The Remingtons_Leap, Laugh, Love

by Rachelle Ayala

  Finn could hear his father’s voice telling and retelling the story of meeting his mother on top of the Twin Towers, how he’d been giddy by his fear of heights, and how this angelic vision had fluttered into view, asking him for a quarter to run the binoculars.

  She’d died years later, high up in an office building of those same towers on September eleven, when Finn was thirteen years old. His father had reenlisted, and Finn had gone to live with his aunt in a town on the outskirts of New York City. A choked sob tightened his throat, and he dashed his wrist across his eyes.

  Enough. You’re a man, a Ranger, you have a mission.

  Blinking, he opened a browser window and typed “Kerry Mills surfer” into the search window.

  The lead entry seized his heart. “American surfer tangles with shark in Western Australia competition.”

  Finn devoured article after article on Kerry’s fight with the shark, how it had sliced up her leg and how fortunate she was that she’d been about to stand on her board when the shark attacked.

  He searched other entries and found pictures of her surfing huge waves taller than buildings. Then there were the ones with a man, a steely-eyed jerk with dirty-blond hair, who had his arm clamped around her possessively. Articles noted that he was her boyfriend.

  Damn!

  Jared Dunbar was also a promoter of the surfing events. In his interview after Kerry’s shark encounter, he’d assured everyone she’d be back to rejoin the tour in June. Was he still her boyfriend or a spokesperson for her?

  Finn desperately searched on “Jared Dunbar” and landed on a social media page. He’d been recently seen with another female surfer, the currently top ranked one.

  The ache in Finn’s chest eased, somewhat, and his heart leaped with hope. He had a shot. Sure, he had only a week, but Kerry was unattached and on the rebound. Besides, his father had proposed to his mother after only three days at Coney Island.

  It wasn’t fair to take advantage of her broken heart. But then, life wasn’t fair, and if she were the one for him, he’d do everything in his power to make her his. He’d never hurt her, not in a million years.

  Decision made, he raked his mind on what surprises to plan for her and made a few reservations.

  It wasn’t until he’d shut his laptop that it hit him. Kerry had been bitten by a shark, and she’d gone into the water with him today.

  She’d faced her greatest fear, a fear she could taste like blood in the churning surf. Thick, stark, and naked, one woman against the most savage killer in the ocean.

  A strangled scream followed by a loud thump startled him. It came from upstairs, and Finn bolted for it, knowing that he was writing the story of his destiny with every pulse of his heart.

  # # #

  Kerry gulped the salty air and sucked in deep breaths. It’s a dream. Only a dream. She blinked at the cheery surroundings, a little girl’s bedroom with two twin feather beds. Someday, her friend Siena would have daughters who’d giggle and gossip over boys and fill this room with laughter. On the same floor was the boys’ cave, one that Dex had claimed for his toys, complete with monitors, game machines, and a large sectional for lounging and sleepovers.

  See? Nothing to be afraid of.

  Except the flood of seawater, the churn of her blood, and the black, soulless eye of the shark with his scarred gill slits staring at her, angry at his mouthful of foam and fiberglass, chilled her to the bone marrow.

  Thank God for the second breaker that threw her out of his path, allowing her to swim for the beach while her board slapped the waves and distracted the predator.

  Finn bounded into the room. “Are you all right?”

  Oh, crap. She was disheveled, sitting on her rump on the wooden floor, still naked.

  His eyes traversed her body before zeroing in on the scars across her leg.

  “I’m fine.” She yanked the comforter and covered herself. “Fell out of bed.”

  “Oh, baby.” He rushed her and enfolded her, comforter and all, into his arms. “I saw the shark articles.”

  “You shouldn’t have been snooping.” She jerked back, stiff. The last thing she wanted was his pity, and the way he’d gawked at her scars brought back the aftermath of the attack—the confusion on the beach, the ambulance ride, and the hordes of reporters at the hospital.

  He held onto her, rocking her gently, not replying or defending himself. Of course, she shouldn’t blame him for looking. These days, everyone checked out a new acquaintance on the internet.

  Tender fingers rubbed the hollow between her shoulder blades as he cradled her against his beating heart.

  Kerry relaxed and closed her eyes, swallowing the bile brought on by her nightmare. Finn’s chest was like a rock, but warm and cuddly. She snuggled closer and let herself be soothed.

  “I know all about fear,” he said in a low voice.

  She didn’t have to be brave, not with him. The tension and pressure to get back on the tour eased. Finn was one person who’d never demand she face her fears or tell her to buck up and get over it.

  She didn’t have to be strong. She could let go. Her shoulders heaved, and tears flowed from her eyes. She latched onto his broad shoulders and held onto him like he was her very own lifeboat.

  He understood her fear.

  Chapter Nine

  “How’s it going with Finn?” Siena asked over the phone. “Did you ever find him?”

  Kerry shut the door to the bedroom in the loft and lay down on the featherbed. Finn had taken her out to dinner at a local restaurant decorated Hawaiian style, full of surfboards and koa wood, serving an eclectic menu of seafood, vegan, paleo, and gluten-free dishes. She’d had a tofu, eggplant, and brown rice casserole, while he’d dug into a mesquite grilled Mako shark steak.

  “Found him hiking to the rail station, retrieved him, and he’s staying downstairs.” She kicked one leg up and crossed it over her knee.

  “And?”

  “And what?”

  “You left him downstairs in the master bedroom?” Siena teased.

  “Well, yeah. I mean, he’s so sweet and all, but come on, he’s your brother’s friend.”

  “So? That makes him off limits?”

  Kerry sighed, thinking about the way Finn had held her hand as they’d walked on the beach after dinner. “He’s a gentleman.”

  More like, he seemed to have been holding back. While the moonlight had skimmed the waves and he’d held her close, he hadn’t offered a single kiss. Kerry told herself not to worry that he’d been turned off by her aggressiveness, but the fact he hadn’t pursued sexual satisfaction for himself niggled in the back of her mind.

  “I bet he is,” Siena said with a chuckle. “He’s good for a vacation fling. Just don’t get attached.”

  “Who says I’m flinging or getting attached?” Kerry suppressed a shiver of goose bumps. Was her friend warning her away from Finn?

  “Good. We’ve established that he’s hot, but emotionally, he’s closed off. Don’t expect him to want to commit to anything.”

  “I’m not. He goes back to war in less than two weeks.” Kerry’s throat tightened. “I feel so bad for him. You know about his buddy, Lonnie?”

  “Yeah, it’s been three years already. Is he still carrying around that box?”

  “He says he hasn’t found the perfect place.”

  “Sometimes I wonder if it’s even true,” Siena said. “It’s a good story to soften up women, if you know what I mean. Women love to fix up a guy who’s mourning for someone.”

  “What are you saying?” Kerry’s skin prickled, and her eardrum rattled as a chill crept down her spine.

  “Nothing. Maybe he won’t make a move on you since you’re my friend, but a year ago, when he was on R&R, he went for one of Dex’s employees.”

  “Went for?” Kerry’s heart lurched. Maybe this Finn character wasn’t as simple and straightforward as he seemed.

  “Dex was furious. He broke the girl’s heart. I mean, he played the wounded warri
or, tugged at every heartstring, and then left without saying goodbye. No emails, no text messages. He never took her video calls, not even when Dex tried to set it up.”

  “Wow, okay. Well, thanks for the warning.” And thanks for the cold shower. Read any good books lately?

  “Hey, looking out for you,” her friend said. “Especially with the Jared thing. Do you want to talk about it?”

  “There’s nothing to say. He thinks I’m a wimp because I won’t get back in the water, and he’s sleeping with Marina Martinez who was ranked number one after I dropped out.” Kerry’s stomach flip-flopped from the combination of news about Finn’s love-em-and-leave-em habit and the memory of seeing Jared come out of Marina’s hotel room early one morning.

  “I’m sorry. I know it must hurt.”

  “Tell me about it,” she grumbled. And now that you’ve ruined my appetite for Shark Finn Soup, I guess I’ll just curl up in the daisy comforter and hide.

  “There’ll be someone else when you least expect it.”

  “That’s what everyone says, but at this rate I think I’m done with men.”

  “Oh, no, don’t tell me you’re switching sides.” Siena giggled. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

  “If you didn’t have your macho firefighter, I’d wonder about you. I mean, I’ve seen the pictures of you and your hunky dates, and you just didn’t seem into them.”

  “It was all for show. Thank God, those days are over,” Siena said with a long sigh. “My honey keeps me warm and on my toes—my curling toes.”

  “TMI,” Kerry tried to sound carefree and cheerful. She didn’t want it to be true about Finn, but what could she expect? A guy like him could be killed at any moment. It wouldn’t be wise to get attached to him. Besides, a vacation fling was all she’d convinced herself she wanted with him. What harm was that if she went in knowing it would end?

  “Anyway.” Siena yawned. “Just checking in with you before I fly to Venice.”

  “You’re so lucky. Venice is the city of lovers.”

  “Only, I’m going alone. My fireman’s going to be on duty. I hate it when he stays at the firehouse.”

  “At least he’s not a California firefighter,” Kerry reassured her. “They’re airlifted from all over the state to fight wildfires for weeks at a time.”

  “Yeah, plenty of fires in the City to keep my man busy. Speaking of which, I’ve got an early flight. See you in a week.”

  They said goodbye and hung up.

  Kerry closed her eyes and rubbed her palms over her face. Duly warned, she’d take what Finn offered and steel herself for when he left. Who said anything about fixing him? If he wanted to carry his buddy’s ashes around the world, that was his business.

  She’d show him women could play, too, and not get their hearts tangled in a hormonal mess, wanting more.

  Mind made up, she spritzed perfume between her breasts and rubbed lotion over her limbs. If Finn wanted a vacation fling, he’d get one. It wasn’t as if she, a professional surfer, needed to get tied down when she traveled the beaches of the world.

  If she went back to the circuit.

  I can do it. I went back in the water today. What’s more dangerous? The man-eating shark or the shark-eating man?

  It’d take an iron maiden to pass up that hunk of a soldier, and not only was she not strong enough, she was not willing.

  Why not enjoy herself?

  # # #

  Finn surfed the internet, bringing up image after image of Kerry. She’d been in the background of a photoshoot Siena did in Hawaii, and if anyone had asked him, he much preferred her athletic physique over the frail, reedy models whom she held the surfboards for.

  He’d left Kerry alone upstairs after the romantic dinner date and walk on the beach. She’d worn a white, lacey sundress and he’d held her close, but pulled every force of Ranger-trained compartmentalization to resist kissing her.

  If he so much as touched her intimately, he’d be wanting to bury himself balls deep and bang the hell out of her, the way he always did with his vacation hookups.

  Only, Kerry was different, and after the affair last year with Safire Chu, Dex’s employee, he’d better proceed with caution. The last thing he wanted was both of the Remington twins ganged up against him.

  Sex would be off the agenda, despite his rock hard cock protesting. If Kerry were the one woman destined for him, he’d court her the way his father had said, with romance and love, flowers and music. There were a million other ways into a woman’s heart besides drilling into her channel.

  After making more reservations, he shut his laptop, and cranked up another cold shower.

  Chapter Ten

  “Hey, hey, didn’t you say we should go early to catch the waves?” Finn’s deep voice hovered at the other side of the bedroom door.

  Kerry popped up from the twin bed and rubbed her eyes, blinking. She’d finally fallen asleep after sitting on the bottom of the steps for over an hour waiting for Finn to come out last night, giving up only after his lights went off and the house grew quiet. The night air had been balmier than before, so she’d slept with the window open.

  “Just a minute,” Kerry said, pulling on a robe. She always slept naked. There was just something about the sensuality of it that calmed her, as if she were part of nature, at one with her surroundings without the barrier of even the thinnest piece of clothing. “I wasn’t sure you wanted to go out today. I haven’t checked the conditions.”

  Nor the shark report.

  “Whenever you’re ready,” he said. “I brewed coffee, your favorite French vanilla roast. Come down when you’re ready.”

  His action was sweet, but that voice was entirely too gruff. Was he pissed at her for oversleeping? As she recalled, they hadn’t agreed to any type of relationship. He’d already thanked her for teaching him how to surf with the dinner last night.

  Yeah, right, and here you were wishing he would creep upstairs and have his way with you.

  Whatever. Despite his hot bod, the man was plain scary. A killer. His eyes were probably as dark and soulless as that shark when pulling the trigger.

  One more day, and maybe she’d bail on this vacation from hell.

  Really? You’re just grouchy because you’re horny and he didn’t kiss you.

  “Shut it,” she said to herself and stomped her way to the Jack and Jill bathroom separating the boys’ cave and the girly room. If Siena or Dex ever had kids this would be a war zone, since each side could lock the other side out and forget to unlock when done.

  Twenty minutes later, she was suited up in her front zip wetsuit. She whipped out her tablet to check the shark and surf report. The swells were higher, and she decided they should go to a different area since Finn was a quick learner. The beach outside the historical lighthouse was renown for its fast and powerful breaks over rocky reefs and boulders.

  Now you’re being plain mean. You know that break’s for experienced surfers only.

  Right, and sexually frustrated women needed power and danger to mute their raging desires. Heck, she might as well wake up early and night surf on a wicked left-handed break to suit her goofy foot.

  That leading right foot was what Jared said was her handicap, since most surfers surfed with their left foot leading and favored right-handed waves. Fuck him.

  Kerry browsed to the shark report. The big female white was still meandering around Atlantic City, and the other one was well off the continental shelf. The third one hadn’t surfaced in days. Good.

  The aroma of fresh brewed coffee slipped under the door, and she finally decided to go back to the beginner’s beach. It wasn’t Finn’s fault she was so frustrated. He had every right to find her uninteresting. Besides, he was smart to keep it low key. They hadn’t planned on vacationing together, and both of them had places to go and would most likely never meet again.

  The thought cratered her heart, but she pasted on a smile and wandered into the kitchen. “That was thoughtful of you. Th
anks for the coffee.”

  He looked up from his laptop, his knee jittering below the table. “It was?”

  “Yeah, it was kind of sweet.” She patted his shoulder.

  “So, it’s working?” He beamed at her as if expecting a gold star. “I’m not usually sweet. People say I’m a bear.”

  She poured herself a cup. “Grouchy and gruff. Why would you, a big macho Army Ranger, want to be sweet? I bet you blow people’s heads off every day.”

  His eyes darkened into flat disks. “I’ve never killed anyone innocent.”

  “Didn’t say you had.” She pulled a chair and swiped a chocolate muffin from the bag he bought the night before. “Just that you’re a killer, and killers aren’t sweet and nice.”

  Oh, there you go again, being mean.

  Kerry shoved the dark, chocolaty muffin into her mouth to keep from spilling more snark. She needed a time out and a pounding by hard and explosive waves. Something to slap the scruff from her and remind her just how terrified she’d been when staring at a mountain of water—or a row of shark teeth.

  Or, maybe she was pissed because Finn knew her fear—one she dared show no one. Except everyone knew. By quitting, she’d told the entire world.

  “I’m sorry.” She gulped a mouthful of coffee. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”

  “And that’s my fault?”

  “No.” Well, yes, but no. It’s my fault for wanting you so much.

  “Did I do something to piss you off last night?” Finn’s voice was careful and clipped.

  “No, nothing.”

  “Maybe you don’t want to hang around with me.”

  “I do.” Not just around you, but under you, on top of you, in front of you. What was wrong with her? If she were a man, she’d slap herself with a sexual harassment lawsuit.

  Let’s try this again. Kerry heaved a breath and smiled, taking Finn’s hand. “I’m sorry about the killer comment. You were sweet this morning and last night. I enjoyed dinner and walking with you on the beach, and I’d love to hang around with you. Let’s catch what’s left of the waves. Sorry, I dawdled too long.”

  “Sure, let’s go.” He removed his hand from hers and cleared the table.