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She smiled. “First, we have to put this stuff back in the car.” She repacked the basket and stood.
He slowly came to his feet and gazed at her questioningly, but she continued to smile while they folded the blanket. He picked up the basket, then started toward the car. As soon as they deposited everything in the trunk, she removed her sandals, placed them next to the basket and looked at him expectantly. He raised his eyebrows.
“The ground is not too hot, so come on. You have to take off your shoes.”
His gaze slid down to her small, perfect feet with white-tipped and clear-painted toenails. “Do I really need to take...?” He trailed off when she folded her arms. “Fine.” He slipped off his sandals and put them next to hers.
“See, it’s not so bad, is it?” she teased. “It’s not like you have twelve toes covered in bunion s.”
He closed the hatch, pressed the remote to lock the doors and grabbed her hand. “Come on, girl.”
She burst out laughing and followed him.
He looked down at the delight on her face and tried to hold on to his scowl, but failed.
They walked near the water’s edge, and she dropped down in the sand, pulling him with her.
“We’re going to build a sand castle.”
“I don’t know, Janae. I haven’t done this since I was a kid.” Ten years old, to be exact. The last time he’d built a sand castle was with his father, after he had recovered from the first brain tumor. He’d brought Terrence to the beach so they could have some fun together. The thought evoked bittersweet memories and a barrage of emotions—the love and support he’d always received, and then the pain of losing him.
“Well, now’s the perfect time to let that kid out again.” She started digging, packing and forming sand into a tower. “Don’t just sit there, start working. Do what I’m doing.”
He picked up a handful of sand and followed her lead.
“Yeah. Like that.”
“We’re a little close to the water, aren’t we?” He frowned as he watched the waves come close to where they sat.
“We need wet sand, the wetter the better since we don’t have any tools. And we’re not that close. I haven’t seen any waves come this close.”
Terrence kept building. He relaxed and started to actually have fun. Pretty soon, they had the makings of a decent castle. “Hey, this is starting to look like a real castle.”
“Told you.”
They kept building until there were towers, walls and doors. She had even built an arch. “How did you get so good at this?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I try to hit the beach a few times each summer. But unlike you, I have to drive at least an hour to Santa Cruz or Monterey. I also use sand in my classroom.”
“This looks good.” He took out his phone and snapped a picture. “So what do you do with it after you finish?”
“Leave it. Either the water or someone will come by and knock it down.”
“Why wait for someone else to knock it down?” He broke off a piece of the tower.
“I know you didn’t just break my tower,” she said incredulously. She scooped up a handful of sand and threw it at him, hitting him square in the chest and splattering it across his face.
He jerked back in surprise and stared down at his shirt. Pieces of damp sand clung to it, and a large, wet stain formed in the center. She must have interpreted his look because she jumped up and ran.
She squealed and dodged the sand he threw, but kept running and laughing. Three steps later, he ran her down and scooped her into his arms. She screamed when he threw her up and caught her.
“Are you crazy? You could have dropped me.”
“Me crazy? I’m not the one throwing sand at people,” he said with mock outrage. “I wouldn’t have dropped your little lightweight butt anyway. I bench-press more than twice what you weigh.”
“What-eva. All I know is if you drop me, I will hurt you real bad, Terrence Campbell.” She looped her arms around his neck and impulsively kissed his cheek.
The soft kiss caught him off guard, and before he could stop himself, he lowered his head and crushed his mouth to hers in a scorching kiss. He shuddered when she ran her hands up the base of his neck and into his hair, pulling lightly on the curly strands. He moaned and tightened his arms around her, deepening the kiss.
At length he lifted his head, belatedly remembering they stood on a crowded beach. He’d never kissed a woman in public like this. With her, he found himself doing a lot of things he’d never done before. She stared up at him with a look that made his gut clench.
After kissing her once more, he whispered, “Are you ready to leave?”
