by Taylor Hart
He guffawed and pulled her in closer, wrapping the hand that was on her hip around her waist. “You smell so good,” he said, inhaling even deeper and thinking he could get lost in this woman. It startled him to realize she made him feel even better than rowing did.
She giggled. “You act like you’re about to eat me.”
He loosened his hold on her and pulled his head back a bit. She pulled her head off his shoulder, but he said, “No. You can keep your head on me.” He liked the fact that she would rest on him, the fact that she wanted to.
He couldn’t care less about the lake house. All he wanted was her.
Chapter 17
The next afternoon, Scarlett sat drinking strawberry lemonade on the beach with Charlene, Marissa, and Tami. Marissa wasn’t talking, just looking down at the sand while the rest of them were busy weaving little crowns together today for all the little children who came.
Blah. She couldn’t stand the bad mood behavior because Kurt probably had done something stupid. Plus, another DIY project Charlene thought would be fun. Argh! Scarlett didn’t complain about the projects, though and truthfully, what else did they have to do anyway? It was kind of nice to keep her hands busy.
Brent had insisted on taking all the boys out on their speedboat to go water-skiing and tubing. Scarlett hadn’t minded not going; she knew it would be competitive enough with just her brother and Kurt and Victor, and Walker wasn’t the type of guy to make it less competitive.
This morning, they’d been texting, and he told her he didn’t know how to water-ski or anything, but she knew he’d be a quick study. He’d also told her he missed her, and her heart pitter-pattered.
She thought of being in his arms last night and dancing on the pier. It’d been so perfect. She thought about all the things he’d told her and the things she’d told him. It kind of made her feel exposed, but she trusted him. Which was strange. She hadn’t had anyone since Kurt that she really felt safe with.
As Charlene continued to prattle about the wedding arrangements and who was going to be in attendance, all Scarlett could think about was Walker. How he’d looked that day on the lake when he’d thought he was saving her. It made her giggle to think that he’d thought he would save her. He really was a hero.
“Scarlett, are you listening?” Charlene turned to her.
“Yes,” she answered quickly, refocusing on the weaving.
But her thoughts drifted back to Walker. She thought of last night, of how vulnerable he’d looked when he’d told her about his dishonorable discharge. How broken he’d looked when he’d talked about the gunman he’d lost. The memory made her feel mushy inside.
She was still surprised she’d divulged her cancer secret and still ticked Grant had told him. Pausing on the crown making, she pulled out her phone and texted Grant. You are so dead.
Surprising her, he texted back instantly. I’m sorry. But you can trust him.
Hesitating, she texted, You’re coming tomorrow, right?
Of course.
Unable to stop herself, she texted Walker. Having fun?
He also texted right back. Can’t quit thinking about you.
Warmth filled her.
Or smelling you, he added.
Little happiness explosions went off inside of her. It was still a marvel to her that she’d fallen for him so quickly. Or that dance, she replied.
He texted back a heart. It was so silly, but it made her so happy. This huge man was texting her hearts. She giggled. Then it hit her. She had fallen for him. Crap.
“Scarlett …” Charlene said. “Tell us what you’re happy about.”
She turned her phone over on her lap. “Nothing.”
“And not to be picky about this, but you haven’t brought Walker to a lot of the festivities, Scarlett. You guys didn’t go horseback riding. Then I found out you went on the helicopter with him to the carnival when everyone thought he was sick.”
Scarlett knew she would find out, because you couldn’t really hide a helicopter landing. Still, she winced to see Charlene looking so hurt. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”
Tami let out a low whistle. “It seems the bad-boy Kent brother is living up to the reputation all his brothers are said to have.”
It ticked Scarlett off that Tami would say that. None of them knew, couldn’t know—just like she hadn’t known—what Walker was really like. What he’d really been through. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell them. She didn’t want to fight, so she changed the topic. “I was thinking that we should have a dance tonight.” Really, she just hadn’t been able to get it out of her mind.
“Ha!” Charlene clapped her hands together and her face brightened. “Yes!”
Tami looked skeptical. “A dance?”
Marissa pulled her sunglasses off and tossed them onto her chair, still weaving. “Who would come to this dance?”
Scarlett thought of being in Walker’s arms. Swaying with him had been so intoxicating. She didn’t know why she’d said that idea, other than the fact she wanted to have another opportunity to be in his arms that way. “Just us.” She flashed them a smile and focused on Charlene. “Don’t you remember when we were kids and we’d put on those grand balls in the library? We would decorate, and we would have fun food, and then we’d dance all night until we fell asleep watching a television show waiting for our parents?”
Charlene grinned, and her eyes misted. “Yes, those were so much fun, weren’t they?”
“So much fun!” she agreed, taking Charlene’s hand and thinking of how it felt when they were small, even though she couldn’t help thinking about Kurt, which was a downer. She put it out of her mind. “We could do a luau! Get dancers to perform and then get down ourselves.”
“It sounds fun,” Tami said softly. “I have some décor in mind, ladies!” She and Charlene and Scarlett all laughed.
“Another DIY project!” Scarlett exclaimed, feeling lighter than she’d felt in months.
Marissa turned to them, frowning. “Those parties when we were kids weren’t that great.” Scarlett and Charlene turned to look at her and saw she was focused on her crown. “Because even though some of us were there, we never felt a part of it.”
Irritation coursed through Scarlett. She knew that Marissa was talking about the fact that Kurt had liked her and Brent had liked Charlene and she’d always been the one on the outs. It was the argument that Scarlett had endured from her best friend their whole life. How many nights had she listened to her friend whine that she had no one?
Letting out a soft sigh, she turned to Marissa. “I guess you’re with the guy you always wanted now, aren’t you? So you’ll love this little dance the most.”
Marissa’s gaze flicked to her, and she looked hurt.
Scarlett felt bad, but she refused to apologize. She reminded herself of how much pain she’d endured the last year with no one. Her fiancé and best friend had both betrayed her at once. So she’d gone to New York, and she’d thrown herself into her work, which always helped. Until the cancer. Again, when Scarlett should have been able to go to her best friend for support, Marissa had not been there for her. A tear pooled in her eye, and she dashed it with her fingers before it could run down her face. She sucked in a breath, thinking of Walker last night and how he said that rowing helped, breathing helped.
Scarlett hadn’t been through a war. She didn’t know what it was like to have gunfire raining down on you. She didn’t know what it was like to land a helicopter and hope you could get your precious cargo and get out. She did know what it felt like to drive herself to the surgery and fill out all the paperwork with shaky hands. She did know what it was like to feel humiliated that she had to ask Grant to be there to pick her up. The worst part was all the waiting. Waiting for the lab reports, waiting for the next appointment with the doctor to find out if they got it all. Even waiting now for her last test results to come in. Even though she was taking the chemo pills, they still tested her every couple of weeks to make sure there were
no new cells. The feelings of loneliness mixed with being terrified were still so fresh.
She thought of Walker, the fact that his wife had died in that accident, not to mention his mother dying. He’d lost so much. Pain seared through her chest, and she couldn’t breathe. She stood, putting a hand over her heart.
“Scarlett?” Charlene was up and beside her, putting a light hand on her back. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah.” She pulled in a long breath, finding it compelling and strange and irresistible and terrifying all at once that she seemed to be tapping into Walker Kent’s feelings enough to grasp what he experienced in hard times.
Charlene steadied her. “You sure you’re okay?”
Marissa sidled over. She bit her lip, then opened her hand, and in her palm was a pile of peonies.
Scarlett was confused.
Marissa smiled at her, the first real smile she’d seen in a long time. “I know you love these. I thought you might want them.”
The gesture felt off. Was this an apology? With cautious fingers, Scarlett took the peonies. “Thank you.” She focused on Charlene and took her hand, wanting to make this a great night for her. “Let’s plan the luau. We could have it right by the dock where we ate last night.”
Charlene smiled. “Yes, I love it.”
“I love it too,” Tami chimed in.
Marissa concurred. “I’ll help.”
Scarlett hesitated. Marissa was offering a truce. This was about Charlene and her happiness, so Scarlett put her own feelings aside. “Great. Let’s get it planned.”
.
Chapter 18
As Walker watched Kurt and Brent and even Victor do cool stuff on the water skis and the boogie board, he mused that he’d never done this before. Water sports activities hadn’t been a thing for them—they had been dirt-poor. His daddy didn’t have a boat. When his father had been deployed, his mama had taken them to the city pool all summer. That had been their summer sports.
The boat slowed, and Brent, who was at the wheel, gestured to Walker. “Come on, football player, get out there and show us what you got.”
Hedging, he decided it wasn’t in him to turn down any testosterone-filled feat of strength. All he had to do was mimic what the other guys had done, right? Easy peasy.
He went to the back of the boat and got in, then put on the skis, which was more difficult than he’d thought. He grabbed the rope, crouching down. All he knew from being Special Forces was that the key to doing anything successfully was having confidence you could do it. Same thing with trying out for the Titans last year. He just watched and then copied it. Time and again.
The boat took off, and he found his ski getting hitched in the water the wrong way. He bolted up into the air, then crashed.
When he emerged from the water, the guys were laughing, and the flag was up. Brent circled back and yelled, “It’s okay. Next time, focus on keeping the skis straight.”
Walker wanted to yell back that he was focused on that, but he didn’t. Fine, maybe it wasn’t that easy.
“Stay crouched until you get your balance,” Victor shouted out.
After getting situated again, Walker signaled for Brent to take off, and Brent and Victor cheered him on. Not surprisingly, Kurt remained silent. Kurt wore sunglasses, hiding his eyes, but his arms were crossed and he looked ticked off. Which suited Walker just fine. He didn’t want to be friends with the jerk face who had broken Scarlett’s heart. In fact, he wanted to punch the guy’s face in even more.
The boat started going faster, and Walker focused on holding his legs forward and sucking his core in.
Then, bam! He was up. He held the rope with one hand and lifted the other in celebration in a fist over his head. “Whoo!” he yelled. “Yeah!”
The others, except Kurt, whooped and hollered with him.
Walker put both hands back on the rope and held on for dear life. It was a rush. Man, of course he was an adrenaline junkie. He’d been part of Night Stalkers, where you flew in and out of enemy insurgent territory as a part of daily life. Sure, this was speed without the danger, but it was still cool.
Excitement surged inside of him as the boat turned, and he went over some bumpy water. He found himself doing some of the same things the other men had done when their turn had come, shifting to the side and lifting a ski. It was a blast!
Scarlett’s face flashed into his mind. He wished she were here. He thought of playing with her in the ocean yesterday, carrying her into the water. Without warning, his ski got caught in the water, and his whole body wrenched to the side. Bam! He toppled into the water, still laughing.
As the guys in the boat put the flag up, Walker found the water skis and put them back on.
The boat circled, and Brent held out a wakeboard. “Wanna try?”
Walker was already pulling off the water skis. “Heck yeah.” He handed his skis up to Victor.
Victor grinned. “Dude, are you serious? This water sports thing is your first time?”
Walker laughed. “Yeah.”
He took the wakeboard and situated his knee halfway on. The other supporting foot was half in the water. Adrenaline shot through his system at the challenge placed before him.
The boat took off, and he was unable to get his balance, so he tumbled back into the water.
Again, Brent turned the boat back. All of them were laughing except Kurt, who simply stood on the edge of the boat, watching Walker with arms crossed like he was studying the enemy.
That was no skin off Walker’s nose. Kurt had robbed Scarlett of her best friend during her time of need. Granted, Walker knew that Marissa was just as responsible for her actions, but still. He wouldn’t hit a girl, but Kurt was fair game.
Brent called out some instructions about where to keep his weight while the boat was taking off. Walker adjusted the wakeboard, and the boat took off. Once again, he found himself on top of the water, and it felt like flying, soaring. It was awesome, and he couldn’t hold back the laughter. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t done this in all the years of his life. What had been wrong with him? Well, yes, he’d been poor. Later, he had been busy training for Special Forces.
His mind flashed to the lake house. He could see himself with a boat and his brothers. They would go crazy doing all this fun stuff. His mom had mentioned they should still get together, have family reunions. This would be a perfect one. He pictured barbecuing on the beach. He saw Zane driving the boat, with his stepson water-skiing. He saw Sloane with Hope and Grant with some prima donna movie star, and Will playing catch with Tom.
The image warmed him, because he saw Scarlett there too. Of course he would see her there. It was her house. He saw her walking over to him at the grill, putting a light hand on his bare back.
Sheer want for her and need for the whole picture struck him straight in the gut. Like a sucker punch. Yes, dang it. He needed this woman.
He didn’t know how it had happened, but he no longer wanted it to be a charade. The big question now was how. All his adrenaline felt out of control as the boat turned, and he took off over a wave and flew through the air, but unlike when he had the skis on, this truly felt like flying. Like snowboarding, in a way. But he knew coming down on the wakeboard would be tough, so he let it go and crashed into the water.
The guys on the boat were yelling and laughing.
He grinned back and liked the thought of the boat, the house, and her. Especially her.
Chapter 19
Scarlett waited anxiously at the luau. All afternoon she’d thought of Walker, and she felt this almost desperate need to talk to him. It was strange to want to share another person’s company so much. She’d just finished putting up a whole bunch of décor on the table, and they’d added tiki torches and some leis. There was Hawaiian music playing, and they’d been lucky enough to get some dancers to come later. She stopped at the bar for some water before checking back with Tami to see if everything was set, then leaned back against the stool and put the glass to her
lips.
“Taking a breather, sis?” Brent walked in, alone.
She smiled at him, and he came right to her side, looking out over the ocean. She’d seen them driving the boat past the shore, but she’d been unable to go out and watch them with everything Charlene had wanted done.
Easily, her brother put his arm over her shoulder. The air was cool, and the sun had just started to set. It was indescribable how much having a moment with her brother meant to her.
“Are you ready for the honeymoon?” she asked.
A slow smile washed over his face. “Yes. We’re going to Naples for a week and then doing Paris for a couple of days.”
“I’m glad you’re taking some time off and getting a break,” she said, and leaned into him.
He scoffed. “The old man isn’t too happy about it, but …”
She knew her father kept him working pretty hard on the legal side of the company. “Why don’t you quit?”
Brent roared with laughter. “Right.”
“I’m serious. I mean, we both have a certain amount of money put aside from Mama. Why don’t you do all the pro bono work you used to talk about?”
He scoffed again, but held her eyes. She could tell it hurt him to talk about it. Taking a sip of his drink, he hissed out a breath. “You and I both know that’s not gonna happen. The old man has me locked in.”
Scarlett knew exactly what he was talking about. Her father was powerful. He didn’t just run a movie empire. He had businesses everywhere. He didn’t like it when people defied him.
She thought of the extreme actions she’d gone to in order to make sure her father hadn’t found out about her surgery and the cancer. Everything in cash, everything off the books. She felt guilty she hadn’t told her brother. But now wasn’t the time. Facing the sunset, she let out a long breath.
“What’s wrong?” her brother asked.
“Nothing,” she said quickly. She didn’t want to ruin any part of this wedding by talking about their father.