by Krista Lakes
“We're good, actually. I've done this since I was a kid and I was here yesterday to practice,” I told him. He checked a list and smiled. I had actually stopped by the day before to find out how a jet-ski could be environmentally friendly. The ones at the resort were a brand new type of watercraft that used an electric engine. They looked a little different and so I had to try it out. The smooth ride and quiet of the engine had been fantastic and a big part of how I had been able to convince over-protective Maddy to let me take Tyler.
“Of course, ma'am. Be careful out there today. The wind is picking up and making waves. If it continues, we'll send a signal out to come back in. Safety is very important here.” The man smiled again and nodded to the waiting jet-skis. “Yours is number four.”
I nodded and thanked him before going back to Tyler. Logan was on his knees rubbing the tummy of the very happy dog. Tyler was giggling as the dog wiggled and made happy dog noises.
“Let's get your jacket on and get going, Tyler,” I said, trying my best to ignore Logan. I had managed to mostly avoid Logan Hayes for almost two years despite working in the same city. I could do it on an island. Tyler stood up quickly and took the life jacket from my hands. I helped him tighten the straps and situate it properly across his bony shoulders.
“So, are you riding with Olivia or driving yourself, Tyler?” Logan asked, apparently not done with talking to Tyler. The dog had rolled back onto its stomach and Logan was scratching his ears.
“I'm not old enough to drive myself yet,” Tyler answered with a shrug. I tightened down another strap.
“You'll have fun with her driving, though,” Logan mused, his eyes on the dog. “Where are you two headed?”
“None of your business,” I said quietly. I hated the way my body was warming at the sight of his muscled arms. Apparently, my body hadn't gotten the memo that we wanted nothing to do with him, because my insides were wanting the something he had given me before.
“The reef over there,” Tyler answered at the same time, pointing to a spot a little ways out.
“I've heard there's some good snorkeling there,” Logan responded, pretending to not hear my comment. “You have your gear, right?”
“Yup. Aunt Liv even got me better goggles, just for this trip.” Tyler pointed to a mesh bag at his feet with his snorkel gear in it. I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed him gently toward the dock.
“Time for us to get going,” I told him.
“See you later, Logan!” Tyler waved to the taller man. “Bye, Dog. I'll see you when I get back.”
He scratched the ears of the mongrel dog one last time before grabbing his bag and bounding down the dock to our waiting jet-ski
“Have fun,” Logan told me, rising gracefully to his feet. Sand stuck to his knees and the hem of his board shorts. It wasn't fair how good those shorts made him look. Why did the man have to be such an ass? I ignored him and hurried after Tyler. I was not going to let the presence of Logan Hayes ruin my vacation. If I just pretended he wasn't there, perhaps he would leave and make it a reality.
Tyler was already on the jet-ski with a grin that threatened to split his face in half. He had been looking forward to going out on the ocean on one of these new jet-skis since he had seen them in the brochure. I stepped off the dock and onto the jet-ski in front of him. Tyler wrapped his skinny arms around my waist and squeezed. I looked back, surprised at the hug.
“You ready?” I asked. He nodded, relaxing his grip slightly and grinning with excitement.
I revved the engine and took off. He shrieked with delight from behind me as I moved us out into the open water. He whooped as I sped up and bounced us between the waves. I spun us in circles and pushed the jet-ski through its paces. I had spent most of my summers growing up on jet-skis, so I was comfortable even with the new engine.
“Go faster!” Tyler cried out as we bounced over a wave. The wind was making the waves slightly rough, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I hit the gas and sent us hurtling forward. Tyler gripped me tighter and I could feel his laughter rather than hear it.
When Tyler's shrieks of delight started slowing down in frequency, I brought the jet-ski to the edge of the reef. We had been instructed on how to enjoy the reef and still preserve it upon arrival to the resort, so I made sure to keep the jet-ski clear of the delicate coral.
“You ready to snorkel?” I asked, turning off the engine. “There's some cool-looking fish down there.”
I pointed down into the clear blue water. A long, thin fish flitted under us and into the safety of the reef.
“Yup,” Tyler said, putting his mask over his head. He looked even goofier as the back strap ruffled up his light brown hair like an exotic bird crest. “Are you coming in?”
I shook my head. “Nah, I think I'm going to stay up here and enjoy the sun a little more. If you see a really interesting fish, though, I'll come look.”
“Okay.” He grinned and jumped into the water. His orange life jacket bobbed in the waves as it kept him afloat in the clear, blue water.
I took off my own life jacket and hung it from one of the handlebars on the jet-ski. The sun felt so good on my skin. I hated winters in Chicago, and while November didn't technically qualify as winter, it was still too cold and dreary for my taste. Sunshine was so much better.
I leaned back, basking in the rays and listening to the waves. They gently bounced the jet-ski up and down. I could see clouds forming on the horizon. In the distance, there were large whitecaps, but right next to the reef it was relatively quiet. I could hear the soft splashes emitted by Tyler as he swum around looking at fish and the hum of another electric jet-ski. Logan wasn't far from us, bouncing off the water and doing tricks on his own jet-ski. He hit a wave and shot up into the air, the jet-ski rolling in a controlled spin before hitting the water with an easy splash. Showoff, I thought, adjusting my sunglasses. I pointedly turned and looked back at Tyler. I did not need to give Logan Hayes an audience.
“Aunt Liv!” Tyler called out, his head popping up from the water. He was on the far side of the small reef. “There's a moray eel over here! You have to come see it!”
“On my way!” I shouted back, starting the engine. I would have to circle around the edge of the reef to get to him since I didn't want to go over it and risk damaging the delicate ecosystem. The jet-ski purred to life and I started the quick jaunt into deeper waters to reach him.
The waves were rougher outside the calm of the reef, but I had been on a jet-ski enough times to know how to ride it. I was almost to Tyler when a rogue wave came out of nowhere and slammed into the jet-ski.
I wasn't ready for it. I felt my body lift from the seat, and suddenly become alarmingly weightless. The last thought through my head before I hit the water was that I had forgotten to put my life jacket back on. Maddy was going to kill me.
Chapter 5
The world was a beautiful shade of blue, like a robin's egg, but with swirls of white that made me think of cotton candy. I heard Tyler's voice, full of panic and fear, but it was very far away. Pain rushed through me, but it was as if I had never experienced it before and wasn't sure what pain was. My thoughts were dull and foreign as I slowly came back to myself.
“Olivia, can you hear me?” A deep, masculine voice asked. I knew that voice. I loved that voice. No, I hated that voice. That voice belonged to Logan Hayes.
I quickly righted myself so I was no longer looking up at the sky to find myself bobbing in the ocean. Logan had been holding my shoulders to keep me floating above the waves since I didn't have my life jacket on and had been out cold. As I sat up, he released me and I had to remember to tread water to keep my head from going under again. There was a splash as Tyler tossed me my life jacket and I clung to it so I wouldn't have to swim. My head was pounding.
“Of course I can hear you,” I answered. I meant to sound cross, but my tongue was sluggish so I just sounded sleepy. “What happened?”
“You hit a wave and flipped,” Tyler answered. He was
sitting up on our jet-ski, his freckles dark against pale skin. He looked like he might be sick. “It knocked you out.”
That would definitely explain the headache. Tyler shifted in his seat, eyes as big as saucers. Maddy would never forgive me when she found out about this. “Are you okay, Tyler?”
“Yeah, I'm fine,” he said with a small nod. “Are you okay?”
I did my best to smile up at him, but my whole head was pounding. “I'll be all right. My head just hurts.”
“You are pretty damn lucky,” Logan admonished. I had almost forgotten that he was there. His jet ski floated peacefully in the water behind him. “Tyler got to you and flipped you onto your back so you wouldn’t drown. You're lucky he's a good swimmer and has a good head on his shoulders.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked Logan, turning to face him. His blonde curls were plastered to his head from swimming in the water. He looked pissed.
“Tyler was screaming for help. You're lucky to be alive. Why the hell weren't you wearing your life jacket?” Logan glared at me like I had been an idiot. To be fair, I was, but I wasn't about to let him know that I agreed with him.
“I wasn't going that fast. It's not like this was my first time on a jet-ski.” I wished I could cross my arms, but that would mean letting go of the life jacket. Logan's frown deepened as his eyes went to my cheek.
Water was dripping from my hair down my face, so I wiped my hand across my cheek to stop the tickling sensation…only it wasn't water. Blood was trickling down my cheek from a cut in my scalp. It wasn't much, but I suddenly had a very strong desire to get out of the water.
“We need to get you back to shore,” Logan said with an air of authority. I hated that I immediately wanted to do what he said. “You need to have someone look at your head. You probably have a concussion.”
“Thank you, Dr. Hayes,” I said as sarcastically as possible. Logan didn't even bat an eyelash. I kicked my feet, propelling myself toward Tyler and the jet-ski.
“Where do you think you're going?” Logan asked, grabbing the life jacket and halting me easily in place.
“To get on my jet-ski and go get my head looked at,” I said as calmly as possible. “Are you sure that you're not the one with a head injury?”
“You are not driving. Tyler will take that jet-ski back by himself. You are riding with me.”
“Like hell I am!” I pulled at the life jacket to free it from his hands, but his grasp didn't budge an inch. He didn't even sway in the water.
Logan looked at me as though I might be clinically insane. “You're head is bleeding and you were out for a good couple of minutes. You need someone else to drive.”
“I'll ride with Tyler. He can do it,” I said stubbornly. The last thing I wanted was to be so close to Logan.
“No,” Logan explained patiently, still holding onto my life jacket. “Tyler will be able to handle the jet-ski on his own, but you won't be doing him any favors being off balance. You're riding with me.”
“It'll be okay, Aunt Liv. I'll be right behind you. Logan's good on a jet-ski. I saw him. You'll be fine.” I looked up at Tyler. He was so pale against the orange of his life jacket that I thought he might pass out at any moment, but he stayed sitting and did his best to smile encouragingly at me. Bless that kid's heart, he was trying to comfort me. He thought I was scared of Logan's jet-ski abilities and of falling again. If that were my only problem with Logan, life would be easy.
“Fine.” I glared at Logan. He kicked his legs and effortlessly pulled me and my life jacket over to his jet-ski. He helped me get up and into position, handing me up the life jacket. I quickly put it on and waited for him to get up. A drop of blood spilled down my cheek and onto the bright orange fabric. I wondered if the resort was going to charge me to clean it.
Logan looked back to make sure I was ready and frowned. He bit the sleeve of his shirt and started to tear. With a sharp tug and a ripping sound, he removed the sleeve and handed it to me. “Here,” he said. I stared at him for a moment until he added, “for your head.”
“Thanks,” I said grudgingly, pressing the dark fabric against the cut. He nodded and looked over at Tyler, who flashed him a weak grin and gave the thumbs-up signifying he was ready to go. Logan waited until Tyler was moving, and then carefully followed behind him.
I wrapped my arms around Logan's waist so I wouldn’t be jostled off by the waves. Even through his life jacket, he was incredibly solid and warm beneath my palms. If he wasn't such a jerk, I would have enjoyed being this close to such a nice specimen of masculinity. My body was responding a little too nicely to being pressed up against him, and I had to stop myself from snuggling up further. He's an ass, I reminded myself as my heartbeat started to race. A muscled, handsome ass who is going to use this to his advantage. I just knew once we got to shore that he would take all the glory for rescuing me.
Chapter 6
Logan carefully followed Tyler to the dock where the attendant quickly took our keys and called the resort infirmary and told them to be expecting us. Logan lifted me from the seat to the dock, where my knees threatened to buckle as soon as I landed. He had his arm around me before I even had a chance to sag. I didn't want to, but I held onto his muscled arm. Just for balance, I told myself, not because it's so nice to hold on to.
Tyler came to my other side and wrapped my other arm over his shoulder. He was still too short for the action to work as intended, but it was such a sweet gesture, I didn't say anything. He puffed out his chest and helped carry me to the employee golf cart, even though it was Logan who was doing most of the work.
Together, the two of them got me settled as the jet-ski attendant hopped in the driver's seat and sped us all to the infirmary. It was only a short drive, but Tyler held onto me like I might go flying out of the cart at any moment. When we stopped, he made sure to help me inside as much as his small frame would allow. The nurse was waiting for us and quickly shuffled me off into an exam room as soon as we walked through the door.
“You two stay out here. I'll stay with her until the doctor comes in,” she told a very worried-looking Tyler. “She'll be just fine. The room's too small for all of you to fit.”
The exam room looked like every other doctor's office I had ever been to, only slightly smaller and decorated with stenciled seashells on the wall. The resort had a full-time doctor on staff as part of the resort package. I hadn't intended to use this service, but I was glad it was here.
The nurse took the now-soaked shirtsleeve and handed me some clean, white gauze to hold against the cut on my head as I sat down on the exam table. Now that some of the adrenaline was wearing off, the cut was starting to ache and throb, but at least I didn't appear to be bleeding anymore.
“Hello there,” said a warm, baritone voice as the door opened. A tall, older gentleman with graying blonde hair walked into the room. He wore a resort polo but had on dark blue board shorts. He looked like he would be equally comfortable in a clinical setting or out surfing the waves. “I'm Dr. James.”
“Olivia,” I introduced myself. The nurse stepped out and closed the door behind her as the doctor shook my hand.
“The men outside say you fell off your jet-ski, hit your head, and were unconscious for at least two minutes.” He leaned against the small counter, his eyes assessing my injuries and cataloging everything.
“That's what they tell me. I don't remember much.” I did my best to smile, but my head was now pounding. I really just wanted to lay down and take a nap.
“How are you feeling?” Dr. James asked, turning to wash his hands in the sink.
“Stupid.”
Dr. James chuckled as he reached for the paper towels. “Anything else? Any nausea, balance issues? Seeing spots?”
“I have a pretty terrible headache. When I first got out of the water, I was a little dizzy, but I feel better now.” I sighed and looked up at him. “Other than the stupid and headache part.”
“Good.” Dr. James pulled out a penlight an
d shined it in my eyes. “Tell me your full name, age, and birthday.”
“Olivia Michelle Statler. I'm twenty-seven and my birthday is October twenty-fifth.” I blinked as he moved the light away. He proceeded to hit my knees with the strange triangle hammer from my childhood. Both knees popped up just as expected.
“Excellent. What is the current month? Date if you know it, but I know it's hard to keep track on vacation.” Dr. James smiled as he put his hands on my neck and shoulders and checked for any injuries. Out of habit, I started to raise my wrist to check my watch for the date, but he caught my arm before I could see it.
“November. It's two weeks until Thanksgiving and a Tuesday, but that's all I got,” I said with a rueful grin at my watch.
He released my arm and smiled. “You got me beat. I forgot Thanksgiving was coming up. Do you know where you are right now?”
“Island Oasis Resort, in the medical center.” I knew these silly questions were just meant to check on my mental status, so I didn't mind answering the obvious. The idea that people often forgot this stuff after a head injury was rather sobering.
“Excellent. Follow my finger with your eyes and tell me what the last thing you remember is,” the doctor said, holding one finger up and moving it from side to side.
“Turning on the engine to go see something Tyler was excited about. Then thinking, 'Oh crap!' as the wave hit. Then I was suddenly staring up at the sky.”
There was a hole in my memory between the wave and the sky. I knew time had passed, but I couldn't remember even hitting the water. It was a little creepy to know I had been awake but had lost that memory.
“That's pretty normal in situations like these,” Dr. James commented. He put on some gloves and reached for the cut on my head. I uncovered my injury and relaxed my arm as he took the gauze away and inspected the wound. “So, you're here as one of the travel agency promos, right?”
I started to nod, but my head was caught firmly in his hands. “Yeah.”