She dropped in on the face of the wave and found her rhythm quickly. Once she located the sweet spot, she dropped back into the tube. This was what it was all about. Being one with the ocean. She could see the shadows of figures swimming behind the wave. The pod of dolphins playfully jumped through the waves and she laughed. So focused on the playfulness of the animals in front of her, she failed to bail out of the wave on time and lost her footing on her board. She wiped out and her leash got caught up on the reef. She couldn’t keep her head above water long enough to catch air. The waves just pounded her back under. She struggled and felt herself losing the battle. One last push for air. Her energy faded. Faster than she’d ever felt exhaustion take hold of her before. Slowly, her strength leaving her, the fight in her almost gone, but she wasn’t going to go down like this. She pushed up toward the surface again, and was sucked back down by the churning water. Disoriented, she fought to find the way up and lost consciousness as her head connected with the reef.
***
“Angel, open your eyes.”
No response. Hunter checked her pulse, could see the rise and fall of her chest. When he saw her go in and she didn’t come up right away, he didn’t hesitate to fight the waves to get to her. Now he hoped he’d been fast enough for her to be safe. He got her to shore and called an ambulance. Then he made the call he hoped he’d never have to make.
The phone rang once and Nash answered. “What do you want, Hunter? I have nothing more to say to you right now.”
“Phoenix is on her way to the hospital. You need to get back here as soon as possible.”
“What happened? If you hurt her, so help me god—”
“No disrespect, Mr. Nash, but shut the fuck up, and for once in your life, listen.” Hunter took a deep breath. “She wiped out on the reef. I pulled her out, but she is unconscious. The ambulance is here. See you at the hospital.”
Hunter hung up without waiting for a response. The emergency personnel began their onslaught of questions as they secured Phoenix into the ambulance.
The gash on her forehead wouldn’t stop bleeding and one of the EMTs put pressure on it while he tried to stabilize her in the back of the vehicle. “Let’s get her out of here.”
The vehicle started moving and Phoenix’s eyes fluttered open for a moment. “Don’t let me go, Hunter.”
“Never.” He held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Okay.” Her eyes shut again.
The ride seemed to take too long as they raced around the corners. This was just a bump on the head. She would be fine. Then he would give his life to her.
He watched as they wheeled her back, then sank down into the seat in the emergency room waiting area. This was hell, but she was still with him. That was all that mattered. An hour passed and each tick off the clock agonizing. He paced back and forth, then sat, then went back to the nurses’ station to ask for an update. Rinse and repeat.
“Are you Mr. Sullivan? The gentleman that brought in Miss Nash?”
Hunter turned to face a man wearing scrubs. “I am.”
“And I’m her father.”
Hunter practically gave himself whiplash at the sound of the hostile voice behind him.
“Oh good. Mr. Sullivan said you were on your way. She’s stable but not awake yet. We’ve cleaned up the wound on her head, stitched it closed. Just need to keep her here for observation. She’s a little groggy, but she’s asked to see the both of you. Follow me.”
Colton, obviously hating the fact that his daughter wasn’t asking to see him alone, stepped in front of him and Hunter bit his tongue on the many things that popped into his head. This was not the time or place to have it out with her father.
They entered the room and Hunter waited as Colton moved toward the hospital bed and kissed Phoenix on the cheek. “Hey, there. It’s not supposed to go down like this, remember? Surfing alone is stupid. I’ve taught you that since you were a baby.”
“I remember, Dad. But if you don’t listen, why should I? Where’s Hunter?”
“I’m here, angel.” He stepped over and gave her hand a squeeze. “Have to agree with your dad. That whole surfing alone business—I’d highly advise against it in the future.”
“Yeah. Not the smartest thing I’ve done. But I will have this wicked scar on my head and an amazing story to tell our baby.”
“Our what?” Hunter wasn’t sure he heard her right.
“Yeah, would you mind repeating that?” Her father’s face flushed with anger.
“You both heard me. I’m pregnant.” Phoenix smiled, then winced slightly. “It’s still early. The doctor says everything looks good. They are guessing I’m about four weeks along. They have an obstetrician coming by shortly. Numbers will be a little firmer after that. But the heartbeat is strong.” She looked at him with fear in her eyes.
Phoenix was carrying his baby.
“A little baby surfer in the making.” He bent down and kissed her gently. “I couldn’t be more excited.”
The doctor smiled. “Well, I hate to break up the party, but my patient needs some rest.”
“Call me when you wake up.” He gave her another kiss. “I’ll be by tomorrow.”
“Promise?”
“Definitely.” No sooner had Hunter stepped out of the room, Colton Nash sent his fist right into Hunter’s jaw. Hunter hit the ground, hard. People gathered and held Colton.
“Dad, stop!” Phoenix yelled from her hospital bed.
The doctor bent down to Hunter’s side. “You all right, son?”
“I’m fine.” Hunter stood and faced off against the man who’d thrown the punch. “Feel better?”
“No. I want you gone!” Colton thrashed back and forth, trying to free himself from the people keeping him from unleashing his wrath.
“Not your call.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “The only one who can tell me to leave, is your daughter. I’ve got news for you, I’m not going back home unless she’s going with me.”
“The hell you’re not.” Colton jerked his arms away from the security guard. “I’m not going to hit him again, but you might not want to wander too far. I’m sure his mouth will get him in just as much trouble as his dick has.”
“Sir, you need to calm down and lower your voice.” The security guard didn’t back off.
“Dad!” Phoenix yelled at him again from her room. “Knock it off!”
“If you’re doing this for your own selfish financial gain, you’re not going to get anything from her.”
“You are a piece of work, Nash. I love your daughter and I don’t need to get her pregnant to ensure my financial future. Surfing may be what I do, but I don’t need to do it to pay the bills. And if you think that you will just cut me out of her life...out of my child’s life...you’ve got another thing coming.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Chapter Nine
“Let it go.” Aiden, Hunter’s older brother, sat at the table. Diego, his brother’s best friend, threw a couple of steaks on the grill.
Hunter tossed the phone down on the table after leaving one more message that Phoenix probably wouldn’t return. Just like the others, he’d left. He ran his hands through his hair and grunted out his frustrations.
“Your brother’s right. North Shore ain’t no joke. Head and heart. You need both to make it through; lessons you taught me early on in this game.” Diego took a swig from his beer turning from the grill to let the meat cook. “Dude, is it time for the student to become the teacher? Do I have to remind you of all the basics?”
“Nope. Head and heart. Not surfing in the competition. Giving that all up.” Then he fixed his brother and friend with a fierce stare. “And I’m sure as hell not letting Phoenix go.”
“This goes beyond your agent.” Aiden sat and stared at him for a moment. “Dad broke three guitars and a drum set when you said you wanted to be a professional surfer. But you know what his last words were?”
No, and his brother knew it.
Hunter had made it home just after his dad left this world.
“Tell Hunter to never give up on what he wants.” He leaned back in the chair and took a sip of his beer. “This girl is a huge part of that, but you are lying to yourself and to her if you think your future doesn’t come with a board under your feet. You don’t chase something like that as fiercely as you have without it being a part of who you are. Walking away from it will ultimately destroy you and possibly ruin what you are fighting so desperately to hold onto.”
“If it is the only way for me to keep Phoenix in my life, I would walk away from surfing and never look back.” Hunter worried that staying immersed in a world where her father called the shots would only cause more problems for them. Leaving surfing behind so he could have some semblance of a life with the woman he loved and their unborn child made sense. “It’s not about the money and titles anymore.”
“No, it’s not. It never really was. It’s about proving something to yourself and doing what’s necessary to find your piece of happiness.”
“My piece of happiness is spending the rest of my life making Phoenix happy. I have to figure it out for her, for me, and for our baby.”
“Holy shit, Hunter!” His brother threw his hands on top of his head. “You’re going to be a dad? I’m going to be an uncle?”
“Surprise! Never thought I’d make it to this point, did you?”
“No, it’s not that. I just...I don’t know. Thought we’d be older. Like you would be in your thirties. Not a dad before twenty-five. You have to make it right.”
“Not sure I know how to anymore.” And he didn’t. How did you get a woman to listen to you when you had no idea where she was and she wasn’t returning your calls? Colton wouldn’t be of any help. He’d already tried that route. It got him nowhere.
“It’s easy, man.” Diego set the steaks on the table. “You go after all of it. Screw her dad and his company. Go out there and surf for you, for Slade, and for Phoenix. Have fun. Remember why you and Slade started chasing this crazy ass dream in the first place—that’s when it will hit you.”
***
The sand felt cool under her feet. She always loved the feel of the surf as it washed up onto the beach, splashing up on her legs before it retreated into the vast ocean. Her phone rang and she glanced at the display. Hunter. She sent the call to voicemail and put the phone back in her pocket.
“What are you doing out here?”
She turned and saw her dad standing behind her, hands in his pockets, jeans rolled up, and feet bare.
“Hiding.”
“In plain sight? Nothing like throwing people off the trail by doing the obvious.”
“What do you want?”
Her heart ached and she couldn’t forgive him. Hated that she’d allowed him to muddle her thoughts enough that she couldn’t see clearly. He actually made her consider that maybe walking away from Hunter would be for the best. When she woke up in the hospital, found out that she was pregnant, it all seemed to fall apart. After the fight between the only two men she cared about, she refused to talk to either one of them. Hunter kept calling. Her dad tracked her down. Now more than ever she wondered if she’d done the right thing. It made sense. Let him go, free him of the responsibilities of being a dad and give him the freedom to chase his dream. Still, she wished she could convince her heart and her body of that. She missed having him in her bed. Washing the sheets hadn’t erased his scent. She smelled and saw him everywhere.
“You know, I used to come here when you were little.”
Phoenix didn’t care. She didn’t want to travel down memory lane with her father right now. When she didn’t respond, he continued.
“It’s where I always did my deep thinking. It doesn’t work the same way for you, though. You have to be out there, on the waves, cutting through the face, dropping back in the tube...that’s where you find your answers. Sometimes endangering yourself in the process, but it’s where you are happiest.”
“Dad, I’m not in the mood for one of your deep, insightful conversations right now. You got what you wanted. Hunter surfs, I leave him be. Win-win situation for the great Colton Nash and Limitless.” She’d grown tired of fighting with the men in her life and fed up with rules, secrets, and the lies that got them all into this mess.
“And what about the baby? What about Hunter’s role in his child’s life?”
“Suddenly you give a shit about Hunter and what this all does to him?” She wanted to scream out in frustration. She knew where the road would take her. No matter what her father said, it wouldn’t stop her. She just needed to accept what she wanted, let it all into her heart, and then go after it. Before she’d wiped out, she was nearly there. One more run and she would’ve made peace with everything. “You’ve made this whole thing infuriating!”
“I know, and I was wrong.”
In all her years, she’d never once heard her dad admit those words. He might have thought them, said them through action and apology, but never did the words cross his lips.
“About what?”
“Everything. Hunter. Not thinking he’s good enough for you or worthy of you. Not telling you about the cancer scare sooner. I just...” Her dad shoved his hands into his pockets and stared out over the water. “I’m happy with the choices I’ve made in almost every area of my life. What I did was done to try to keep you from suffering the same heartache I endured.”
Phoenix could understand that, but it didn’t make the aching or anger subside. Her dad sighed.
“Raising a kid is not easy, especially when you’re on your own. I’ve made choices that I’m not proud of, Phoenix, but they were made with the best intentions at heart.”
“Dad, I realize that. It doesn’t make the hurt go away, though. Mom didn’t just leave you, she left me, too, and I felt hurt during all of that. Watching you climb your way out of that pit of depression you fell into was hard, but worse than that, was being a child watching the only person I had to depend on hit rock bottom.” A seagull rode the current of air gracefully above and she watched it for a moment.
“You suffered the loss of two parents at a young age.”
“It forced me to grow up a lot faster than most kids.”
“Your childhood was destroyed by my inability to accept that she left. That she wouldn’t be coming back.” He turned to her and put his hand against her face. “I’m sorry.”
She saw the depth of sorrow in his eyes. “I wouldn’t say destroyed, just challenging. I have lots of great memories to outweigh the bad.”
“What are you going to do about my grandchild?”
“What I’ve always done. Persevere. Get Hunter back and hold onto him.”
Chapter Ten
“If you don’t want to be in breach of contract, I think I’d get out there in the lineup.” His agent stood beside him, sunglasses shielding his eyes.
“You destroyed the contract.”
“She had an insurance policy.”
“A what?”
“Phoenix made a copy of your contract. She took the original.”
Hunter could just imagine her slinking off to her father’s office and doing something like that. However, he couldn’t understand why she would risk angering her father.
“Got nothing to say to that?”
“Not really. Not sure why she would risk pissing you off any further, or why it even matters at this point. You’ve made up your mind. You made sure I knew what I was risking on several occasions over the past few days. I used to look up to you. Envied you for what you’ve built.”
“And now?”
Hunter knew that sooner or later, he would likely tell the man exactly how he saw him. Seeing as Phoenix wouldn’t talk to him, he really had nothing else to lose at this point. He shrugged. “You’ve built something amazing that helps people realize their dreams and I still envy you for that, but it came at a price. You’re a very lonely man and your daughter is paying for it. She’s all I care about. Her and the baby.
I don’t give a shit about your contract. Sue me for breach if you have to, but I’m not surfing for you. Phoenix may not be talking to me right now, but I’m not giving up on her and there is nothing you can do to stop me.”
“I know.” The man smiled then.
“What in the hell are you smiling about?”
“Had to be sure that you weren’t just chasing my daughter for money.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“So my daughter has informed me on more than one occasion lately. No offense, but it hurts more coming from her.”
“How is she?”
“Miserable. One hundred percent my fault.” Colton ran his hand through his hair. “Her mom’s not around. All of what you envy me for is because of Phoenix. I built it for her. Now I’m giving it to her and stepping down.”
One thing Hunter knew for sure about Colton Nash, he was good at what he did and he loved being the man who built an empire and a person others admired. “Why?”
“A lot of events have taken place recently, and they’ve made me realize how fleeting life is. You’re right. I’m a miserable lonely man and I smother my daughter as a result. It’s part of the reason she ended up in California to begin with. She saw an opportunity to cut the apron strings a bit, but I held on for dear life.”
“So you’re stepping down?”
“That is the plan, but as smart as Phoenix is, she can’t run this company on her own. She needs support. The kind I’ve never been able to give her. The surfing division only exists because of her. It doesn’t make Limitless a unique agency in the sports world, but because of her tenacity, it has made us one of the best. What you have to decide is if you going to be the guy to stand by her? If so, I need a top surfer to help cement Limitless as the company every athlete should sign with. You can give that to her, to your child, and to yourself.”
They announced the last call for the lineup and Hunter looked at his agent as he grabbed his board. “You are one manipulative son of a bitch. If this turns out to be nothing more than a ploy to get me out there, you will regret it.”
Riptide (Limitless Book 1) Page 7