Chapter Six
“Hi, Rowan.”
Kelsey stood at the counter, smiling shyly.
Her fingers twisted together as if she was about to make a speech.
It’d been three days since the sunset party, and Rowan had been thinking nonstop about the young girl.
Somehow, in this brief time, they’d made a connection.
Rowan hoped she was happy and that was the reason she’d stopped visiting.
Looking at her now, Rowan realized things were worse.
Kelsey’s face held a polite blankness. No joy lit her wide blue eyes and she was back in her old clothes.
Her T-shirt was embossed with glitter and designer labels.
Her purse was Gucci studded with gold. Heavy red lipstick covered her natural pink mouth, and the highlighter dusted over her cheeks and nose sparkled with mauve dust.
She was back to wearing her mask.
Trying not to react, Rowan smiled back. “Hey, Kelsey. How are you doing?”
“Good! Um, great. I just wanted to come by and thank you again for letting me hang at the party. I had fun.”
“You were a big help. Did your dad give you too much hell about not texting back?”
“Yeah, he gave me the lecture, which is worse than anything.”
“Next time, we’ll make sure he’s in the loop. Can’t blame him for worrying.”
“I know. Um, so anyway, that’s it. I’m not going to bother you anymore, but I wanted to thank you for being nice to me.”
The words kicked down the wall around her heart. Her voice softened. “You don’t ever have to thank me for enjoying your company. I like being around you and you’re welcome to come by and hang anytime. Bagel adores you.”
The girl’s cheeks turned pinker than her blush. “Oh! Thanks. Did you leave him home today?”
“Yeah, he got moody with me. I’m probably going home to a shredded wall. Or chair.”
A giggle escaped her lips. “Bagel just misses you. It’s hard being lonely.”
Yeah, Rowan was screwed. This girl was tearing her apart and had no clue. “Did you reach out to Pam about surfing lessons?”
She shook her head. “Nah, I’m giving up on my dream to be a soul surfer,” she joked. “Too embarrassed.”
“Pam is really nice. I think you should give it a shot.”
“I appreciate it, but no.” She dragged her toe. Fiddled with her purse. “Well, I guess I’ll go. Just wanted to tell you thanks.”
“You can come by anytime,” Rowan repeated, trying to ignore the rising urgency to stop her from leaving. “Say hello to Bagel and me and Tino.”
“Cool.” She gave a half-hearted wave and turned to walk away.
And Rowan knew in that moment she’d never see Kelsey again.
Her father had done his job trying to protect her.
Probably warned her to stay away from surfing, and the rickety shop, and strange people who lived their life by the rise and fall of the sun and the ocean.
Maybe Everett was right. This was no place for a teen girl from the city who was only here for the summer.
Better to let her go. Her father was a pain in the ass and Rowan didn’t need him in her life.
Plus, she loved her usual routine. It was good enough. It was—
“Kelsey!”
The girl turned. “Yeah?”
“If I gave you surf lessons, would you want them?”
Her face lit up. “Really? I mean, yes! But you don’t give lessons, right? And I don’t want to make you feel guilty or feel bad for me or anything. I’ll be fine. Plus, I’ll probably suck and waste your time.”
“I only do things I want,” she said calmly. She propped her arms up on the counter and studied the girl. “If you’re really interested, I have some rules.”
Kelsey tilted her head with curiosity. “Sure. What are they?”
“First, you go home and change into proper gear.”
She winced, then laughed. “No problem.”
“Second, you tell your dad about the lesson. He needs to know you’re surfing.”
Rowan could tell the girl had already been scheming for a way not to tell Everett, but they needed to start with a clean slate. She wasn’t getting in between a teen and her father. “Okay. I promise to tell him about the surf lesson.”
“Good. Final rule. It’s the most important.
” The girl nodded seriously. “No being crappy to yourself. I don’t want to hear that you’re clumsy, or can’t do it, or suck.
Surfing begins with mindset. A strong, calm mind is needed to face waves.
The competition starts with yourself, and the way to win is to not treat yourself like shit. ”
Blue eyes widened. Rowan kept her stare steady and locked in. She meant every word.
Then Kelsey grinned. “Got it.”
“Good. You can come back at three and we’ll start on the sand with basics. Does that work for your schedule?”
“Yes! This is amazing—thank you, Rowan! See you later!”
With a little shriek, she ran out of the shop, stumbling a bit in her fancy, strappy Michael Kors sandals.
Rowan gave a chuckle and shook her head.
She remembered that age—flying over the beach with such raw emotion.
Everything back then was high highs and low lows.
Balance was almost impossible to achieve when hormones were pumping and the world was exploding around you in every flavor.
Oh, how she’d wanted to feel it all, unafraid of anything, as long as she had her safety net.
Dad. Lea. Tino. So many others showed up for her, but she’d shed them fast, too focused on her losses to care.
Yet here she was, doing what she swore she wouldn’t. Teaching a beginner to surf. Getting back on the water. Opening herself up.
Her stomach rolled and she rubbed sweaty palms over her shorts. Rowan reminded herself it was a temporary thing. Nothing long-term. Nothing that would upset her quiet little life.
Three p.m.
She better get prepped.
Rowan stared at the board and her insides began to shake. Pieces of memory hit her like shrapnel, making her vision blur. Once, the board was her second home. It was hard being out of the water, like a part of herself wasn’t really alive, but since the accident she hadn’t touched one.
Not unless Tino made her. Oh, she knew he pretended to need her help with sanding and shaping. He lied about his fingers getting arthritic, but God, the moment she smoothed her palm over the surface and traced the edges, Rowan almost recognized her old self.
Until she thought about paddling out and taking on that wave one more time. The fierce longing also reminded her of all the ways she’d gotten hurt, failed, and been betrayed.
Her knee screamed with phantom pain, though the surgery and PT were behind her.
She’d been told it was safe to try again.
She’d been told there were no guarantees.
She’d been told her championship days were almost certainly over, but surfers before her had pushed past all barriers to once again compete. She’d been told it was all up to her.
Little good that did.
“I just have to teach,” she said aloud. Bagel hopped over at the sound of her voice, sensing distress. Ears twitching, he sat his furry butt on her bare feet and dug in.
The grounding helped.
Rowan smiled and cleared her mind. No need to dredge up bad memories. She’d keep the lesson short and allow Kelsey to enjoy herself. Her goal was to wipe out the first bad experience and give the girl some of her confidence back.
“Bagel, back in the cage for a while. It’s another scorcher. I’ll get you ice.”
He didn’t move. Underneath six pounds of stubborn rabbit, her feet began to sweat.
With a sigh, she scooped him up, grabbed the chopped ice and shredded lettuce, then made her way to the beach. Kelsey met her at the shore, practically beaming with excitement. “Hi! I’m ready. So excited to try this again.”
Rowan nodded with approval at her simple bikini and absence of body decor. Not that she didn’t adore a good piece of jewelry, but she sensed it was important for Kelsey to reconnect with who she really was—not what everyone told her. “Great. Go grab your board. It’s the red one by the door.”
If Kelsey was surprised to be carrying her own equipment, Rowan couldn’t tell.
The girl bounded away. Rowan shaded her eyes with her hand and studied her as she dragged the oversize board across the sand.
It looked ridiculous next to her—like a kid hauling around a dining room table—but the girl’s determination was written all over her scrunched-up face.
“Tell me again about your first lesson,” Rowan said.
Kelsey groaned and dropped the board onto the sand. “The guy barked like twenty instructions at once, then yelled when I fell. I couldn’t keep up. He kept trying to show me the pop-up and I kept failing and I just . . .” She shrugged. “I felt stupid.”
That tug again—sharp and familiar in Rowan’s chest. Lord, thirteen was rough.
The self-consciousness was the worst. Her dad had never tried to play the mom role, so she’d learned early to bring her battles outside, speak her truth with kindness, and let the ocean help with forgiveness.
But Kelsey had a father who missed dinners and believed money was the true teacher.
Maybe for a little bit, she could show Kelsey something different.
“You’re not stupid,” Rowan said simply. “Surfing just needs the right teacher.” She dropped the leash end of the board toward Kelsey. “C’mon. Let’s start from the top.”
Rowan crouched in the sand beside the board. “First, this is your leash. It always goes on your back foot—so if you ride regular, it goes on your right ankle. If you’re goofy, it goes on your left. You know which one you are?”
Kelsey blinked. “Um . . . I put my left foot forward that time I tried to skate?”
“Then you’re regular,” Rowan said with a small grin. “Right ankle.” Rowan clipped the leash around the girl’s slim ankle. “Good. That’s the easy part.”
She motioned for Kelsey to lie flat on the board. “Now, paddling. Pretend you’re swimming freestyle. Arms straight, pull through the water—not slapping at it. Chin up, chest off the board. Weight centered. Otherwise you’ll nose-dive.”
Kelsey tried, elbows flailing. Rowan chuckled and adjusted her shoulders. “Relax. It’s not a fight. Think smooth, like slicing water. Good. Now the pop-up. That’s where most people panic.”
Kelsey pushed up on her arms and scrambled awkwardly.
“Stop.” Rowan crouched beside her, her voice softer now. “Hands right under your ribs. Push up into a cobra stretch like in yoga. Then swing your front foot through and land low. Knees bent. Arms out. Eyes up.”
“Not down?”
“Down is where you go if you look there. Always look where you want to go.”
Rowan demonstrated, her body remembering the move like muscle memory carved into her bones. The ache in her knee hummed, but she ignored it. “Try again.”
She tried twice. The third time, Kelsey popped to her feet in a crouch, wobbling but balanced.
Rowan grinned. “There it is.”
Kelsey flushed, pride sparking through her nerves. “Really?”
“Really. That’s a surfer’s stance. All you need now is a wave. I’ll show you a few more moves and we’ll practice till you’re comfortable.”
Rowan took her through the beginning maneuvers, focused on making sure Kelsey began to relax with the board and within her body. She knew exactly when the girl stopped thinking and began moving instinctually.
Huh. She’d imagined it would’ve taken much longer, but Kelsey was exceeding expectations.
“Wanna take this to the water? We won’t go far.”
“Yep, I’m ready!”
They carried the board to the shoreline.
Rowan led her into the shallows, keeping them in the white water.
“We’re not going to the lineup yet. These mushy waves are perfect for practice.
” She steadied the board while Kelsey climbed on.
“When I push you, paddle three times hard. When you feel the wave catch you, pop up like we practiced. Don’t think. Just do.”
Kelsey nodded, wide-eyed.
A gentle wave rolled in. Rowan shoved the tail of the board forward. “Paddle, paddle, paddle—now up!”
Kelsey wobbled, knees bent, arms flapping, but for three glorious seconds she stood before tumbling sideways with a splash. She emerged sputtering, hair plastered to her cheeks.
Rowan clapped. “Perfect fall. Welcome to the club.”
Kelsey’s laughter burst out, bright and unguarded. She pushed her wet hair from her face. “Can we do it again?”
Rowan’s chest tightened. God, she’d forgotten the way it felt—the sting of salt air, the rush of catching a wave, the wild joy. For a moment, she almost believed she was back out there herself, whole again.
“Yeah. We’ll do it again. We’ll do it as many times as it takes.”
They did.
And Rowan realized Kelsey not only had natural talent, but she embraced the water rather than fought it. She listened and knew how to tweak for form. Even worse? She wouldn’t stop smiling.
It was the same thing her dad had said when he first took her out on a board—like she’d finally found pure joy.
It would’ve been so much easier if the girl had bitched or complained.
If she’d giggled too much or feared the rough falls, Rowan would feel good about walking away.
She’d thought one lesson would close not only the chapter between them, but the book.
Because Kelsey wasn’t one of them. She didn’t truly belong.
But here?
She did. She’d claimed her spot. She was an equal.
The whole thing was a disaster—because now Rowan had to decide what to do.
No way could she continue this. It opened up too many raw parts of herself she didn’t want to face.
She wanted to stay out of the water and out of any type of relationship complications.
So there was only one thing to do. She made peace with her decision and began mentally rehearsing how she’d let Kelsey down.
Until Everett Hale came marching over the sand in his perfectly pressed suit, and Rowan found herself making a very different decision.