Chapter Thirteen #3
Rowan jerked. Her eyes burned but she ground her teeth and kept it together.
Leave it to Lea to offer a powerful left hook without apology.
Brie and Chelsea were standing with Kelsey at the shoreline now, talking.
Brie pointed and made a motion with her hand.
Kelsey nodded. Hero worship poured out of her, like Chelsea.
“Brie’s gonna get a head on her,” she said, trying to lighten the mood. “She’s got two minions now.”
Lea sighed and stretched out her tan legs. The tat wrapped around her ankle showed a surfboard with her parents’ initials. “Brie’s headstrong, arrogant, and mean. At least, to me. She feels she has so much to prove, and won’t listen to me.”
Rowan couldn’t help but chuckle. “Oh, and you were an angel at her age, huh? I remember some comps where your temper almost got you disqualified.”
Lea stuck up her middle finger.
She ignored the gesture. “I think Brie could be what Kelsey’s missing. Say anything you want, but your sister is fierce. She has morals, and she never lies. Not a lot of seventeen-year-olds come close to that maturity.”
“What about Kelsey? What do you think she’s looking for?”
She thought of Everett. It was easy to judge his chasing work as the solution to all, but he was a single father facing a hard transition.
Going from child to teen was a tricky period.
If she didn’t have a mom to help guide her, there was even more pressure.
Rowan might not have grown up with money, but she had known her dad would always be there.
It was the foundation that allowed her to test boundaries, grow, and be brave in the ocean.
She wished Everett would take a step back and gauge what type of relationship he really wanted with his daughter.
Before it was too late.
“To be seen. To belong. To have her father pay attention. All of the normal things.”
Lea nodded. “I get it. Can you get through to the suit?”
“I had dinner with him the other night.” Lea gasped, but Rowan shook her head. “No, with both of them. It was a thank-you since I’m not getting paid for lessons.”
“Why the hell not?”
“My choice. Her dad, Everett, likes to control things with money. I said no so I don’t have to listen to his rules.”
Lea cracked up. “That’s my girl! The suit probably desperately needs a woman to stand up to him. Do you like him? He’s definitely hot.”
A flash of Everett’s wicked smile and dark eyes glinting with purpose slammed through her.
The flirty way he’d been at the hike and all that sexual tension growing between them.
The way he’d run back to the office from Kelsey’s lesson, as if chasing his security and control.
He’d invited her to the luau but she doubted he’d follow through. Probably an impulse ask.
She had to stop thinking about kissing him. It was ridiculous. She disliked the man. Right? “Not worth the trouble,” Rowan said casually.
“But Kelsey is?”
A smile crossed her lips. “Yeah. She’s brave.”
“So were you.” Lea bumped her shoulder. “And you will be again. Not for me. For your dad. For you.”
Rowan didn’t answer. The sun dipped lower, turning the waves into molten gold. Kelsey came running up the beach, dripping, triumphant. “Did you see me? I stayed up for, like, five seconds!”
“You were beautiful,” Rowan said, meaning it.
Brie and Chelsea followed. “She did pretty good for a kook,” Brie said gruffly. Kelsey beamed. “Her balance is solid. I think she can start working on bottom turns.”
“You’re not her teacher, Brie,” Lea said with exasperation. “Rowan knows what she’s doing.”
“Whatevs. Just offering my opinion—take a chill pill.” With a scathing look, she motioned the other girls toward the cooler.
“See?” Lea groaned. “Maybe you don’t want them hanging together.”
Kelsey was chattering brightly and the girls were listening. For now, she had what she needed. The beginning of female bonding around something they all loved. It was much better than trying to fit in with the false gods of designer labels or followers on social media.
There was nothing false about nature.
Her mind slipped, unbidden, to Everett and their dinner. The memory of his laugh, the frustration in his eyes, the way he’d said You make me forget.
She looked back at the water. The tide was coming in, whispering against the sand like an invitation she couldn’t yet accept. Lea nudged her knee. “When you’re ready, I’ve got an extra leash in my bag.”
“I don’t even have a board.” She remembered the crush of water, holding her down, board splitting under the immense pressure. After, it had been easier not to custom-build a new one. The thought of looking at something she refused to use broke something inside.
“Then you get a new one. Tino needs a project to dig into.”
Rowan laughed softly. “You always were pushy.”
Lea’s smile was all faith. “You’ll thank me later. It’s time.”
Rowan didn’t answer. She just stared at the horizon, felt the wind press against her skin, and, for the first time in a long while, didn’t look away.