Love Bats Last

  Chapter Ten

  Alex opened the sliding door to his hotel balcony and stepped out into a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. Rafts of sea otters floated in the kelp not 200 yards from where he stood. Several of them had pups nestled against their stomachs and were vigorously grooming them. He dropped into the chaise near the door and watched.

  “Alex, would you call room service and ask them to send up some more of that divine fresh orange juice?” The shower in the bathroom shut off and a blow dryer whirred into action. “Oh, and a croissant—ask them to send up a couple of those. Sabrina told me they make the best croissants here.”

  Trish Bentley was living up to her reputation as a pampered party girl.

  He certainly hadn’t lived up to his.

  After the long drive the night before, he hadn’t been remotely interested in the sensual evening that Trish had counted on. She could put a solid dent in his reputation as a freewheeling stud if she chose to. So be it. He deserved it.

  A heavy, thick feeling spread in his chest, pinning him hard. He hated himself for landing in a situation like this. He didn’t like to let anyone down, never had. He liked to look at options, to see possibilities, not point out dead ends. It made him feel like the bad guy who tells kids there’s no Santa Claus.

  But Trish was courting a very dead end. He simply wasn’t interested.

  He watched the antics outside the balcony, pretending to read the paper until the food arrived, then he tipped room service before putting on his swim gear. Trish was chatting on her cellphone. He signaled to her that he was going down to the beach.

  Sunlight sliced through the lifting fog and danced on the water in the fountains of the hotel courtyard. He found his way to the boardwalk and jogged to where the Surf Expo was taking place later in the day. No dancing light there, just crashing waves.

  There were only a few surfers toward the north end of the beach. He watched as two of them rode in easily on a breaker. He’d always admired surfers, in the way that some people admired gymnasts for their mix of skills and artistry, but he’d never really given much thought to the specifics of the sport.

  He walked down the stairs to the beach, still kicking himself for bringing Trish. Worse than a miserable evening for him, the whole fiasco hadn’t been fair to her. He knew the rules of the game and hadn’t followed them. She had every right to be disappointed.

  When it came to attraction, apparently Jackie Brandon had usurped his psyche. And maybe even his body. Somehow she’d commandeered both, and he couldn’t pinpoint how or when.

  He fisted his hands against his hips and stared out at the waves.

  Timing and focus, those were his strengths.

  At least they had been until he’d met Jackie. What had happened to that focus? It was as though a hole had been punched in his carefully constructed timeline and everything he’d thought he had stashed away, waiting for its proper time and place—thoughts about his future and a woman to share it with—came roaring out, heedless of any concerns of his.

  He kicked at the sand at his feet. He’d become preoccupied, that was what happened. Scotty was right. Now was no time for distractions. He had a team to support and a title to win.

  He swore into the salt-laced breeze.

  No more dating until the season was over—it was the only solution. And no more daydreaming about prickly vets. There’d be plenty of time in the off-season to chase after other dreams. Hell, he could volunteer at the Center every day if he wanted to. And no more extraneous social events, no matter how Sabrina pleaded. For right now, he’d have to hold firm, finish up the events he’d already calendared—those he couldn’t cancel—and focus.

  It’d be better for everybody.

  “You must be Alex,” a voice called from behind him. From the accent, he guessed it was Jackie’s brother.

  “I’m Cory,” the man said, reaching to shake Alex’s hand. “Jackie said to tell you she’d be here in a while. She’s meeting with one of the sea otter docs at the aquarium.” He nodded toward the waves. “Perfect waves for your intro lesson. Want to give it a go?”

  Alex hadn’t planned on trying the waves, but the opportunity to get pointers from a master of the sport was irresistible. He grinned and said, “Did your sister happen to mention I know absolutely nothing about surfing?”

  “She tends to leave out anything that doesn’t suit her plans,” Cory said with a laugh, evading the question. He handed Alex a surfboard. “Lesson one: try to stay on the board.” His grin stayed in place as they zipped into wetsuits.

  “Hey, Alex!” They both turned to the boardwalk above them. Trish stood at the railing. “I was going to do some shopping, but maybe I can stay and watch. The boutique down the street doesn’t open until eleven.”

  She stood there as if waiting for Alex to materialize miraculously beside her and carry her down to the beach.

  “The stairs are over there,” he said, pointing to the far end of the boardwalk.

  “Girlfriend?” Cory said with a smile that made Alex feel uncomfortable.

  “Not really.”

  Alex put the board down. He spread out his towel and watched Trish pick her way across the sand.

  “My, ah, friend Trish,” Alex said, feeling even more awkward. “This is Cory Brandon.”

  Trish seemed charmed by the way Cory took her offered hand and bowed over it. She dropped her purse to the towel with a huge sigh.

  “Manolo Blahnik has obviously never walked on a beach,” Trish said to Cory as she leaned against Alex’s arm and slipped off her high-heeled designer sandals.

  “No, but those are great for the after-parties,” Cory said with a wink.

  Trish tossed her perfect golden curls and peeked up at Cory from under her lashes. The sultry look made Alex feel a whole lot better. She dropped down and settled herself on the towel.

  “Want to hit it?” Cory asked, turning to Alex.

  “More than you know.” Alex picked up his board and followed Cory into the surf.

  “Lesson two.” Cory waved Alex to paddle up beside him. “Duck dive. Very important. That is”—he shot Alex another playful grin—“if you plan to stay on the board.” He grabbed the sides of his board and pressed the tip of it into the waves. “Like this.”

  Alex mimicked his moves and successfully pushed the nose of his board down and through the rolling waves. The cool water on his face felt like a blessing, and the salty taste of the sea on his tongue tasted like an elixir.

  He popped out on the other side of the waves to see Cory still grinning at him.

  “From what Jackie did tell me, I knew you’d be a quick study,” he said.

  The fact that Jackie had talked about him with her brother shouldn’t have made him feel good, but it did. Alex paddled alongside Cory out into deeper water. The tight muscles in his shoulders relaxed with the gentle, repetitive motion. A pelican swooped by and in the cove not far from them, sea otters bobbed, wrapped in kelp.

  “Lesson three: the pop-up,” Cory said. He showed Alex how to spring from the board into a balanced crouching stand.

  Alex tried it and fell splashing into the water. A wave rolled by them, and Cory stroked over to Alex and jumped off his board.

  “It’s easier when you have the force of the wave beneath you.” He gripped Alex’s board, ignoring his own board tethered with a leash and floating beside them. “I’m going to steady your board. Try it again.”

  After several attempts, Alex found his legs and was able to pop up and keep his balance. Cory showed him the best paddle strokes and gave him some quick pointers on how to read a wave.

  Cory watched the incoming waves for a few moments before he hopped on his board and paddled toward one. “Watch me on this one. Then you try.”

  He had a spectacular ride in to the beach. The man was a wizard on the water.

  “Your turn,” Cory said when he paddled back to Alex. “Just remember, turn into the force of the water and use your core.”
He gestured to his midsection. “All your control comes from here.”

  A set of waves rolled toward them.

  “Not this one,” Cory said, holding up his hand. “Wait for the third one; they usually come in threes. I find I like best the ones I wait for.”

  Alex paddled and caught the third wave.

  Nothing could describe the feeling of elation when he balanced on the board and felt the surge of power that came as he, the board and the wave flew toward the shore. He leaned right, as Cory had shown him, cut down the face of the wave and held his position. Just before reaching the shore, he hopped into the water, and then he grabbed the board, ducked back through the breakers and paddled back out to Cory.

  “I don’t have to ask how that was.” Cory smiled. “You’re a natural.”

  “Beginner’s luck,” Alex demurred. “And a great teacher.”

  Cory scanned the horizon. “There’s buildup out there. We’ll have what we hoped for this afternoon.” A far bigger wave rolled through. Cory gave Alex an assessing glance.

  “Just one more. These are getting serious. I don’t want my sister complaining that I screwed up one of her precious volunteers.” He tilted his head toward an approaching roller. “I’ll ride in with you on this one.”

  It was bigger than any Alex had seen that morning.

  He paddled beside Cory, and the wave surged and caught his board. Alex popped up and maneuvered along the lip of the wave, but something was off. As the wave took over, lifting him higher toward the lip, he fought to keep his balance. Then the water went out from under his board. For a moment he was suspended in midair. He felt the sensation of dropping and then the impact when he hit the churning water. It was the last thing he remembered until he felt Cory’s hands pulling him up out of the waves breaking onto the sandy beach.

  “You went over the falls, man,” Cory said. “You okay?”

  Alex spit sand out of his mouth. His sputtered attempt at a reply was swallowed by a fit of hacking coughs.

  Cory bent down and unstrapped the leash from Alex’s ankle, then grabbed the board before the waves could catch it and stacked it under his arm against his own. He steadied Alex and walked with him up the beach.

  Still coughing up the water he’d snorted, Alex unzipped his wetsuit. A bucketful of sand fell out as he peeled it down to his waist. The sting from a raw abrasion burned along his jaw; he must’ve planted face-first when the wave bottomed out. He laughed to himself; this was another no-no that the front office might try to add to the list of forbidden activities for players.

  He shook the water out of his hair and looked up into aimed lenses. Great. The press. He stood unmoving and was relieved when he realized the lenses were pointed toward Cory. The reporters couldn't care less about him. Here he was just another guy. It was a delicious feeling.

  With a wave of his hand, Cory backed them off.

  “Later guys,” Cory said with the congenial smile Alex guessed he was rarely without. “I’ll be back at one for the Expo. I promise all your questions will be answered.” With only a few grumbles, they headed back toward the judging stand.

  Apparently the surfing press was more genteel than the baseball press.

  They walked to where Trish sat on the towel, sorting through her purse.

  “I think I’ll stick to shopping. It’s easier on the spine.” Trish laughed and shot another of her best looks at Cory.

  “Cory!”

  Cory cringed at the sound of Jackie’s irritation.

  “You promised, you rat,” she said as she marched up and dropped the wetsuit she carried. She shaded her face from the sun and put her other hand on Alex’s arm. “You okay?”

  Her hand was warm against his skin. Where each of her fingers touched him, jolts of energy streamed through his body. Their eyes locked for the briefest of moments, and he had to take a quick breath. She brushed sand off his shoulder, then pulled her hand away.

  Just feeling her touch made him feel like a kid at a prom—both awkward and excited. Her swimsuit clung to her body and did nothing to hide the sensuous curve of her breasts and hips.

  “You okay?” she repeated.

  “Couldn’t be better,” Alex said. He might be spitting sand for the next week, but he felt oddly exhilarated. He felt wonderful.

  He wasn’t sure if the wave of embarrassment that shot through him was from his ridiculous reply or the fact that just looking at her hair flying in the breeze and the sun lighting her face, the way she stood with her feet planted in the sand, made his body respond in a way he hoped wasn’t obvious.

  “He’s fine.” Trisha’s voice had the unmistakable tone of a woman geared up for battle. She stood and brushed her hand down her skin-hugging jeans. “But the saltwater has dissolved his manners. I’m Trish,” she said, extending her hand.

  “This is Jackie,” Alex said, sucking in a breath.

  Jackie shook Trisha’s outstretched hand. A frown creased her face as she whipped around to her brother.

  “You are a rat, you know that?”

  She tilted her head and squinted at Alex. The spark of temper and concern in her eyes made him want to kiss her.

  “He promised not to run you,” she said with a toss of her head. “I apologize for both of us.”

  At least she was steamed at someone else rather than him.

  “Some experiences are worth the pain,” Alex said with what he wished wasn’t a silly grin.

  Cory handed him a towel, and Alex wrapped it around his waist, over the dangling wetsuit. He made sure to keep it loose. He glanced up as he secured it and met the stirring look in Jackie’s eyes. How was it that she managed to make him feel loopy?

  “You had a brilliant first wave,” Jackie said.

  He looked into her eyes, really looked, and sensed something come alive, something familiar yet foreign, like when you yearned for a taste of something but weren’t quite sure what it was you wanted.

  “Amazing balance.”

  “Balance is usually my strong suit,” Alex said. It was true, but the rush of energy that surged in him when she smiled shot that balance all to hell.

  Jackie leaned down and picked up her wetsuit. “My turn,” she said, smacking Cory in his belly.

  Cory checked his dive watch. “Three runs. Then I have to meditate.”

  Alex thought they were kidding, but as he watched Jackie shimmy into her wetsuit, he realized they weren’t. His gut tightened. He started to say something about the buildup of the waves that Cory had cautioned him about, but bit back his words.

  “I’m going shopping,” Trish said, putting her hand on Alex’s arm and glaring at Jackie. “This is way too much sun for me.” She gave Alex her sultriest look. “Pick me up at three at the hotel?”

  Alex nodded.

  Trish bent and gathered her purse, giving everyone a long look at the sleek curves of her backside. She stood and smiled at Cory. “I’ve always wanted to learn to meditate.”

  Cory grinned.

  Jackie shot Trish a look that would’ve vaporized Alex on the spot, but Trish was evidently made of steelier stuff. She pivoted and tromped barefoot up the hill, swinging her sandals almost as much as her hips.

  “Meditation is for the wise,” Jackie said over her shoulder to Alex as she followed Cory into the surf.

  Alex dropped to the sand and spat, more out of frustration than from the salty water and sand still in his mouth.

  “My, my, my...” Sabrina purred as she walked up beside him. “That was quite a show, big bro. I think you ate half the ocean.” She leaned down and brushed a kiss to his cheek. “I got your message. I snuck out of my board meeting for lunch.” She thumbed his chin near the abrasion. “Where’s Trish going?”

  “Shopping.”

  “Hey, I tried. She’s been mooning over you for months.”

  She patted him on the arm. He hated it when she did that. It always meant she was right.

  “Maybe you helped her get over it.”


  “Something like that.” He pointed to the ocean. “They are going out in this.”

  “Yup.” She studied his face. “And he’s a six-time world champion, Alex. He knows what he’s doing.”

  “But she doesn’t.”

  “How do you know?” She knelt on the sand beside him. “Maybe she does.”

  Jackie and Cory caught a wave. Alex’s breath hitched in his chest as they rode in side by side. Cory’s footwork moved his board over the face of the wave, and Jackie held her own, riding midcurl. At the end of the ride, they dropped down to their boards, and Cory paddled next to his sister. They laughed and high-fived and paddled out again. Alex felt the muscles of his jaw relax, and he let out the breath he’d been holding.

  “See?” Sabrina said.

  Alex hadn’t taken his eyes off Jackie. He saw her glance in at him just as Sabrina hugged him and kissed his cheek again. Jackie turned away and paddled farther out.

  “She should be watching the waves,” Alex muttered.

  “You worry too much,” Sabrina said. She tilted up her watch. “I have to go back. I’m chairing the next session. We’re going to shelter all the donkeys the Humane Society rescued from Utah last week. I told them they can host a fundraiser at Trovare.”

  “I can see the T-shirts now,” Alex said.

  She stood and tousled his hair. “Love you.”

  “You too,” he muttered, his whole being focused on one woman floating out in the ocean.

  Cory was right; the swells were much bigger now. The first two waves of a set rolled through. The third wave rose at least ten feet above the horizon as it rolled toward Jackie and Cory.

  He saw Jackie turn and start to paddle furiously. Cory signaled to her to hold off, but she didn’t. She paddled with a speed and finesse that Alex might’ve admired if he hadn’t seen what she was about to do. She was paddling in front of an enormous wall of water. Cory paddled hard, trying to stop her. Before he reached her, the wave caught her board. With a last shove of strength, she glided into the force of it and stood. She teetered as the tip of the board dipped into the wave.

  The fist in his stomach tightened when he saw her tumble off the board and disappear, engulfed in the churning power of the ocean. He leaped up and ran into the breakers. The horror of his sister’s drowning ripped through him. She’d died in waves much smaller than these. He fought down terror as he thrashed deeper into the surf.

  For a moment all he could see was Cory coming in on a following wave and shouting, but Alex couldn’t hear what he said. Alex scanned the whitewater. Then Jackie and the board popped out of the foam about ten yards from him.

  He fought through the surf and pulled her to her feet, then picked her up and carried her to the shore, her board dangling behind them like a macabre tail. He hugged her close and felt her heaving for air against his chest. Once clear of the water, he dropped to his knees, still holding her, and set her on the sand. He held her as fits of coughing racked her body. He wasn’t sure what to do. All he knew was that he wanted her to be okay. And that it felt like a miracle to have her safe in his arms.

  A lifeguard ran up and dropped down beside them, signaling to Alex to back away. The lifeguard leaned over Jackie and checked her pulse, peered into her eyes.

  “She was under for a long time,” Alex said, feeling useless as Jackie continued to hack and gasp.

  “I saw it,” the lifeguard said.

  “She should never have taken that wave,” Alex said, shaking his head. “She didn’t see how massive it was.”

  “I saw fine,” Jackie said weakly, between hacks. With a violent shudder she heaved out of the lifeguard’s hold, leaned to the side and threw up on the sand. Then she straightened and wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her wetsuit.

  “Bit of a daredevil stunt, don’t you think?” He hadn’t meant for his words to sound chastising. Or maybe he had. It’d been a crazy, foolish risk. “The ocean isn’t some friendly benevolent force.”

  She gawked at Alex through matted strands of hair. “Safety lessons from a guy who stands in front of ninety-mile-an-hour fastballs? That’s ripe.”

  “She’s in shock,” the lifeguard said. “It happens—lack of oxygen. But her vitals are stable, so she’s lucky.” He tugged the Velcro closure at the neck of her wetsuit open and began to peel the sandy suit down Jackie’s still shaking body. “It’s good she got that water up.”

  “I am not in shock,” she said as she batted the lifeguard’s hands away. She shuddered and hung her head between her knees. “I’m fine, really. Go catch up with your girlfriend.” She peered up. “Or should I say girlfriends.”

  “I rather think it’s shock as well,” Cory said, dropping to his knees beside the three of them. “Starting with the boneheaded move of taking that wave.” He grabbed the shoulders of her wetsuit and stripped it down to her waist. “Breathe.”

  Cory took the towel the lifeguard offered and wrapped it around her shoulders. “See if you can stand,” he said as he leaned back and held out his hands.

  She took Cory’s hands and struggled to her feet. The fist in Alex’s stomach eased as he saw her take a few stable steps with Cory’s help.

  “I’m going to take her in,” Cory said over his shoulder to Alex. “Nothing a warm bath and a cup of tea can’t take care of.”

  Cory wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her tighter to his side.

  “I can walk,” she said as she tried to tug away from her brother. “I don’t need your help.”

  Alex wasn’t so sure.