When Its Least Expected

by Heather Van Fleet

whisper when she responded. “It’s just my parents. They’ve been at each other’s throats all night, and I can’t take it. It’s like they can’t even get along for one night, even for me. I’m sorry; I don’t mean to be a downer. It’s just … Ugh, never mind.”

  Harley didn’t know what she was going through. She was blessed with parents who

  would do anything for each other, but she nodded, trying to pretend to understand for Abigail’s sake.

  “You want to hang with us and maybe get some pizza or something? We’re going to your

  favorite place!” She nudged Abigail in the ribs, getting a giggle out of her in response. She seemed to relax … for a moment at least.

  “Nah, not tonight. Its family night. Gotta try and maintain some resemblance.” Harley

  nodded and squeezed her arm in reassurance. Things must have been pretty bad.

  “Call me later. We’ll talk, okay?” With one last one armed hug, Abigail turned and

  walked away blowing a friendly kiss to David as she did.

  “She’s going to be okay, Har. Abigail is a strong girl. You know that as well as I do.”

  Looking down at the hopeful face of her brother, Harley smiled sadly. God, she hoped he was right.

  “Race ya to the car?” David suggested, attempting to lighten the mood. Before she could

  actually respond, Harley found herself running madly to catch up to him. He was hella fast.

  “When are you going to learn that I’ll always kick your ass, even in this thing?” He

  patted the arms of his chair, not even a bit breathless as their dad helped him stand. Within a matter of seconds, he hobbled over to the car one legged. He strapped his body into the buckle before she could say her full name without gasping for breath.

  He was a speed demon … and she was majorly out of shape.

  “Whatever, asshole,” she mumbled under her breath, finally settled in the back seat next

  to him.

  “Harley,” her mom warned, and David, the butthead, had the nerve to stick his tongue out

  at her like a four year old.

  Ugh, boys…

  * * *

  Sitting in the restaurant, full bellies galore, Harley rubbed her pained cheeks. She

  couldn’t remember the last time they’d laughed like this. It had been too long … way too long. It did her aching heart good to know that they could weather any storm. She just hated the fact that she was about to rain on their happy parade.

  She cleared her throat and flexed her fingers on top of the table. Here it went. “Okay, so

  you all know I’m going to Santa Cruz to in a week to see Mase, right?”

  “Of course, honey. We paid for the tickets. How could we not know?” Her frugal mother had apparently developed a mild version of the dreaded Anderson smartass curse.

  “Yes, Mom, I know.” She rolled her eyes, shaking her head, but all she wanted to do was hug her and praise her for finally loosening up. “Anyways, I’ve been doing some thinking about college and stuff, and Mason convinced me that I should check out the community college right there in Santa Cruz,” she cringed and averted her eyes to the table, determined to get the words out before she could turn into a complete chicken. “He said it was super nice and stuff, so I thought why not look into it?”

  She gnawed on her lower lip, waiting impatiently for someone to respond, finally lifting

  her eyes to chance their quiet gazes. What she didn’t expect was for mother to be balling like a baby. “Mom, come on. Don’t do this here, please? I won’t go. It was just a thought, okay?”

  Harley’s dad was the first to respond, and surprisingly, he did it with a genuine smile on

  his face. She scrunched her eyes together. What was going on?

  “Honey, your mom’s not crying because she doesn’t want you to go. Well a little bit I’m

  sure, but mostly sweetie, she’s proud of you. You’re finally making a mature, adult decision involving your future. You’ve been avoiding any kind of decisions for so long now, and we’re both just … proud of you, Har.” He pulled her mom close to him, kissing her the top of her head.

  Harley gaped in disbelief. Her mouth practically hit the table as she did. What the hell

  was happening? Her parents were actually okay with this? It was a college, sure, but it was over fifteen hundred miles away! She turned her suddenly excited gleam towards David, but all of her enthusiasm waivered as she took in the sad shadows in his eyes. Crappity crap, he wasn’t happy.

  “David?” she whispered, needing his approval more than anyone else’s. She’d vowed so

  long ago to stay with him, and he was most likely going to hate her for it, even if he didn’t actually physically say so.

  Tears filled her eyes as she waited on bated breath for his reply. “Come on, Harley. Don’t

  cry. If this is what you want, then I’ll stand by you, as always,” he finally grinned. The look was so genuine, that she’d become a blubbering mess just like her mom.

  She jumped from her chair, moved towards her brother, only so she could wrap her arms

  around his neck. A full on hug was definitely in order. Her parents beamed she sat back down.

  Things were good. Life was good. Then David spoke.

  “I’ve got news of my own,” he paused, clearing his throat as he messed with his white

  napkin. Everyone focused their unwavering gazes on him, Harley especially. He was being

  cryptic. She didn’t like cryptic.

  “I’m ready to get my new leg now.”

  Okay, so that kind of news wasn’t cryptic. That kind of news was fan-freaking-tastic!

  Harley squealed. Her mom rose from her chair this time, arms outstretched as she reached in for a hug of her own. He pulled back and shook his head. His face was a fireball red, but for once Harley agreed with her mom and followed in her footsteps, wrapping her own arm around his

  shoulder, pulling him close to kiss his fluffy head of brown hair.

  “Oh, David, honey! We’re so happy! But … are you sure? I mean, you’ve been against

  this from the get go. What made you change your mind?”

  David shrugged. His eyes focused solely on Harley who squirmed, suddenly

  uncomfortable. “Life is full of changes. Right, Har? Maybe I need one myself.” Harley’s entire body eased. Her smile was in full force though as her heart beat with eagerness.

  Yes, he was more than right. Change was good, beyond good apparently, and she’d never

  been more excited for it in her life.

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  The crowd at the San Jose International airport was flowing mindlessly around Mason as

  he sat bouncing his knee in eagerness, waiting for his sister and mom to arrive.

  With the Santa Cruz ASP tournament starting tomorrow, he needed his family to be there

  with him. Selfishly though, he was mostly wishing Harley would be there with him instead. For the first time in his fourteen years of surfing, Mason was losing his focus out on the water. Hell, he was screwing up the simple things like duck dives. He’d mastered those when he was like, what, ten? His surfing buddy and mentor Jake had been trying to help him get his shit back

  together, but in all honestly, nobody could save him from his real issues. He missed Harley–

  horribly. Ever since he’d left her, yet again, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. It was worse than before too, especially after what they shared that day of his grandfather’s funeral.

  Every time he closed his eyes, all he could envision was Harley lying under him, her face

  full of desire, need, heat, and all things love for him. Some nights, he could almost feel her warm breath against his naked chest, but fantasizing about the girl he was in love with in the middle of a busy airport wasn’t a good idea.

  Hell, fantasizing about her at all was bad, because the more he did it; the more he wanted

  to board a
plane back to Hillsdale just so he could whisk her away with him.

  No longer able to sit still, Mason stood to stretch, running a hand down the front of his

  face. He forced himself to move towards the big terminal window to wait. Seconds later, they announced their planes arrival, and just a little of his aching heart eased. It wasn’t Harley, but it was mouse. She made his world that much more awesome. Yeah, his mom being there was

  pretty cool too.

  A high pitched laugh caught his attention before he even saw her. Seconds later, her

  familiar blonde head appeared. Mason practically smashed into her as they met, swinging her around in a circle. She squealed and smacked his shoulder. He grinned hard at her. She was

  always so easily embarrassed.

  “Hey, big brother, it’s good to see you! Wow, look at that skin! You look … black!”

  Maisy giggled, lifting the arm of his t-shirt up to catch a glimpse at his dark shoulders. He laughed at her sixteen year old greeting as he pulled his mom into a sideways hug.

  “Hey, Mom.” She smiled up at him through wet lashes, hugging him back with a

  fierceness he hadn’t seen or felt from her in a long time.

  Too long actually.

  “You look good, Mase. Have you been using plenty of sunscreen? By the looks of it, you

  haven’t.” And she was back, but he welcomed it, kissing her on top of her head as he lifted her bags onto her shoulders.

  “Yep, Mom, I can’t help it that the sun loves me!” He winked down at her, and she shook

  her head, pursing her lips.

  “I’ve got it, Mom.” She shook her head no, pointing over at something behind him. An

  uncharacteristic smirk was on her lips. He scrunched up his nose in confusion. “I think that young lady over there might need your help a little bit more than I do.”

  Mason turned on his heels, and then it happened. His heart, it fell into his feet. His jaw

  dropped, and without even knowing it, his feet began to move. Still, he wasn’t fully processing what stood ten feet before him.

  Harley.

  Christ, she’d come.

  Picking up speed and not even caring as he rammed into people, he raced towards her,

  wrapping her so tightly in a hug that she most likely wouldn’t be feeling her ribs for days. “Jesus, Mase, I missed you too, but … I can’t … breathe,” she snickered. Still, he didn’t stop clinging to her. He had her there with him, and he wasn’t letting her go. Ever. Without her permission, Mason pulled back, cupped her face with his hands, and crushed his mouth to hers.

  She yelped in surprise, but it lasted only seconds, as her arms were already wrapping

  around his neck. He swallowed her sounds as she pushed back at him with just as much pressure as he gave. Her fingers pulled at his hair, and he grabbed the end of her pink t-shirt. They were ripping, pulling, pushing. Every verb he could think of, they were experiencing it, right there in the airport. Vaguely, he heard a few whistles and catcalls around him as their mouths melded into together. She was the first to pull back, but their foreheads met. Her eyelashes tickled his cheeks.

  He swallowed the emotion in his throat as he spoke. “I can't believe you actually came. I

  thought…” He pulled her face up towards him with his palms, just so he could look down into her dark eyes. He couldn’t hide his feelings long enough to get his words out in entirety.

  “I’m here. That’s all that matters now, Mase.” They became one again. This time it was

  all her. She slowed the fierceness of their lips down, and he more than welcomed it. It was so close to perfection that he was ready to give up his world just to be with her like that for forever.

  After what felt like hours, they finally separated due to the fact that Mason’s mom

  groaned at them from behind. “Come on, you two. You’re going to wind up hurting each other

  with all that … kissing business.” Mason smirked, and Harley blushed. The moment was theirs, mom interruption or not.

  He grabbed her hand and bag, pulling her into his side as they headed to the car. Every

  other second, he had to stare down at her, just to make sure she was there. His cheeks ached from smiling so much, but it was the best kind of pain.

  She smiled up at him shyly, “What are you staring at, Mase?”

  He shook his head as he answered, rubbing slow circles against the palm of her hand.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” She rolled her eyes but gifted him with an equally excited grin. Life couldn’t get much better than that.

  ***

  To say that Mason was surprised by Harley’s unexpected visit was an understatement.

  Harley on the other hand was more than surprised at his enthusiastic greeting. Her lips were still swollen today with the amount of kissing they’d done since she’d gotten there. She grinned. She could spend her entire life kissing Mason Daniel, among other things of course too. She sighed out of contentment as she lounged on the beach awaiting the first rounds of his tournament.

  Harley only wished she knew where they stood as far as coupledom went. Last night, they’d

  certainly acted like one, hauling up in his room at his tiny two bedroom apartment all night. She grinned, thinking about his roommates complaints that morning.

  She smiled, and apparently it’d drawn Mrs. Daniel’s attention because she spoke with

  obvious curiosity and wonderment. “So … what do you think of Santa Cruz so far, Harley?

  Obviously they don’t have beaches like these back in Hillsdale Nebraska, huh?”

  Harley smiled shyly down at her lap. She couldn’t help but wonder if the woman

  questioned what they’d done all night together. She didn’t want to be her son’s trampy girlfriend, but hell, there was no denying that she was learning to enjoy the art of their intimacy.

  “Nope, they sure don’t, and now that I’m here, I don’t think I wanna to go back. This

  place is amazing!” The sounds of the water and waves crashed against the beach, reminding her of the soothing ability this place had over her. She was finally realizing why Mason’s heart was always here. Hell, she’s most likely lost some of her own heart here too, and it had only been less than twenty-four hours.

  “You’ve got to come out here and see this place at night though, Har. The stars are

  freaking amazing, so clear and beautiful. My dad and I, and sometimes even Mason too, spent a whole lot of midnight hours' right here on this very beach.” She covered her brow to block the sun as she stared over at Maisy’s grinning face. Yeah, this place did wonders for people

  apparently.

  Mrs. Daniel hugged her daughter tightly as Maisy laid her head onto her mom’s shoulder.

  They obviously had an amazing relationship. “So, tell us, how did you enjoy the tour of the local college this morning? I went there you know. That’s actually where I met Maisy and Mason’s

  father.” Mrs. Daniel smiled brightly at her daughter. Maisy response was equally as shiny. She sort of felt like as if she was intruder on their shared family moment even though she was sure they didn’t care.

  “To tell you the truth, I loved it. For being a community college, I was super impressed

  with the place. I even picked up some enrollment papers, but I haven’t told Mason yet. I kind of want it to be a surprise.” They both grinned at her, and she shrugged, delving her fingers deeper into the coolness of the sand.

  Harley knew the truth of it was the moment she stepped off that plane yesterday; there

  was no way she’d ever be able to go back to Hillsdale. Mason was her home now, and where

  Mason was, Harley would be too.

  “Mason’s very lucky guy to have you in his life, Harley. You’ve changed him and

  actually given him a reason to smile and live again. I’m so happy he found you.” Crying was not an option, but Harley fought against the tears as she smiled bac
k anyways.

  “Look, there’s Mase!” Maisy pointed excitedly at her brother’s form. Harley stiffened,

  staring back at his dripping wet form. He stood near the judges table, grabbing his number to pin on his wet suit.

  Her mouth dried up. His body was lean with the perfect mix of muscle. His green and

  black outfit molded him like a glove. All thoughts fled her mind as she closed her eyes,

  imagining her hands running up and down the smoothness of his suit.

  Breathe, Harley. Just freaking breathe.

  Mrs. Daniel cleared her throat, and Harley reopened her eyes while struggling to keep her

  ogling to a minimum. Shit, that was embarrassing.

  “Harley, did you hear me?” Turning her head to look over towards Mason’s mom, Harley

  noticed the smug smile on her face. “I asked if you wanted to move a little closer to the water so we can see a little better. The beach is getting packed, and since this is your first time seeing Mason surf, I figured you’d want to get as close as possible.”

  “Um, yeah. Sure, let’s go.” She grabbed her towel against her chest and stood. Her face

  was burning up. She was like a little girl who got her hand caught in the cookie jar.

  Okay, so she’d undress him with her eyes in the privacy of his room next time, or she’d just undress him period.

  An uneasy feeling tugged at her insides the closer it got to go-time. She wrapped her

  arms around her waist, struggling to keep herself reassured. Mason was fine. He’d been surfing his entire life! Still, the thought of him out there in those humongous swells made her throat dry up.

  “Look, Har. He’s next!” Mason stood along the edge of the water, his body relaxed and at

  ease as he stood with his board at his side. “Oh my god, Mom! Look, its Jake!”

  Maisy practically swooned as she fell against her mom. Jake, huh? Who was this Jake

  dude? Harley squinted, taking in the six foot something, black haired hottie, standing at ease next to Mason. Yeah, so he was more than a hottie. Stunningly gorgeous was the more appropriate

  word, that is if one preferred talk, dark, and broody men.

  His black hair was spiked high on his head, and his muscles were definitely not lacking.