Rise (Roam Series, Book Three)

by Stedronsky, Kimberly

  “Roam.”

  I remembered his words. I value a person who is brave enough to admit how they’re feeling. “I want a family. Children. It’s overwhelming how much I want to have a child. I think that scared Logan away.”

  Our intimate conversation, so inappropriate for our acquaintance, chased the world away around us. “There’s nothing wrong with that.” He said softly.

  “I’ll only be nineteen tomorrow. Logan thought there was everything wrong with that.”

  “You don’t have to want what Logan wants… and he doesn’t have to want what you want. Maybe he understood that.”

  I considered his words, leaving my food untouched on my plate. “You’re right.”

  He smiled warmly, nodding at my plate. “Eat. We’ll hit the grocery store before we head to my house, and I’ll get some things to make you a special birthday dinner tomorrow. What’s your favorite meal?”

  “You don’t have to do that-…,”

  “Then I’ll grab some seafood, then? Crab legs?”

  I watched his innocent expression, surprised. “Oh… I don’t care for seafood, but if that’s what you want…,”

  “I’m teasing you. Steak, then?”

  “Sounds really good,” I replied quickly.

  “And a cake, but it will have to be a Disney Princess theme. Are you going to be okay with that?”

  I laughed, registering the urge in my fingers to thread through this thick, sandy-blonde hair. “Not necessary- but perfect.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  West’s three-story home could only be described as a beach castle. Unlike the other colorful duplexes that lined the ocean shore for vacationers, this house was white with black shutters, comparably adding to the elegant appearance.

  I climbed out of his silver Lexus SUV, wondering about a public teacher’s salary. He must come from family money, I guessed, moving to the back to help with the groceries.

  “I can’t believe you live here. This is a mansion.”

  “It used to be a tiny, two-room cottage. I had the place razed and rebuilt last year. The girls deserved a little luxury after all they’d been through,” he added, slinging multiple plastic bags over his strong arms. “Like I said, plenty of space. The entire second floor is yours, and the view is unbelievable.”

  “Thank you so much, West. Really… you’re definitely my hero,” I grinned at him, shifting a package of paper towels in my arms.

  He winked. “That’s my goal in life,” he answered, sounding so sincere that I had to laugh.

  “Do you rent the place out in the off season?”

  “No,” he responded, leading me down a walkway to the door. A giant, wooden sign hung from the two, center windows.

  Roam West.

  “What?” I widened my eyes at the sign, my heart battering against the inside of my chest. “Did you name this place?”

  “Coincidence,” he assured me, hitting the doorbell with his elbow. Footsteps sounded from inside, and a small voice came from the other side of the door.

  “Speak your name, state your purpose.”

  “Daddy. Groceries.”

  “Password?”

  “White rabbit.”

  “Daddy, wrong password! I changed it this morning!”

  He shifted uncomfortably beneath the weight of the grocery bags. “Eva, please open the door. My hands are full.”

  “Password!”

  Sighing and struggling with patience, he cleared his throat. “Um… magic slipper?”

  “Ding ding ding!” She threw the door open, her eyes fixing on me immediately.

  “Hi,” I burst cheerfully, holding a warm smile. “Eva, right? I’m Roam. You probably don’t remember me.”

  I’d forgotten how green her eyes were, so like my own. Her mass of red curls tumbled down her shoulders, and she wore a ruffled, white bathing suit with small, pink drip marks on the front. She smelled so familiar, like sunblock, and cherries…

  And something wonderful that I just can’t place.

  “Did you have a popsicle by any chance?” West asked as he carried the groceries up a narrow flight of stairs. Eva watched me with wide eyes, nodding.

  “Vi said I could. Daddy,” she cut in front of him, glancing back at me as I followed them both up to the main floor.

  West had obviously spared no extravagance. Chandeliers, fixtures, and accents all complimented each other in varying degrees of stainless steel and antique brass. Granite countertops housed upscale appliances, balancing bright, white cabinets.

  The two living areas held new furniture in several shades of beige and light blue. The walls were a complimentary cream color, harmonizing with large pieces of original artwork and decoratively framed mirrors. Floor-to-ceiling windows made me feel like I could reach out and touch the Atlantic Ocean.

  “Dad, I’m going to take Eva to the beach for a while…,”

  Violet snapped her mouth closed as I ascended the stairs. She nearly dropped the bottle of sunscreen in her hands. “Hi, Violet.”

  “Vi, Roam’s car broke down over at the Plantation. She’s going to stay with us for a few days.”

  “Just until my car is fixed… if that’s okay…,”

  Her cool eyes mirrored the same color I’d just spent an hour drowning in at lunch. “I guess so. In town for your boyfriend?” She asked pointedly, tightening her beach cover-up at the waist.

  “Yeah,” I lowered the paper towels to the floor. “He’s being deployed to Afghanistan. So he took this opportunity to dump me.”

  I hoped for some camaraderie, but I watched as all the color drained from her face. West untangled his arms from the grocery bags, hugging her to his chest. “Go ahead out to the shore, we’ll join you in a few minutes.”

  She nodded, obviously struggling as she forced a smile at me. “Nice to see you. Glad you can stay,” she managed, turning to Eva as she appeared from a bedroom off to the right.

  Eva ran to me, carrying a hair clip in her hands. She crooked her finger, indicating that I kneel to her level. When I did, she held the emerald and diamond flower clip out to me. “My mommy gave me this. You look like her,” she turned and ran for the balcony before I had a chance to respond.

  Staring down at the flower, I wondered if the jewels were real. “I’m sorry,” I turned to West, watching Violet follow Eva to the stairs on the outside balcony. “Am I upsetting her?”

  West began unloading the bags, shaking his head resolutely. “You’re just fine. Go ahead upstairs if you’d like and pick a bedroom. I’ll grab your bag from the car.”

  “Okay, thank you,” I set the clip carefully on the counter. “Are you sure this is okay? Violet seemed…,”

  “Roam, everything is fine,” he repeated firmly, sliding the steaks into the refrigerator. “You’re welcome here.”

  Smiling at him, I nodded once. “Okay, thank you. These stairs?” I pointed to a staircase leading to a balcony overhead.

  “Those stairs.”

  I found three bedrooms, all of them what I would consider master suites. Each had a lavish bathroom with a whirlpool tub, a separate shower, and a view of the ocean. I chose the third room, simply because of the woodblock print on the wall depicting a giant, blue wave. Staring at the artwork, I lost myself in the shades of blue and tan.

  “The Great Wave of Kanagawa.” West’s voice interrupted my thoughts. He carried my suitcase to the bed, turning to the painting that I stood before. “By Hokusai. This is the most well-known piece of Japanese art in the world. Do you know what mountain that is in the background?”

  I focused on the snow-capped mountain beyond the wave. “Mt. Fuji?”

  “You got it.” He gestured to the entertainment center near the corner of the suite. “You’re welcome to watch movies, and there’s a laptop right over on the desk. Make yourself at home, okay?”

  I turned to face him, lowering my eyelashes slowly before meeting his gaze. “You’ve been so nice to me,” I started, tracing my fingers along the hem of m
y shorts. “Could I ask you for just one more thing?”

  “Anything,” he promised.

  “Can I… read your book tonight?”

  He smiled, and then broke into full-on laughter as I grinned shyly. “Of course you can. You can tell me how it is.”

  “Thank you, West.”

  He started to speak, and then stopped, nodding once before heading back to the stairs.

  He refused my offer to assist in the kitchen, insisting that entertaining Eva while Violet showered was the best way to help him. Eva warmed to me immediately, and took my hand, pulling me to her bedroom.

  “This is my beach bedroom. I have a bedroom at my house that has princesses on the walls but at the beach my beach bedroom has polka-dot walls but Daddy said I could bring my Barbies so I brought them and my paint. Wanna paint with me?”

  “Sure,” I grinned at her sweet voice, adoring the way her ‘r’ sounded more like a ‘w.’ Her natural inflection was endearing. “I’m not a very good artist, so maybe you can help me out?”

  “Daddy told me I was the best artist in the whole world.”

  “Your daddy is pretty smart, so I’m sure he’s right,” I watched as West chopped peppers at the counter, smirking at our conversation. “Your daddy was my teacher.”

  “Your hair is pretty,” Eva moved behind me as I sat cross-legged on the floor. “Can I put ponies in it?”

  “Okay,” I agreed, her small fingers threading through my hair. She stopped suddenly, moving around to crawl into my lap.

  “I feel happy that you are here,” she said in her little, raspy voice, wrapping her arms around my neck. I hugged her, holding my breath.

  Worlds of time moved in seconds, and from somewhere deep inside my heart, I felt her, grasping her to me. The wonderful scent of her jogged my memory, and I pressed my face into her curls, kissing her head softly.

  “I feel happy that I’m here, too,” I agreed, lifting my eyes to West’s.

  He’d stopped cutting, and stood perfectly still, watching us. “Love you, babe,” he called, and Eva responded without moving.

  “Love you, Daddy.”

  “I think I had sand in my teeth. That is the last time I let you bury me, Eva Kaneeva,” Violet rushed into the living room, freshly showered and clad in a tank top with jean shorts. “Mmm smells good. Want me to help?” She asked West, sliding the cutting board closer. “I’ll cut these, you go… relax.”

  He kissed the top of her head over her wet, blonde curls, and then moved to the sink to wash his hands. “Eva, let’s show Roam the ocean. She hasn’t even been to the shore yet.”

  “She’s going to get all sandy,” Violet warned from the kitchen.

  “Vi, you’re poopy.”

  “No potty talk.”

  “She’ll be fine,” West assured them both, reaching for his youngest. She stood up in my lap, and I helped steady her as West reached for her. “Up for a walk?” He asked me.

  “Sounds great,” I agreed, following him out to the balcony. A wooden stairway led down to the path through the dunes, and then eventually to another stairway that ended at the sand. “Oh, the sun is setting… I’ve never seen the sun set on the ocean before,” I smiled, running after Eva as she bee-lined the shore.

  “Eva, don’t go in the water, please,” West called from behind us. The wind was different by the water; warm, salty, and so refreshing that I felt like I was taking the first deep breath of my entire life. The shore stretched for miles to my left and right, and only a few people lingered near the water as dinner time approached.

  A sandcastle held fast just inches from the tide, and Eva dropped to her knees, patting it carefully. “I builded this.”

  “You built it?” West corrected gently.

  “Yes and Vi got shells for me.”

  West stood at least a foot from me, and I turned to him, moving a little closer to his side. He dropped down at that point, sitting in the sand. “Well, Miss Camden, you’re in for a show. A beach sunset is something you’ll never forget.” He patted the sand next to him, and I grinned, sitting over his lingering handprint.

  Eva squatted and slapped the sand, and I guessed that she had an exact method that could never be duplicated. “It looks like… magic,” I admitted, watching the orange globe sink lower into the sky, flirting with the distant horizon.

  “Magic isn’t always so beautiful,” he said, his quiet words furrowing my eyebrows.

  “What do you mean? Magic is always beautiful,” I argued playfully, gesturing to Eva. “When your wife was pregnant with Eva, and Eva grew and grew until the day she was born, wasn’t that magic?”

  He turned to me. “I’d have thought a history major like yourself would attribute human pregnancy to science, not magic.”

  “Science is another word for magic.” I turned back to the sun. “I understand how it works. But why? The ability to have a child… straight-up magic.”

  “That’s a beautiful way to look at things.” He crossed his arms over his knees, still watching me.

  “I’m sorry, I’m rambling. It’s just been me and history books for the past year,” I apologized, grinning timidly.

  “I could listen to you ramble all night,” he answered.

  My lips parted at his words, my grin falling.

  “As good as Logan is, you deserve better,” he murmured softly, sitting perfectly still. “You’ll find the magic that you’re looking for… someday.”

  I closed my eyes, leaning slightly toward him. Kiss me, I willed, the setting sun a perfect backdrop for my first kiss with West.

  “Eva,” he stood, rushing to her before she could reach the water. “No water, remember?”

  “I need to fix my castle!”

  “It’s dinner time,” he corrected her sternly. She dropped the shells in her hands, running for the stairs to the house.

  “I want cookies!” She called in a sing-song voice against the wind, and I stood, entertained.

  “She always wants cookies,” he added, grinning back at me. I shrugged, following her with West at my side.

  “Can’t blame the girl. Cookies are good. Especially chocolate chip.”

  He turned to me, smirking. “You’re in luck… we have plenty of those.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Can’t sleep?”

  Violet’s voice nearly made me skip a step as I descended the stairs to the main floor. She sat curled on the couch beneath a white throw blanket, headphones over her ears. She pulled them off of her head as I nodded.

  “It was just a… strange day. I’m really sorry to impose on your family like this,” I added, standing uncomfortably at the bottom of the stairs and shifting The Rise of Rome in my hands. That, and I can’t stop thinking about your father.

  “Come, sit,” she invited, gesturing to the other end of the long couch. “You’re not imposing. I’m glad you’re here. You make my dad very happy.”

  Stop flushing, I ordered my abominable skin, sitting at the other end of the couch. “He… I… I don’t…,”

  “It’s fine,” she interrupted my stuttering nonsense, waving her hand. “And he’s only twenty-nine, by the way. I’m sure he made up some age to make it look like he didn’t father me at the age of nine.”

  “I don’t need an explanation.”

  “I would love to give you one, but I won’t,” she answered, crossing her arms over her chest. “So, your boyfriend dumped you, huh?”

  Her blunt perspective was hard to swallow at one in the morning. “Yeah. But, things weren’t going… well… for a while. I guess I should have seen it coming. You just can’t always make a relationship out of a friendship.”

  “You’re right. The opposite is also true. My parents had a relationship, but couldn’t be friends. Hence the divorce. And by relationship, I’m guessing you mean sex.”

  “No,” I argued, her frank words making me twist my fingers in my lap. “I’ve never been with anyone. Not Logan, not anyone. We just couldn’t get there.”

&nb
sp; She sat up, arching her manicured eyebrows. “Why?”

  “I don’t know,” I shrugged, clearing my throat. “I think there was someone else. He wouldn’t admit it, but… whatever.”

  Violet bit her lip. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I’m sure I’m not the only nineteen year old virgin on the planet.”

  “No, I’m sure you’re not. Oh, yeah, happy birthday,” she responded quickly, her eyes catching the digital clock on the cable box. I looked at her expectantly, and she sighed. “I fell for someone a couple years ago. I lost it to him. Now… I just can’t get over him.”

  “Oh Violet. I’m so sorry.”

  “Yeah, it’s history. And you and my dad are so good at history, right?” She countered sarcastically. I tried to remain unoffended, deciding she was just slightly more difficult to digest than Morgan at her very worst.

  “Maybe we should change the subject,” I said quietly. “I usually don’t just open up and pour all my personal stuff out like this.”

  “Whatever. Pretend we’ve known each other for years.” She reached for her cell phone, texting quickly. “My mom. She hates that I want to be here with my dad, even though Dad sends loads of money her way.”

  “Oh.” I nodded, glancing awkwardly around the room.

  “So how long will Logan be gone?”

  “Eighteen months,” I replied.

  She stared out the window, quiet.

  I sighed, opening the book to my makeshift, tissue bookmark. Movement caught both of our eyes as West squinted at the light, walking to the kitchen sink. He looked at me as he filled a glass with tap water. “You girls are up late. Roam, how’s the book?”

  His voice was scored with sleep. Sandy blonde hair mussed, he wore only gray pajama pants and a white tee shirt. Muscled biceps stretched the short sleeves of his shirt to the limit. My God, he is so hot. I shifted nervously, brushing my hair away from my face.

  “Um… okay. I’m not sure about a fact in chapter two…,”

  “Yeah, I’m going to bed,” Violet rolled her eyes to the ceiling and back, gathering her headphones and cell phone. “You just invited a lecture that’s going to last at least an hour. Have fun,” she added to me, ruffling her blonde mass of curls. Looking directly to her father, she pointed at him and yawned before walking down the hallway. “You should stay right there in the kitchen.”