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“We have three weeks this time,” Jake replies in his rough growly voice. “I have to report back to Coronado by the end of the month for our next deployment.”
“I guess there’s no point asking you where they’re sending you,” my mom laughs.
“No ma’am. We don’t even find out until we land in-country and have our first briefing,” Jake says. “Sheila, your designs at the fair were amazing. When did you start doing it full-time?”
I’m fully aware that he’s changing the subject and steering it away from talking about the Navy and that’s fine, for now. I figure there’ll be plenty of time in the next three weeks to grill him about what happened to Pete. I just have to wear him down and pick my moment. He seems so guarded now, listening to my mom and dad talk about their business, nodding along like he’s taking it all in. But I don’t miss the fact that his eyes keep flicking over to the flag and every time they do, I notice the tick in his jaw gets stronger and more frequent.
I can tell my parents are feeling the strain as well. My mom is much better at hiding it than my dad, and I’m on tenterhooks as to whether he’s going to ask Jake any questions about Pete. But as we eat ribs and chicken, the conversation doesn’t deviate from town gossip, the business and my job.
“Do you see much of your parents?” Mom asks as she serves Jake an enormous slice of banana cream pie.
Jake snorts out a laugh and shakes his head. “No. I haven’t seen them in years. Mom lives in Florida with husband number three. I don’t even know his name. And Dad seems to have taken up residence at Caesar’s Palace, last I heard.” He shrugs sadly and scoops up a huge forkful of pie, shoveling it into his mouth.
My mom reaches over and squeezes Jake’s forearm kindly, and I can see the pain in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, honey,” my mom says quietly. “It’s good to have you back at this table. You know you’ll always have a place here.”
Jake looks up and smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes. He looks about ready to leap out of his skin, so I step in.
“Jake, you wanna take a walk down to the beach? Work off that huge slice of pie?”
The look of relief in Jake’s eyes tugs at my heart, and I know he’s silently thanking me for rescuing him from my mom’s charm offensive. He finishes his last forkful of pie and stands ready to take his plate to the dishwasher, but before he can even take one step my mom has taken it from him.
“You kids go enjoy the sunset.” She smiles in that way I know all too well—it means she’s scheming and plotting, and I don’t like it one little bit.
“I’ll just grab my sweater,” I mutter, giving my mom the stink eye as I pass by, noticing the secretive little smile on her face. I don’t know what she’s trying to achieve, but I’m sure somewhere in her devious mind she has it all planned out.
When I return, Jake is standing at the back door like a sentry, tall and strong, his hands behind his back and his feet apart like he’s guarding the President. I can’t help but admire the way his jeans mold to his thighs like they were made just for him, the way his plaid shirt hugs every valley and ridge of his torso and the casual tousle of his short sandy blond hair.
“Make sure you kids take the flashlight, that path can be tricky to navigate in the dark.” My dad’s advice jolts me out of my perv-fest, and I covertly check the corners of my mouth for drool as I grab the flashlight from the drawer and maneuver past Jake’s big body.
The cool evening air feels refreshing on my cheeks, and I realize how flushed I am from being in Jake’s company all evening. Just being so close to him brings up all sorts of thoughts that I should probably push to the back of my mind, thoughts like what his arms would feel like around me, what his lips would feel like on my neck, what it would feel like to writhe beneath him …
“Lead the way,” he says, gesturing for me to go ahead of him down the path even though he could probably walk it with his eyes closed. I huff, shake the pornographic images from my mind, and stomp off down the sandy path toward the beach, fully aware that Jake now has a clear view of my butt as it jiggles in my jean shorts. Why the hell didn’t I change into sweatpants when I got my sweater? As I feel Jake’s eyes burning into my back, I fully regret that decision. And the silence that accompanies our hike just makes it more awkward.
Thankfully, it only takes a few minutes to walk the trail, the golden light of the impending sunset filters through the trees and makes our descent easy. As I turn the final bend in the path, the scent of the ocean hits me, and I’m immediately calmed. The soothing roll of the waves just speaks to me in a way no other sound does. I found so much comfort on this beach after Pete died, it literally saved my life. I stand at the top of the wooden steps that lead down to the sand and close my eyes, allowing the calm to wash over me.
And then my peace is shattered.
“Fuck, I’ve missed this place,” Jake sighs, standing next to me, reaching out to grip the railing. I can’t help but notice his rough, tanned hands and the way the veins bulge as he squeezes the weather-worn wood and looks out into the endless Pacific. A small smile tilts the corner of his mouth, and I think it’s the first time since he came back that I can see a tiny piece of the boy I once knew. I carefully reach over and cover his hand with mine, feeling the spark of electricity as we make contact.
“Whatcha looking at, Bug?” Jake asks in a gravelly voice that speaks directly to my lady parts. But the use of my childhood nickname makes me feel sad and nostalgic all at once so I laugh it off and smack his leather clad bicep, wincing slightly.
Damn, his arm is really hard… and muscular.
Stop it, Livi!
“Let’s go,” I laugh, jogging down the rickety wooden steps and toeing off my sneakers so I can feel the cool sand between my toes.
When Jake joins me, he keeps his biker boots on but falls in step beside me as we head toward the surf.
“So, tell me about being a teacher,” Jake says as we walk slowly, a flock of gulls taking flight as we disturb them.
“It’s just the best thing I’ve ever done,” I reply, feeling my heart swell with the joy I have for my job. “It’s more amazing than I ever dreamed, but it’s such hard work. I mean every day is different and the kiddos keep me on my toes, that’s for sure.”
Jake chuckles and shakes his head. “I can’t think of anything scarier than a room full of rugrats.”
I gasp and turn around, walking backwards so I can see if he’s kidding or not. “Are you serious?”
