“There’s an Asian restaurant menu under the phone, will that do?”
“Yep, I’m easy.”
“Hmm, don’t I know it.” She tossed a pillow at him, which he deftly caught and threw back on the bed.
“I might get lost on the way to the kitchen.” He held out his hand toward her. “Can you show me the way?”
She rolled her eyes at his antics. He’d been to her place enough times to know where her kitchen was. “As if you’d get lost, you had no problem finding my bedroom.”
He winked at her. “Yes, my radar was on point. But kitchens aren’t my strong suit. When it was my turn to cook on the boat, most of the guys would pass and just cook toast.”
Dawn leaned into his strength as they walked from her bedroom to the kitchen. “Guess I escaped a fate worse than death tonight?”
“No, I was planning to grill. I know how to cook a steak.” As they reached the kitchen, he reached past her and flicked the light switch. “Besides, I was going to get you to make the salad.”
“You’re hopeless,” she said as she walked over to where her phone was situated and extracted the takeaway menu from the drawer. She held it out towards him. “Here, you choose, but my favorite dish is Lemongrass Beef with steamed rice.”
“Right.”
While Andrew looked the menu over, Dawn went to the fridge to see if she had anything to offer him to drink. She hadn’t thought she would be home this evening, so she hadn’t bothered to stock the fridge. She spied a bottle of beer from one of the other times Andrew had come over and pulled it out. She grabbed a can of soda for herself before kicking the door shut with her foot.
“Have you decided yet?”
“Well, considering the way your stomach rumbled like a volcano about to erupt, I’m thinking we’ll need more than some gourmet dish.” He gazed over the top of the menu. “How about you go sit in the living room while I order. That way dinner will be a surprise.”
“Okay, but don’t forget to order my dish,” she warned as she walked out.
She was still chuckling when she turned the lights on to her living room. The picture of Brody and Tom caught her eye. She wandered over to it and picked it up. She waited for the familiar punch of guilt that always assailed her when she looked at the last photo taken of her two boys. It didn’t come. Only peace and contentment filled her. She smiled and replaced the picture, glad that looking at it hadn’t dampened her mood. She knew now that she was fully healed and Andrew was the reason for it.
“Are you okay, honey?” Andrew’s soft voice whispered over her like a gentle summer breeze.
She turned around and faced him. “I’m more than okay. I’m fantastic.”
If she didn’t know better, she would’ve thought that was a look of relief crossing Andrew’s features. But it had been so fleeting she couldn’t be sure.
“So are in you in the mood for music or television?” she asked him.
“Music. I don’t think there’s anything on the box at the moment. Nothing I’m interested in anyway.”
“Okay, music it is.” Dawn wandered over to her sound system and set her iPod on shuffle. The strains of some classical music filled the room. She turned the volume to a reasonable level so that the music wouldn’t intrude while they talked. She realized that she hadn’t told him about her meeting with Sophie—the main reason for them getting together that evening. But she didn’t regret the quick sojourn in the bedroom.
As she sat down on the sofa she patted the space beside her. “How long before the food arrives?”
“They said it will be about forty minutes.” He sat beside her and she placed her hand on his thigh, the muscle twitching beneath her fingers.
“Darn, I was hoping it would be quicker.”
He laid a hand over hers and entwined their fingers together. “Anticipation makes it all the more tastier.”
They sat there for a few minutes, listening to the music as it changed from classical to a recent hit.
“You want to tell me what happened with Sophie today?” Andrew’s words broke the little daydream she was having, where this was the usual evening for them, sitting together after a full day of work.
“Why don’t I wait until the food arrives? I don’t want to get halfway through my story and then have to stop.”
“I think I can wait a bit longer.” He stood and picked up his empty bottle and her empty can. “I’ll get some utensils—do you want chopsticks or a fork?”
“I’ll have chopsticks, thanks. They’re in the second drawer to the right under the island bench.”
“I’ll find them.” He paused in the doorway. “Want another drink?”
She shook her head. “I’m good, thanks. But I think I may have a bottle of red in the wine rack in the front room. If I do, why don’t you open that and we can have it with dinner.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.”
As he walked away, Dawn couldn’t help but wonder how domestic the scene was. How comfortable she felt around him. A buzzing sound filled the room. It took her a moment to realize that Andrew had brought his cell phone in and had laid it on the coffee table to the side of her armchair. She went over to pick it up. The name “Dean” flashed on the screen. Her stomach dropped and the very idea of touching the phone wiped from her mind. Why was Dean calling? Was Andrew about to take him up on his offer to join that crew? She didn’t want to believe it. She wanted to be able to trust Andrew but the seed of doubt had been planted and was taking root. What would she do if he decided he wanted to join the racing circuit again?
13
The phone stopped buzzing, but still she held it. Another vibration a few seconds later told her that a voicemail had been left. Dawn put it down and walked back to the couch, distancing herself from the device.
She tried not to think negatively about it. Dean could’ve been calling to say hi. It could’ve been anything. It didn’t have to mean that Andrew was going away again. Not after the way he’d made love to her tonight, as if she was his most precious possession.
Dawn pushed the negative thoughts away. She wasn’t nineteen anymore. She could ask him what he was doing and what he had planned.
Andrew walked back into the room as she was still lecturing herself.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he placed the utensils and the glasses he’d gotten on the table in front of her.
“Why would anything be wrong?”
“Because you look like your world is about to end again.” He sat beside her and took her hand in his. “So tell me what’s wrong.”
“Your phone rang.”
Andrew looked confused at her response and she could understand why. It was such a random answer to his question, but it was the only answer she could give.
“My phone rang and that’s what’s causing your distress?” He got up and went over to the phone.
“Dean called,” she blurted out as he picked up the device.
He stopped mid motion of entering his pass code and looked up. “Dean called? And this has upset you? Did you speak to him?”
“No, I didn’t speak to him.” She withstood his steady gaze as he put the phone to his ear and listened to the message. She wished for the doorbell to ring so she could leave the room and Andrew’s scrutiny.
“So do you want to tell me why Dean’s call upset you?” He asked once he’d finished listening to the message.
“It didn’t upset me.” She regretted the words the moment she said them. She held up her hand to stop the outburst that she knew was coming. “Okay, sorry, yes, it did upset me, alright?”
“Why? You met him for all of five minutes; I don’t understand any of this.” As he thrust his hand through his hair the doorbell rang and Dawn was glad for the interruption.
“Saved by the bell, I guess,” he said with an ironic smile. “But when I get back, we will finish this discussion.”
She breathed out her relief when he went to answer the door. She had to get control of herself. It wa
s a stupid reaction to have and she had to try and explain it so that Andrew could understand where she was coming from. She would have to be convincing.
* * *
“Thanks,” Andrew said as he passed over cash to the delivery guy. The aromas from the bag were so enticing and even though he was annoyed, he couldn’t wait to taste it.
He walked back into the living and when he saw Dawn sitting there looking forlorn, he almost wanted to let the whole situation with Dean’s call go. But he needed to know why she was so upset by it.
“Are you ready?” he asked as he emptied the bag of its cartons. He handed Dawn’s to her along with a pair of chopsticks. “It smells good.”
“Sure.” Her reply was half-hearted but she accepted the items from him.
“How about we table the conversation about Dean’s call until after we eat,” he suggested before taking a mouthful of his seafood dish.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m not going to let it drop,” he said. “But I don’t want it to spoil our dinner.”
Her demeanor changed but he noticed a determined look enter her eyes.
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Drew. But I’ve spent so long not facing my issues and wiping them under the carpet. So here goes.” He saw her take a deep breath. “I’m scared you’re going to join the crew Dean told you about and sail away, leaving me alone again.”
Her words were the last thing he expected. He’d phoned Dean today and told him he wasn’t interested in his offer and to stop calling him. He’d had no idea that Dawn feared he’d leave her again. But he supposed it was a valid fear, considering their past.
He put his food down and grabbed her hands, his thumbs drawing circles on the top. “Dawn, honey, I phoned Dean today to ask him to stop calling me and to tell him, for the hundredth time, that I wasn’t interested in joining a crew again. My days of competitive around the world sailing are over.”
He let the words sink in, hoping that she would believe him. From the way her gaze remained unchanged, he knew she wasn’t completely convinced.
“You don’t believe me?”
“I want to, I really do, but I saw the way you lit up when we went sailing that day. You loved being in charge of the yacht. And then on our weekend away when you were surfing, you loved pitting yourself against the ocean. Proving that you could best it.”
Andrew sighed and released her hands, picking up his meal. Her comments were valid. He had enjoyed testing the elements when he was surfing, but knowing Dawn was on the beach waiting for him—well nothing compared to that feeling, not even surfing the perfect wave.
He acknowledged that if he couldn’t surf or sail again he’d be happy, just so long as Dawn was by his side. He was falling for her. No, he’d already fallen for her. He loved her. He hadn’t stopped loving her.
* * *
Dawn waited. Andrew still hadn’t acknowledged what she’d said. He was just putting food into his mouth, lost in his thoughts. She wanted to believe him with her whole heart that he was done chasing adventure across the world. But she couldn’t be too sure.
“Dawn, I mean it. I’m done with racing. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Months at sea with the same group of guys. Tempers getting frayed because wherever you turn, you’re not alone.”
“If you felt that way, why did you keep doing it for as long as you did? Why didn’t you just do it for a couple of years before coming back?”
“Because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Sailing had been my be all and end all. So I kept doing it and before I knew it ten years had passed.”
“What changed for you to come back to live here? Why a career as a paramedic? Although, I guess going to certain situations can fuel your adrenaline junkie tendencies.”
He laughed at her words—clearly that thought hadn’t crossed his mind before. “Not quite the reason for me getting into emergency services.”
Andrew put his container down and picked up the bottle of wine and filled her glass and his. The precision of his movements was of a person trying to formulate what they were planning to say next. He handed her a glass; once she took it, he picked up his food once again.
“Thanks.” She took a sip and let the mellow red wine slither down her throat.
“I got into emergency services when I realized how selfless those guys are. How they are committed to putting their lives on the line to save someone elses.”
Dawn stilled in her movements of bringing her chopsticks to her mouth. It wasn’t the first time he’d alluded to something happening to him. May be this was the perfect time for him to share that story with her. She had been so caught up in their new relationship that she hadn’t given it too much thought. Now she wasn’t going to let it go.
“Until you need them, no one realizes what paramedics do,” she said. “Oh, you can get a certain idea from television shows, but people don’t know if it’s authentic or not.” She then took the plunge to ask him what had happened. “Did you or your crew have need for a paramedic?”
The sharp intake of breath was the only sign that she’d hit a raw nerve with him. “There were occasions when we required medical intervention.”
His tone was light, but he placed his food back on the table. For someone who was hungry before, it was a telling sign.
Dawn placed her hand on his warm thigh. “I’m speaking from experience here; it helps to talk about whatever happened.”
She waited. She didn’t think he was going to say anything as the silence lengthened between them. She couldn’t help feeling disappointed that he didn’t want to share his story with her. Especially after everything she’d bared to him.
“It was almost twelve months ago. We were in the middle of the Atlantic. There was a slight swell, nothing unusual. It had been windy but it seemed to have died down. There was no warning. It came out of nowhere—a huge king wave swamped the boat. One minute, I was walking along the deck, the next minute, I was surrounded by water. I didn’t think I’d ever surface but when I did, it took me a moment to realize what had happened. I looked around and saw nothing. It was like the wave hadn’t happened. But I was in the water and I knew that it had.”
Dawn sat in a state of shock. She’d heard all about king waves. “How long before you were found? What happened to the boat?”
“I don’t know how long it was before I was discovered. It felt like hours. I was bobbing up and down in the water, clinging to a life ring that I’d found when I finally resurfaced. All I could think about was trying to stay alive. I thought that none of the other crew survived.
“Oh Drew, I’m so sorry. I don’t think I could imagine what you went through.”
“I couldn’t believe my luck when a life jacket floated by. I normally put one on when I go up on deck at night, but that particular evening I didn’t. Strange things go through your mind when you think you aren’t going to make it. You make all sorts of bargains to just try and survive.”
Dawn felt a shudder ripple through him as he travelled down the road of his memories. She wanted to tell him he didn’t have to go on. She knew how hard it was to expose yourself to unpleasant memories.
“I got rescued by the coastguard, but I was suffering from hypothermia and was so out of it when they rescued me, they didn’t think I was going to make it. If it wasn’t for those guys on that chopper…well, let’s just say that my perspective changed that night. What I thought was important turned out to be not very important. And what I’d taken for granted I now realized was the very thing I needed to have to survive.”
“I’m glad that you’re okay. What happened to the rest of the crew? Did they get rescued too?”
He turned to look at her. The look of despair in his eyes reached out to her, like a climbing vine reaching up to latch onto the next bit of wall that would keep it grounded. She took the despair in the hopes of easing the pain for him. “We lost two good men that night, one of them my best friend. They had families. I lay in that hospital bed and f
or a couple of days I felt guilty for being alive. I was the single guy; it didn’t matter if something happened to me. My parents would be sad, but they had my sister and her kids to give them joy. Two families had been torn apart by a freak occurrence of nature.”
Dawn put her plate down; she hadn’t touched it since Andrew had started talking. She related so well to having “survivor” guilt, she wasn’t the one that had almost lost her life but she’d reacted to her tragedy by shutting herself away. Andrew had done the opposite. He’d almost lost his life that night. After he’d grieved for his friends, he’d moved on. He hadn’t stopped living, like she had. He still did the things that would give him the rush he’d had when he’d been sailing, but perhaps he was just a little more careful about how he did it now. The thought of him risking his life for a rush of adrenaline turned her blood cold. To once again lose a loved one would be too much to cope with.
Dawn pushed that thought away. So far Andrew had only surfed huge waves. Unless he’d done more activities on his days off before they’d gotten involved. She wasn’t going to ask or pressure him. It wouldn’t be right. But if their relationship progressed even further, then she would definitely bring it up with him.
“Is that why you became a paramedic? Because you wanted to give something back?”
“Pretty much. As I recovered I got to thinking about the sacrifice the coastguard makes every time they do a rescue. I knew then that I’d found what I wanted to do. All I’d known was sailing. This I could see myself doing.”
“So why come back to Perth? Why not another city?” she asked, curious that he would choose an expensive city to live in when he could’ve chosen somewhere else. Sure, he had his family here, but he hadn’t had a permanent home base for a decade. She couldn’t even be sure that he’d even visited Perth in all the time he’d been sailing.
“It’s home, Dawn. No matter all the places I visited, no matter how friendly the people were, Perth is home. Always has been. Always will be. It was the most logical place to settle down.”
Rescuing Dawn: Lovers Unmasked: Book 2 Page 16