Dive Into You

by Chris Keniston

  “My brother doesn’t dictate my life.”

  “He’s my friend.”

  “I’d like to be too.”

  “Sweet cakes, you’re not talking about being friends.”

  “Sure I am. Friends with benefits.” Her chin jetted up. “People do it all the time.”

  “You’re not people. You’re Billy’s sister. His baby sister.”

  “I’m not a baby.”

  Her gaze hardened, and he knew he’d touched a nerve. But he was not about to become part of baby sister’s plan to prove to big brother she was all grown up. “No. You’re not.” That seemed to take the starch out of her back.

  “My brother is not my keeper. I get to choose my own friends.”

  He tore away his gaze from hers and spot-checked the kids. Heads together, they were working hard. He’d expected to see Tim engrossed in the work, but not Jennie as well. Maybe he’d underestimated the sassy blonde. Either way, they were too far away and too involved in their own problems to hear his conversation with Emily. Nonetheless he lowered his voice another notch. “Emily, I can’t be one of them. I’m sorry.”

  “And if Billy were okay with us being friends?”

  “I’m probably not going to even be here that long. This is just a temporary billet for me until I get my fill of playing with the sharks.”

  “And then what?”

  He shrugged. “Back to the skies maybe.”

  “The skies?”

  “I’ve been working as a skydiving instructor.”

  “Ooh. I’ve been thinking of that.” She shot up from the chair, trotted across the kitchen, pulled something out of a drawer and scampered back to her seat, slapping down a flyer in front of him. Kona Skydive.

  Shit. Why did he have to stumble onto King Kona’s sister in her spread-her-wings stage of life? Her eyes sparkled much the way a kid’s would while staring at the candy display in the base exchange. The excitement and joy was so contagious that he could feel the adrenaline pumping in his veins already. The next trifold to land on the table had his eyes popping open like silver dollars. “Firewalking?”

  She shrugged. “It sounds interesting.”

  “So does walking on the moon, but few people actually get to do it.” He leaned back in his seat. “Want to tell me what this is all about?”

  “There’s no deep, dark death wish if that’s what you’re asking me. It’s not like I want to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. All my life I’ve done what’s expected of me. Now that I’ve completed my education, got my master’s degree, there’s a small window of opportunity to enjoy life before responsibilities tie me down. I don’t want to look up one day from my morning coffee and realize I’ve never really lived my life.”

  Doug looked at the next flier. Bungee jumping. Maybe spreading her wings was a bit of an understatement. All of a sudden he felt very much like he’d been holding the short stick in a game of truth or dare. And he didn’t like it. There’d be no telling his truths and most definitely not accepting her dare. A repeat of last night with Emily was not an option.

  “Miss Everrett?” Jennie stood in the kitchen entryway, Tim on her heel. “We’re done. Thank you so much for letting us finish. I don’t know what I would have done without Tim’s help and your understanding.”

  Doug bit down on his back teeth to keep from laughing. The young lady had her damsel-in-distress routine down pat. Any minute now he expected her to go completely Scarlett O’Hara on him and pronounce tomorrow another day.

  “That’s what I’m here for.” Emily smiled. “But the next time you find yourself in a bind, come to me first. If I catch either of you breaking the law again, you’re going to have to face the consequences.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Tim’s glasses slid as his head bobbed, and he pushed them back up. Doug suspected the kid was so used to the gesture that he didn’t even realize he did it. What Doug couldn’t figure out was why someone so clearly tech savvy hadn’t figured out how to tighten the fit with a small screwdriver.

  The two kids shuffled their way to the front door, Emily in their wake. Doug already knew if he was going to do the right thing, he needed to get the heck out of here along with the teens. As he pushed to his feet, the brochure for skydiving caught his eye. The lady wanted to have a little fun. But not an ordinary person’s idea of fun. She had guts. Or she was completely insane. Either way she was his kind of girl. He might as well face facts—staying away from Emily Everrett was going to be damn hard.

  Chapter Eight

  “Isn’t this just darling?” Angela held up a little sailor onesie.

  Kara lifted a frilly pink baby dress with pastel-colored bows. “Oh, now this is precious.”

  Standing in the largest child and infant outlet on the island, Emily already knew her budget was going to be blown to hell once Nick and Kara’s baby was born. He’d been like a brother to her for so long that, to her, this baby was as much her niece or nephew as any child her siblings might someday have. “When will you find out if it’s a girl or a boy?”

  “Hopefully the next sonogram Baby Harper will be more cooperative.” Kara hung up the adorable little dress on the rack and moved over to the aisle with the baby strollers.

  “So all I’ll mark on the clothes’ part of the baby registry is yellow and green onesies.” Angela returned the sailor outfit to its place. “I’d suggest the sleeper gowns without feet. I used to hate changing diapers on crying babies and struggling to get their busy feet into the legs of the stretchy snap-up type. It was way easier to just pull down the fabric and tie it at the feet.”

  “And you know this how?” Emily asked.

  Angela flashed a cheesy grin before responding, “Best babysitter in town.”

  “No surprise coming from our own Suzy Homemaker.” Not glancing up, Kara kept her focus on the plethora of carriages and strollers.

  “Of course.” Looking heavenward and rolling her neck wide around, Emily shook her head. “How foolish of me.”

  “Okay. I’m about shopped out.” Kara looked over her shoulder to Angela. “Have we got anything left on that list to fill out?”

  “Just the stroller.”

  “I’ve narrowed down the options.” Kara ran her hand along the side of the compact tan umbrella-styled stroller. “I’ve got time to decide. For now my tummy is growling.”

  “Your tummy is always growling.” Angela handed the electronic scanner to Kara. “Here you go.”

  Kara turned in the information to the clerk in charge of the baby registry and led the way back to the parking lot. “Where to now?”

  Key fob in hand, Angela clicked to unlock her new family-friendly SUV. “Someplace where they won’t hurry us up to turn over the table. I want to hear all about Emily’s new guy.”

  Leaning away, out of Angela’s peripheral line of sight, Kara looked to Emily and shook her head letting Emily know she hadn’t said anything. Paralyzed in place, Emily might as well have been struck dumb. When she’d agreed to tag along after school for some baby shopping and a girl’s night out to dinner after bowing out of yesterday’s planned spree, she’d hoped Angela’s not having mentioning a new guy meant she’d forgotten all about their previous conversation. How stupid of Emily was that?

  “What?” Angela pinned Emily, then Kara, with her gaze. “Cat got your tongue?”

  “Of course not.” Emily made her best effort to look nonplussed. “There’s no new guy.”

  “That’s not what you said last night, and, besides, why else have you been smiling all afternoon?”

  Emily tried really hard to smother her smile, but the corners of her lips simply wouldn’t cooperate. Instead she hefted a shoulder in a lazy shrug. “It’s no big deal. I met a nice guy. At the wedding.”

  “And?” Angela waited for the last car door to close before turning the key and pulling out of parking space.

  “That’s it. Not much to tell. He had plans last night so I didn’t get to see him after all.” She shrugged again. “Nothing will
probably come of it.”

  Kara had on her litigator’s face, the one she used when she didn’t want the witness or the jury to know what she was thinking. Or her husband. “It would be fun to see you meet a nice guy, but, for now, I’m thinking Chinese food is in order.”

  “Spare ribs sound good,” Emily followed Kara’s lead.

  But Angela wasn’t biting. “Is there something you two know that I should know?”

  Kara’s eyes met Emily’s, and she knew there was no point in trying to hide everything from their friend. “It’s no big deal. I sort of hooked up with one of the guests after the wedding.”

  “Sort of?” Angela’s eyes widened. “Would that be the same as a little pregnant?”

  “No such thing as a little pregnant.” Kara patted her rounded tummy. “Trust me.”

  Angela’s hand fell to her stomach, and Emily’s chest tightened. She so hoped Angela and her brother would have a chance at the baby they so desperately wanted.

  “Will it help”—Angela pulled into the Wok and Roll parking lot—“if I promise what is said between us, stays between us?”

  Kara smiled that I-told-you-so know-it-all grin. But it still didn’t sit right with Emily to ask Angela to keep secrets from Billy. And Doug was one hell of a secret. All she could try would be to share some of the truth in hopes of appeasing Angela’s curiosity without spilling the beans that the new stranger in her life was not a stranger at all.

  “After you guys left, I got friendly with a gorgeous—and sexy as hell—stranger. And, as it turns out, a really nice guy.” Too bad he wasn’t a total asshole, then he wouldn’t mind ignoring the code among brothers and taking everything she had to offer. Just her luck. She’s ready to do a little living, and the only guy she’s got any interest in doing that living with has an honorable streak. There had to be a way to get Doug to let her into his world. And somehow she’d figure it out.

  * * *

  “Jonathan.” Billy Everrett came stomping up the hall. “Tell me again where you put the damn schedule for tomorrow?”

  “Same place Lexie puts it.”

  Like a snorting bull about to charge, Billy blew out a huff and stormed back to his office.

  “Five, four, three, two…” Doug counted off.

  “Jonathan,” Billy called from his office.

  The other dive instructor slid off the stool behind the register, and Doug put out his hand. “I’ll go.”

  Jonathan shot him a silent thank-you.

  “So what’s the plan?” Doug walked up to Billy’s desk, picked up a sheet of paper and handed it off to him. “For a guy who could form a new plan under pressure in a heartbeat, you are not taking Lexie moving to Honolulu well.”

  “She’ll be back whenever Jim is on a mission. Which you and I both know will be often.”

  “Yes, but she can’t manage this office from Honolulu. You know you need to hire a new manager.”

  “Asking for the job?” Leaning back, Billy threaded his hands behind his head.

  “Not on your life. I’m allergic to desks.”

  “Lexie still did dives.”

  “And paperwork. There’s a reason I blew things up for a living.”

  “Is that what you did stateside? Demolition?”

  “No.” Doug dropped into the nearest chair. “There comes a point when explosives lose their appeal. We reached it.”

  Billy nodded. In the end explosives had cost Billy a leg and Doug some of his vision. “That we did.”

  Knowing neither was going to say anything about the last mission that had them both leaving the navy, Doug went back to the original question. “If we can’t blow things up or dive, there’s only one more thing an EOD tech can do better than anyone else.”

  Billy’s jaw dropped slightly before snapping shut to form words. “You jumping out of planes, man?”

  “Couldn’t see myself tied to the nine to five. Brooklyn hooked me up with a buddy doing really well with a skydiving operation in Texas.”

  “Any good?”

  “Best drop zone in the southwest.”

  Billy didn’t hide his laughter. “I’m trying to picture you teaching a sixty-five-year-old retired banker how not to break his legs when he crosses skydiving off his bucket list.”

  Doug had to smile with him. He’d needed to replace the rush of the mission when he’d left the navy but hadn’t had a clue what he was in for when he got his instructor’s license. “We do a lot of tandems.”

  “Ah.” Billy bobbed his head. “Now I get it. Nothing like falling from the sky strapped to a beautiful babe.”

  “It’s not like that, and you know it.” There was no way he was going to tell his buddy about the weekend parties some of those babes came to once they’d gotten over the fear or especially the ones still flying on an adrenaline high. Nope. Not going there.

  “You know”—Billy opened and closed a couple desk drawers, lifted and dropped a few stacks of papers, then with a satisfied grin held out a business card—“I grew up with these guys. They’ve just started a skydiving business here. Dan was telling me that they’re turning folks away on weekends. If you want to take on a side job, I’m guessing he won’t turn you down.”

  “I’ll keep it in mind, but, for now, the mantas and I are getting along just fine.”

  “Excuse me,” a voice came from the door.

  “Maggie.” Billy stood to greet the breathtaking blonde standing in the doorway at the same time he scanned the schedule on his desk. “Does Adam have a lesson today?”

  “No. Annette and the kids are doing a Harry Potter marathon.”

  “Not a Harry Potter fan?” Doug pushed to his feet, smiling at the woman he’d been responsible for keeping safe not long ago.

  “Doug.” Maggie’s voice held equal hints of surprise and pleasure. “I didn’t know you were still in Kona.”

  “Not still. Back.” He waited for her to take a seat. “How are the kids doing?”

  “Very well now that their mother is recuperating here in Kona.”

  “Already?” Last he’d heard, Magnolia Maplewood’s employer, Annette Deluca, was in critical condition after a plane crash that had killed her husband. The last thing he’d expected to hear was that she’d improved enough to be let out of the hospital, never mind spend an afternoon alone with her teenage children.

  “I must admit”—Maggie’s smile widened—“it’s nice to see you under more pleasant circumstances.”

  “Ditto. So why aren’t you indulging in popcorn and Harry?”

  “I can do without the popcorn. And even though I enjoy the early movies in the series, once the stories grow darker, I bow out. Besides, in this case, I felt the children could use some quality alone time with their mother.”

  “Good idea,” Billy agreed. “So what brings you to us?”

  “A person can only do so much shopping, and corralling two teens doesn’t leave much time for making friends. I thought I’d stop by and see if anyone was free for dinner?”

  “I’m doing the night dive with Nick. I could call Angela, and see if she and the girls have eaten yet. They’re off baby shopping.”

  Maggie held up her hand. “That won’t be necessary. It was just a thought.”

  “What about you?” Billy turned to Doug.

  “As a matter of fact, if you can put up with a transplanted beach bum, I’d be honored if you’d join me.”

  “Normally I’d let a nice guy like you off the hook for a boring dinner with an old assignment. But the thought of getting home in time to have Dumbledore die is too distressing. You’re on.”

  “I may be the boring one,” Doug countered. Nothing about going to dinner with Magnolia Maplewood would be a chore. Even if she had often made it more difficult to keep her and the Deluca children safe, besides being easy on the eyes, the lady had a unique sense of humor that got everyone through the difficult situation. And after these tense last two days, a low-key meal was just what he needed. “Have a yen for anything in particul
ar?”

  “Actually, if you don’t mind, I’m in the mood for Chinese.”

  * * *

  “Good thing you’ve got an excuse to eat for two.” Marveling at how much food Kara could put away nowadays, Emily speared her last bite, leaving the rest to take home with her.

  “At this rate I’ll be as big as the Goodyear blimp by the time this baby is born.”

  “Nonsense.” Angela wiped her mouth and put the napkin back in her lap. “How many fat Chinese people do you see running around? Eat up.”

  All three friends laughed as Kara made a big show of stabbing another spring roll. “Don’t mind if I…”

  Sitting side by side, their backs to the door, Emily and Angela turned to see what had stolen Kara’s words. The Orange Chicken Emily had eaten so enthusiastically turned in her stomach.

  “Oh, it’s Doug,” Angela said. “And Magnolia,” she added too enthusiastically for Emily’s taste.

  She wished she hadn’t been so damn nosy. Quickly looking down at her plate, she hoped to hide her disappointment. Hadn’t her brother always warned her about navy men? Repeating the time-worn cliché about a woman in every port. Now she got it. And didn’t like the way it felt.

  Kara closed her mouth and set down the egg roll. “I think I’ve had enough.”

  “I’ll get the check.” Emily signaled the waitress, and Angela waved her off.

  “Not yet. They have a macadamia nut cheesecake to die for. I’m not going anywhere until I have some.”

  The statuesque blonde responsible for the Deluca children was walking in their direction with Doug at her side. And Angela was calling them over. “We’re just about to order dessert. Sit down and join us.”

  Kara blinked, and Emily sucked in a fortifying breath.

  Maggie smiled, and the words “Thank you” tumbled out at the same time Doug said, “We don’t want to disturb you.”

  Chair pulled out, Maggie was almost seated when she halted at Doug’s words. “Oh.”

  “You’re not disturbing anything.” Angela turned to her friends. “Right?”