by Jeny Heckman
“I’m not really sure yet. I have some ideas, but I haven’t fleshed it out all the way yet.”
“Example?”
“Maybe go more acoustic, with original pieces, and soften the edges?”
Jason nodded his head, eyes cast downward as if trying to think how best to phrase his thoughts. When he looked up, she was studying him.
“Okay, I’m just going to say it. I think that’s a terrible idea.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ve built a following, Raven. You’ve cultivated fans for over the last decade. You’re a successful brand.”
“Great, now you sound like Donovan.”
“Well, maybe on this one thing, he’s right. Raven, at your age, you can’t just call out redo. Only the Taylors of the world can transition like that successfully after they developed a following.”
“So, you think I’m too old?” she said, starting strong then realizing she wasn’t quite that brave and finished more quietly. “I’m not just starting out. I have a huge following. Don’t you trust that they would follow me? I’ve sold out every arena for the past twelve years, Jason.”
“No, I’m not saying that,” he said, appearing to realize his mistake, and held her hand. “You’re beautiful, vibrant, and so incredibly talented.” He rubbed his thumb along her wrist. “What I mean is, Taylor created fame in country music, right, but created a niche with the tweens. As she developed, she was so smart and branched out the two, then grew as her fan base grew. So.” He began to count on his fingers. “She had the tweens she started with, then the new ones that followed. On top of that, she had cross genres of country and pop, and she had youth and time.”
“I think I have to change, too.” Raven looked out toward the water again, feeling restrained. “I'm thirty-four years old, Jason, why would a tween want to listen to me? As I said, I have a following, and I have things to say. And I am willing to do cross-genre. That’s exactly the kind of change I’m talking about. I’m not sure I can keep going unless something changes.”
“Okay, well, there are things we can do. We can discard the songs you really hate, maybe blend in some new pieces of original work.” He hesitated. “I’m not sure though. We’ll have to listen and choose carefully. Maybe we should go back to your place, and you can play some things for me?”
Raven didn’t play her unfinished music for anyone, and it irritated her that he didn’t understand that or her need to expand. Suddenly, she wanted the night to be over and go back to the house or walk on the beach in solitude, anywhere now, without him.
“I’d rather not tonight. It’s been a pretty long day.” Of doing nothing, she thought sheepishly. “I think I’m going to head back, get some sleep, and maybe we can get some things started tomorrow.”
“Sure. Why don’t we go back to the hotel for a nightcap and then I’ll drive you home?”
“No, thanks, I’m just gonna walk.” Suddenly she just needed air. “Here, just put it on the expense card. I’ll call you in the morning, okay?” She rose, and he quickly stood with her, looking surprised.
“All right. Hey, you okay? If you give me a second, I’ll pay this and walk with you.” He looked around for a nonexistent waiter. When she shook her head, he added, “Raven, have I offended you somehow?”
“No.” she laughed it off. “Really, the air will do me good. I’ll call you in the morning, okay?” She air-kissed his cheek and bounded down the stairs before anything could change her decision.
Once outside, she determined it best to walk the long way around to her bungalow, in case he tried to catch up with her. She’d only made it to Pane Road when the strap on one of her expensive leather sandals broke apart.
“Damn it,” she muttered, pulling off the sandals and looking at the sharp, gravel-strewn sidewalk. “Oh, this is just great.”
Angry and frustrated with her circumstances, both new and old, she gripped the sandal hard, wanting to throw it across the street, into the ocean. Raven looked back at the restaurant, expecting Jason to call out to her. Resolved, she took a deep breath and gingerly tried to sidestep the rocks, as tears threatened her eyes.
****
Finn had stayed at the restaurant only long enough to finish his beer, glancing over at the couple from time to time. He left feeling a little dazed and confused. Dazed that the woman actually existed in the flesh and confused about what he was supposed to do about it. She clearly had a significant other, a proprietary significant other.
He’d called Nate, telling him not to bother coming to the restaurant, opting instead to run a six-pack there to drink with Nate companionably on his back porch. When the man’s wife joined them, sobbing that she was an awful mommy, Finn took his cue to abandon the mission and evening entirely.
He kick-started the motorcycle, made a U-turn, and drove back down the road toward home. He took in his surroundings as he turned onto Pane Road, when his headlight shone on what looked to be a drunk person, weaving across the street. As Finn moved closer, he thought it might be someone injured, then realized it was Raven and pulled to the side of the road. She turned around and literally groaned when she saw who it was.
“Yeah.” He laughed, “I get that a lot.”
“I’m sorry,” she responded, blushing furiously. “I just, I just really had great intentions for tonight, and it didn’t quite work out.” She held up the broken sandal.
“Oh wow, that sucks.” He swung his leg over the bike, without cutting the engine and stood in front of her. He glanced up and down the street. “Are ya close by? I can give you a lift.”
“No thank you, I’m okay.” She eyed the bike dubiously.
“Seriously, you’re close enough that you’re trying to walk, and I live close by, so you’re probably not out of the way, promise.” Grinning, he knew he was making progress and looked around again. “Where’s your boyfriend?”
“My what?” she asked, nervously eyeing the bike again. He could see her weighing the option of a walk versus a ride home with a stranger that made her nervous. “Oh no, you mean Jason?”
“Yeah, Jason.” He grinned more broadly when he heard, ‘oh no.’ “Why isn’t he here helping you?”
“I told him to go home,” she answered distractedly, and he grinned even broader, entirely liking the sound of that.
“His home isn’t your home?” When there was no answer, he bent at the waist and tried to look up into her face. “Are you afraid of the bike or me?”
“What?” she asked snapping out of her internal debate.
“I said, are you nervous about riding the bike or me?” Knowing the pun was lost on her, he became thoroughly entertained.
“I’m not nervous about either,” she retorted primly, realizing too late what he meant, and blushed again.
“Oh great, then hop on. I can show you a really cool vantage point that no one knows about. It’ll be romantic.”
“I-I, ah,” she stuttered, and he tried to repress the smile at her tortured indecisiveness.
“Or, I can just take you home, and you can get back to your life.”
“Okay, thank you.” She licked her lips as she looked around nervously, then met his eyes. “I’ve just never ridden on a motorcycle before.”
“Naaaaw, you’re kidding, right?”
When she smirked and narrowed her eyes a little, he was relieved to see she had some fire after all. Grabbing his helmet, he secured it on her head. Covertly, he raised both eyebrows as she hiked her dress up on amazing thighs and climbed on the bike.
“So, where to?” he asked, chuckling when her arms instantly superglued themselves around his waist, and the sweet smell of her perfume wafted over him.
“I don’t know how you say it, but it’s Pee Road.’” she answered, blushing furiously.
“Don’t worry.” He laughed. “All the tourists call it that. It’s pronounced ‘pay-eh.’”
“Oh.” She laughed too. “Perfect. I knew I was saying it wrong.”
After the init
ial fear broke loose, she seemed to relax and loosened her arms and their grip. The wind was warm on their faces, no wall or doors around them. It was exhilarating. He drove her a different way to prolong the ride, but she didn’t seem to care. When they arrived at her bungalow, he helped her off the bike and gently reached under her chin to unstrap the helmet, his eyes never leaving hers. He forked his fingers through her silky hair, displacing the static electricity from the helmet, and looked at her mouth, prompting her to look at his.
“Well. Thank you.” She bit her bottom lip. “Thanks for the ride. It wound up being kinda fun.”
“No problem,” he said, quietly looking at her lips again. “Sometime I’ll take you over to the north side. It’s a great ride. Hanalei and the falls are pretty amazing.” He ran a hand through his own hair.
“Ah.” She moved away nervously, awkwardly, and bit her lower lip again. “Yeah, maybe.”
“At some point, I’m going to have to tell you to stop doing that.”
“What?”
“Biting your lip. It’s a pretty big turn on.”
He looked at her lips again and then her eyes before smiling and sliding back onto the bike. He liked the way the comment sounded. He really liked looking at her but furrowed his brow in confusion as she paled. She was like a nervous little rabbit. If the woman never opened her mouth, you would only see this extraordinarily beautiful, well-put-together package. He didn’t believe for a minute that she didn’t have something more to offer. Maybe, he determined, he just needed to break down the barrier of nerves.
She walked back to the house quickly, and he focused on the sexy sway of her mighty fine ass under the thin fabric. She walked inside and he could see her through the frosted glass, reach over and flick a switch, causing the porch light to come on. She leaned back against the glass, and he chuckled, knowing she didn’t understand that he could see her. God, who was this adorable woman?
****
Finn returned home and, seeing no lights on in the main house, took his stairs two at a time. Running through his nightly ablutions, he intentionally kept Raven from his thoughts. It wasn’t until he was laying between the sheets, arms locked behind his head when he allowed her to drift into his mind.
His first thought was that the woman was an odd duck. Second, she was an odd, incredibly hot duck, and he was pleased she didn’t belong to the asshole. Women fascinated him, every single one of them. They all had a story or a secret, and he loved figuring it out. Unwinding a woman, learning her story, then moving on. He knew it sounded callous, but he also knew what he was capable of, and monogamy wasn’t it. Raven may have been intriguing because she was seemingly unattainable. Eventually, he slept.
Finn’s research boat motored toward an island farther off their projected course. The weather was picking up, but he told the crew to push through. He barked orders to secure lines and equipment, as waves churned and white foam capped their peaks. The girls grabbed pails blowing across the deck, while Jake frantically tried to secure the lines whipping around in the wind.
What the hell was going on, Finn thought. This front had come in out of nowhere. Maybe there had been an earthquake. He looked down and in disbelief, realized he’d forgotten to turn on the navigating equipment. But how could that be?
Cold fear crawled up his spine as a massive wave broke against the bow, causing Jake to bullet over the side of the boat and into the cold water. Finn screamed over the intercom for the girls to come help. When they didn’t answer, he turned and saw they were gone too. One of Holly’s flip-flops floated in the small pool of water collecting aft.
“Fuck me.”
He ran to the back and saw the girls swimming toward each other without life jackets. Running to the bow, he saw Jake doing the same. Closer to the girls, Finn maneuvered the boat to retrieve them first, but by the time he’d arrived, they disappeared. Looking out toward the bow, he watched in horror as his male researcher disappeared beneath the cold blue surface too. Finn turned to run back to the cabin when he saw Raven steering the boat.
“Get to Jake!” he screamed, but she couldn’t hear him. “Raven, Jake…Jake!” He pointed.
She turned and could see him gesture but didn’t seem to know what he was saying. Alaula was on the bow now, barking loudly over the wind, her pup trying desperately not to fall off too. He ran down the hall as more water sluiced over the sides. The hallway lengthened, and he couldn’t reach the bridge.
The water started to part, and Raven turned to look at it. Iron pillars began to poke through the surface of the water and Finn’s back seemed to burn and tear and he cried out in pain. The trident tattooed along his spine stood before him in living color, but it was the length of several football fields and held in the massive hands of a man with Finn’s eyes. Black liquid ropes bound themselves around his enormous biceps and strong wrists. Another thicker one coiled around his muscled waist and neck. He tried to lift the trident but failed. His unearthly eyes sparked at Finn, who felt the extreme heat all around him. He looked for the source and saw it was Raven. She was a ball of fire with wings unfurling, making a guttural scream.
Finn couldn’t move, aware he was utterly powerless without the trident on his back. He looked back into the face of the great man. The man only had a moment to say two words before an enormous tsunami ran through him, blending to his shape, becoming the wave, then his outline turned to the ocean’s spray. He looked back at Raven and the fire burst.
Finn’s eyes flew open, and he expelled a gasp. Sitting up, he was shaking and covered in sweat. The aftershocks of the dream pulsated behind his eyes. What the hell was that? Breathing hard, he swung his legs to the side of the bed. Resting his elbows on his knees, he laid his head in his hands, as the two words seared into his mind. Release me.
Chapter 8
Raven lay in her bed the next morning, after a long night of restlessness, still mortified from the night before. Why couldn’t she relax, and casually flirt with a good-looking man, who seemed interested in her. She could hear Wyatt advising her to have a little fun. Que would counsel a careless fling or do something reckless. She sat up realizing with surprise, she had, when she got on a stranger’s motorcycle.
She jumped as her cell phone rang. She saw Que’s screenshot face and smiled. Well, speak of the devil.
“Hey, Que,” she said, laying back and putting an arm behind her head.
“It’s me.” Abby giggled.
“Well, Abby! How you doin’ baby?” She glanced at the clock and did the math. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”
“It’s late start.”
“Ahh, well, how’re you feeling? Mama said you still weren’t quite over that bug.”
“I’m a little better, I wanna play basketball but Mama’s bein’ rude.” She spoke the last three words loud enough for her mother to her hear. Raven had a stab of homesickness. She could hear Que scolding her daughter about being late for the bus. “Are you having fun there?”
“So far, so good. It’s definitely warmer here than there.”
“I’m trying to get Mama to…” She heard Que’s voice angrier now. “Damn, I gotta go get the bus.”
“Don’t swear,” Raven softly chided.
“Love you, Auntie Raven. Here’s Mama.”
“Bye,” Raven called out and heard mother and daughter exchange love and a muffled hug.
“Have a good day,” Que said, then blew out a breath. “Whew, I tell you what.”
“She feelin’ better?”
“Oh well, you know, not as good as I’d like, but…”
“What did the doctor say?”
“He thinks it’s asthma.”
“Well, that’s good news, to know I mean.”
“Yeah, her inhaler doesn’t work for shit though. We’ll figure it out. Anyways,” she said with a smile in her voice, “so how you doin’ over there?”
“Good. I’ve got a tan.”
“Ah, well, miracles do happen.”
“Shu
t up, just cause your tan’s permanent.”
“Oh no, don’t even get me started on that double-edged sword.” She exhaled deeply. “Any hot new romances?”
“Well, Jason just got here.”
“Girl, please.” Que paused. “You’ve been there how many weeks? You’re sittin’ in that place all by yourself, aren’t you?”
“No…”
“Rave?”
“I…”
“Rave?”
“Okay, fine, but don’t tell Wyatt. He’ll just get mad. I promised him last night that I’d go out two days in a row, so I’m doing that.”
“Jason doesn’t count.”
Damn, Raven thought. Sometimes having a best friend sucked because they knew you too well.
“Fine.” She paused for a long time, and of course, Que picked up on it.
“Unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless you saw yourself a hottie and were too shy to approach.” When Raven remained silent, Que knew she’d hit money. “Oh my god. Come on, Raven. What’s his name?”
“Finn,” she said quietly and grinned to herself. “But it’s nothing. It’s—I don’t know what it is.”
“Finn?” Que started laughing. “Oh, that’s perfect. That is so completely perfect.”
“Yeah, I knew you’d like that.”
“What’s he do? He’s a surfer, right?”
“No, he’s a marine biologist.”
“Oh thank God. The boy’s got a brain. He’s hot though, isn’t he?” Raven remained silent, and Que lost her mind. “Oh my God, he's the mothership, isn't he? A brain, a bank account, and a mad, bad ass. Come on now, my life’s so boring. Spill.”
“It is not,” Raven said, laughing.
“Okay, well, my sex life is boring. Come on tell me. Tell me. Tell me!”
“I’ve seen him twice, and when I say see, I mean just that. We’ve only exchanged a handful of words and both times I came across as a complete idiot.”
“I’m sure you didn’t.”
“Oh no? I stutter and can’t even talk. I bump into things, just…and I blush, it’s just stupid.” Que laughed a little too long to be polite. Raven smirked derisively.