Seaside Surprises_A Sweet Romance_The Seaside Hunters

by Stacy Claflin

  Time seemed to stand still, and she didn't want to think about anything from the past or future. She would have been happy to stay there forever in his warm embrace.

  A breeze picked up, and her hair flew around, whipping both of them in the face.

  Jake let go of her and wiped it away from his face. "Now I know why I never had long hair."

  Tiffany laughed. "Sorry." She pulled an elastic band from her wrist and tied her hair behind her. "That should fix it."

  He looked disappointed. "I like your hair down. It's beautiful."

  She felt her cheeks warm up. "I could take it down." Tiffany looked into his eyes, and neither said anything. She parted her lips to say something, but nothing would come. His gaze was so intense, she could see the same desire in them that she felt—to stay on the beach together forever.

  Jake ran his fingertips down Tiffany's face, giving her chills despite the hot sun. He continued staring into her eyes, and his fingers lingered near her chin.

  Tiffany let out a breath, realizing she'd been holding it in.

  Finally, Jake spoke. "You don't need to change your hair. Either way, you're gorgeous. You could never look anything less than perfect."

  Her cheeks burned, and then tears blurred her vision. She couldn't remember the last time anyone said she was pretty—much less gorgeous or perfect—and it had been even longer since she felt attractive.

  Not only did she believe Jake meant every word, but she felt like it might be true. She blinked, tears spilling onto her cheeks.

  Concern filled Jake's eyes, and he wiped the tears from her face. "What's the matter? Did I say something wrong?"

  She shook her head. "I…I just…. It's been a long time since anyone has said anything so nice to me. That's all." She looked away, more tears escaping.

  "What about the things I've said to you before? I thought I told you how attractive you are. Didn't I?"

  Tiffany's cheeked heated even more. "I meant before I met you." She swallowed, hoping to get rid of the lump in her throat. Another tear escaped.

  Jake wiped where it had fallen. "What happened? Who hurt you so badly?" He put his fingertips on her chin and turned her head so she was looking at him.

  Her heart pounded in her ears, drowning out the sounds of the ocean. Did she dare open up to him? It might be healing to talk to him about what had happened. Deep down, she knew she could trust him. And if he did run away screaming, at least she wouldn't have to see him again.

  "You don't have to talk about it," he whispered, rubbing the back of his hands along her face.

  Tiffany took a deep breath and looked away from him. Her hands shook, and her heart pounded harder, feeling like it would jump out of her chest. Adrenaline rushed throughout her body.

  Jake took her hand and kissed it. "We can talk about something else. The—"

  "I was married, Jake. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. He treated me horribly."

  "You have nothing to apologize for." He stared into her eyes. "I'm sorry that jerk didn't know what a good thing he had." Jake pulled her into a tight hug.

  Tiffany felt a rush of relief at his understanding. Tears filled her eyes and spilled onto his shirt. Her entire body shook in his arms, but he didn't let go. He held her tighter, and she listened to his strong heartbeat as she cried harder than she had in a long time. The last thing she wanted was to give Trent the satisfaction of knowing that he could break her, so she had built a wall around herself.

  Now with Jake, it crumbled all around her. Her grandpa had been right. She had shut everyone out, pushing all of her friends away. Now she had no friends. Maybe if she would've kept them and opened up, she might not have had to leave her hometown. But then she wouldn't have met Jake. Part of her wanted to stay in Kittle Falls with him…maybe more than part if she was honest with herself.

  Finally, the tears slowed, and she gained control of herself. She wiped her face dry before looking back at Jake. She sighed, not having the words to express how she felt.

  He pulled some hair away from her face that had come loose from the ponytail and tucked it behind her ear. He was both gentle and strong at the same time. His strength was one she could trust.

  "I'll never be harsh with you, Elena. Ever. I promise."

  She opened her mouth to speak, but again found words lacking. Her lips trembled.

  He touched her mouth gently with his fingertip, and then moved closer. Tiffany's heart pounded in her chest, so loud it was all she could hear. Jake moved his finger out of the way in time to press his soft, warm lips on hers.

  Tiffany's heart nearly leaped out of her chest. She closed her eyes, taking in more of his wonderful scent.

  Jake pulled away slowly, and Tiffany opened her eyes, holding his eye contact. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment until Jake pulled her close again, holding her tight.

  "I'm serious, Elena. You'll always be safe with me. I won't ever let anyone mistreat you."

  Tiffany felt like she would melt in his arms. She shook again, and he tightened his grip around her.

  "Let it all out," he whispered.

  She wrapped her arms around him, holding on tight. "Thank you."

  He slid a hand down to the small of her back. "I hate to see you in so much pain. You want me to find that jerk and beat him up?"

  Tiffany couldn't help laughing. She looked at Jake, who smiled.

  "I'll do it if you want me to."

  "No. But I appreciate the offer." She stared into his eyes, wishing he would kiss her again. She didn't have the nerve to kiss him just yet.

  Jake pointed to a nearby bench. "Want to sit?"

  Tiffany nodded, and then they walked over and sat after dusting the sand off the seat. He put his arm around her, holding her close. They watched the waves without saying anything. Tiffany just loved being near him. She wasn't bothered by the hot sun or the breeze blowing sand in their faces.

  Jake spoke up. "When I was growing up, my family used to spend a lot of time down here. My parents would hire students to run the shop, and they would bring us here for hours every day. Some of my best memories are here. My sister used to tease me to no end. Her favorite was practical jokes. If I wasn't careful, I would end up with a hair full of sand…or worse." He squirmed next to her.

  "Your shorts?" Tiffany asked, trying to hold back a smile.

  Jake grimaced. "More than I care to admit."

  Tiffany giggled. "I wish I could have met her."

  "Me, too. You would have loved each other." Jake paused, looking thoughtful. "Aside from being devious, she was also the most wonderful person. Generous to a fault, and always finding the best in people." He took a deep breath, his eyes shining with tears. "She always had friends and boyfriends. Everyone wanted to be Sophia's friend, you know? I was the lucky one, though. Her favorite brother. There wasn't anyone who could come between us." He cleared his throat.

  "Sounds like she was pretty lucky, too." Tiffany leaned against his shoulder.

  "I hope so." His voice cracked. "I was glad to be able to take care of her when she got sick. Mom and Dad had to work long, hard hours because the insurance only covered so much of her treatments. I had no real responsibilities at the time, so I was able to be with her just about every waking hour. My parents appreciated it, knowing that someone was there for her when they couldn't be. I don't think they even slept. When they weren't working, they took over taking care of her so I could sleep." He sighed. "We all really thought she was going to make it. If we knew she was going to take a turn for the worse, I know they would have spent more time with her. I kind of feel bad that I had so much more time with her than anyone else."

  "I bet she knew how loved she was." Tiffany took his hand and gave a squeeze. "It's obvious how much you miss her."

  Tears spilled onto his face, and his nose grew red. "I think she knew." His voice wavered. Jake leaned against her and shook. Tiffany wrapped her arms around him, glad to give him the same support he'd just given her.

  W
as he as broken as she? Only for different reasons entirely?

  After a bit, he sat up, wiping his eyes. "I hate that she's not here, you know? It just isn't fair. This world is full of jerks. Why not one of them?"

  "You're right, and it totally sucks." People like Trent would probably live to be a hundred, while sweet people like Sophia never got to see thirty. "She should be here right now throwing sand at you. With my help." Tiffany kissed his cheek.

  Jake laughed, wiping tears. "I'd love nothing more."

  Tiffany leaned down and scooped up sand. "In honor of Sophia."

  "Wait, what…?" Jake looked at her in confusion.

  Laughing, she pulled out the back of his collar and dumped the sand down his shirt.

  He jumped up, hollering. "I didn't mention that I always got her back." He gave her a devilish look, and shook his shirt, sending sand in all directions.

  "Go ahead and try." Tiffany ran toward the water. She could hear his footsteps not far behind. Turning her head, she saw a pile of sand in his hands. She picked up her speed, but as her right foot sunk into the wet sand, she stumbled. Her knees landed first, and she barely had enough time to put out her hands to stop her face from smashing into the wet sand.

  Tiffany rolled over to see Jake standing over her with the sand.

  "No!" she shrieked, covering her face. "You wouldn't."

  He laughed, and she moved her arms to see him looking charming and devious. Her heart skipped a beat. Two equally strong emotions ran through her. Dread for the coming sand and adoration for the gorgeous and sweet man about to dump it on her. She put her hands over her face again.

  "For Sophia," he said.

  Tiffany closed her eyes. Then she felt the breeze of the sand landing near—not on—her head. She turned and looked at the pile just out of reach, and then up to Jake.

  He shrugged. "You're sandy enough as it is." He grabbed her hands and pulled her up. "It's going to take a while to get all that out of your hair." He dusted the top of her head.

  "I'm not worried about it." She smiled at him, moving closer to him.

  Jake pulled her into an embrace. "Thanks for giving me a new memory out here. I needed a new good one."

  "Maybe we'll have to come back and make more."

  They held each other's eye contact, and then Jake leaned closer, placing his lips on hers again.

  Twenty Two

  Tiffany stood over the sink, scowling at herself. Despite washing her hair three times, sand still fell from her hair. She was glad Jake hadn't dumped any on her, or she would have never gotten it all out—not that she would have traded the time spent with him for anything. Sand was only a minor inconvenience given the wonderful time they'd had.

  Her heart fluttered thinking about him. After opening up to him, and then him to her, she really wanted to stay in town longer. It wasn't like Trent would find her there in Kittle Falls. She could have a sweet summer romance, and then who knew what would happen after that? All she knew was that she needed more of Jake.

  Tiffany got comfortable on the bed, and closed her eyes, replaying every moment she'd spent with Jake. Why hadn't she met Jake first? She could have saved herself a lot of heartache, and she could have been there alongside him when he took care of Sophia.

  She grew drowsy and fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of how things could be better now that she'd met Jake.

  When the phone woke Tiffany, she didn't feel any more rested, but she had hope. The last couple of years were full of regret, but that didn't mean the rest of her life had to be. She stretched, and then tried to find her phone.

  She followed the sound, finding it on the floor underneath a pillow and some blankets. Tiffany must have kicked all of those off in her sleep. By the time she tried answering, she had missed the call. Scrolling around the screen, she saw two missed calls.

  Her blood ran cold when she saw both were from an unknown number. It was local to her hometown. Tiffany recognized the area code and prefix. There were no messages. Her hand shook as she stared at the screen.

  Tiffany gripped the phone, her knuckles turning white. Could Trent have found the number? Her new identity? Did he know she was in Kittle Falls?

  Breathe, she told herself. Maybe it was just a wrong number. Someone trying to reach the person who last had the number. That made more sense than Trent having the number. No one other than her grandpa had it, and even if someone went through his phone, they wouldn't know it was Tiffany because he filed it under Elena.

  She took several deep breaths trying to calm herself. There was no reason to worry. There had to be a good reason for those two calls, and later she'd probably laugh about it.

  Although, she didn't find any humor yet. Staring at the number, she contemplated calling it back. What if something had happened to her grandpa? One of his poker buddies could have been going through the list of contacts on Grandpa's phone. But if that was the case, why wasn't the number from Grandpa's phone?

  Finally, Tiffany decided not to call back, but if they called back, she would answer. She slid it into her pocket and then dumped everything out of her bags. She was growing more disorganized the longer she spent at the hotel. All of her clothes were dirty and wrinkled. There was nothing decent to change into.

  She couldn't see Jake in any of these. It was time to do laundry or go shopping. The hotel had to have some sort of laundry facilities. She looked over the mess on her bed. Maybe she should look into apartments. With it being a tourist town, she might find a studio she could rent on a month-by-month basis. She could stay a month and see how things went with Jake. If they continued having fun, she could stay another month. If it didn't work out, then she'd just move on like planned. The thought of it not working out hurt.

  Tiffany threw the clothes in one bag, and everything else in the other. Then she scrolled through the phone until she found local real estate. She had just found an apartment building with studios when the phone rang.

  It scared her, and she nearly dropped the phone. It was the same number from earlier. Her heart skipped a beat, but she pressed accept. "Hello?"

  "Elena?" asked a male voice.

  "Who's this?" Tiffany asked.

  "Vinny. Why do you have Alfy's wife's name?"

  Tiffany gasped. "Is Grandpa okay?"

  "Wait. Tiffany?"

  "Yeah. It's a long story. Is he okay?"

  "No, sweets, he's not."

  The room spun around her. "What…what do you mean?"

  "He's in the hospital. Are you nearby?"

  Tiffany sat down on the bed. "I can get there. But first, tell me what happened."

  "His maid service came by this morning, and found him slumped over the couch. He was unconscious, but had a pulse and bruises. She called 911, and he's been at the hospital ever since. They found a weird cocktail of drugs in his system, so given that and the bruises, it looks like he was poisoned."

  A horrible sound escaped from Tiffany's throat. "Is he going to be okay?"

  "They say he should be. Whoever did this to him knew what they were doing."

  Tears filled her eyes. "Does anyone know who it was?"

  "We've all picked up enemies over the years, but none of us knew of any recent ones for Alfy."

  "Except one." Tiffany clenched her fists.

  "Who?" Anxiety filled Vinny's voice.

  "Trent."

  "Your Trent? Hold it. That car I found Alfy—that was for you? Are you running from Trent?"

  "I—"

  "Everything makes sense now. Your absence, the poisoning. Trent's why you've been acting like a scared church mouse the last couple years, isn't it?"

  "He—"

  "And now you're using Elena's identity. Frankie probably set you up with a new driver's license, didn't he?"

  "Stop." Tiffany steadied her voice. "Figure this all out later. I'm not entirely sure how Grandpa put all of this together for me, but I need a plane ticket back to Seattle. Like, now."

  "Right. Right. Where from, Tiff?"

/>   "Is your phone secure?"

  Vinny laughed. "You have to ask, sweets?"

  "Actually, yeah. I'm in northern California."

  "I'll set it up. Get yourself to the airport as soon as you can. I'll text you the flight details. How far away from the airport are you?"

  Tiffany thought about the route she had traveled. "I don't remember seeing an airport. I'm not sure. Sorry, Vinny."

  "No problem. Where are you?"

  Even though the phones were supposed to be secure, she didn't want to say. Not even Grandpa had wanted to know where she was, and he understood the importance of Tiffany keeping quiet. She tried to remember some of the town names she saw on her way to Kittle Falls. "I'm in Westerfield." It was about a half an hour away.

  "Westerfield?" He muttered some numbers. "Okay. We'll give an hour for traffic. Hurry up."

  "Will do. Thanks, Vinny."

  "Anything for you, sweets. I'll keep my eyes open for Trent, too."

  "Thanks. I appreciate it." Vinny's eyes meant a network of guys around the area looking for him, also. Tiffany ended the call.

  She remembered the strange texts from Grandpa. What if they hadn't been from him at all? If Trent had poisoned Grandpa, he could have texted from his phone, too. Her stomach twisted in knots.

  There was no way she could leave her grandpa to languish in the hospital. She needed to see him even if it meant possibly running into Trent. Vinny and his friends would be able to keep her safe. They were already looking for Trent.

  Shaking, Tiffany picked up the hotel phone, asking the front desk to call her a taxi. She grabbed her bags and realized she probably wouldn't be able to take half the stuff on the plane. She dumped out the bag with the non-clothes items and threw away everything the airlines would confiscate.

  She grabbed her purse, threw the bag of clothes over her shoulder, and hurried to the elevator. When she got to the lobby, Tiffany was irritated to see a line at the front desk. There hadn't been a line the entire time she'd been there, and now there was one?