Kayla touched the spot without thinking about it. She still had a scar under her eyebrow that made the hair grow in wacky angles. It had all happened within the first five minutes of the game. Honestly, she had been so frantic that she didn’t evenremember those five minutes. It was a blur of grass, cleats, and panic ending in a blinding headache.
Mack said, “Which meant you had to sit on the bench for the rest of the game. You were able to analyze the other team’s defense.”
That part Kayla remembered. It was the first time in her years of playing soccer that she’d spent significant time on the sideline. She’d honestly never watched the game from the coach’s angle, and it made her think differently about how the whole game was played.
“I pointed out to Sara Robertson how they were playing a really high press and leaving room in the back for a breakout run. She was subbed on at half-time and scored almost immediately.”
Mack said, “Your team won because of it.”
“I see what you’re saying. I should sit back, wait, and observe today. If I remain calm in the face of adversity, I’ll triumph.”
Mack finally released her shoulders and stood up straight. “No, I’m telling you to relax because you’re stressing me out and I’m in desperate need of a Bloody Mary and a massive breakfast.”
Laughter burst from Kayla’s throat, and she slapped Mack’s middle. She was going to say something about how she’s always thinking with her stomach, but the feel of her incredibly touchable abs underneath the thin tank top distracted her. Suddenly, she was deeply disappointed that she wouldn’t get to see Mack in a bathing suit today.
Pulling her into a bear hug, Mack said, “Okay, you were right with the first thing. But I really do want a Bloody Mary and a stack of pancakes.”
Kayla squeezed her arms tight around Mack’s waist. How did she always make everything so much better? She always knew exactly what to say when Kayla needed her. She was going toneed that when she and Skye got back together, since Skye pretty much had the opposite effect on her meltdowns. It would be hard to manage the two of them after this week, but she would manage it. No matter what, she needed Mack in her life. If there was one thing this week was proving, it was how much she needed her.
The rain had tapered off slightly as Kayla finished the last of her breakfast. It was still a significant pace, but not quite the monsoon they’d struggled through to get down here. To her surprise, the breakfast restaurant was even fuller than usual. She’d thought folks would stay in, but the less grand rooms didn’t have a ton of space for dining. Without any options for entertainment, most of the guests seemed content to eat and drink themselves into a stupor.
A new couple approached the hostess stand, and Kayla looked up hopefully. She slumped back in her seat almost immediately. Unless Amy had grown an impressive beard overnight, the couple were strangers to her.
Mack had done a commendable job of making breakfast fun. She made Kayla laugh—mostly at herself, which was what she needed. But Mack had gone to the bathroom and taken all the hope and happiness out of the room. Now Kayla’s mood was as dark as the storm clouds ruining everyone’s day.
What if she came this far only to fail? How could she survive? Her life had been a string of crushing disappointments. It wasn’t just her soccer career, although admittedly that one had hurt the worst. Once she’d wrecked her knee, she had to pivot. Life wasn’t kind to former stars, and she had never even gotten to play to her full potential.
A friend had told her that her personality would make her an ace in investing. She was an adrenaline junkie, and she wascharming, so she should be able to part people from their money easily enough. The problem was that she didn’t always think clearly when she started to panic, and once she made a decision, she stuck with it, whether it was a good idea or not. So, when things started to go south with one of her investments, she just kept getting more investors and throwing good money after bad. In the end, she was damn lucky she wasn’t sued. She’d been honest when she said she wasn’t trying to defraud investors; she had just bet wrong and bet big.
The worst part about that disaster was that she’d really worked hard to make that career viable. Somehow, it seemed the harder she tried, the harder she failed. Just like soccer. She’d always been the one to play through the pain and “walk off” injuries. Her coaches had always acted like that was how you succeeded. But she hadn’t succeeded. All she’d done was give herself a lifetime of pain that was made worse on days like today, when it was raining buckets, and where the hell was Skye?
“What’s up, LaLa?”
Mack appeared beside her, a hand on her lower back. That’s when Kayla realized she’d stood up at some point during her internal freak out.
Kayla forced a smile and took a deep breath. “Nothing. You’ve been gone forever. I was about to send out a search party. You ready to go?”
Mack grinned and held up a bulging bag with the gift shop logo on it. “The real question is: are you ready?”
Kayla eyed the bag with suspicion. Mack wasn’t nearly as wild as Skye, but she’d been known to have a harebrained idea or two. “What’s that?”
“You’ll see.”
“Do I want to see?”
Mack grabbed her hand and led her toward the exit. “Don’t you trust me?”
“More than anyone on earth.”
The quick, honest answer seemed to catch Mack off guard. She came to an abrupt stop, and Kayla bumped into her. “You mean that, don’t you?”
Kayla rubbed her forehead where it had collided with Mack’s shoulder. “First off, ouch. Second, of course I do.”
Mack’s smile seemed to push away some of the storm clouds, and it made Kayla’s stomach squirm pleasantly. When had Mack’s smiles started having this effect on her, and why did she enjoy it so much?
A resort employee greeted them at the restaurant exit. “My apologies, ladies. I only have one umbrella left. If you don’t want to share, we can wait for another guest to arrive so you can have theirs.”
It only took one glance out into the resort grounds to know the futility of that. The rain was like a gray curtain, and there was not another person in sight. The only dots of color were the flowers on the plumeria near the pool deck. There was no sign of the bright yellow umbrellas carrying the Rainbow Sands logo.
