Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Palm Canyon Drive felt like another planet compared to the sterile halls of the hospital. The desert air was hot, but there was a slight breeze, making it bearable to walk under the palm trees and into a Mexican restaurant that smelled of grilled peppers and salty chips.
The hostess gave them a cozy booth in the air-conditioned restaurant that was decorated in bright colors and southwestern décor. Mariachi music floated through the air as a trio played in the patio near a sparkling water fountain. But Kaia was happy to be inside where it was cool.
A basket of warm homemade chips landed on the table almost immediately, still glistening with oil and dusted with salt, beside smoky salsa and bright green guacamole that looked like someone had mashed the avocados minutes earlier.
She hadn't realized how hungry she was until she popped a chip with guacamole into her mouth and nearly groaned with pleasure. "Oh, wow."
"That good?" Jax asked, grabbing a chip.
"Better than good—fantastic. I think I hit another home run."
"Don't get cocky. We haven't even ordered yet."
"I've always thought that chips and salsa are a powerful indicator of how good the meal is going to be at a Mexican restaurant." She perused her menu, torn between several options. "What are you going to get?"
"The steak fajitas. How about you?"
"I was thinking enchiladas, but maybe I'll go for the chicken fajitas," she said as a waiter delivered a sizzling platter of fajitas to the table next to them. "That smells delicious."
After making sure the next table had everything they needed, the server turned to them, and they put in their order for steak and chicken fajitas. Jax suggested margaritas, and after dealing with her irate father, she couldn't say no to that.
As the server left, she sat back in her chair. "I feel like I can breathe again."
"Good. For what it's worth, I think your dad is being well taken care of, and everything that needs to be done is being done."
"I agree, but it's nice to hear that from someone else. I really appreciate you coming with me today. I'm sure it's not what you had in mind."
"I was happy to do it."
"You didn't look happy when you were talking to Ben," she commented, pausing as the server set down their margaritas. Then she added, "What did he say to you?"
"First, let's have a toast."
"To what?" she asked, picking up her glass.
"To a crisis averted and what looks to be a great lunch coming our way."
She clinked her glass to his. "I will drink to that. But I'd probably drink to anything right now."
"Well, I'm driving, so have at it."
She took a sip of her tart, cold drink. "This is good. Just what I needed. But let's get back to what you and Ben were talking about."
"He said he looked me up because he was wondering about our relationship. He didn't find anything on Jax Ridley, but while he was on the Internet, he saw a photo of you and me and figured it all out."
"I'm surprised he didn't say anything to me. I'm also annoyed he stuck his nose in my business."
"Seems to be a family trait. I wouldn't hold it against him. He has your best interests at heart."
"Did he tell you to stay away from me? Because that is not going to fly with me."
"He just asked me if you knew who I was, and I said you did. And then he said something about not hurting you, or I'd be sorry."
"Oh, my God! I can't believe he played that big brother card."
"It really wasn't that big of a deal. Frankly, if I had a sister and she was dating a guy with my reputation, I'd say the same thing. And I'd tell her to run away."
"You've already told me that. I make my own decisions." She took another sip of her margarita, then said, "There's someone else I wanted to talk to you about. The guy who was at your apartment yesterday. Who is he?"
"Clay is my former agent. He took Wren and me on when we were just starting out. He was also just starting his career in his father's agency. We all kind of grew up together and made some money together."
"And now you're not making money, and he wants what?"
"He wants me to go back to making money," Jax said dryly.
"Can you do that? You said your career is over."
"He's cooking up some scheme that might change that.
To be honest, I can't imagine it would work, but he wants me to think about it.
Can we do this some other time, Kaia? I know you want more details, but I had a tense conversation with Clay, and you had a rough conversation with your dad. Why don't we just enjoy lunch?"
"We could do that," she said, feeling too mentally exhausted to get into what needed to be a more serious discussion. "But you can't put me off forever."
"I know. Look, our food is here."
"Saved by the fajitas," she said lightly.
As the sizzling platters arrived at the table, she suddenly felt ravenous, and for the next few minutes, they dug into their meal, filling the soft tortillas with spicy meat, beans, rice, and all the extras.
The fajitas were just as good as the guacamole and chips, and their conversation drifted to nothing as they concentrated on eating.
By the time they'd finished lunch, it was almost three o'clock. The day was flying by, but she wasn't ready to go home, and neither was Jax. The wind had picked up, cooling the temp, so it was pleasant to stroll down the street and check out the shops.
They wandered into a tiny gallery filled with handmade ceramics and colorful desert paintings. She paused in front of a sculpture shaped like a cactus and painted in bright shades of teal and orange. "I haven't seen a cactus with these colors, but I like them."
"The artist took some liberties with that," he agreed.
"This would stick out in my apartment. It wouldn't fit at all."
"Which is why you want it."
She laughed softly. "Maybe. Let's come back to it. We'll see what else is here. As they got to a bin of old, framed concert posters, she rifled through them, pulling out the last one in the bin. It was a poster of a bear strumming a guitar. "You could put this in your apartment."
"I don't think so. Not my style."
"You don't have a style; your walls are bare."
"Well, I'm not going to put that on the wall."
"It's fun." At the definitive shake of his head, she put the poster back in the bin.
Continuing on, she paused in front of a jewelry display from a local artisan.
She picked up a pair of earrings made of sea glass, with shimmering colors of blue, aqua, and pink in the rough-edged stones. "What do you think about these?"
"They're very you."
"What do you mean?"
"Sea glass survives the battering of waves. It stays strong and shines through with bright, mesmerizing colors. You're a lot like that glass, Kaia. Battered but never broken."
She felt entranced by his words, delivered in a husky voice that carried her away. "That was beautiful, Jax. Is that the way you write your songs, with that kind of imagery?"
"I suppose."
"I really need to hear one of your songs."
"Well, in the meantime, you should get those earrings."
"I think I will. And the cactus, too, because it's unique, and I like things that are different."
"Me, too," he said, gazing into her eyes.
It felt like a dozen unspoken words followed that look, but he wasn't ready to say what he was thinking, and maybe she wasn't ready to hear it.
After an afternoon of shopping and an early evening gelato, they headed back to Ocean Shores, arriving shortly after eight on Sunday night. When they entered the courtyard, they ran into Lexie and Grayson sharing a bottle of wine with Emmalyn and Hunter.
"Where are you two coming from?" Lexie asked.
"The desert," she said. "My dad had to go to the hospital."
"Oh, my God!" Emmalyn said with concern. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"I didn't know what I was dealing with. He's okay for now. They're running tests. He had a fall and injured his wrist, but it could have been worse. Right now, they're more concerned about what caused him to fall."
"But he's stable right now?" Lexie asked.
"Yes. And Ben will stay at his place tonight and pick him up from the hospital tomorrow and make sure everything is good before he leaves him alone."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Grayson said, sending her a sympathetic look. "It's rough when parents get older."
"It definitely is. Jax was nice enough to drive me there, so I didn't have to go alone."
"That's good," Emmalyn said. "You could have called me."
"I know, but Jax was there when I got the call." She cleared her throat as she could feel their speculation, even if they weren't coming out with their questions.
"I'm glad to run into you, Jax," Lexie said. "I stopped by your apartment earlier to let you know that there was a man asking for you today. Actually, he was asking for someone named Jason Barnes. I'm assuming that's your real name."
"What did he want?" Jax asked, ignoring her question.
"He wanted to know which apartment you lived in and if you were home. I said I didn't know you, and that there's no one named Jason in the building," Lexie said.
"And then he asked me the same question, because I was at the pool," Emmalyn said.
"I also told him there was no one in the building named Jason.
He described you to me, but I said I couldn't help him.
He was a bald man, maybe in his forties," she added.
"He said he could make it worth my while if I helped him.
I told him I wished I could help him, but I didn't know who he was talking about. "
"So, what's your deal?" Grayson asked. "Why are you using a different name?"
"Because I've been trying to avoid the media, but Josie knows who I am."
"That's what Lexie told me," Grayson said. "Maybe you should fill the rest of us in."
Grayson's words created a tense silence, something that was unusual in her group of friends, and Kaia felt the need to step in. "I know who he is, too, and I think you should let Jax share that information in his own time."