“Kaylee, I’ve wanted to touch you since the moment you walked into my hotel room in Georgia.”
I clear my throat.
“Then...why don’t you? I’m a big girl, Derrick. Believe it or not, I won’t fall apart if you touch me. And if we never touch again after that? I’ll be just fine. I’ve had plenty of guys in my lifetime do just that.”
His eyes meet mine, and the serious look in them makes me step back.
“Any man that gets to touch you, and chooses to only touch you once, is a damn fool.”
I swallow, and he takes a step closer to me.
“And I promise you that if I ever did touch you, it wouldn’t be one and done. If I touched you, you’d feel everything you deserve to feel, over and over again. I wouldn’t stop until I knew every inch of you was touched the way it should be.”
I’m one step away from panting now, and I can’t remember the last time I’ve been this sexually frustrated. I want him in an animalistic way, like throw-me-over-his-shoulder-and-march-me-to-the-bedroom kind of way. But in a jolting stop to my libido, he reaches out for my hand again, interlocking our fingers.
“But I can’t do that to you, Kaylee.” His eyes drop to the floor. “It’s not fair to you; it’s not fair to May. I can’t be in your head. I’m sorry.”
He kisses my hand one more time, and as he walks out the front door, I stare down at my hand as if a brand of his lips is going to appear.
15
While I’ve done a fairly good job of it over the last few months, while dude after dude left me disappointed in the bedroom, I’m convinced that sex with myself is never going to be as amazing as I picture it would be with Derrick.
Those bulging arms wrapped around me, my legs up over his shoulders.
Ugh. I drown myself in freezing cold water before turning the faucet off and hopping out to dry off.
I shove a granola bar into my mouth as I head out the door and hop in May’s Explorer. My silver BMW still sits in the driveway, but I haven’t so much as unlocked the door since I got May’s keys.
My phone tells me to turn right onto Lakeshore Highway and drive for two miles. Boats cross the water parallel to me on the road, and big puffy clouds move to make a little bit of shade. I put all the windows down as I drive, inhaling the fresh air and letting it fill my lungs with a fullness I haven’t had in a long time.
I drive farther, and on my right, I see the strip where Big Moon Sports sits, Derrick’s truck parked in front. I wonder what he’d do if I pulled over and kicked the door open, demanding he explain himself or finish the job he started.
But I get myself together and continue on my mission.
Finally, the phone tells me to turn left a little past Lou’s and then make an immediate right into a small lot that sits in front of a building that looks like a house. Every building in this town seems to have those giant floor-to-ceiling windows, but I guess when nature provides such a beautiful backdrop, a wall is almost an insult.
Inside Jeffrey’s office, a young woman sits at a desk in the lobby, clicking away on a keyboard. She greets me with a million-dollar smile.
“Hi, can I help you?” she asks.
“Uh, yes. I’m here to see Jeffrey Tate. My name’s—”
“Miss Jennings?” she cuts me off. “I’m Tara, Mr. Tate’s assistant. You can follow me back.”
She’s tall and slim with long legs and calf muscles that flex with every step of her black pumps. Her high-waisted skirt accentuates how tiny she is. She wears glasses with thick brown frames, and her chestnut hair is pulled up into a perfect ponytail, not a bump or loose hair in sight.
I follow her down a hallway to the last door on the right side where she taps once and pushes it open.
“She’s here,” she says.
“There she is!” Jeffrey says, that sing-song voice making me feel all warm inside. “Thank you, Tara. Can you cancel the rest of my appointments today and reschedule for tomorrow? Paul and I are taking the rest of the afternoon off. It’s too nice of a day not to be on the water.”
I look out the window at the water, the dull buzzing of a boat’s motor still loud enough to be heard. Tara leaves us, and he holds out his hand to the leather couch in the back of his office. He takes a seat in the leather chair that’s adjacent to me, crossing his legs as he lays out a large file on the table in front of us.
“So, all the dirty secrets are right here in this book,” he says, opening the file with a smirk. I smile.
“Dirty, huh?”
He shakes his head.
“Naw, I’m just kidding. May did everything by the book. So, there’s a master list here of all the money that May lent out, was in the process of recollecting, and that she planned to lend.”
I look up at him.
“Planned to?” He nods. “So, what happens to those businesses now?”
“You do. You happen to them,” he says. I look at him and lift an eyebrow. “Sorry to dump all this on you, sweetie. But until Haven graduates from college two years from now, you are the only heiress who has freedom with her inheritance at this moment.”
I nod and swallow.
“So, here’s the master list,” he says, flipping to one of the first pages, “that’ll show you the names of every company she has had past, present, or future business with. Then, each company or business has its own separate file that will give you the details of the repayment and where they stand. May’s financial advisor will go through the nitty-gritty of this with you, if and when you’re ready for the details.”
I look down the list, names jumping out at me that I recognize. Lou’s—but I knew that story there. I can see that May lent him the loan to purchase the building, and it looks like, a few years back, she gave him another small loan to add on a second deck.
I also notice that May put some money into the little bed and breakfast I stayed in when I first got here, around the time when the resort opened from what Derrick told me.
There are some other shops and restaurants, a cafe, and a bakery in town. A few she lent a few thousand dollars to, either for a repair or for a small upgrade. To others, she lent large sums for purchasing or renting bigger spaces or to help them start up.
Looking through the basics, it looks like she never collected interest, and there was no set timeframe on when the repayment needed to be complete.
I scan the rest of the list, and my eyes freeze when I see Big Moon Sports. I flip to the individual file for the store, and my heart freezes in my chest for a moment.
The agreed upon sum will be lent to owners Ryder Casey and Derrick Thomas for improvements and expansion of Big Moon Sports.
I swallow and reread his name a few times.
He doesn’t just work at the store. He owns it. And May was supposed to be giving him more money.
I close the book up and stuff it into my bag.
“Thanks, Jeffrey. For everything. I’ll look through this and see where she was, and I’ll get back in touch with you for the finance guy’s name,” I tell him. He stands as I do. I stick out a hand, but he takes it and pulls me in for a hug instead.
“Sweetheart, I know this is a lot. I know that’s all we keep saying to you,” he says. “So, if you have any questions, or concerns, or just need to go get a damn drink, call me.”
I smile and nod and walk out of his office, nodding to Tara as I make my way back to the Explorer.
As I speed back down Lakeshore Highway, I pull off into the strip where Big Moon Sports is perched on the side of the water.
There’s a line out the door for people waiting to rent boats and jet skis and people crossing the street to the dock, heading out for theirs. I turn into the store and see Ryder and Mila behind the counter.
“Hey, lady!” Mila calls, scrambling to grab form after form and handing customer after customer pens.
“Hi,” I say, taking in the commotion around me. “Is Derrick in today?”
She looks up at me, a smirk on her face.
; “Down by the docks,” Ryder says, sliding around the front of the counter. He uses his cane to walk toward me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, um, fine.”
I turn to walk back out the door but turn back.
“You guys didn’t tell me you owned this place.”
Ryder’s eyebrows jump.
“I take it you saw the ledger,” he says.
“Yeah.” He lets out a long sigh.
“Derrick didn’t want to complicate things. You should...you should talk to him.”
I nod slowly.
“I plan to. Thanks, Ryder,” I say, reaching for the door.
“Kaylee?” he asks. I turn back to him. “Go easy on the guy, okay?”
I nod again and make my way out across the street.
On the dock, Derrick is walking in and out of a shed-like structure that sits on top of it, pulling life vests out of it and handing them to the customers. He’s untying boats, shoving them off, giving instructions, and keeping everything moving.
I assume he works out here a lot. I’m not sure how Ryder could manage this part of the business safely.
After he pushes the last group out and waves them off, he catches a glimpse of me and stands straight up. I swallow, unsure how this exchange is going to go. After all, the last time we spoke, he basically told me that if we ever slept together, he’d make love to every inch of my body. Not real sure how to recover from that.
“Hey,” he says, shielding his eyes from the sun. He’s wearing a cut-off t-shirt that’s wet from water, and maybe sweat, and is sticking to the curves of his muscles. His hair is slightly longer on the top of his head than everywhere else, and it looks more curly right now than usual.
“Hi,” I say, walking toward him.
“Careful now,” he says with a slick smile, “I’ve seen you fall off one or two of these before.” I stop in my tracks and put my hand on my hip, shooting him a look.
“Busy day out here, huh?” I ask, looking out over the busy water when I reach the end.
“Yeah,” he says. “Business is great right now.” He bends down to secure the rope on one of the jet skis.
“So, is that why you were trying to expand?” He stands slowly and turns around to me, his eyes narrowed and penetrating. “Why didn’t you tell me you owned this place? And that May was supposed to be giving you guys a loan?”
He walks by me and into the shed, stacking the extra life vests and hanging some on hooks. I follow behind him and lean against the doorway.
“Derrick, I could take all this money and walk away from here. And you knew that the
whole time, but you still came to get me. Why? If you had just let the time run out, the money would roll up and go back to the businesses.”
He hangs the last stack of vests up and turns back to me, leaning against the wall behind him.
“It’s not my money,” he says matter-of-factly, “and it’s not my decision what happens to it. May needed you, so I had to try.”
I lean my head to the side.
“But even when she died, you asked me to come back.” He nods.
“Because by then, I’d already walked in and rattled your whole world. Let you in on a few crazy secrets. How could I leave you like that?”
He takes a few steps in my direction and looks down at me, his eyes tracing my lips before moving back up to mine.
“I looked at you, and I saw this girl who’d been lied to her whole life. I wanted to...I still want to take care of that. And you.”
His eyes are still narrowed on mine, and I cower a bit under his gaze.
“You’re....you’re incred—”
“Don’t go saying things you don’t know are true,” he says, waving his arm. “I just tried to do what May would do. And once you walked into my hotel room, I kinda didn’t like the idea of you going back.”
He flashes me this devious half-smile that makes that fire build in my stomach again. I
tuck a piece of hair behind my ear.
“Well, I like being here,” I say honestly, and his eyes widen a little bit. “I think I’m going to stick around for a little bit. I want to meet some of the business owners May was working with, discuss some things. See what her plans were.”
A wider smile slithers over his lips.
“Oh yeah?” he says. I nod.
“Yeah. Starting with this store called Big Moon Sports. Ever heard of it?” I ask.
“Naw,” he says, shaking his head as he steps closer to me so we’re just inches apart. I
swallow as I let him invade my space. “But I hear the owner is kind of a pain.” He puts his hand up to the side of my head, resting it on the door jamb. He’s so close I can smell him, this sweet, musty smell of being out on the fresh water and in the sun all day.
“Man, what a shame. I was gonna see if he wanted to finish what he started.” His lips part slightly as his eyes widen.
I surprise myself with my prowess, but I play it off. After giving him my best attempt at a seductive smile, I turn and walk out of the shed, back toward the edge of the dock.
“Hey,” he calls after me. I turn back slowly. “If he starts back up again, he may never
want to stop.” The look on his face is playful, but I can see the look in his eyes, like he’s a hunter. I swallow and nod.
“Bring it.”
He chuckles to himself, hanging his head.
“You got plans tomorrow?” he asks. I laugh.
“What plans would I have?”
“Good point. You want to go out on the water? I can take you around to some of the
other spots May was working with. We can see if some of the crew wants to come, make
a day of it.
“That sounds great.”
“Good.”
I turn on my heel and head back up to my car, my insides already churning in
anticipation.
16
The next morning, I shower and blow dry my hair, trying to tame my waves a bit without
making it look like I’m trying too hard. Most girls can master that natural, beachy wave, no-makeup look. For me, I end up looking like a toddler who woke too early from a nap.
I slip into a tight-fitting tank and some shorter-than-normal shorts and head downstairs to wait for Derrick. No sooner than I step foot into the living room is there a knock at the door. Before I get to the foyer, he’s let himself in.
“Hey, hey,” he says, his familiar greeting making me jumpy. He hands me an iced coffee as he walks toward me.
“Wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got it black and brought some cream and sugar,” he says, handing me a little baggie. I smile and nod.
“Thanks. It’s perfect like this,” I say, holding the cup up before I take a sip. “You want to come in for a bit?” He shakes his head.
“Nope. The gang’s all waitin’ for us.” My eyebrows perk up.
“The gang?” He smiles and nods his head toward the back door.
“Come on,” he says. I grab my purse and lock the front door behind us, heading for his truck. But he pauses and grabs my arm, leading me around toward the back of the house.
“They’re picking us up here,” he says, pulling me down toward the water. His fingers linger on my skin, leaving a zinging trail in their wake.
“Who’s ‘they’?” I ask just as we get to the dock. I see a pontoon boat tied up at the end of it, a bunch of smiling faces looking back at us. Teddy’s in the driver’s seat, and to his left sits Haven. At the front of the boat, Ryder sits with Annabelle on his lap, and Mila sits next to him, sipping out of a red cup.
“Yo, let’s do this!” Teddy calls to us.
“We’re picking up Jules and Luna,” Mila calls back to us. I look at Derrick.
“This is the gang,” he says, stepping aside as we reach the boat and holding his hand out to me. He lifts me on, and I take a seat at the back of the boat, waving to everyone. He unties the boat from the dock and settles in the seat next to me.
<
br /> “No bathing suit?” Mila asks. I look around at all of them with swim trunks and bikini ties sticking out from their clothes. I shrug.
“I didn’t exactly come prepared,” I say.
“Yeah, that’s okay. You don’t need a suit to get wet,” Derrick says, and my lips part at his double-entendre. “Let’s go!”
Teddy turns the key in the ignition, and the boat jumps to life. Mila and Derrick hop up to pull up the bumpers as we back out, and then we’re off, Gran May’s house shrinking in the background behind us.
It’s a gorgeous day; it’s hot but not Georgia hot. There’s a cool crispness to this air, even on the hottest of days, that makes it bearable. And being on the water makes it even better. I look in Haven’s direction, but she’s staring off the side of the boat, her knees pulled up to her chest on the seat.
“Hay,” Derrick calls to her. She turns around slowly to look at him. “Smile.”
They exchange looks, and she does. I’m convinced it’s impossible to see that grin and not send one back in return. He leans forward and pulls her into a hug, leaving loud kisses on her cheeks. She makes a fake vomiting sound and pushes him off playfully before he sinks back into the seat next to me. I’m envious of their relationship and the way Haven leans on him. Like he’s a brother.
A couple zips by us on a jet ski, and a teenaged kid skates by on water skis, making it look like he could do it in his sleep. Derrick and the crew wave to a few people as we ride along. “Daddy, I wanna sit near the driver’s seat!” Annabelle calls from the front of the boat.
“Oh, you do, huh?” Ryder says with a smirk as he ruffles her hair.
“Here, baby girl,” Haven says, standing up from her seat, “you can have my spot.” She holds her hand out to Annabelle who walks down toward her and takes it. Haven lifts her into the seat before turning around to look for somewhere to go.
I scoot to my side and point to the spot next to me.
“Here,” I offer, “there’s plenty of room.” She looks at me skeptically, then to Derrick, then reluctantly takes it, clearing her throat as she does.
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