Chapter 10 Cal #2
“We know what we’ve read about him, but we don’t know about him,” Mom says with a gentle firmness that I hope will activate Cassidy’s almost non-existent filter.
“What you’ve read is what you need to know,” Frankie answers, looking intently at her hands as she brushes them on her pants. “There’s not much else to tell.”
“No family is perfect. We have to love our people where they are, as much for our own good as for theirs. But you’ve got more family than just your father, don’t you?” Mom presses.
Frankie stares at Mom like she’s either talking gibberish or she’s said something profound.
“She’s got a twin brother, Archie,” Hayes offers.
“Oh,” Mom says, eyebrows up. “A twin brother? Are you close? Do you have those twin superpowers like some identical twins do?”
Frankie blinks and relaxes slightly. “Yeah, nah. No superpowers, unfortunately. But we’re tight. We’ve had to depend on each other since coming to America.”
“And what brought you here?” Mom asks.
Cassidy rolls her eyes. “Are you serious, Mom? You know the answer is Surf City High?”
“I know Frankie was an actress,” Mom says to Cassidy, then turns back to Frankie. “But I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in anything. I don’t get to the movies much, and I hardly ever watch TV.”
“She was a pro surfer too,” I pipe in for the first time.
I’ve watched as much footage as I could find of her competing. I’ve even watched the Surf City High pilot, but I prefer the surfing videos. That’s where Frankie is the most beautiful.
Dad perks up. “Pro, huh? Win any titles?”
He loves sports at the pro level. He’ll watch any game or sport any time, but the ESPN documentaries about athletes are his go-to.
“Archie and I were moving up the ranks with our friends, Rhys and Dex,” Frankie says. “Then Malcolm put together the deal for us to be on Surf City High. He figured we could make more money doing that than surfing.”
“Probably safer, too.” Mom’s eyes dart to Hayes.
“Physically, for sure. Emotionally…” Frankie shrugs.
“Rhys James? You two had a thing, didn’t you?” Cassidy asks.
She’s a huge fan of Rhys James’s music, even if she won’t admit it.
Frankie shakes her head. “Only on the show.”
“What movies have you been in? Any I might have seen?” Mom leans in closer to Frankie, as if to block her from any more uncomfortable questions from Cassidy.
“You’d have to watch movies to see them, Ma,” Bennett says, and she shoots him a friendly glare.
“I’ve mostly had small bits,” Frankie says. “But I had a couple bigger roles that got me some good reviews. I played Paula in Midnight in December and Isabelle in Over the Moon.”
“Well, I have heard of those,” Mom says.
“You and everyone else,” Hayes teases, and Mom reaches behind Frankie to give him a gentle smack on his arm.
“Where can I watch them?” Mom asks Frankie.
“We can stream them,” Dad says. “We’ll watch them tomorrow night. Right now, this little one needs to go to bed.” He nods toward Junie, who’s rested her head on Frankie’s shoulder and is blinking hard to keep her eyes open.
“Frankie looks like she could use a rest too. We’ve grilled her enough tonight.” Dad stands and reaches to help Mom to her feet. They pack up the basket while the rest of us gather garbage and fold up the blankets.
I take Junie from Frankie. “Let me put her to bed, and I can drive you into town.”
“I want Frankie to read,” Junie says sleepily, as she nestles into my shoulder.
“Not tonight, sweetie,” I say.
“It’s alright. I don’t mind.” Frankie’s voice is soft, her eyes on Junie.
I nod, and Frankie follows me into the house. She waits patiently while I help Junie brush her teeth, put on pajamas, then pick a book. She chooses the one about ladybugs and hands it to Frankie, then clambers into her bed.
Frankie glances at the book, then up at me. “I was expecting more of a story than a book of facts.”
I shrug. “She loves learning about ladybugs.”
When Frankie sits on the end of Junie’s bed, Junie pops up, pats the spot next to her. “Up here, so I see the pictures.”
Frankie sits next to her, upright and a little uncomfortable until Junie cuddles into her, forcing Frankie to lay back against the headboard with her legs stretched out on the bed.
“You too, Daddy,” Junie says, patting the spot on her other side.
Resistance is useless.
And it’s not lost on me that the three of us are stretched out in this bed like we’re some kind of family. The idea of that shouldn’t appeal to me as much as it does. I have to admit, though, Junie’s a pretty good judge of character. She’s scared of Pearl, after all.
She’s also got a way of wrapping almost every adult she meets around her little finger. That’s no different here. Three stories in, Junie’s still not asleep and I can’t free Frankie or myself. Truth is, I haven’t tried. And not just because of Junie’s powers of persuasion.
But when Frankie yawns—not for the first time—I remember she’s had a long day.
“Alright. You go to sleep and in the morning, I’ll make you pancakes.” I roll off the bed and Frankie does the same. Then I tuck the blanket tight around Junie, like I do every night.
Usually that’s enough to keep her contained. I was a pro at swaddling when she was a baby. But tonight, she throws off her covers. “Tomorrow we go to Fingo’s. Flo makes the pancakes. Frankie brings them. I sit in my magic chair.”
Frankie looks from me to Junie. “Oh. I—I won’t be at Flamingo’s anymore.”
Junie frowns.
Frankie bites her lip, thinking, before blurting, “If you go to sleep right now, I’ll make pancakes for you in the morning. We’ll eat them here,” she slows long enough to glance at me. “If it’s okay with your daddy.”
“Of course.” My heart hammers so hard, I barely hear my own words.
“Fine.” Junie says, then flops back into bed and shuts her eyes tight. “I’m sleep now.”
Frankie and I tiptoe into the dimly lit hallway. Everyone else has gone to bed, too. Ranch work starts early, especially during the summer when there’s more to do and no one wants to do the dirtiest jobs in the hottest part of the day.
When we reach the guestroom at the end of the hallway, Frankie stops. “You’re sure it’s alright if I stay? I know I said I didn’t want to, but…”
“Absolutely. I’m too tired to drive into town. Stay as long as you want.” I gaze at her, resisting the urge to tuck her perpetually loose curl behind her ear, but I can’t stop myself inching forward.
This is the closest I’ve ever been to Frankie, and every cell in my body is a firing cylinder. I’ve got her all to myself; something I had no idea I wanted as much as I do until this moment.
“I don’t want to be a burden.” She lifts her chin and leans closer.
“You’re not a burden.” I rush to assure her before she changes her mind. “I’ll be in trouble if you don’t stay. Mom will never let me hear the end of it.”
Frankie lets out a soft breath, easing some of the building heat between us. “She’s fantastic, your mum. I like her. She reminds me a bit of my mum—only stronger. She’s not easily led, is she?”
“She knows how to hold her ground.” My pulse slows to a more normal pace, but I don’t see it returning to the same, unchanging pace as long as Frankie’s around.
“My mum still hasn’t got the hang of that. Her backbone’s a bit flimsy.” She offers a laugh that comes out so sad, without realizing it, I pull her into my arms.
“You can lean on my mom for as long as you need. Lean on all of us, for that matter.”
Frankie tucks her head under my chin. She smells faintly of Flamingo’s, but also something else. Something soft and lightly floral, with a hint of citrus.
“Cheers, Cal.” She sighs, then steps back, but not out of my arms, and tips her chin to look at me. “Maybe just a few days to see if things blow over…then I’ll decide what to do.”
The only light in the hallway comes from the foyer, leaving Frankie’s face in soft shadows. I look into her eyes, hoping they’ll tell me if I’m misreading the invitation her body is sending. Her tongue darts between her lips, pulls back slowly, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth.
That’s all it takes to make me want more than I should. Like a bull keyed up behind the gate. With as much control as I can muster, I tug her gently closer, ready to lay everything out for her.
“Frankie, stop me if I’m overstepping…” I tell her. “But I’m going to kiss you now.”
The words aren’t out before her mouth is pressed to mine, her hands wrapped around my neck, fingers in my hair. I grasp her hips, pressing my palms around her waist, sinking deeper into our kiss. My first kiss since Kayla died.
I’m as hungry as any man would be who hadn’t been with a woman in over three years.
I tighten my hold on her and walk us backward until I’ve got her pressed against the door.
She scrapes her fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck.
I trail my lips across her jaw to the tip of her ear.
I take it between my teeth, her breath hitches, and my desire deepens.
Need drives my mouth back to hers. A need to take her breath away again. A need to quiet the burning that ignites whenever she’s near. A need to know every part of her.
Our kisses grow deeper, and I reach for the doorknob behind her, my imagination filling with pictures of carrying her to the bed just feet away. Then a thought breaks through the fog of my desire.
Unmet physical needs aren’t driving my desire, a need for Frankie is.
A need for her to stay. A need I could see growing into never letting her go. A need to keep her close, not just for myself, but for Junie, too.
If Frankie decides to leave Serenity Cove, I have to be able to tell her goodbye without any strings attached. Taking her to bed would make that impossible. I learned that about myself the hard way with Kayla.
My instinct for self-protection kicks in. I step back, unwinding my hands from behind her waist to rest them on her hips. I take a breath to explain.
Frankie though, still has her hands wrapped around my neck and moves in for another kiss. I turn my head. Her lips brush the corner of my mouth.
I step further away and hold her at arm’s length.
“We should say goodnight,” I mumble, very aware of my palms still pressed into the curve of her hipbones.
The surprise on Frankie’s face morphs into hurt.
Regret spills over me.
She blinks, and the hurt is gone, replaced by something worse. Nothing. Every emotion is gone.
“G’night, then,” she says with her too-practiced smile before stepping into the guest room and closing the door behind her.
And I go to my room, more alone than I’ve been since even before Kayla died.