Chapter 12
Dove
River doesn’t get to look so damn relaxed when I feel like there is a war in my mind.
So, I splash him, deliberately aiming water toward his nostrils for extra effect.
Being back here with these boys is unnerving in a way I never expected.
For years I hated them. Part of me wished they would come and find me to pull me out of the misery I was in.
The other part wished I could make them all suffer like I was, knowing they all played their part in my family’s downfall.
But I never expected coming home would feel comfortable or right in any way.
It shouldn’t fit me anymore; I don’t want it to.
And today, that’s River’s fault because he’s the one I’m with.
He splutters and flicks his cheeky glare at me.
That’s my cue to get out of here. I take off for the beach, moving as fast as my arms and legs will take me, smooth breast strokes that pull me closer to the shore.
Just when I think I have escaped him, strong arms wrap around my ankle, pulling me back toward him.
He gets another hand on my shoulder, dunking me under the water before I can fight him off.
Ocean swirls around me, filling my nostrils and ears as the rest of the world disappears.
Coughing and spluttering, I rise up to the surface, trying to suck in breaths and escape him at the same time, but he holds me captive in his arms, a stupid grin on his face. “You really thought you could outswim me?” He chuckles cooly, having way too much fun at my expense.
“It was worth a try.” I smirk back at him, not able to help it with the cheeky look in his blue eyes. He’s so damn easy to look at. Shame he knows it now and has the swagger to go with it. I liked him better when he was my shy friend.
His arms encircle me, pulling me too close into his warm body. He’s all smooth muscles, a lot of them, trapping me in his intoxicating vortex.
Knowing I’m heading into dangerous territory with us so close, I get a hand on his chest, trying to force some distance. “Easten,” I warn him.
He doesn’t care, holding me closer and trapping my hands between us. His feet must be on the sand bar below, even though mine dangle under me, and it gives him the advantage. “I’m not the only one keeping shit from her mates, am I, baby?”
I stare back at him. The way he assesses me as if he knows me, it makes me feel safe, like I could confide in him, but I know it’s a lie.
These boys were ready to send me away just because daddy Throne was demanding it.
A wave crashes over his back, but he doesn’t care.
He holds me tight to him, staring me down like he’s trying to read my inner thoughts.
What he doesn’t understand is I can’t tell him what my life has been like.
It would break his heart, and as much as he’s not my favorite person anymore, he doesn’t need the details of just how damaged I am.
Who would? Some shit is just better kept locked up.
“We should head in,” I whisper when the intensity gets all too much to take.
He shakes his head as if disappointed. “That’s what I thought.”
I shove at his chest again, his heart hammering like mad under my touch. “Sometimes it’s better not to know. Ten years is a long time, River.”
“I know it is. I still want to know every detail. Fuck, I can see it in your eyes it’s not good, Dove, but you have to let someone in. Why not me?”
God, why is he being so nice to me? Did Kasen put him up to it? Butter her up so she talks. Sounds like the kind of shit he would come up with. I pull out of his hold, and this time he lets me, even though I miss his warmth immediately. “No, I don’t.”
His eyes reflect my sadness, and I know it hurts him to know we’re not close anymore. But that’s life. We went our separate ways and we changed.
I march out of the water and find my towel, wrapping it around my body, before I collapse down on the sand with a heavy sigh, suddenly exhausted, the events of the last few weeks crashing down on me.
I’m alone, I have been for a while, and I know it’s the safest way to be.
Trust no one, my dad taught me that. If only I listened to him and didn’t trust the fucking Southern Breakers.
But I was so desperate. I needed to pay the bills, and after we ran from this place, there was no other way.
We had nothing to our name. Dad did some freelance web design work when he could, but it was hard when he got sick.
He had taken such good care of me after our lives fell apart and we lost mum; it was time for me to take care of him.
They were my only option, even if I knew it was dangerous.
River joins me, plonking down on the sand as he runs a his towel through his hair, messing it around in that way that looks so hot on him, before he stares out over the ocean, quiet for once.
The sun warms my skin, burning off the water droplets.
I could sit here all day, just soaking it up, letting it slowly bring me back to life.
Nothing else can. No matter what River and Kasen think they are capable of.
“Where are the others today anyway?” I ask him when I’m finally sick of the silence between us.
“Working.” He lies down, his chiseled chest on full display, glistening with water droplets.
I don’t look away, but why would I? His body is perfection, ink running over muscles, sea creatures and waves, his chest telling a story of all his favorite things.
It’s a work of art. Art I would like to run my tongue over.
Nope, Dove, get your mind out of the gutter.
I raise a brow to stop myself from drooling. “Knocking down cute beach shacks to put in high-rises or ‘working’?” I put the last part in bunny ears so he knows what I’m implying, the underground shit we all know they really do.
He sighs heavily, clearly getting frustrated with me. “I was just asked to keep an eye on you, babe, I don’t know their work schedule.” With a huff he stands up then holds out a hand. “And now that I need to get some of my work sorted, you can tag along.”
“To the beach bar? I was hoping to get some lunch and maybe check out town.” Or find a way to ditch you and go get my shit.
“I’ll have my cook sort you some lunch, he’ll make anything you want.” He wiggles his eyebrows to entice me, his hand closing round mine just to tell me I’m trapped with him whether I like it or not.
“Yeah, okay.” I let him pull me up to standing, then we make our way back to the combi.
This time he takes the keys and drives, and I let him.
The swim has chilled me out, and I don’t want to fight with him over it, it’s a waste of my energy.
I do need to work out how to get back to my storage locker at the bus station to grab my stuff, though.
I’m dying to know what’s in that metal safe of my mum’s.
But with my babysitter cramping my style, it’s going to be impossible.
I take in all I can as he drives through town, trying to map out the details in my brain, comparing what it used to be like to the shiny new buildings that are here now.
It’s not just the physical buildings that are different, it’s the number of people who are walking about.
Tourists, locals? Who knows who they are.
But they are packed into the many cafés like sardines and lining the streets with their oversized shopping bags and floppy hats.
I wonder what my mum would’ve made of all of it.
This was the progress she was dead against. Would it sicken her to see what her beloved town has become or would she have eventually given in to the changing times.
I would like to think she would have fought it with all she had.
But men like Keller have their ways, and I’m sure with everything inside of me that’s what happened to her in the end.
She fought too hard against the wrong person, and it got her killed.
River pulls into the beach bar and parks right out front.
I dry myself off and throw on my shorts and tank over my bikini. River leaves his shirt off and throws a pair of slides on his feet. “Not dressing up to go to work?”
“I have stuff inside.”
I follow him in as he unlocks the back door with his fingerprint, flicks on the lights, and switches off the alarms. His security system looks top-notch. I guess you can’t be too careful around these parts, as the boys keep implying this town is dangerous now.
His bar looks different in the light of day, less menacing.
With all the lights on and sunlight filtering through the front windows, I can make out all the posters on the walls more clearly.
Images are pinned into the woodwork and medals hang from hooks.
Not just ones with River’s names on them, but all sorts of medals from around the world.
It’s like a shrine to the surfing community.
Totally gives River vibes, and I kind of love it.
One particular image catches my eye. I get stuck staring at it, sadness washing over me.
It’s the same photo I had in my room, taken just a week before my life fell apart.
The five of us all together and happy. The girl in the photo wouldn’t have been able to believe how much her life was about to change.
River pops his head around a corner. “You coming up?” he asks when I haven’t followed him through the bar.
He must have gone on without me when I was distracted. “Yeah, I guess.”
I follow him up some stairs and up to another locked door.
When he opens it, I can’t help but smile.
It’s so him. Floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing the beach.
The furniture is all light timber and rattan, and the walls are pale blue.
There is also a massive fish tank that runs down one of the walls with an assortment of tropical fish bobbing around.
“If I were you, I would live here all the time,” I mutter mostly to myself.