Jeremy (Broken Angel #4)

by L. G. Castillo

  “He met a model shooting some sports magazine swimsuit issue. He was here one day, and then just like that”—she snapped her fingers—“he took off to the mainland to be with her in LA.”

  “That’s awful.”

  “What is it with you guys, anyway? Some stacked skank wags her ass at you and you leave your wife and kid. Don’t even bother checking to see if they’re okay. Oh, but once a year I get a crumpled ten-dollar bill shoved into a birthday card. Big whoop!”

  “Not all men are like that,” he said softly.

  Not hearing him, her voice shook as she continued.

  “Then even the crummy birthday cards stop and you get nothing. Then you hear, from your neighbor, that he has a new baby . . . a son.”

  She dropped her head onto knees.

  “Leilani?” He placed a hand on her back.

  She pulled away slightly at his touch, as if fighting him. Then she gave in, her body relaxing, and she let out a tiny sob. He waited patiently, letting her cry as he kept his hand firmly on her back. After a few minutes, her breathing slowed down and she continued.

  “You do whatever you can to get his attention. You work harder. You become a badass surfer and win one competition after another.” She lifted her head and wiped the tears off her cheeks with the back of her hand. “You email newspaper links of your awards, text him photos, and then your emails bounce back and your number is blocked. Tell me, who does that to their own kid?”

  Wet eyes blinked at him, waiting for an answer. He wished he had one.

  “Someone without a brain,” he said.

  “You can say it. My father’s an ass.”

  “Well, he is for abandoning a wonderful girl like you.”

  “Huh! Apparently not wonderful enough.” She ducked her head, avoiding his eyes. Her finger twirled aimlessly in the sand.

  He gritted his teeth as he gazed down at the short, spiky hair. All the spunk seemed to have gone out of her. After all she’d experienced at such a young age, he was amazed she had any left at all.

  “Look, Leilani.” He placed his hand under her chin, lifting it up to meet his eyes. “You’re an amazing girl. If he doesn’t see that, then he’s an idiot. It’s his loss to not hold on to you.”

  “It’s just . . . I know he’s an ass, but—” She bit down on her lip for a moment, holding back something she was afraid to admit. Pain flashed across her face and the words stumbled out. “Why can’t he love me too? What did I do wrong?”

  He shook his head, wishing he could take her pain away.

  “You didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “He was the one who wronged you and your mom.”

  “I know. I know. I should let it go. My stepdad is awesome. But he’s not Dad. I still remember what it was like to be with him. I was the one who could make him laugh when he was grumpy. I was the one who snuck him a pillow and blanket when Mom kicked him out of the bedroom. I was the one who—ugh!” She stomped her foot out, kicking the sand. “This is so stupid. I know he’s gone, and he’s never coming back. It’s been years! I should be over it by now. Have you ever wanted something so badly it hurt just to think about it?”

  “Yes,” he said softly as his mind turned to Naomi.

  Leilani’s eyes flicked to him with surprise. “Really?”

  Sapphire eyes locked with hers. He knew her pain. Someone so young shouldn’t have had to experience it. He could barely manage to hold it together. How did she do it? He was older, wiser. He was an archangel, for crying out loud. Yet there was grit behind those soulful brown eyes.

  Eyes that gazed at him with wonder.

  Eyes that closed as her pretty face inched her way to him with pink lips puckered.

  Shit!

  He froze, not knowing what to do.

  Her forehead wrinkled, waiting for a kiss that was not going to happen. Flashing her eyes open, she snapped, “Well, are you gonna kiss me or not?”

  “I, uh . . . there’s been a misunderstanding. You see, I—”

  “You have a girlfriend.”

  “No . . . yes . . . I mean . . .” He paused, running a hand through his damp hair.

  Damn, this was hard.

  “There is someone I care about,” he finally said. “But that’s not the problem. I’m much older than you.”

  “Yeah, whatever.” She busied herself, looking obviously embarrassed.

  “I like you, Leilani. Really, I do. I’d love to be your friend.”

  “Friends.” She snorted as she fussed over the beach towel, avoiding his eyes. Then she paused as if deciding something and looked up at him, smiling.

  “Okay, friend, tell me about this chick of yours.”

  Leilani amazed him. Though hurt lingered on her face, she was handling herself with maturity—for a kid.

  “And if you tell me she’s a model, I’m gonna hurl.”

  He chuckled. Okay, so she wasn’t mature all the time.

  “She’s not a model. She’s a wonderful person. Very kind and sweet and strong. You kind of remind me of her.”

  “If she’s so great, why aren’t you with her?”

  “She’s not interested in me in that way.”

  “No way. She dumped you?” She looked him up and down, taking in broad, muscled shoulders and rock-hard abs.

  “Is she blind?”

  “You can’t always help who you fall in love with.”

  “Yeah, you can say that again,” she mumbled. “So who’d she leave you for?”

  He wanted to tell her. Should he tell her? It would be a relief to get it off his chest.

  “Come on, I won’t tell anyone,” she whined. “You just said we’re friends.”

  “She’s in love with my brother.”

  “Whoa! I’ve got to meet your brother! Just kidding. Seriously, that’s just messed up. Like soap opera messed up.”

  “Yeah, I guess it is.”

  “Dude, I was so wrong to call you Golden Boy. My bad.” She jumped to her feet and nudged him with her foot.

  “Come on, friend. I owe you a Sammywich. You look like you could use one right about now.”

  16

  Jeremy tucked the surfboard under his arm, grinning as he listened to Leilani tell him about Kai and how he singed his eyebrows twirling a fire devil stick in his yard.

  “Hurry up, you guys. You’re so slow. I’m hungry!” Sammy whined.

  Over the past few weeks, Jeremy had found himself hanging out with Leilani and Sammy on almost a daily basis—not that he’d planned it.

  Okay, so maybe he did plan it a little. He couldn’t help it. Being around Leilani and Sammy was like taking a breath of fresh air. The more he was with them, the less he thought about Naomi and Lash.

  His favorite time of the day was their daily trek to the taco shack after a day of swimming and surfing. Sammy would run ahead while he talked softly with Leilani, sharing with her bits and pieces about his family and what had happened between him and Lash. He was careful to keep his angelic background secret. It wasn’t difficult. She never asked more than he was willing to tell her. Despite that, he kept sharing more and more with her. There was something about her gentle smile and the way her eyes gazed at him when he spoke that made him want to share his story with her. He didn’t know how she did it. Since the day she’d given him his first surfing lesson, everything seemed to spill out of him.

  The situation was so backward. He should have been the one comforting her during their long walks. He was the archangel. She was young, but she seemed to understand the heartache he was feeling. And there was a quiet energy about her making her appear older beyond her years. It was baffling. One moment she was a typical teenager, and the next she was a woman giving words of wisdom. It was those moments when he saw the woman within her. She’d reflect on their situation, him with his brother and her with her father. She’d tell him there had to be purpose to what they were going through, why they both wanted someone they couldn’t have. Then, in the next minute, she would blow a bubble, smack her gu
m, and say things like, “Whatever. Their loss.”

  “So, anyway, Chucky painted in his brows with eyeliner for weeks,” Leilani said. “He wouldn’t look anyone in the eye. His mom had to drag his sorry ass to school. The best part was he didn’t bother showing up on the beach, either. It was awesome.”

  “Mom says Kai likes you,” Sammy said.

  “Eww, he does not. He’s a dipwad.” Her cheeks turned a slight pink.

  Sammy’s lips curled into a mischievous smile, and he threw back his head and sang, “Kai and Leilani sitting in a—”

  “Knock it off, squirt!” She pushed him playfully.

  “Mom said boys pick on girls they like, and Kai picks on you all the time.”

  “Chucky is not a little boy. And he has a girlfriend already. Actually, he has a new girlfriend every week,” she said.

  “Maybe he’s trying them out like shoes,” Sammy said.

  She scowled. “Girls are not shoes, Sammy. Where are you getting all this from?”

  “I heard it on TV. Oh, look, there’s Kai with Dad.”

  Jeremy looked at the taco shack. A beat-up pickup truck was parked next to the building. Kai and a man, an older version of Sammy, stood on the truck bed attempting to move a large chest freezer.

  “I’ll ask him if he likes you.” Sammy dashed to the truck.

  “Oh my God! Don’t you dare!” She dropped her surfboard and ran after him.

  When Sammy got to the truck, he turned and gave Leilani a devilish smile. “Hey, Dad. Whatcha got?”

  “Hold on a minute, Kai,” Sammy’s father wheezed as he placed the freezer down. Sweat poured down his forehead.

  Sammy was the spitting image of his father. Same pale skin and baby blue eyes. The only difference was his father had red hair, which matched the wicked sunburn on his face and neck.

  “Auntie gave us her old freezer,” Sammy’s father continued after catching his breath. “She’s old but works great. The freezer, not Auntie. Heh, heh.”

  “Samuel, that’s so lame.” Leilani groaned, then turned to Jeremy. “Sorry. He thinks he’s a comedian.”

  “Where’s the love? Kai thought it was funny,” Sammy’s father said. “And he was kind enough to even let me use his truck. You could at least say ‘hi’ to the boy.”

  Leilani let out a huff before she mumbled, “Hey.”

  Kai looked down from the truck and gave her a polite nod. “Leilani.”

  Jeremy stilled at the sound of the boy’s husky voice as he said her name. There was something about the way he said it that made him uncomfortable. And the way he didn’t look directly at Leilani. It was like he was forcing himself not to make eye contact. He hadn’t noticed it the first time he’d run into Kai. He didn’t know why he was just noticing it now.

  Jeremy studied the boy closely. Kai looked like he was at the edge of a boy becoming a man with a fuzz of dark hair over his upper lip, broad shoulders, and a long neck, and muscles protruding from thin arms. The boy swayed from side to side with nervous energy. His Adam’s apple bobbed when he accidentally made eye contact with Leilani.

  “That was nice of you, Chucky, uh . . . I mean, Kai,” she said.

  “Leilani, there’s a few boxes of new tablecloths in the truck. Will you take them to your mother?”

  “Sure.”

  Jeremy’s jaw tensed at the expression on Kai’s face as he watched Leilani. He’d seen the same expression on Lash whenever he was with Naomi. If he’d had a mirror, he’d probably have seen that same expression whenever Naomi was around, too.

  Sammy was right. The boy liked her. Kai was perfect for Leilani. They were the same age. They were childhood friends.

  So why did he suddenly feel cold?

  A rush of protective emotions caught him off guard, and he gripped his surfboard tighter. There was a sound of wood splintering.

  His eyes darted to the small chunks of wood that had dropped on the sand. Quickly, he brushed the sand, covering the remnants.

  What the hell was he doing? He had no right to feel the crazy feelings he was at that moment.

  Get a grip!

  He gazed back at Kai, confused by his intense reaction to the boy.

  “Oh hey, Samuel, you haven’t met Jeremy,” Leilani said as she pulled out a box.

  “So, you’re the famous Jeremy. Dinner conversations haven’t been the same since Sammy and Leilani met you. It’s been Jeremy this and Jeremy that nonstop for weeks.” He gave Jeremy a warm smile and stretched out his hand.

  “Oh my God. How embarrassing,” Leilani mumbled, ducking her head into the box, sorting through its contents.

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Hunter.” Jeremy put his surfboard down, careful to hide the damaged side of it in the sand, and shook his hand.

  “Call me Samuel.”

  “Samuel.” He grinned and then turned to Kai. “I think we’ve met on the beach. Kai, is it?”

  Kai looked at Jeremy, his eyes narrowing slightly as he gazed down at his open hand. Reluctantly, the boy placed his hand in Jeremy’s. He barely touched Jeremy before snatching his hand back. He turned away, muttering so low that only an angel could hear what he said, “Stupid haole.”

  Jeremy’s smile froze. If he thought he could get away with it, he’d lop the boy upside the head. The boy didn’t have any manners. He gazed over at Leilani, who was slapping Sammy’s grubby hands away from the box.

  He should’ve been happy that Leilani had someone more age appropriate who liked her, even if he didn’t have the social grace of showing her how much he liked her. It was obvious the boy was jealous.

  “It looks like you could use some help,” Jeremy said, heading to the back of the truck.

  “We can handle it,” Kai grumbled.

  “We sure could use some help,” Samuel said at the same time.

  Kai leaned against the freezer, scowling at Jeremy. The boy definitely didn’t like him. Jeremy didn’t know what to do about that. Somehow, he had to show Kai that he wasn’t a threat and there was no reason to be jealous. Maybe he could even befriend the boy and help him with Leilani. He briefly thought about Rachel and how she would’ve loved to be there to watch him play matchmaker.

  “Why don’t I get this end?” Jeremy suggested, taking over Samuel’s spot.

  “Thanks, Jeremy.” Samuel slid over and joined Kai on the opposite end of the freezer. “My back feels like it’s about to give out any minute. Not sure how we managed to get this thing on the truck the first time. It seems like it got heavier from Auntie Anela’s house to here.”

  “No problem.” As Jeremy took hold of the edge, Kai gave him a blank stare, his dark eyes growing even darker. Then, making sure no one was looking, Kai scratched the side of his nose using his middle finger.

  Jeremy tensed at the gesture, his biceps flexing.

  Back away. He’s just a boy.

  He let out a frustrated breath. There was no way he could befriend this kid. His eyes flicked to Leilani, who was busy pulling a second box out of the truck. Boy or not, Kai didn’t deserve her.

  “Okay, on the count of three,” Samuel said. “One, two, three!”

  Kai looked up at him in surprise when Jeremy lifted the freezer with ease.

  Shit!

  Immediately, Jeremy loosened his hold on the freezer. Samuel let out an “oof” at the feel of the freezer’s full weight.

  Whew, that was close.

  Jeremy had been so caught up with Kai, he’d forgotten about his angelic strength. His eyes darted to the shards of the surfboard buried in the sand. He was making too many mistakes. He had to be more careful.

  Slowly, he stepped back, carrying the freezer, careful not to carry the full weight of it. He twisted his face, mimicking Samuel’s and Kai’s straining neck. He tensed his arms, veins popped out, running along his huge biceps.

  He heard a gasp, followed by a thud.

  “Hey! You almost dropped the box on my foot,” Sammy cried.

  Jeremy glanced over at Leilani. She stood spellb
ound, jaw agape, box at her feet, staring at his arms. He must’ve lost his mind, or maybe his inner teenager had taken over his brain, because for whatever reason, he flashed a grin, going full blast with dimples.

  Pink flooded Leilani’s pretty cheeks, and she quickly picked up the tablecloths, stuffing them back into the box.

  “Dude, we’re waiting,” Kai snapped.

  “Sorry,” Jeremy said, taking a step back and avoiding Kai’s deathly glare as they moved toward the shack’s entrance.

  Was he insane? He shook his head, hating himself for what he’d done. He was all messed up, thinking he was in some type of competition with Kai.

  An image of a red sash flashed through his mind, and a chill swept up his neck. He’d seen the sash before. Somewhere. When? His perfect features twisted as he tried to dig up a memory that refused to surface.

  “Set it down here for a moment,” Samuel gasped as he lowered the freezer. “Let me catch my breath before we take it inside.”

  “There you are,” Lani said as she walked out the door with a tray of iced tea. “I thought I heard huffing and puffing out here. I see you’ve managed to recruit Jeremy into giving you free labor.” She winked, offering him a glass.

  Pushing the memory aside, Jeremy thanked her and took the drink. He leaned against the wall, pretending to be winded like the others.

  “You read my mind,” Samuel said, taking the glass and kissing her cheek. “How lucky am I, marrying someone so beautiful who can read minds?”

  “Eww,” Sammy said. “No hanky panky. There are children here.”

  Jeremy laughed along with the others as Lani ruffled Sammy’s hair. Then he felt it again. The familiar chill crawling up his neck. Someone was watching. He glanced over at Leilani, who was busy stacking the boxes beside the entrance.

  Then from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of movement over the water—the tip of an angel’s wing.

  No. Not now.

  He didn’t want to look, but he knew he had to. Discreetly, he turned to look at the ocean.

  Far off in the horizon, Uri hovered above the water. His wings flapped slowly, holding him up as his feet grazed the top of the blue ocean. Uri’s eyes lit up, happy to see his old friend.