by Kimi Flores
“You ok there son?” Grace snickered as she lowered her sunglasses to the bridge of her nose.
He turned to her and said, “Yeah, I’m okay. Just forgot to take off the leash, and then tripped on it.”
“Interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever heard about you forgetting to take the leash off before.” Caleb eyeballed his mother-in-law who liked to point things out in front of other people.
Caleb couldn’t believe he actually took a face plant in front of everyone. He had been caught off guard when he came out of the water and looked up to see her. As much as he tried to fight it, his feelings for Abby had grown as strongly as Madison’s had. The moment he saw her in that bathing suit, he knew he was a goner. He hadn’t looked at another woman since Rene died and still wrestled with the fact that he shouldn’t want a relationship. He didn’t feel right about having another woman replace his Rene.
He was aware of the fact that Grace was orchestrating the time that he and Abby spent together. Grace had excellent taste; Abby truly was beautiful inside and out. He needed to figure out how to get to know her better before he decided what to do. He wanted to do it on his terms without the prying eyes of their present company.
“I didn’t know you surfed. It looks like fun. Is that what Madison meant when she said you like to play in the ocean?” Abby broke him out of his thoughts. She was now sitting in one of the folding beach chairs.
“Yes. I fell in love with it when we moved to Santa Barbara. I’m from Chicago, and we don’t have a lot of surfing opportunities there.” He finally got the leash off and started rubbing a beach towel through his dripping hair. “You should try it. I can teach you.” He was really going to have to get her away from these nosy old people that were staring at them as if they were watching a tennis match.
“I’d love that but...” She looked down at her outfit. “Maybe another day.”
That was good because her bathing suit may not have survived a strong wave, and he really didn’t want her experiencing an embarrassing mishap. “Sounds great.” She smiled at him while using her hand to shield the sun from her eyes. He couldn’t hold back his smile.
“Hey son, why don’t you take her in a couple of days? It’s a school furlough day on Monday, right Abby?” Grace inquired. His mother-in-law had no shame.
Abby nodded awkwardly.
Cautiously, while biting his bottom lip and squinting, he asked Abby, “Would you like to try it on Monday?”
Madison interrupted before Abby could give her answer. “Daddy, is it lunch time yet? I’m hungry.” She rubbed her wetsuit and sand-covered belly making a scratchy sound.
“Come over here Baby Girl; Grammy will get you some food.” Grace waved her hand to get Madison’s attention. Once she ran away, Caleb stepped closer to Abby, and then crouched in front of her, trying hard to keep his eyes on her face and not roam down her body. She didn’t look like she was going to answer on her own so he asked again.
“Are you busy on Monday? I’d love to teach you to surf.”
“Sound like fun. I’d love to.” Thank goodness. He didn’t know how he would react if she said no.
“Are you hungry? There are some things in the cooler just for you.” He made sure there was food for her. Anytime she was with him, he would ensure she had something. It bothered him that she’d said she normally ate before going anywhere because there were never things for her to eat at gatherings.
“I could eat. Thanks for thinking of me, Caleb.” Wow, just hearing her say his name like that did funny things to his blood pressure. She seemed embarrassed by what she’d said because she followed up with, “I mean thanks for making sure there was food for me.” His thoughts about her covered more than just the food she would eat. That was for sure. He just needed to make sure he was ready to travel down that road before acting.
Smiling, because he knew he had a good one, he teased, “Well, we wouldn’t want you to pass out from starvation would we.” She stood up, grazing his chest with her hip, and then froze when he stood up beside her. Good, she was just as affected by him as he was by her.
They’d had an incredible day at the beach and had just wrapped up dinner at Caleb’s house when Madison came running up to him. “Come on guys. I’m ready to plant my seeds. Come over here.” She pulled her daddy and Abby away from the rest of the group and over to the area in the back yard that she wanted to plant her Lima Bean.
“I think my bean was lonely, so I want to plant two of them together right here in the ground. Grammy says that it’s portant that roots have lots of room to grow so that they are strong and healthy. She also said that you have to watch for weeds and yank them out right away so that they don’t hurt the plants.” She made a quick jerking motion as if she were pulling at something.
Madison knelt down and dug a small hole as the adults looked on, and then at each other. “Now is the most portant part. Grammy said that nothing grows without love so here Miss Abby, kiss these lima beans.” Abby looked at Madison then Caleb. She figured she might as well kiss the beans and get it over with. She watched Caleb’s eyes fixed on her pouty-lipped kiss. Once her lips left the seeds, Madison placed them into Caleb’s large palm. “Your turn Daddy.” He paused a moment then gave them a quick peck. “My turn.” Madison picked the seeds up from Caleb’s hand with her delicate fingers, kissed them, and swayed back and forth as though she was hugging the beans. She said a little prayer then placed them in the hole she’d dug. “Now I’m going to cover them so that they are nice and warm.” She smoothed her hand across the soil, pushing dirt over the gap. “I just know they will grow because they are happy, loved, and not lonely anymore.” While still kneeling, she poured some water on top of the small dirt mound.
Something in the air shifted as Abby and Caleb’s eyes met, knowing this statement was truer than the sweet little girl who’d said it would understand. “I think you are right sweetie. Everyone needs love and companionship to thrive.” Caleb continued his deep gaze into Abby’s eyes as she held her stare into his.
“What does thrive mean Daddy?” Madison stood and brushed the dirt off her knees.
“Huh?” He looked down. “Oh it’s another way of saying grow.”
“Okay.” Then she skipped off, leaving the dumbfounded adults staring at each other in their “Ah Ha” moment.
Caleb pulled up to Abby’s small Spanish style bungalow. He was nervous about the day ahead. He needed this alone time with her to explore their possibilities. There was definitely something extraordinary about her, but that achy feeling in his heart wouldn’t go away. Could he really move on without Rene? Would that tarnish his memories and the love that he had committed to forever? Grace would quickly point out that the vows were until death do them part, but he still had to sort this whole thing out.
Wearing board shorts, a surfer tee and flip-flops, he jumped out of his Range Rover and headed toward the door. Passing all of the foliage and beautiful flowers, he knocked on her heavy wooden door. A cat approached him, and started to rub against and through his ankles. He remembered how many times Madison had asked for a cat. Maybe he should get her one.
Taken out of his thoughts, he looked up from the cat as soon as he heard the door creak open. There she was, standing in a modest green flowing sundress and flip-flops. Judging by the straps that wrapped around her neck, she also wore a bathing suit underneath. Feeling a little awkward, he reached in for a hug and placed a kiss on the side of her face. Man did she smell good, very feminine, but not overpowering with perfume. It was more of a natural scent, her scent.
“You are right on time...” Then she looked into his eyes. “And a really reliable engine.” She started to giggle.
“What does that mean?” He questioned in a lighthearted manner.
“Sorry, one of the things about my job is to know what the kids are watching. I’ve seen far too many episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine and that is one of their sayings.” She covered her mouth continuing to snicker as if she’d just embarr
assed herself. Extremely cute. He’d have to remember to make her laugh today.
“Are you ready?” He reached down to the bag she’d brought to the beach the week prior.
“Let’s go. Obi Won, show me your surfing ways.” She gave a silly laugh again. Oh yeah, that giggle was definitely doing it for him.
Pulling into the same spot he’d parked in the previous week, Caleb turned off the engine. “We can work on this for a couple of hours and then grab a bite to eat after if you’d like.”
“Sounds great to me. I have to warn you though that I’m extremely clumsy, so I hope I don’t ruin your morning by falling off the board a hundred times.” She looked at him with wide bright eyes.
“You won’t fall unless I do. I’m going to be on the tail and pull you up each time. Today I just want you to get the feel of the board and the waves. If you like it, the next time I’ll bring two boards, and I’ll teach you how to stand on your own.” While explaining this, he’d gotten out of the car and opened her door to let her out. Hot Damn. He was going to be on the board with her, pulling her up. Her wobbly legs would never be able to stand with his hands on her.
He reached up to unstrap the board from the rack on top of her favorite SUV, and the hem of his shirt rode up giving her a sneak peek at the abs that would be so close to her as he held her up. Yep, she was going down for sure and taking him with her.
“This is the best time of year to surf in Santa Barbara. The waves are the most incredible you’ll find. Not the best time to learn because they are pretty big, but if you can surf these, then you can surf any.” Hearing him, she looked up at his smiling face and realized that he’d busted her checking him out, AGAIN. Man he’d caught her way too many times. “Do you mind grabbing the wetsuits?”
“Wetsuits?” She looked in the trunk where he’d pointed.
“Yeah, it’s also way too cold this time of the year for a newbie to surf without one.” He winked. His wink and smile were turning her into a puddle of drool.
“I didn’t even think about that.” She pursed her lips, first wondering why he didn’t tell her about that ahead of time, and then because she had no idea what he had prepared for her. What if he had one that was way too small? Or worse, what if he got one that was enormous because he thought she was? Or worst of all, what if it was his late wife’s? That would be weird. He must have seen the look on her face.
“I got a couple of sizes for you to try out. They are supposed to be snug but not strangling. Grab them and you can see which one fits best.” Now she felt like a total moron. “All we need right now are the board, suits, towels, sunscreen and wax.” He held up the florescent yellow round hockey puck looking object. She squinted to read the label. “Sex wax.” She felt her face flame immediately. “This brand works the best. They’ve been around for a very long time, and honestly, I like the way it smells.” She was amazed at how quickly he read her body language. In all the time she’d been with Peter, he never knew what she was thinking or what she wanted. “Go ahead and leave your bag in the car for now.”
Picking up the items they needed, and letting him carry the long surfboard, they walked across the golden sand. Abby loved the beach but sand combined with flip-flops was a nightmare, especially when the sand whipped up and smacked her on the behind under her sundress as they continued toward the water. Finding a spot near the shore, Caleb put the surfboard down then took the suits and towels from Abby.
“This looks like a good spot.” He put everything on the board, took his shirt and flip-flops off, then leaned down to get one of the suits. She got a better look at the artwork on his back.
“That tattoo is amazing.” She said it before registering that it was going to come out of her mouth. Oh well, it was already out there. She walked a little closer as he looked over his shoulder and down his back.
“Yeah it took a while to get it completed. I got the first part done just after college.” She stepped even closer wanting to reach out and trace each intricate line with her fingertips. “It started out as a man bowing. It represented me giving up my old ways and submitting to a better life. Then after Rene passed, I had the angel wings and the fallen feathers on the bottom added. I think it looks pretty cool, but it also reminds me to keep on the straight and narrow.” She stepped away when he turned to face her and handed her the wetsuit. “Here, try this one first. I’m not good at judging sizes, so I have another in here too. One of these should fit.”
“Thanks.” She knew she was going to have to take her sundress off eventually but didn’t know if she was ready yet. She tried an old high school locker room trick of pulling the wetsuit on under the dress, but she got all tangled up.
“Would you be more comfortable changing in the restroom?”
“No I’m fine.” She lied then watched as he wrapped a towel around his waist and dropped his shorts. Holy crap!
She was too busy watching him to realize that her hair had gotten caught in the knot of her sundress, so when she yanked it over her head, it pulled out a few strands. “Ouch.” Caleb turned to her as he struggled to pull his suit up under the towel. His eyes landed right on her chest then rose to her eyes.
“You alright over there?” He offered a half grin and lowered one eye so that only half of his lid remained open.
“Yeah, just got my hair caught.” She knew she looked ridiculous wiggling, tugging, and maneuvering this rubber suit from hell, but when she saw him doing the same thing, she didn’t worry. He had already gotten it to his waist and dropped the towel next to his shorts when she finally got the stupid thing past her hips. She was exhausted by the time she got the entire suit on. How on earth was she going to last out in the surf?
“Here let me help you.” He zipped the suit up slowly while she held her hair out of the way. She looked over her shoulder, and he quickly broke their eye contact. He went to the board, unwrapped the disc, and started to rub the entire surface of the board. Seeing every muscle in his arms, chest, and stomach contract made her stampeding heart pump faster. Caleb peered up at her, and explained what he was doing. “This helps to keep you on the board. It’s kind of a sticky mess, but well worth the trouble. You might want to put your hair up in more of a bun than a ponytail.” Not a normal statement coming from a guy, but this one was raising a little girl alone. He probably knew all about different ways to put a girl’s hair up. Standing, he pulled the rest of his suit on, then reached for the zipper, and pulled at it. “I know it might feel weird, but I need you to stretch and squat. Not only is it necessary to be flexible to go out there, but I also need to make sure that the suit is okay for you. It should be tight but shouldn’t pinch. If it pinches, then we can try the other one.” He pointed to the additional suit that now laid on the towel he’d placed on the sand. She didn’t care if it pinched, there was no way she was going to peel this thing off and then try to squeeze into another.
Feeling awkward, she followed his moves. She stretched and squatted, and it did, in fact, pinch. Whatever. “Here put this on your face.” He handed her sunscreen. “Even though it isn’t too sunny yet, it will be soon enough, and it will reflect off the water. You’ll have a nasty burn later if you don’t cover up.” She had no idea where he’d produced the small tube from, but she applied the cream as he instructed her to do.
They stood on the shoreline and looked toward the waves. There was no other aroma in the world like the ocean. Although it could be a bit offensive at times, today the sea tantalized her senses, calling out to her. The sun peeked through the clouds just enough to cause glare on the water out in the horizon. Abby squinted as Caleb pointed out the different types of waves. He also explained that they would need to steer clear from the locals who have no patience for newbies.
“Ok, you ready to go in?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” They walked into the ocean, and it started to beat against her body as if fighting her entrance. Caleb reached for her waist and pulled her toward the board. “Here, lay down on it and I’ll gui
de you.” She laid on her tummy with her head close to the top. Caleb came to the side and instructed her to bring the board down in the front when a wave hit; otherwise, she would flip over. She heard what he’d told her, but actually doing it was a little more challenging, so she kept eating it. Salt water went up her nose and in her mouth causing her to choke.
“Pull yourself up as far as possible so I can maneuver myself onto the back.” Crap, he was going to be at eye level to her rear. The only good thing about that tight wet suit was it fit like a whole body girdle. EVERYTHING was squeezed together so maybe her butt didn’t look as large as it actually was. She pulled herself up but kept her legs straight, which left no room for Caleb. “Uh, Abby? Do you mind moving your legs to each side of the board so I can get on with you?” Her heart was pounding at lightning speed now. She slowly opened her legs and dangled them from either side. Great, now her butt was right in front of his face. She felt them start to move forward a little quicker, and his hands grabbed onto the side next to her. She didn’t dare look back.
“You okay up there?” He laughed.
“Yep. Super.” She couldn’t quite hold back the sarcasm.
“We’ll go out further to where the waves aren’t breaking yet so you can get a feel for balancing.
They stopped a few moments later. He jumped off and swam to the front where she laid, belly down, squinting at him. “Scoot up to a sitting position and go toward the back.” She sat straight up while he held onto the nose, and then climbed on himself so that they were facing each other.
After teaching her about balance, pulling her up to stand several times, and fighting the large waves that pulverized them, they were both exhausted. He brought them back to the flat area where the waves didn’t break. There they sat out in the middle of the ocean. Caleb couldn’t help but feel the majesty of it all. He remembered sitting out in that same spot, crying out in pain over the loss of his young bride. He also remembered the healing powers he’d experienced out here too.
