Time hadn’t lessened the hold she had over me. Seeing her again only brought long buried feelings rushing back to the surface. I wondered if the surfing class was over. If she was already with Dominic’s dad right now. What they might be talking about. Whether or not she might be thinking about me, too.
My mind ebbed and flowed like the tide in front of me. I tried to focus on the rhythm of the surf and not on how keyed up I had been since I’d last seen her. My cell rang before I could arrange my tumbled thoughts into any sort of order.
“Hey, loser,” the Dirt Dog’s drummer’s distinctive voice intoned as cool as a California breeze. “Bored with retirement yet?”
“Ash.” I ignored the dig. He often opined that it wouldn’t stick for me. That Diesel would wear me down and get me back on the road again eventually. “What’s up with you?” I asked him.
“Not a whole lot. Trying to convince Linc and Simone to record a couple more songs to capitalize on the popularity of the Blaine thing. Listen, I heard you were at the Deck Bar last night.”
“Says who?”
“Simone’s friend Patrick. He mentioned you giving his band some advice and that you did a song with them.”
“Yeah. So…”
“So for a guy who said he didn’t care if he ever stepped out on stage again that seems pretty telling.”
“Well, never say never. Right?” Especially when it came to a certain woman.
“Anyway, I also heard that you got our reclusive widow out of her usual work and home only groove. And I wondered if you might get her to come down to the pier. Linc’s gonna propose to Simone at the end of the week. We’re planning a party down there to celebrate afterward.”
“Karen won’t go to the pier.”
“That’s what Linc said. But if anyone can get that reluctant prom queen to reconsider it would be you. Right?”
“I don’t know.”
“It would mean a lot to Simone. She worries about Karen. Wants to get her out of her shell. The studio is there. It’s where we all hang out. Three years is a long time. Just say you’ll give it a try.”
“I will. But I don’t think I have much sway with her anymore.”
“I actually heard differently. Heard you two looked pretty tight over dinner, and that you were swaying really friendly together on the dance floor.”
“We’re friends. Patrick should keep his mouth shut,” I guessed.
“No, actually that part came from Vassel. Dude was sounding off about it at Hodad’s. He didn’t seem too happy about you being so chummy with Karen. No doubt he was reading too much into it. I’m thinking he may make a play for her. Not that you would mind, would you?”
• • •
I was tired of my own company. Sick of stalking around the house all day stewing about what Ash had said regarding Vassel and Karen. Plus, I had to get out. It was dinner time, and there was no food in the fridge. I hopped into my Explorer and pointed it in the direction of town. A short drive along residential palm tree lined streets in minimal traffic got me there. I found an empty parking spot a couple of stores uphill from Mona’s. While clicking the locks and starting up the sidewalk, I glanced in the direction of the surf shop hoping, even though I knew it was closed, to see Karen. Because I wasn’t looking, I almost knocked over a chick wearing a Lakers ski cap, several long sleeve shirts and at least three layers of ankle length skirts. Far too much clothing for a temperate SoCal evening. I started to apologize to her, but she gathered herself, gave me a wide-eyed look and galloped on past me, lifting her skirts above her knees to aid her escape. A moment later I realized why she was in such a hurry. Several rough looking guys eyed her retreating form.
“Hey,” I called out to the tallest one. “I hope you’re not hassling that young lady?”
All three stopped and the tall one stepped toward me. “Stay out of it, Beaner,” he warned flashing a pierced mouth full of rotting teeth. “It’s none of your concern.”
“Well now, I have to disagree, especially since you just made it personal.” I spread my arms wide as if I didn’t mean for this to turn ugly, but I did. I had no tolerance for bullies or racists. I felt a rush of cooler air at my back, then heard my brother Gonzolo’s voice.
“That dude just call you what I think he did?”
“Yeah,” I confirmed.
“Excellent.” Gonzolo moved to my right and straightened to his full height. He was nearly as tall as I was, and built like a weight lifter. He cracked his knuckles, always up for a good fight. “Which one are you gonna take, hermano?”
Backing away from us, the other two shorter guys shifted nervously on their feet.
“This isn’t over,” the tall dude told me. He had his hand at his waist on the inside of his unbuttoned plaid shirt like he might have a weapon concealed there.
“I’d be disappointed if it were,” I replied, lifting a challenging brow.
He gave me one last confrontational look before thinking better of it. He hooked his thumb and headed up the sidewalk in the opposite direction. His buddies fell in behind him.
“What the hell was that all about?” my brother asked while we both kept our eyes on the trio until they disappeared down an alley between the buildings.
“Beats the hell out of me. They were chasing some girl.” I glanced in the direction she had fled, but there was no sign of her. “Thanks for having my back.”
“Always, little brother.” He gave me a half hug and clapped me on the back while I did the same to him.
“Pop working tonight?” I queried, though I knew it was his usual day to cook.
“Yeah, I already told him to make you a carnitas burrito with extra of his special salsa.” He threw his arm around my shoulder. “I’ve got Luna this weekend. She’s inside. She got pretty excited when she saw you out here.”
“Yeah, right,” I said skeptically. I didn’t expect the same degree of hero worship from her now that she was older. I pulled open the door, and he preceded me inside Neto’s, the restaurant our dad had worked at for as long as I could remember. It wasn’t fancy. Food was served on paper plates and waxed paper and eaten on the go or at the yellow Formica topped tables with red benches. But it was a local favorite, I believed in no small part due to my father’s expertise.
My niece glanced up as I scooted into a vacant spot opposite her. Eleven now, her long straight black hair held back by a white headband with a pretty flower, Luna was on the verge of becoming a beautiful woman. Like her mother, my brother’s ex, the one who had ripped his heart out too many times before he finally wised up and dumped her cheating ass.
“Hey, Uncle Ramon.” Her dark brown eyes met mine. “How was Hawaii?”
“Nice,” I answered. “But too far away from you.” I reached across the table and lightly tugged on a strand of her hair. Gonzolo slid in beside his daughter and stretched his arm across the back of bench behind her. “How’s my favorite niece?”
“I’m your only niece,” she threw back sassily. She smirked, but I gave her sass a pass. I doted on her nearly as badly as my brother. I loved her cute smiles, and I was more than a little sad that she was too old now and dignified to launch herself at me and hug me the way she had only the year before.
“Dad will be glad to see you.” Gonzolo pointed with his goateed chin toward the kitchen pass through window. “We’ve already eaten, but we’ll stay and visit with you for a while.”
“Hey, pequeño.” My dad appeared wearing a Neto’s ball cap backwards to hold back his head of curly hair like mine, except for its smattering of grey. “Haven’t seen you in here for a long while.” He set a paper plate overflowing with food in front of me, wiped his hands on his white apron and motioned for me to move over so he could sit beside me.
“Yeah, you’re right. I’ve been kinda busy. But I sure could use some good comida. It looks delicious. Gracias, Pop.”
“De nada.” I could feel him studying me as I took a big bite of the burrito. The spicy meat was moist and flavore
d so well that I almost groaned in satisfaction. I wiped the grease from my chin with a paper towel.
“How are you, Pop?”
“Muy bien now that you’re back. I like having both my boys around. Now if only I can get you and your mamá to reconcile, I will be totally content.”
I crumpled my napkin into my fist. My mother would always be a source of contention between him and me. Gonzolo had forgiven her, but he of all people should have known better. He and my dad were very much alike, romantic big hearted Latino men who gave their hearts away without reserve. Each had been burned badly. I had witnessed the damage firsthand, and I had vowed never to allow a woman to have that kind of sway over me.
“I don’t know why you keep taking her back,” I commented through my clenched teeth. “Time and time again she breaks your trust.”
“Sí,” he admitted after a beat. “Our happy ending hasn’t been written yet. But she gave me you two and a lot of companionship I would have missed if I had thrown away the good with the bad. You are still young, pequeño. You will learn in time that true love is the prize worth any price.”
Chapter Ten
* * *
Karen
Ears full of the thunder of the surf, I tugged on the long zipper strap to close the back of my wet suit and bent at the waist to grab my board.
“Hey, surfer girl.” I straightened, turning to catch a widening smile from Ramon that made me feel like I did when I hit the crest of a wave just right and went airborne. His long strides quickly ate up the distance between us. “You look a little surprised to see me.”
I was at that. I had made my invitation halfheartedly. I had a list of reasons why I didn’t expect him to show up. “It’s easier to surf at the pier.”
“Yeah.” His gaze sharpened to a fine point. “But you’re not there, are you? So here I am, even if it’s more difficult.”
I glanced away telling my fanciful heart that liked to read things into Ramon’s words to stop talking to my eyes.
“Those stairs aren’t so bad going down with a board.” He glanced over his shoulder then out at the sea analyzing my new surfing spot. “But I imagine it’s a real bitch going back up when you’re tired.”
I shrugged. “It’s alright.”
“Maybe,” he allowed, his gaze settling on me. I spied him in my peripheral vision as I pretended to stare out at the water. He stood tall like a captain surveying his ship, every lean muscle sculpted by the wet suit he wore. The offshore breeze blew his curls back from his face. A more compelling man I had never known, save one other. “It seems like a lot of work just to avoid something.”
I stumbled as I took a step toward the water, his quiet observation hitting the mark he intended. I felt his grip on my upper arm.
“And there she goes, avoiding again.”
I turned and frowned at him. His expression gentle, he took my board from me. “Let me help you.” He tucked it under his arm along with his.
“I can manage on my own.”
“I know you can. I’ve watched you do it time and time again over the years, but you don’t have to, not when I’m around.”
My jaw opened to form a retort, but I closed it knowing anything I said would sound churlish. So, I followed him, distracted by the way his backside looked in his wet suit.
Did he have on anything underneath, I wondered, almost running into him when he stopped.
“You first.” His barely there smile turned into a knowing grin. I was pretty sure he had caught me checking out his ass. But he didn’t comment. I guessed he figured my warmed cheeks said enough. “C’mon, surfer girl,” he called before leaping over the rocks and lowering himself into the waist deep water. He looked up at me as he put my board beside his, floating both on the surface of the water like old times. He arched a brow when I hesitated. “You gonna stand there all day and try to fool everyone else out here into thinking you’re the real deal just because you look hot as sin in that wetsuit, or are you gonna come on out here with me and prove it?”
• • •
“Fuckin’ A, Karen. Wait up.”
Grinning widely, I glanced over my shoulder at Ramon, knowing I had proved my surfing prowess and then some. As my current wave, the last one I had time for, flattened beneath me, I dropped my head back into the water and dipped my hair into it to soak the snarled strands from my eyes. I reeled my board back by the leash and threw an arm over it, treading water, waiting for him to reach me, feeling grateful for the insulation in my wetsuit though the ocean was much milder than it had been only a month ago.
“Since when did you start doing full air rotations?”
“Since I got back.” I lifted and dropped a shoulder as if that weren’t a big deal that had taken countless hours of practice, while inwardly I was infinitely pleased that I had impressed him. “It’s the waves. They’re inconsistent at this time of the year, but when you get good ones, they’re usually really good ones.”
“Yeah, that may be true. But it doesn’t explain how you got to be such a badass.” He shook his head to free his curls of the water they had absorbed, and I closed my eyes laughing as the droplets hit my face. It wasn’t the first time he had doused me. When I reopened my eyes and refocused on him, he was staring.
“What?” I asked leftover mirth lingering in my voice. “Do I have seaweed stuck in my braid?” I reached my hand upward to investigate. His board drifted closer bringing him to my side.
“There’s nothing in your hair.” His expression turned serious. “It’s just that it’s been a while since I’ve heard you laugh. I had forgotten how beautiful you look when you do, and how wonderful it makes me feel to make you do it.”
“I gotta go in.” I glanced away, embarrassed by his praise and wanting to weave too much meaning into it. “I’m gonna be late for work. You’re welcome to stay.” I started kicking, hoping for a wave to speed me toward the shore. I needed to regroup far from his perceptive eyes.
“Hey.” He caught my foot and pulled me toward him. His expression was tight. I couldn’t recall the last time I had seen him look so irritated. “Stop fucking running away from me every time I give you a compliment.” His accent was thick like it had been at the shop when he had been flirting with me. “This isn’t you.”
“What makes you think you’re an expert on me?”
He gave me an incredulous look. “We’ve been friends a long time.”
“We’ve been apart a long time. Maybe this is who I am now.” His expression hardened. I backpedaled in response. “And anyway, why does it even matter?”
“The essence of who you are hasn’t changed.” A muscle jumped in his clenched jaw. “The woman who surfed circles around all the guys out here today is you. The one whose eyes light up when she tells me she’s teaching little kids to surf. The one who thinks of her friends before herself. The one who makes it part of her weekly routine to visit a lonely old man. Those things are you. And the girl that throws around attitude. Not the one who runs from a few harmless compliments. Not the one who cowers instead of confronting the things that scare her. That’s not you, either. Stop pretending that it is.”
A swell swept underneath us and separated us, sending him toward the shore. Left behind, I reeled from his words. His admonitions held a lot of truth. I stalled out in the water to consider them. He was quiet and wary when I eventually joined him at the shore. He opened his mouth to say something further but closed it, took my board and carried it for me up the stairs instead.
My legs felt heavier than usual as I trudged behind him. I wanted to be all those things again. To be the woman I had once been. The problem was that I had been in limbo for so long while the rest of the world passed me by that I didn’t know how to find my way to that person.
“Karen.” He took me by the shoulders and turned me to face him as we reached the top. The wind was stronger above the cliffs than it had been down below. It buffeted both of us. Ramon’s expression remained circumspect as he studied me. I stared
into his dark eyes feeling lost and a little frightened at the task before me yet at the same time I felt that I had been found. I saw within his gaze understanding and empathy. Someone to lean on. I remembered Franklin’s words and accepted the truth of them in that moment. Ramon and I had both lost so much three years ago.
“You’re right.” The admission rose from somewhere deep inside of me. “What you said out there. All of it. It’s absolutely true.” I lifted my chin.
His stormy expression lightened, though the concern in his gaze persisted.
“I enjoyed your company this morning. It was fun. Most of it anyway. But if you don’t mind, I’d like my board back. I take it with me when I go into the shop. And I need a little time by myself. No offense. But I’ve got a lot to think about.”
Chapter Eleven
* * *
Ramon
I gave her the space she asked for. I held back, watching her from a distance. The story of my fucking life. So stubborn. So strong. She carried her board and her burdens alone. But it pissed me off to be relegated to the sidelines. I didn’t mind being her friend. I didn’t mind being her hero. I felt like a superman when she let me step up for her. It was being forced to step aside too many times when she had needed me that was my kryptonite.
Shoulders visibly slumped, she made her way toward town along the sidewalk that hugged the sienna and umber sandstone cliffs. Where it dead ended, she crossed to the other side of the street and ducked into an alley taking a short cut into downtown. Feeling on edge the moment she passed out of my sight, I opened the tail gate of the Explorer and tossed my board inside. Unzipping my wetsuit, I peeled off the upper half and wrapped a towel around my waist to shimmy out of the rest. I grabbed the board shorts I had thrown into the back earlier and drew them on under the towel so I didn’t get arrested for public nudity. I turned around again and glanced back at the spot where I had last seen her. I still had an unsettled feeling. I tried to chalk it up to not eating breakfast, but it felt more significant, and it wouldn’t go away.
(Complete Rock Stars, Surf and Second Chances #1-5) Page 34
