Forever Starts Tonight

by Barbara Freethy

  "You don't have to watch with him," Jessica put in.

  "It's fine," Tara said. "You can sit in the front."

  As Tara and Brandon got into the backseat, Jessica gave him an uncertain look. "I can't believe this was your great idea."

  "It's fine. Tara is totally on board."

  "I doubt that."

  "It's going to be a fun day. Trust me. I am going to make sure that no one goes home unhappy."

  "That's a big promise considering we have an already annoyed teenager and an impatient seven-year-old in the car."

  He grinned. "I told you—I like big challenges."

  "Then let's go. I'm prepared to be happy."

  "And I'm prepared to find a way to kiss you sometime today without those two in the backseat catching us."

  "Another big challenge," she said with a laugh, as she got into the car and closed the door.

  He walked around to the driver's side and slid in behind the wheel. He might have set some nearly impossible goals for himself, but he had every intention of keeping his promises, especially the one about kissing Jess.

  * * *

  Tara wasn't happy, Jessica thought two hours later as they walked through yet another department store in Union Square. Brandon wasn't happy, either. He kept asking Reid when they were going to get on the cable cars. Reid was trying to be nice to both Tara and Brandon, but he was getting nowhere fast.

  "Okay," she said, calling a halt to the rambling meandering that was getting them nowhere. "Here's what we're going to do."

  Three pairs of eyes turned to her. "Reid and Brandon, you guys are going to go outside and watch the musicians in the square. Tara and I are going to find the perfect dress. We will meet you in an hour or sooner, depending on what we find."

  "Sounds good to me," Reid said with relief in his gaze. "Tara?"

  His sister shrugged. "Whatever."

  "Good luck," Reid murmured to her, as he took Brandon's hand and headed down the aisle.

  She glanced at Tara. "Now that we've gotten rid of your big brother, why don't we try to find a beautiful and sexy dress for your dance?"

  Tara's eyes widened, as if surprised by her comment. "Sexy, huh?"

  "Of course. It's your prom. Let's go upstairs and find something great without Reid looking over our shoulders."

  "All right," Tara said, a little more energy in her voice.

  As they went up the escalator, she said, "So who are you going to the dance with?"

  "My boyfriend Doug."

  "How long have you been going out?"

  "Since Christmas, but I'm probably going to break up with him."

  "Why?"

  "He's going to Chico State, and I'm going to San Diego. We're never going to see each other after graduation."

  "I had the exact same problem. My high school boyfriend went to college back east, and I stayed in California. He broke up with me right after graduation. I was sad in the beginning, but when I got to school, it felt good to be free, to not have to worry about him. I could be whoever I wanted to be. I didn't have any strings pulling me back home. I didn't have to be the girl I was in high school, which was very appealing."

  "I like that idea. I'm the girl who has a crazy mom who's never around," she said with a sigh.

  "Reid mentioned that you've spent a fair amount of time on his couch."

  "On a lot of couches," she said with a sigh. "But I'm used to it."

  She doubted anyone really got used to that, but she wasn't going to question Tara further. She'd just heard more from Tara in the last fifteen seconds than she had since she'd gotten in the car.

  As they got off the escalator, they moved into the dress department, where a dark-blue, mini-dress caught Tara's eye. Without her big brother looming behind her, offering irrelevant suggestions, Tara became a lot more decisive and interested in actually getting a dress.

  Jessica tried to help by pulling out possible dresses and holding them up, but never commenting if Tara didn't like something. She'd just put it away and move on to the next rack.

  Eventually, she found herself outside the dressing room while Tara started to try on dresses.

  While she was waiting, she got a text from Reid.

  How's it going?

  Good. Trying on dresses. Brandon okay?

  Watching a street magician. He wants to do magic now instead of fight fires.

  She laughed at the text, then punched in a response. He changes his mind every other day.

  Get ready then. There's a guy on stilts here. That might be the next career choice.

  She looked up as Tara came out in a tight, dark-red dress. She was somewhat appalled by how much skin she was showing, but she tried not to react.

  "What do you think?" Tara asked uncertainly, glancing at herself in a nearby mirror.

  She carefully chose her words. "It's very pretty…dramatic."

  "Is it too tight?"

  "Why don't you try on something else, and then you can compare?" she said tactfully.

  "Okay." Tara went back into the dressing room. A few moments later, she appeared in the dark-blue short dress with spaghetti straps. There was no comparison between the two dresses.

  "Oh, wow," she murmured. "That's beautiful, Tara."

  "I think so, too," Tara said, spinning in front of the mirror. "It's really expensive."

  "The good ones usually are."

  Tara smiled. "I like it. I want to get it."

  She was happy to have a decision so fast. "Let's do it."

  As Tara went to change back into her street clothes, she texted Reid. Hope you have a high limit on your credit card.

  What's the damage? he asked.

  Not sure, but you wanted to make your sister happy, and she's all smiles now.

  Then it's worth it.

  See you soon.

  As she put her phone away, she couldn't help but appreciate the fact that Reid was more concerned with his sister's happiness than how much money he would have to spend on the dress. There was definitely a strong bond between Reid and Tara. While Reid hadn't shown a long-term commitment to a romantic relationship, he was definitely committed to his family, at least until Tara was on her own.

  After Tara paid for the dress with Reid's credit card, they moved toward the escalators.

  "Thanks," Tara said, giving her a tentative smile.

  "I didn't do anything."

  "You got rid of Reid."

  She smiled at Tara's dry tone. "Well, that wasn't very hard. I don't think dress shopping is his thing."

  Tara smiled back at her. "No, but you're his thing."

  She flushed a little at her words. "We're just...friends."

  "Sure you are," Tara said with a knowing gleam in her eyes. "Look, it's fine. You seem nice, and your kid is funny and smart. Just…" She paused for a moment, her gaze turning serious. "Don't hurt him, okay? He pretends like nothing bothers him, but that's not true."

  "I know," she said.

  "Good."

  After leaving the store, they dropped the shopping bag in Reid's car, then the four of them hopped on a cable car and rode it down to Fisherman's Wharf. Brandon loved the cable car ride, excited as the car made its way up and down the steep hills of San Francisco. She hadn't ridden the cable cars since she was about Brandon's age and found it just as much fun as her kid did.

  Over the next three hours, they acted like tourists in the city, taking a boat tour around Alcatraz, watching street performers play music, checking out souvenirs and artwork from sidewalk vendors, counting the sea lions lounging on the floating wooden piers in the bay, and eventually eating clam chowder out of sour dough bread bowls on Pier 39, followed by Brandon's favorite thing to do—riding the carousel.

  Despite Tara's protests that she was too old for a merry-go-round, they all managed to snag a carousel horse for a ride. With Tara and Brandon in front of her and Reid, Reid extended his hand, and she took it, giving him a smile. Then he pulled her a little closer and leaned over and stole a quick k
iss.

  "I told you I was going to find a moment," he whispered.

  "It took you long enough," she teased.

  He laughed. "You're having fun, aren't you?"

  "So much," she said honestly. "It's been a great day. You did exactly what you said you were going to do." She tipped her head toward Brandon and Tara, who were laughing and pretending to race each other. "You made everyone happy."

  "You helped. The dress shopping was the trickiest part, but Tara seems happy about what she got."

  "She looked beautiful in the dress. And it was fun to shop with her. I don't get to do much girl stuff with a little boy in the house. It was a nice change from digging up worms and reading about dinosaurs."

  "Tara used to be a tomboy," he said. "We dug up a fair number of worms, too. But she's grown up now. At least she thinks she is. I just hope she doesn't do anything else that's stupid and reckless."

  "She's going to be all right," she told him, seeing an unusual shadow of worry in his eyes. "I'm pretty sure you had a hand in getting her to this point. You should be proud of how she turned out."

  "That was all her. She didn't have the best parents in the world."

  "No, but she had a great brother."

  "I tried to be there for her."

  "You succeeded." She squeezed his hand and then let go as the carousel ride came to an end.

  * * *

  As he drove back from San Francisco around eight o'clock on Sunday evening, Reid wished the day hadn't flown by so fast, because his good idea had turned out to be better than even he had expected.

  After a rough start to the day, Tara had gotten in a much better mood after finding her perfect dress, and the rest of the time she'd been engaged with all of them, especially Brandon. She'd always been good with little kids, and he thought Tara could probably appreciate the fact that Brandon didn't have a dad around, since she'd grown up the same way.

  But Brandon was a lot luckier than Tara or him; he'd gotten Jessica as a mom.

  He glanced over at Jessica. She started to smile back, then yawned.

  "You're tired," he said.

  "All that walking and fresh air."

  "That will do it." He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that Tara was listening to music on her phone, with her earbuds in, and Brandon had already drifted off. "Brandon is asleep."

  "He's always fallen asleep quickly in cars. When he was little, I used to put him in the car and drive around the block when he was being cranky. It worked every time." She settled back in her seat. "I wish tomorrow wasn't a school day."

  "It's a work day for me, too."

  "When will you be off again?"

  "Thursday. This week is a seventy-two-hour shift followed by four days off."

  "Is it weird to work that many days at a time?"

  "I've gotten used to it. The flip side is that I get more days off strung together."

  "And that's when you surf?"

  "I usually do get some surfing in," he admitted. "But I do other things, too. A retired firefighter is now a paint contractor; I sometimes pick up work with him. I also bartend at Micky's, if they need anyone. I keep busy."

  "It sounds like it." She paused, tilting her head to the right. "I don't know where you live. Is it an apartment? A house?"

  "I rent an apartment two blocks from the beach. I'll have you over some time, if you give me a sixth date."

  "I've lost count of how many dates we've had," she said with a grin.

  "I haven't. I think we should keep going out."

  She glanced back as if to see if Tara was listening to their conversation, then turned to him. "I'm kind of leaning in that direction myself."

  He was shocked. It was the first time Jess had acknowledged that they were in fact starting a relationship. "That's good to hear," he said lightly.

  "Just so I don't have to keep track of how many dates we're on."

  "I've got that. So we'll see each other again when I'm off work?"

  "It will have to be Saturday. Friday night is my mother's birthday, and I'm taking Brandon there for dinner." She hesitated. "I'm sorry that I can't invite you. Things are too rocky with my mom's illness to bring a new person into the mix, and to be honest, I don't like them to get too deeply into my life. They always have so many opinions."

  "You don't think they'd like me?"

  "I didn't say that."

  "Because I've always done well with parents."

  "Really?" She gave him a questioning look. "You told me you'd never dated anyone longer than a year, so how many parents have you actually met?"

  "A few, and we always got along."

  "Well, it wouldn't be your fault if you couldn't get along with my parents. They are very difficult."

  "I'd still like to meet them."

  "You will—sometime. My mom is finishing up her chemo next week, so after that, hopefully everything will get back to normal."

  "I'm glad she's going to be all right."

  "Me, too."

  He stopped at a light. "I can drop Tara off at my place first and then take you and Brandon home."

  "I don't think that's a good idea, Reid. I need to get ready for work tomorrow. It's best if you drop us off first."

  "All right. We'll get together next weekend then."

  "Next weekend," she agreed. "But it seems like a long time from now."

  He felt exactly the same way.

  Fifteen

  After a week spent working and only talking to Jessica on the phone or by text, Reid was more than ready to see her again on Saturday. Since ideal ocean conditions had made Revolution a go, they'd agreed to meet at the bluff overlooking the beach at noon.

  She'd asked him several times if he was going to accept a wild card into the competition, and he hadn't been able to come up with an answer. It was crazy to even consider it, but as he walked along the beach just after eight a.m. and saw the organizers setting up the judges' platform, he felt an old familiar rush of adrenaline.

  This had been his life a long time ago, and memories of being young, reckless, and free ran through his head. On the flip side, he'd also been broke, sleeping in cars, drinking beer, and not doing anything of real importance with his life. That had all changed when he'd become a firefighter. He liked the life he had now. So why was he even contemplating going back to the other one, if only for a day?

  As he was pondering that question, Noah Halsey, one of the local younger guys he surfed with, came strolling by and gave him a nod. Noah had long brown hair that he pulled back in a ponytail and several tattoos on his arms and legs. He was exactly the kind of guy Reid had once hung out with.

  "It's a go," Noah said, excitement in his face. "You in, old-timer? I heard they're giving you a wild card."

  "I'm thirty, Noah, not on Social Security."

  The eighteen-year-old kid laughed. "That's old for this sport."

  He supposed it was, from Noah's vantage point.

  "Maybe I'll see you out there," Noah said, as he jogged down the beach.

  Reid turned his attention back to the ocean. The waves were already huge and with the incoming tide expected to hit at ten, the conditions would grow even more wild, dangerous, and challenging. Only the best surfers in the world would even finish a ride, and he hadn't faced waves like this in a very long time.

  His phone buzzed, and he wasn't surprised to see Bill's number flash across the screen. "Hello."

  "Are you doing it?" Bill asked shortly.

  "Still thinking about it. I'm at the beach."

  "How does it look?"

  "Like it's going to be a fierce contest."

  "Are you going to be among the competitors?"

  "Not sure yet."

  "You never take this long to make a decision, Reid."

  That was true. He'd had a history of acting first and thinking later, but lately that had begun to change, and the cautiousness hadn't just come since he'd met Jess, but with age, and with a job that forced him to pull people out of stupid situ
ations they'd recklessly gotten themselves into. He certainly didn't want the Coast Guard to have to pull him out of the ocean.

  "When you did this ten years ago, you had nothing to lose," Bill reminded him. "Maybe you should ask yourself if that's still true. Anyway, I'm heading down there. I'll either see you on the bluff or in the ocean. If you decide to give it a shot, good luck, and try not to kill yourself."

  "I will." He put his phone back into his pocket as he folded his arms across his chest and watched the waves rolling into shore. He had about five more minutes to make a decision, and it had to be the right one…

  * * *

  Jessica woke up a little after eight on Saturday. It was the first morning she'd had a chance to sleep past six thirty in over a week, and it felt good. Brandon must have slept in, too, since he usually woke her up long before now. He was probably tired from their late night at her parents' house. It had gone better than she'd expected, her mom and dad actually making an effort to talk to Brandon. Some of her parents' friends had also been there, many of whom she hadn't seen in a long time, and the extra people in the house had made things less awkward.

  But with her family obligation out of the way, she was looking forward to seeing Reid today. The week had seemed impossibly long, and their brief communications had not been at all satisfying. It just wasn't the same as seeing him in person, watching his smile spread across his sexy mouth, seeing his blue eyes change colors with the intensity of his emotions, holding his hand and feeling his warmth and strength run through her.

  She shivered with a desire and need that was both exciting and terrifying. Despite her best efforts to stay as detached and play things as cool as possible, she was in way over her head when it came to Reid. That didn't bode well for the future, but she wasn't going to think that far ahead.

  As she thought about their plans for the day, she wondered what Reid had decided to do about the competition. She picked her phone up off the bedside table to see if he'd left her a text, but he hadn't. She could text him, but a part of her didn't want to know, didn't want to worry. She'd find out when she got to the beach if he was competing or spectating. Hopefully, it would be the latter, but she wasn't sure he'd make that choice.