Sierra nodded. She felt a bubble of tears rise to her throat. Her feelings rose right to the surface every time she thought about returning to Brazil. She loved living there and knew that the new position as a teacher was where she was needed. It was just harder than she thought it would be to visit the US and glimpse what life would be like if she stayed there.
When Jordan finished eating, he rinsed his plate, put away the syrup, and worked alongside Sierra tidying up the small kitchen. Outside the wind continued to roar, rattling the windows and howling through the crack under the front door.
“What about you?” Sierra asked. “You said you’re here on assignment. How did you get this job?”
Jordan went over to the couch by the front window and sat down as he talked. Sierra wasn’t sure if she should sit next to him or sit in the chair on the side. The couch looked much more comfortable than the wicker chair so she sat on the other end of the couch and listened to his story about the photo he had taken of his friend Derek and how it was slotted for the February issue of Surf Days Magazine.
“Would you like to see the picture? It’s right here.” He stood and brought his laptop to her.
Sierra noticed that the photo of her on the beach was no longer the screen saver. It had been changed to a picture of his friend, and the shot was amazing.
“Wow, the water looks translucent, and your friend is right at the peak of the wave. This is the picture that’s going to be on the cover?” Sierra asked.
“Yes. Hopefully. I mean, it’s scheduled, and they paid for it, but things can change. Things change a lot, don’t they?”
“Yes, they do.” At first Sierra took the comment to mean changes in the variety of ways she had served the ministry in Brazil. But then she looked at Jordan and sensed that something was weighing on him when he made the comment. Perhaps he was in the midst of changes as well.
A strong gust of wind caused the palm tree at the side of the house to bend so that the soaked palm fronds slapped against the window.
“It’s still howling out there,” Sierra said.
Jordan put the laptop on the coffee table and stretched his arm across the back of the couch as they watched the effects of the wind and rain.
“I’m so glad this storm didn’t arrive yesterday,” Sierra said. “Can you imagine if it had been like this at Paul and Kinsey’s wedding?”
“I hadn’t thought of that. It was perfect weather for them, wasn’t it?” Jordan turned toward Sierra. “I have to show you a photo I caught of them at sunset.”
He opened a file on his laptop and clicked through to the picture of the whale breaching in the background as Paul and Kinsey kissed on the sand.
“That’s amazing!” Sierra leaned closer to take a better look. “I can’t believe you caught the picture at just the right moment. They are going to love this. That could be another cover shot for a magazine.”
“It’s not crisp enough for that. But as a wedding photo, it’s got to be one of their best.”
“I wonder if it’s the same whale we saw when we were swimming yesterday morning.”
“Could be. Here’s another shot I really liked.” He flipped to the one of Kinsey at the outdoor shower with the curious boy.
“Oh, that’s perfect. Jordan, these are so good. Can you show me the rest of the photos? You don’t have a privacy agreement or something, do you?”
“No. Of course I can show you. Are you sure you want to see all of them? There’s more than you might imagine.”
Sierra grinned. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Jordan grinned back. “Then we might as well start at the beginning with the rehearsal dinner.”
“Good. I missed that.”
“I know.” Jordan looked at her out of the corner of his eye as if he hadn’t meant to say that.
Sierra didn’t reply. She felt her heart beat a little faster. Maybe he had noticed her earlier and had taken the photo of her on the beach on purpose. She wasn’t sure what to think about that.
Jordan moved closer on the couch so they could both look at the laptop screen more easily. Sierra leaned in as he pulled up the file of pictures he had taken of the ocean and the landscape when he first arrived at the hotel.
She watched his hands as he tapped the keyboard, and she remembered how it felt when they shook hands earlier. Jordan’s hands were strong, his handshake decisive. Her thoughts easily flitted to how it had felt when he had grabbed her on the landing and pulled her in out of the storm. At the moment she was too startled to think about what was happening, but now that she’d had time to reflect, the memory of the unexpected sensation of Jordan’s arms wrapped around her warmed her from the inside. She felt herself blushing as she remembered the way he had sheltered her and pulled her in from the landing.
In barely a minute Sierra composed an entirely new scenario in her thoughts of what the next season of her life could be. She could move to Santa Barbara and find a job at a restaurant. Her parents had a friend who owned an Italian restaurant there. Surely he would be willing to hire her. She could be near Jordan, and they could take their time getting to know each other to see if there really was something that God was trying to tell them, as Jordan had said.
As quickly as that lovely dream floated into her thoughts, Sierra blew it away. She barely knew Jordan. She had a position waiting for her in Brazil. Santa Barbara wasn’t where she belonged. She needed to pull her priorities back in line.
“That’s pretty,” Sierra said, commenting on a nice shot of the beach with the white lounge chairs lined up and the blue beach umbrellas providing bright polka dots of shade.
Jordan adjusted his position so that the laptop was balanced on his crossed leg. When he moved, their shoulders touched. Sierra felt herself warm again at his closeness. She sat still, unaware of what photo was showing on the laptop at the moment. She knew that what happened next could change oh so much. She waited to see what he would do.
Jordan didn’t move away.
And neither did Sierra.
Chapter Nineteen
The closeness of Sierra—her voice, the fragrance of her skin, her perceptive comments about his photos—had a mesmerizing effect on Jordan. When he had leaned in while he showed her the photos from the wedding, she had responded just right. She stayed close, as if she were at ease with him. Jordan felt at ease with her too.
When he clicked on a photo that was composed well, she commented with an insightful and artistic eye. She praised his work, but she didn’t gush. He liked that too. Several of her comments were helpful on which photos she thought Kinsey would like the most. Sierra pointed out two shots that Jordan would have disregarded. She said she liked them because of the expression on Paul’s face, and that would be more important to Kinsey than a slightly blurry background.
When Sierra made a comment defending Paul’s Scottish heritage, Jordan ventured to ask how well she knew the groom. Jordan still hadn’t sorted out what it had meant when he watched the two of them meet with such a mixture of hesitancy and familiarity at the hotel espresso bar.
“I take it you know a lot about Paul, or at least you’ve known him a long time.”
Sierra paused before answering with a single word. “Yes.”
“I didn’t mean for that to come across as invasive.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s an odd relationship.” Sierra pulled her long hair over her shoulder and held it in a bunch with both hands before she lowered her voice and said, “I guess you could say I had a thing for Paul in high school.”
“A thing?” Jordan paused the slide show and put the laptop on the coffee table. He wanted to convey to Sierra that she had his attention. “Did the two of you date during the same time his brother was going out with your sister?”
“No, it wasn’t like that. I met Paul at the London Heathrow Airport. He borrowed some money from me. We ended up sitting beside each other on the flight back to Portland. He was going through a lot at the time. He had just been to his grandfath
er’s funeral. We started to write letters to each other. No e-mails. Handwritten letters.” Sierra turned away. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”
Jordan was even more intrigued. He picked up on the Portland comment, thinking it would give her an out if she didn’t want to say anything else about Paul. “So you lived in Portland?”
“Yes. My family moved there from a small town in Northern California. We moved into a big, old Victorian house where my grandmother lived. That’s another whole story.”
Jordan stood and, as he headed for the refrigerator, said with a grin, “I have time. As you said a little while ago, we’re obviously not going anywhere soon.” He opened the refrigerator door. “Would you like something to drink? More orange juice?”
Sierra joined him in the kitchen. “I think I’ll make some hot tea. I saw some in one of these cupboards.” She reached behind Jordan and pulled out an opened box of mango mint tropical tea.
She lifted the lid, and as Jordan watched, a huge cockroach scampered out of the box and got as far as Sierra’s wrist before she shook it off onto the floor and let out a muffled squeal.
Jordan quickly reached for the frying pan that was drying on the counter and managed to smash the two-inch-long intruder.
He looked at Sierra, amazed that he had been fast enough to kill it.
She gave a shiver and scrunched up her nose. “That was impressive.”
“You mean the size of the cockroach?”
“No, your speedy reaction.”
“I was impressed that you didn’t freak out.”
“I’ve seen worse.”
“In Brazil?”
Sierra nodded. “Comes with the tropics. Love the weather. Not quite as crazy about the bugs.”
Jordan cleaned up the flattened pest with a paper towel. Sierra handed him the box of tea. “Here. This can be his final resting place.” Jordan carted off the box and bug to the trash while Sierra washed the bottom of the frying pan.
“So, what do you think?” Jordan asked. “Orange juice?”
“Sounds great.”
The wind rattled the window in the bedroom, and Sierra said, “I hope Mariana is all right. She said she was going to spend time with friends who were staying at a place called Turtle Bay. I hope she’s there and not stuck somewhere on the road.”
“Why don’t you call her?”
“I don’t have a cell phone.”
Jordan wasn’t sure he heard her correctly. “Is it still in the car?”
“No. I don’t own a cell phone.”
Jordan tried to mask his surprise. He didn’t know anyone who didn’t own a cell phone.
“When I said earlier that my lifestyle in Brazil was pretty minimal, well, that means no extra money for a cell phone.”
“You can use mine.”
It took the two of them several minutes to figure out how to dial the country code and get the number to go through. When it rang, Jordan handed the phone to Sierra. He could tell by the way she was talking that she was leaving a message.
“Not answering, huh?”
“No. But if anyone can fend for herself, it’s Mariana.” Sierra returned to the couch and tucked her feet underneath her as she sipped the orange juice.
“Do you want anything else to eat?”
“No thanks.”
Jordan opened the refrigerator, not sure what he was looking for and not even sure he was hungry.
“I take it the French toast didn’t fill you up.”
“No. I mean, yes. It did fill me up. It was good, too, by the way. I’m just checking to see what’s in here.”
“You sound like my brothers.”
Closing the refrigerator and ignoring his urge to nervously nibble on something, Jordan returned to the couch. “How many brothers do you have?”
Sierra pulled back her hair from over her shoulders and wrapped it in a circle at the base of her neck. “Four. Two older, two younger. I only have one sister, Tawni, whom you saw at the wedding. She and I are in the middle. What about you? Any brothers or sisters?”
“Two brothers. I’m in the middle.”
“I love being in the middle, don’t you?”
“For a long time I wished I was the oldest, but I think you’re right. Being in the middle is good.”
“What about your parents?” Sierra asked. “Are they still together?”
For the next hour and a half they talked nonstop on a variety of topics. Twice Sierra told him how fantastic it was to talk to someone in English and to relate immediately on subjects that would only mean something to someone who grew up in the US. They went through preferences on music and movies and even landed on their favorite chapters in the Bible. This wasn’t like any conversation Jordan had experienced with any other girl. Ever.
Earlier, when Sierra was making the French toast, she had taken off the hooded sweatshirt. She had on a white, short-sleeved shirt with dark blue embroidery around the top. Jordan liked the way it looked on her. More than that, he liked her look. She reminded him of a beachy sort of flower child. He had seen old photos of his mom when she wore the same sort of gauzy shirts with cutoff blue jeans, and secretly he had thought he had the coolest mom.
Sierra was asking Jordan about his new camera when his cell phone rang. “Could be your friend,” he said, looking at the screen. “No, it’s my friend. I need to take this.”
“Of course.”
Sierra headed for the kitchen while Jordan answered the phone. “Hey, Derek. How are you guys doing?”
“A lot better. I got your message earlier this morning. Thanks for checking in.”
“Of course. Are you guys still at the hospital?”
“No, we’re home now. Mindy’s on complete bed rest for a week. Then she’ll go back to the doctor, and we’ll see how it’s going.”
“So, that’s good news, right? The baby is doing all right?”
“For now, yes. That’s what it looks like.”
“Glad to hear that.” Jordan had been watching Sierra out of the corner of his eye. She was pulling out a box of microwave popcorn, apparently in response to his unproductive search for something else to eat. “What about you? What’s the plan for the competition?”
“We’re going to get through tonight here at home and see how everything goes before making a final decision in the morning. I can still be there by tomorrow afternoon, so we’ll see.”
“Do you want me to let you go? I can call you in the morning. Or you can call me.”
“Sure. I’ll call you in the morning. You sound like you’re in the middle of something. Did you take some shots today?”
“No. We’re in the middle of a huge storm. It’s not like anything I’ve ever seen before. We lost the stairs to the apartment.”
“What do you mean you lost them?”
“They broke off. We’re stuck here until the repair guy can come in the morning.”
“That’s crazy!”
“I know.”
“Wait. You said ‘we’re’ stuck. Who’s with you?”
Jordan paused. He realized that while it seemed natural to have Sierra with him, it was going to be hard to explain to Derek.
“Jordo, who’s there with you?”
Jordan quickly said, “A friend.”
There was a pause, and then Derek said, “Dude, you have a girl there with you, don’t you?”
“Yeah. Definitely.” Jordan was trying to play it cool. This was way too much fun, just giving Derek clipped answers and making him guess. He could hear Derek saying, “Mindy, he’s got a girl at his place. No, at Sunset Beach. Of course I’m sure. Hey, Mindy wants to know what her name is.”
Jordan tilted the phone down away from his mouth and cleverly said, “Hey, Sierra, I think you’ll find a big bowl for the popcorn in the cupboard next to the oven.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks,” she replied.
“Dude, I heard her! I heard a female voice coming from your apartment. Jordo! This is epic. You’re not just playi
ng with us, are you?”
“No, absolutely not.”
“Okay, then you have to call us as soon as she leaves.”
“Right. Like I said, I’ll call you in the morning.” Jordan loved ending the call with the sound of his friend railing in the background and Mindy’s voice saying, “What? What happened?”
As soon as Jordan hung up, Sierra pushed the button on the microwave. She turned toward him, seemingly oblivious to the conversation he had just had about her. “Do you want something to drink?” she asked.
Just then the microwave went out with a phist sound, and all the lights went out. The only light in the apartment was a nightlight plugged into the wall by the front door and the screens on Jordan’s cell phone and laptop.
“I hope I didn’t just do that,” Sierra said.
Jordan turned on a flashlight app on his cell phone and headed for the window in the bedroom. “I don’t think it was the microwave. I think all the power went.” He looked out the window. “The neighbor’s house has gone dark as well.”
“I found a flashlight,” Sierra called from the kitchen. “And some matches and candles.”
Jordan joined her in the kitchen. Together they lit three candles and placed one on the kitchen counter and the other two on the small coffee table in front of the couch. Sitting back down on opposite ends of the couch, they listened to the howling wind as it roused the palm tree and scraped its tousled fronds against the window.
Outside night had fallen. All was dark.
Chapter Twenty
Sierra folded her arms across her stomach at her end of the couch and tried to decide if she was more touched by the soft beauty of the candlelight or more freaked out by the moaning wind and the palm fronds scratching at the wall, as if they wanted to get in.
Just then Jordan’s cell phone rang, causing both of them to jump. He reached for it and held the phone close to the candlelight to see the screen.
“Looks like it’s your friend this time. I don’t recognize the number.”
Love Finds You in Sunset Beach, Hawaii Page 11