my office before you go.”

  Mindy wrung her hands. “I’ll see what’s keeping Paul and Ryder.”

  “I don’t understand why I can’t remember this Ryder person. Have I known him long?”

  “Only since high school.”

  The door opened and shut. Paul paraded in followed by a tall, muscular man in a damp gray sweatshirt and jeans.

  Mindy broke the silence. “Ryder, pull the hood back so she can see your face.”

  “The doctor said we’ve known each other since school?”

  He nodded.

  “Were we friends or casual acquaintances?”

  “Friends.” He paused, and then added, “Close friends.”

  Tara shook her head.

  The doctor patted her hand. “It’s okay, Tara. Give it time. There’s no rush.”

  He gathered his things and she thanked him for coming. Paul showed him to the door.

  Mindy bent over her. “I know what you need. A hot bath.” She motioned for her to follow. “Come, I’ll help you start the water.”

  Tara kicked the quilt off her legs, and padded behind Mindy. She blushed when she strode past Ryder. He was even more handsome up close. She wondered what they had in common that would have made them, as he put it, close.

  “Wait!” she said, spinning around. “You were in Ms. Wilson’s third period biology class, weren’t you?”

  The edge of his mouth lifted. He nodded.

  “We sat at the same table and you ragged me for not cutting that poor frog open!” She grinned. “You did the whole dissecting thing and told the teacher I helped.”

  He nodded, again.

  Following Mindy to the bathroom, she couldn’t help but think there was more to their relationship then that. A lot more...

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Tara opened the bedroom door, and slammed into Ryder’s bare side. She jumped back, clutching a small zippered bag of bathroom items and a hairbrush, to her chest.

  “I’m so sorry...” she said, distracted by the jeans hanging dangerously low on his hips, and the tattoo trailing down his right arm.

  Dog tags jingled around his neck, as he pointed to the bathroom. “You go ahead.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked, eyeing the toothbrush and toothpaste in his hand.

  He nodded and turned around. She watched the way his muscles flexed in his back as he went to the living room. Finally, she came to her senses, and darted into the bathroom.

  Staring in the mirror, she brushed her teeth and couldn’t stop thinking about her car. Jerry’s Garage said they had to order a new hood and they weren’t sure how long it would take to get it in. She still couldn’t believe they hauled it back to their garage last night. It could have waited until morning and probably would have if the owner hadn’t been friends with Paul.

  Having finished in the bathroom, she stepped into the hallway and motioned to Ryder who was kicked back in a chair in the living room.

  She mouthed, “All yours,” and slipped into the bedroom. She heard him shuffle down the hall.

  Paul brought his licensed captain along to ferry his forty-foot charter boat to the reef so he could spend time relaxing with them on the bow.

  “Does he have a girlfriend?” Tara asked.

  “Who?”

  “Ryder?”

  “He used to. Ten years ago.”

  “He hasn’t had one since?”

  Mindy shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s been in Iraq for nine years.”

  “That explains it.”

  “What?”

  “The dog tags around his neck.”

  Mindy nodded. “I hear service men wear them after they return to civilian life and try to fit back in.”

  Tara dabbed tanning oil on her arms, chest, and legs then rubbed it in. “Did I know his girlfriend?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Who?”

  Mindy glanced to the second level where Paul and Ryder were leaning against the rail.

  Tara gasped. “Ryder?

  He said they were close. But, girlfriend and boyfriend?

  Paul and Ryder climbed down to the lower deck. Paul handed Mindy a beer and took her to the wheelhouse with him to pick out some reggae music to liven the mood.

  Tara figured they did it to give her and Ryder a few minutes alone.

  “So,” Tara said, glancing at Ryder who was kicked back in the padded seat opposite her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Tell you what?”

  “That we used to go snorkeling?”

  He chuckled, then turned up his beer.

  “Did we go a lot?” she asked. “Together, I mean?”

  “Yes.”

  She wished he wasn’t wearing sunglasses. Not that she could read him. She just wanted to see his eyes. There was also something about his laugh that was familiar like she’d heard it a thousand times before.

  A popular reggae song blared from the onboard speakers as the captain steered the boat out of the harbor to the reef. They didn’t go far before he killed the engine and dropped the anchor.

  Ryder held out his hand. “Let’s get wet.”

  She’d heard that phrase before. But where? Things were coming back in the form of a jigsaw puzzle, only the pieces didn’t seem to fit. Now that she knew she and Ryder had been girlfriend and boyfriend in high school, she wanted to know more. Like why they broke up. And, if it was her fault, or his.

  Ryder adjusted the headband on his snorkel mask and she wondered if he touched her just as gently.

  Thinking out loud, she whispered, “I’m sorry we didn’t work out.”

  “Me too,” he replied, stepping off the wooden ledge at the back of the boat.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Tara used a light sweep of her hands and fins, to drift above the large reef. It was one of the largest in the world and drew people from all ends of the world. Breathing through the tube in her mouth, made it easy to observe the fish, and coral for long periods of time. Growing up on the biological wonder, her parents often teased her about sprouting gills.

  Ryder nudged her arm and pointed to a dolphin swimming on his back. The shape of its mouth, looked like it was happy and smiling. It made a high-pitched click then joined the other dolphins.

  Paul and Mindy were to her right, studying a sea urchin on a bed of seaweed. Nearly twenty-five percent of the ocean life here thrived on the fragile reef, making it essential to the ocean’s ecosystem.

  Ryder nudged her again. This time, he pointed up. She lifted her head and watched him bob at the surface.

  “Do you want to dive?” he asked.<
br />
  She flashed him a big smile and nodded in observance of the number one free diving rule. Never dive alone.

  She even recalled the first time down. She nearly threw up. It took a lot of practice and discipline, to stay under five minutes at a time, reaching depths that snorkeling didn’t allow.

  At 250 feet, she recalled how her heart ticked at about fourteen beats a minute, matching a third of coma patients. Losing consciousness should have been a concern. But, it wasn’t. The phenomena couldn’t be explained. It just happened.

  With his head above the water, Ryder shouted, “Ready?”

  “Yes!”

  As a diving partner, making eye contact came second nature. So did synchronizing each breathe, before going under? Tense muscles used unnecessary oxygen, she let her mind and body drift into a tranquil state. She could feel her heart rate drop as blood gushed to her lower extremities.

  Traveling fifty feet down, she made the descent in a mermaid fashion. The coral looked like a bunch of rocks attached to the seabed, but it was so much more. Each round cluster housed a delicate polyp with long stringy tentacles that extended from its saclike body. When one polyp died, another took up residency.

  Ryder pointed out a lionfish twenty-inches long with elongated pectoral fins. Since it’s venomous spikes could deliver a painful sting, they stayed clear of it.

  For the next three minutes, they explored multi-colored coral, plant life, fish and invertebrate. There was no way to explore the reef in its entirety because it reached from Soldier Key to the Tortuga Banks. A stretch of almost 150 miles long and four miles wide.

  Her lungs started to burn and she knew it was time to come up for air. Ryder took her hand as they drifted to the top.

  She gave a quick snort to purge water from her mask and not suck it back into her lungs.

  “I have missed that,” she said, treading water.

  “Me, too.” He swam back to the boat and pulled himself up on the ledge. With his feet in the water he offered her a hand up. Captain Stevens brought them each a bottle of water and a towel.

  “Thank you,” said Tara, smiling up at him.

  He cocked his head. “Do you remember me?”

  She thought for a minute. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him.