Heat Wave

by Jill Marie Landis

  “What makes you say that?”

  “She told me that day we went shopping. She said she doesn’t ever let herself fall in love. So if you’re falling for her, you’re just wasting your time.”

  He couldn’t even respond. She didn’t need to know her warning came too late.

  He’d already fallen in love with Kat Vargas and he had no idea how to deal with her any more than he did Sunny.

  All he knew for certain was that he wasn’t ever going to give up either of them without a fight.

  Chapter 28

  WHEN THINGS GET tough, the tough go fishing.

  Ty hadn’t seen the phrase on a bumper sticker yet, but he thought it would sell as he spent the entire day on his boat making a halfhearted attempt not to think about Kat or worry any more about Sunny and R.J.

  It was Sunny’s day off but he left her and Alice home so he could be alone when he took the boat out. It was a wasted effort, because the fish weren’t biting and he couldn’t stop thinking about Kat, Sunny, or R.J.

  By late afternoon, driven by a tropical storm off the coast of Baja, the swells slowly built to a point where he decided it best to head in.

  Hoping to run in to R.J. at the marina, he stopped by the Stargazer and then hung out at the inn, nursing a beer and snacking on popcorn as he watched ESPN, but R.J. never showed. He tried to reach him by cell, but his own cell wasn’t working, and when he finally broke down and decided to call Kat, he couldn’t reach her, either.

  By the time he’d had dinner, battened down the boat, and headed home, it was ten-thirty. He pulled into the driveway parked behind Sunny’s Camry, and walked up the flagstone path. The house was dark as pitch.

  He let himself in and fumbled for the light switch. He’d been looking forward to seeing the girls before they went to bed and was sorry they were already asleep. He headed up to their room anyway.

  The door was open wide, and even in the dim light, he could tell that both beds were empty.

  “Sunny?” He flipped the light switch, squinted against the glare of the overhead lamp, then walked across the hall to his own room. It was empty, too.

  He called their names as he walked through the house, turning on the lights. Since the Camry was in the driveway, he decided they must be out back.

  The night air, unusually warm, held the heat of the day. With the remnants of Hurricane Felicia moving up the coast, the air felt heavier than normal.

  The clouds parted for a second and the back patio was suddenly awash in moonlight that glittered with a milky patina across the smooth surfaces of leaves and blossoms in the garden. He headed for the edge of the bluff and scanned the beach below. The tide was in, raging high and angry.

  Phosphorescent waves foamed neon green against the rocks at the base of the stairs.

  He shouted for Sunny but his voice was drowned out by the sound of crashing waves and the wind off the ocean. If the girls had been on the stairs, he’d have seen them. There was no way anyone was on the beach with the tide this high.

  Back inside, he looked for a note, though Sunny had never left one before. With a pang, he realized he wouldn’t even recognize her handwriting if he saw it.

  He walked to the window, looked outside again to make certain her car actually was there or if he’d just imagined it. She’d parked the Camry close to the garage doors. His worry mounted, drove him to check inside the garage, but they weren’t there. Back in the house, he went through every room again, taking stock.

  Alice’s toys were in the basket in the living room, her play comforter, neatly folded, was lying across the upholstered footstool near the timeworn leather easy chair.

  Upstairs in their room, Sunny’s clothes were still in the closet. Alice’s things were folded in the drawers of her bureau. Sunny always kept the wooden earring box on the dresser, but it was gone.

  He didn’t see anywhere the oversized plastic purse she’d carried the day she showed up.

  He had no idea what she’d been planning besides a trip to the beach. She’d been thoughtful and quiet after their argument, but she’d seemed fine that morning.

  Since he hadn’t been able to reach R.J. all day, he decided that maybe the two of them were off somewhere with Alice.

  It was 10:45 when he dialed R.J.’s number from his house line. Again, he got no response, but he left another message.

  Ty rubbed the back of his neck, paced over to the front window, and stared out at the deserted point. Then he walked back to the phone. Automatically, he dialed Jake’s number to call Kat, then it hit him that she was gone. He was about to click off when she unexpectedly answered.

  “I thought you’d left.” Relief rolled through him. She changed her mind. “Did I wake you?”

  “Me? Are you kidding? I was still up.”

  “Are you staying?”

  “I was all set to leave yesterday but work got in the way, and by the time I was done, it was too late to leave. When I got up this morning, I discovered the hot water heater had flooded the pantry last night, so this morning I had to have a plumber come out, and then it took all day for him to bring a new one over from San Luis Obispo.”

  She drifted into a silence that echoed over the line and made him more aware of the emptiness around him. It was hard for him to even tell her what was up.

  “Sunny and Alice are gone.”

  “What do you mean, gone?”

  “I was out fishing all day and got home a few minutes ago. The house is empty. They’re not here.”

  He could just see her mulling over what he said and coming up with a way to rationalize Sunny’s absence.

  “Maybe she took Alice into town for some ice cream. I saw a poster the other day announcing a band concert at the Plaza tonight.”

  “Her car’s still in the driveway and the stroller is in the garage.”

  “Have you tried calling R.J.? Maybe she’s with him.”

  “I couldn’t get a hold of him. I left a message. I’m sorry she called you about my talking to R.J.” When Sunny told him that she’d talked to Kat, he’d thought that she’d reached her by cell phone. He’d had no idea Kat was still at Jake’s.

  “Was she upset enough to leave, do you think?”

  His anxiety hadn’t diminished, but he was relieved he had Kat to talk to.

  “I thought we’d smoothed things over. She was kind of quiet this morning when I left to go fishing, but she seemed okay. She had the day off and said she was going to take Alice to the beach in Twilight.”

  “Just sit tight. Maybe you’ll hear from R.J., or maybe she’ll just come strolling in in a few minutes, like she did before.”

  “I wouldn’t even care if she is with him right now. At this point I’d be happy knowing where they are.”

  “I’m coming over.”

  “It’s too late.” It was a halfhearted attempt at a protest. He wanted nothing more than to have her here beside him instead of back in Long Beach. Now that the rest of his world had turned upside down, he needed to know that she wasn’t going anywhere, but it was late and the weather wasn’t looking good. He didn’t want her out on the streets.

  “You’re right. She’ll probably be home in a few minutes.” He walked over to the picture window and stared out into the night. “I’ll call you in the morning.”

  “No. I’ll be right there.”

  WITHIN MINUTES KAT pulled up outside his house.

  The warm, tropical air on her skin reminded her of hurricane weather. As she crossed the yard, she rubbed the scar on the back of her hand.

  Not even the memory of the shooting was as terrifying or as threatening as the idea that she had fallen in love with Ty Chandler.

  She had to be there for him. Had to help in any way she could. She was not about to let him wait alone and wonder where Sunny was.
>
  The place was lit up like a lighthouse, inside and out. The porch light illuminated Sunny’s car in the driveway.

  Ty was at the front window, a dark silhouette against the light. He was on the cell phone when he opened the door and waved her in.

  She realized he was talking to R.J. when she heard him say, “I thought she might be with you.”

  She glanced around the living room. Everything was in its place. She pointed to the ceiling to let him know she was going to run upstairs. He nodded, listening to R.J.

  On the second floor, things looked perfectly normal. By the time she came down, Ty was off the phone.

  “R.J. was in San Luis Obispo all day. He has no idea where she is,” he said. “She didn’t take her clothes or Alice’s. She didn’t take anything.”

  “She didn’t bring anything with her, either,” she reminded him. “Is Stinko missing?”

  Ty glanced around the room. “I haven’t seen him.”

  “Does she have any money?”

  “Just what she’s saved from her job.” He shook his head, frowning. “And my grandmother’s opal earrings.”

  Worry was etched on his rugged features. Kat walked over to him, tried to slip her arm around his waist.

  “Ty, listen—”

  He shrugged her off.

  “Don’t. This is all my fault.” His expression was hard with anger, but she understood him perfectly. He hurt too badly to be touched right now.

  He didn’t want her sympathy. He was taking the blame for running Sunny off, and losing the battle to keep his feelings in check.

  “I should have listened to you and not made such an issue out of this thing with R.J.,” he told her.

  “I know you’re worried sick, but Sunny has a good head on her shoulders. She’s street smart and she would never let anything happen to Alice. She’ll be fine.”

  She ached for him. Wished she could say or do something to ease his pain. What she could do was track Sunny down again if the girl didn’t show up tonight—but this time she wasn’t working for Ty and she didn’t intend to tell him anything until she knew where Sunny was and exactly what was going on.

  If the girl was in over her head with Jamie Hatcher and the others, then Kat would do everything she could to get Sunny out if it.

  “Damn it,” Ty mumbled. His shoulders were rigid, his features set as stone.

  Kat went into the kitchen to get a diet soda. He paced and stewed.

  All the windows were open wide, but the heat in the house had intensified. The air was close and still. The calm before the storm. Ty followed her, leaned against the doorjamb.

  “If you’re still planning on driving to Long Beach early in the morning, you should go.”

  It was impossible to miss the anger in his tone. She knew he was upset with Sunny’s disappearance right now and that he was focusing his impatience and frustration on her because she was here. He needed to lash out at someone.

  “Is that your not-so-subtle way of asking me if I’m still planning to leave tomorrow?”

  “I guess it is.” His gaze was intense, his shoulders rigid. She tried to hide her conflicted emotions, afraid the new, raw cracks in the Kevlar lining of her heart would show.

  “You didn’t have to come over,” he reminded her.

  “I know that, just as I know that you’re upset right now, so I’m going to ignore your tone. I’ll leave when I’m good and ready.” She headed for the refrigerator. “You want a diet Pepsi?”

  “I need a beer.” He walked over to the fridge, reached around her, and grabbed a cold Pacifico. She took out a diet soda just before he shut the door—too hard.

  He opened the beer, took a long swig. “This is the pits, you know?”

  “Ty, I know how much this hurts—”

  He turned on her. “And how would you know? You’ve never lost a child. Besides, you won’t let yourself get close enough to anyone to know what hurt feels like.”

  The air rushed out of her as hard as if he’d sucker punched her. She fought to take a breath and wound up leaning against the counter for support.

  Unwittingly, he had nearly brought her to her knees, but somehow she found the will to stand up straight and head for the door. She heard him set the beer bottle down hard on the countertop, heard his footsteps as he crossed the room behind her.

  She picked up her pace, rushed through the house. A sudden wash of tears made it almost impossible to see. She bumped into the coffee table, winced, kept going.

  “Kat, wait.”

  He caught up just as she reached for her purse.

  “Leave me alone.”

  With a hand on her shoulder, he forced her to turn. His gaze searched her face, her eyes.

  “You’re crying.” He made it sound like an impossibility, even as he reached out to thumb her tears off her cheeks.

  “You think I don’t have feelings? You think I don’t know exactly what you’re going through?” She choked on the words she hadn’t been able to say to anyone for years. “I lost a baby, Ty. In the accident. The whole thing was my fault. I was pregnant that night I got behind the wheel. I was upset, hysterical, and I wasn’t thinking of anything but confronting Justin.

  “He’d come back to Kauai and moved out of our apartment while I was at work. He didn’t even have the nerve to face me. I knew he had to be at his parents’ place on the north shore. I grabbed my keys and headed out during a terrible storm—”

  “You weren’t responsible. You said the truck hit you head-on.”

  “But I shouldn’t have been driving at all. I was a mess. Maybe if I’d seen the truck sooner, if I’d been thinking straight, I might have been able to swerve off the road in time. But I wasn’t thinking and . . . and my baby died. I was five months pregnant.” She let go a deep, shuddering sigh and whispered, “I killed my little girl.”

  He tried to take her into his arms, but she shoved him aside.

  “That’s why I try to keep from feeling anything. That’s how I was able to survive. Then Sunny showed up with Alice, and every time I looked at them, it all came back. I didn’t have to imagine. Every time I looked at either of them, especially Alice, I could see what I lost, past and future. I would never know my little girl as a toddler. I’ll never know her as a teenager.

  “Watching them, being near them, it’s hard, Ty. So hard.”

  Her last words came out on a whisper before she turned and walked out the door. He followed her down the walk, called her name. When she ignored him, he grabbed her arm. She tried to twist out of his hold.

  “Please, Kat. Stop.”

  “Don’t do this, Ty. Just let me go.”

  “You shouldn’t be driving.”

  That stopped her in her tracks. She balled her hands into fists, took a deep, shuddering breath, and forced herself to center, to calm down. He was standing over her, close, so close she could feel his warmth. It would have been so easy to melt into his arms, to give in, but she held strong.

  “Don’t worry.” A bitter laugh escaped her. “I’ll be careful. I’ve already made that mistake once.” She walked to her car but didn’t open the door until she was a lot calmer and thinking somewhat clearly.

  “I’m all right.” She knew when she was back in control. She’d had years of practice. Her hands were barely trembling as she reached for the door handle.

  “Stay with me tonight. Please. Just until the rain passes.” His hands were on her shoulders again. This time she didn’t try to shrug him off.

  “Stay, Kat,” he urged.

  “You’ve got enough to worry about. I’m all right.”

  “Damn it, Kat. Don’t look at me that way. I’m so sorry. I had no idea—”

  “I know that.”

  She wanted nothing more than to stay with him toni
ght. To sit beside him, wait for Sunny, but she’d come too close to losing herself again.

  Besides, if Sunny didn’t show up tonight, if she was gone, then Kat knew she just might have enough information to find out where Sunny was and why she’d left. She could do more for Ty down south than she could here.

  “When are you coming back?” His jaw was set. His eyes were as troubled as the sky now filled with low-lying storm clouds.

  “I don’t know.” A fine mist had begun to fall since they’d come outside. It was cold in comparison to the sultry air and gave her chicken skin. A shiver slipped down her spine.

  He let his hands fall away from her shoulders and stepped back. She opened the car door, got inside, and buckled up.

  She drove off slowly, without looking back.

  Chapter 29

  PREPARING FOR FOUL weather, R.J. secured the lines and climbed back aboard the Stargazer. His tension was building with the storm, but the sky, at least, could open up and let go. He couldn’t.

  Once he was in the salon with the hatch battened down, he called Ty back.

  Chandler answered on the first ring. “Sunny?”

  “It’s R.J. Sunny didn’t show up yet?”

  “No. She was pretty upset with me for talking to you about her yesterday. Why in the hell did you tell her?”

  R.J. knew Ty was worried sick, he could hear it in his voice, but after watching Sunny break into the Buick last night, he was pretty damn sure she knew how to take care of herself—no matter where she was.

  Girls that lived the life Sunny had lived and looked like Sunny looked never got into trouble. They caused it, carried it with them, left it behind in their wake.

  “It just came out. Look, I have to be honest with you . . .”

  “Go on,” Ty prompted.

  “We argued last night. And we kissed.”

  “What do you mean kissed?”

  R.J. closed his eyes, leaned his head back against the bulkhead. Every time he turned around today he found himself recalling the innocent exchange. It was nothing more than a brush of their lips, the merest touch—and yet he couldn’t forget it.