Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Four months later

Ashlyn lay in the dim bedroom, waiting for Slate to come to bed. She was determined to get their lives back to normal. And normal meant sex. She was ready. More than ready. But Slate was being overly cautious, not wanting to do anything that might cause her pain.

She’d had a checkup with the doctor today, and he’d told them both that she could resume normal activities…including sex. He’d followed up that statement with a warning that he wouldn’t recommend sky diving or scuba diving for a while still, but since neither of those things were on Ashlyn’s agenda, she was more than happy to agree.

While she more than appreciated Slate’s attentiveness over the last few months, she was done being treated like she was made of glass.

During the last few weeks, Slate had relented a fraction, allowing her to use her hands to get him off, and giving her slow, easy orgasms with his fingers. But he’d refused to make love with her, saying that if he did anything to cause her an iota of pain, he’d never forgive himself.

But tonight, after the doctor had officially cleared her, Ashlyn was done waiting. She wanted her man.

Slate entered the room quietly, obviously thinking she was already asleep. He went into the bathroom and came out a couple minutes later wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts.

The second he climbed under the covers, Ashlyn moved. She threw one leg over his hips, straddling him. She’d purposely stripped off all her clothes before climbing under the covers.

Arching her back a bit, Ashlyn stared down at Slate and dared him to refuse her.

Slate inhaled deeply, and his hands came up to grip her hips.

“I love you,” she said softly.

“I love you too,” Slate returned immediately.

“It’s time, Slate. What happened sucked…but I’m fine. Perfect. You heard the doctor today. I want to make love with my boyfriend.”

“Fiancé,” he corrected.

Ashlyn rolled her eyes. Whenever he introduced her to anyone, he always called her his fiancée. But he’d yet to make that status official.

She held up her left hand and made a big deal out of looking at her bare finger. “Huh, look at that,” she said in mock-amazement. “My finger seems to be naked.”

It was a running joke between them. Ashlyn had every intention of marrying the man, but it was fun to give him shit for assuming she’d marry him before he’d even popped the question.

He suddenly moved under her, and Ashlyn let out a girly screech. But she didn’t have to worry about falling off Slate, because he kept one hand firmly on her hip as he reached for the drawer in the small table next to the bed.

He grabbed something, then reached for her left hand. Without a word, Slate slid a ring down her finger.

“There, now it’s not naked anymore,” he said with a satisfied grin.

Ashlyn could only stare at the ring he’d put on her finger. It was a princess-cut diamond solitaire that winked in the muted light from the lamp on Slate’s nightstand. Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. She couldn’t seem to form any coherent thoughts.

“I’ve rendered you speechless,” Slate said with a small chuckle. “Mark this day down.”

Ashlyn swallowed hard and blinked fast to keep from crying all over him.

“It’s not huge,” Slate said after a moment. “I wanted to get you the biggest diamond I could find, but that would just put you in danger. The last thing I want is someone seeing it and thinking they can steal it from you. So I went conservative.”

“It’s perfect,” Ashlyn said after a moment.

“You’re perfect,” Slate countered. “I thought I wanted casual. But from the moment I touched you, I think I knew that was impossible. You crawled under my skin from the get-go, babe…and I’ve never been happier.”

She waited a beat, but when he didn’t say anything else, she raised an eyebrow and rested her palms on his chest. Seeing the ring on her finger made her want to smile in glee, but she forced herself to look serious. “You put a ring on it, but I still didn’t hear you ask me anything,” she told him.

In response, Slate lifted his hands and palmed both her breasts.

Inhaling sharply, Ashlyn let her head fall back.

He kneaded her sensitive nipples, and she felt his thumb brush over the scar under her left breast. She wanted to reassure him yet again that she was all right. That she was alive and Aiden’s bullet hadn’t killed her, but Slate moved a hand to her back and encouraged her to lean down.

His mouth closed over one of her nipples, and Ashlyn couldn’t think about anything other than how good he was making her feel.

Slate spent a good bit of time worshiping her breasts before gently turning her onto her back. He immediately scooted down her body and kissed both inner thighs before turning his attention between her legs.

This wasn’t the fast and desperate sex they used to have. While Ashlyn adored their rougher sex, and couldn’t wait until they were both so out of control they felt like they had to have each other or die, she also craved this.

It felt like a reaffirmation of their love. It was so different from where they’d started, just wanting to feel good without the deeper complication of affections.

Slate worshiped her as he slowly brought her closer and closer to orgasm. But instead of pushing her over, he stopped when she was right at the precipice. He stripped off his boxers and scooted up until the tip of his cock brushed against her clit. Slate took hold of the base of his dick with one hand and balanced himself over her with the other.

He gently pressed himself against her, sliding inside inch by inch.

Ashlyn moaned and gripped his ass cheeks. “Faster,” she begged.

But Slate ignored her. His gaze was locked on hers as he took her. When it felt as if he’d melded their souls, not just their bodies, Slate eased down onto his elbows.

Ashlyn could feel the slight hair on his chest rub against her nipples. She felt surrounded by him, and never wanted to move.

“I love you,” Slate said softly. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to wake up with you next to me, and go to sleep with you curled into my side. I want to laugh, cry, and watch annoying chick flicks with you.”

Ashlyn wrinkled her nose at him.

He smiled. “I’m gonna be a pain in your ass a lot. I’m probably going to be even more overprotective than I was before.”

“Probably?” Ashlyn quipped.

“But I can promise you that while on missions, I won’t take risks. I won’t do anything stupid that will take me from you. You’re it for me, Ash. I’m never gonna want another woman. Ever.”

Ashlyn took a deep breath and nodded.

“Will you marry me? You could do so much better, but I’m not letting you go. I mean, I would if you hated me, because I’m not a psycho stalker, but it would literally kill me. I’d probably waste away into a shell of the man I am now. I’d stop eating, lose a ton of weight, the Navy would have to kick me out because a ninety-eight-pound weakling as a Navy SEAL isn’t exactly a good thing.”

Ashlyn couldn’t help but giggle. Leave it to her man to make her want to laugh instead of cry.

“And now she’s laughing at me,” Slate said with a sigh.

Ashlyn reached up and put her hands on her man’s cheeks. The engagement ring winked at her, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Of course I’ll marry you.”

Slate beamed. “Good.”

“I mean, the Navy would probably be really pissed if I said no and they had to replace you.”

This time, Slate chuckled. “Right. Any other reason why you want to marry me?”

“Well…” Ashlyn pretended to think about it. “That’s a tough one. You like gross Hawaiian food and you definitely drive too fast. You also have a tendency to stalk me on that tracker app. I’m thinking maybe it wasn’t a good idea to give you access.”

Slate’s hips shifted, and he began to slowly rock in and out of her.

Ashlyn’s thoughts scattered. All she could think about was how good he felt inside her.

“True, although I might have some redeeming qualities,” he said as he continued to make love to her.

Ashlyn’s hands clutched his sides as he continued to slowly fuck her. She dug her nails into his skin. “Faster, Slate,” she moaned.

“No.”

“No?” she echoed, frowning at him.

“I know what the doctor said, but there’s no way in hell I’m gonna fuck you the way I’ve dreamed about for months. That’s gonna wait until I’m completely satisfied you’re one hundred percent healthy.”

“Slate,” Ashlyn whined. “What’s that gonna take? Me running a 10K? Doing a thousand jumping jacks? I’m fine.”

“You’re gonna have to humor me,” he told her with a straight face. “I lost twenty years off my life when I realized you were shot. For now, I’m gonna make love to you. Slow and easy. You don’t like this?”

Ashlyn did like it. A lot. She swallowed. “I like it,” she admitted. “But I like when you fuck me too.”

His lips twitched. “You’re insatiable.”

“For you.”

“Damn straight. You want to come?”

“Duh,” she fired back.

His lips spread into a full-fledged grin. “Right. How about you do that then? Touch yourself, babe.”

Ashlyn didn’t hesitate. She slipped one hand between their bodies, grateful when Slate lifted his hips a bit to give her room. Then she began to flick her clit as he gently moved in and out of her.

“I love you and can’t wait to marry you,” Slate said as she got closer and closer to exploding.

“I love you,” she returned with a gasp. “Name the time and place, and I’m there.”

“Come on my cock, babe,” he replied. “I can’t hold back much longer.”

It took her mere seconds. It had been too long since she’d had her man inside her, and he’d already primed her with his tongue.

She hunched into him as the orgasm overcame her, digging the nails of the hand still clutching him harder into his skin.

He groaned and lost some of his control, slamming into her once. Twice. Then a third time before he exploded and held himself deep inside her.

Slate’s head dropped and he sealed his mouth to hers, kissing her passionately.

When his body stopped shaking, he turned them without taking his lips away.

When she finally pulled back, Ashlyn felt as if she’d run a marathon. She was panting and pleasantly sore between her legs. She could feel Slate still deep within her body.

“Love you,” she murmured as she rested her head on his shoulder.

One of his hands gripped her ass, holding her to him, and the other rested on her back. “You good? No pain?”

“Not like you mean.”

“You’re hurt?” he asked sharply.

“It’s been months. And you’re thick, Slate. But it’s a delicious pain. And you’re gonna have to work hard to get me used to you again.” She felt him relax under her when he realized she wasn’t in pain from her healed gunshot. “I’m thinking you need to make love to me at least once a day for the next month so I get used to you again.”

“You do, huh?” he asked.

“Yup.”

Slate chuckled. “You need me to get up and get you some painkillers? Run you a bath?”

“If you move, I’m gonna have to hurt you,” Ashlyn warned.

“Right.”

“All I need is you. Holding me. Loving me.”

“That I can do. For the rest of our lives.”

Ashlyn smiled. It was funny how life turned out sometimes. She’d come to Hawaii to be with another man, but had ended up meeting the one person she couldn’t live without.

“Sleep, babe,” Slate ordered. “Tomorrow’s gonna be long.”

Ashlyn smiled against him. “‘Kay.”

He picked up her left hand, kissed the ring he’d put there earlier, then curled his hand around hers as he rested it back on his chest.

Ashlyn fell asleep with a huge smile on her face. Getting shot sucked, but she’d go through it all again if it meant she’d end up right here, with the man she loved more than life.

* * *

Ashlyn squeezed Slate’s hand as he led her toward the spot Baker had commandeered for them, overlooking Waimea Bay. The surf spot was known for its deep water and big swells.

Surprisingly, Baker, the former SEAL who’d been such a big part of helping when the other women in their group needed it, was ridiculously pissed about what had happened to Ashlyn. When he’d come down to visit and check on her, he’d asked what he could do to help her heal. Ashlyn had jokingly told him that she wanted a front-row spot to watch one of the big surfing competitions.

He’d more than come through on that. He’d convinced a local with a house on the northeast side of the bay to let them use his yard to watch the competition. Ashlyn shouldn’t be too surprised, since Baker seemed to have connections everywhere.

The traffic on Kamehameha Highway had been horrendous—it always was during surf competitions at the North Shore—but Slate didn’t even seem to mind that it took them an hour to drive a mile and a half.

They were the last ones to arrive. She and Slate had gotten carried away in the shower that morning, and one thing had led to another, and they’d spent way too long demonstrating how much they loved each other. Slate was still very cautious with her, but Ashlyn was thrilled that he seemed to finally realize she was truly all right, and they could resume their normal love life.

“Hi, everyone,” Ashlyn said, refusing to be embarrassed about their lateness. It wasn’t as if the others hadn’t shown up late to some outing or another because they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

“You’re here!”

“Oh my God, you aren’t going to believe the size of these waves!”

“This one guy wiped out so hard, but amazingly he popped back up and was fine.”

“I saved you a front-row seat.”

The last came from Carly.

Ashlyn beamed at her friends. She’d never forget how supportive they’d all been while she was in the hospital. Someone was always with her. If it wasn’t Elodie sneaking in chocolatey homemade treats, it was Lexie bringing her a romance novel. Kenna, Monica, and Carly had also been constant companions, as had their husbands.

Not only that, but the other employees from Food For All had all shown up, as had her clients.

James had made it a point to be at her side in the hospital anytime Slate couldn’t be there. He eventually had to return to work, so James settled himself in the chair in her room most days, refusing to budge until Slate came by in the late afternoons.

He’d gushed over Mustang and the rest of Slate’s team, how they’d hired people to clean his house and arranged for new furniture…free of charge, of course. He had a new home health aide, who came from the best agency in the area. He sounded happy, which was a huge relief for Ashlyn.

And Slate had spent every night in the crappy foldout bed the hospital provided for relatives. Ashlyn had tried to get him to go home, but he refused. All in all, Ashlyn felt blessed. And looking around at Slate’s SEAL team, and their women, she was reminded once again how lucky she was.

“You want a drink?” Slate asked, leaning into her from behind and brushing her ear with his lips.

“Yes, please. A margarita?”

Slate snorted. “No fucking way. It’s too soon. I’ll get you some juice.”

Ashlyn rolled her eyes. Despite the all-clear from the doctor to resume her normal routines, with no restrictions on food or drink, Slate was taking it upon himself to be uber conservative about her food intake. He made her high-protein and low-carb breakfasts and dinners, insisting she eat more vegetables as well. It was cute…and beginning to border on annoying. But she tried to tell herself that Slate had suffered almost as much as she had that day. If it had been him lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to the chest, she’d be acting just like he was, so she let it go.

“Sit here,” Elodie said, patting a chair between her and Carly.

Ashlyn walked over to where Elodie indicated and sat. She stared over the cliff at the bay, and gasped at what seemed to be the biggest wave she’d ever seen.

“Yeah, it’s pretty amazing that there are people who voluntarily and eagerly go out in that, huh?” Elodie asked.

“It’s downright terrifying,” Ashlyn said. Then she looked around and said, “Is Monica coming?”

“I don’t think so,” Carly said. “She’s having issues breastfeeding Charlotte. And of course, Pid was more than happy to stay home with his girls.”

Ashlyn smiled. Monica had her baby a month ago, and Pid had basically lost his mind. He’d gone overboard, buying all sorts of outfits and taking a million pictures of his little girl. He was also very protective of her, including asking people to wear masks when they came to visit, which no one minded. Slate regularly bitched that Pid wasn’t sharing his daughter like he should, which made Ashlyn laugh. Seeing her large, grumpy boyfriend holding the tiny little girl was so damn precious.

Slate returned with a glass and handed it to her. “You good? Need anything else?”

“No, I’m good, thanks.”

“Don’t sit in the sun too long, babe. You’ll burn,” he told her, then leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I’m gonna go chat with the guys a bit.”

“You aren’t going to watch the competition?” she asked, looking up at him.

He smiled. “Not my thing,” he said easily.

“Oh, you should’ve said something,” Ashlyn said worriedly.

“I’m happy simply being with you, doesn’t matter what we’re doing. And if you want to see a surfing competition, I’ll bend over backward to bring you to see a surfing competition.”

“Even if the traffic drives you crazy? And all the tourists?”

“Yup. Let me know if you need anything,” he said, nodding at Elodie, then heading for where Mustang, Jag, and the other guys were standing.

“The two of you are so cute,” Elodie gushed. “I never would’ve thought it back when you guys first met. Considering how you were always at each other’s throats.”

“Yeah, well, he’s still in his ‘take care of Ashlyn’ mode. I’m sure we’ll go back to bickering soon,” she said, taking a sip of the juice Slate had brought her.

“Wait a minute…is that a ring?!” Elodie exclaimed.

Ashlyn grinned and held up her hand for Carly and Elodie. “Yeah. He proposed officially last night.”

“It’s about time! He’s been calling you his fiancée ever since you left the hospital,” Elodie said.

“When are you getting married?” Carly asked.

Ashlyn shrugged. “No clue. We haven’t talked about details. But honestly, it doesn’t matter to me. I don’t need a huge ceremony. I just want to spend the rest of my life with Slate.”

“I know the feeling,” Elodie said with a smile.

“Happy for you guys,” Carly said.

“Thanks.”

A comfortable silence fell over the women, then Elodie asked, “How’s James doing?”

“He’s good. He felt guilty about what happened for a while, but I think I’ve finally got him out of that funk. Slate getting him connected with that veterans group was one of the best things for him. The meetings get him out of the house more, and thinking about something other than what happened.”

“And is the new home health aide working out?” Elodie asked.

“Yeah. James was very reluctant to have anyone come into the house at first, but it was Slate who actually talked him into it.”

“How?” Carly asked.

“By personally interviewing each of the applicants and basically scaring the shit out of them. Telling them if they so much as laid a finger in anger on his friend, or took something as small as a Q-tip from the house, they’d have him to deal with.”

“Oh, Lord,” Elodie said with a laugh. “I’m surprised anyone took the job.”

“I was too. But I guess after hearing what happened to James, and me, the guy who finally took the position looked Slate in the eye, and promised over his dead body would anyone ever hurt James again.”

“Wow, yeah, okay, I guess that’s good.”

“Yeah. And the new guy is a Navy vet himself. And has a huge Hawaiian ohana, family, here on the island. He takes James over to his house every Sunday to hang out and eat with all of them. He’s a sweetheart, and I’m thrilled for James.”

“That’s awesome,” Elodie said with a smile.

Ashlyn nodded, then heard the guys calling out greetings to someone behind her. She turned to see a man she’d only met a couple times enter the yard. She put down her drink and got up to greet him.

Baker looked good, as usual. He wore a pair of board shorts and a T-shirt that didn’t hide all the tattoos on his arms. His salt-and-pepper hair was messy as usual, as if he’d just stepped off the beach after surfing all day, which probably wasn’t a huge stretch.

She had to wait her turn, as Baker was currently having his back slapped and shaking hands with the guys. When the macho greetings were done, Ashlyn approached.

Baker hugged her gently, as if she was made of glass. Smiling, she tightened her hold, squeezing him hard.

“Easy, woman,” he warned as he pulled back.

Ashlyn rolled her eyes. She felt Slate’s hand on her back as he came up behind her.

“Thank you so much for all this,” she said, gesturing to the yard and the view of the bay behind her.

“Of course. I know the family who owns the house. He used to be a famous surfer, and he owed me one.”

Ashlyn wasn’t surprised at that. She had no idea what it was Baker had done for the owner of the house, but she didn’t really care. She was happy to be away from the large crowds of locals and tourists below, all competing for the best viewing spots on the beach to watch the competition.

As she stood back and watched Baker greet the other women, a thought occurred to Ashlyn. When everyone had finished saying their hellos, she asked, “Where’s Jody?”

Ashlyn could feel her friends’ eyes on her. They’d talked about it some, about the woman Baker seemed to like, but the man himself never discussed her. She supposed she probably should’ve been more discreet when asking, but she’d learned the hard way how short life was. And she wanted Baker to be as happy as his friends were.

To her surprise, Baker didn’t blow off the question. “She’s down at the beach, workin’.”

“Working?”

“Yeah. Volunteering. Making sure the surfers get water and snacks when they need it. But more than that, she’s keepin’ an eye on her kids.”

“Her kids?” Lexie asked.

“The high school surfers. Everyone comes out to the beach to watch on competition days, and they stay all day. She makes sure they aren’t getting into trouble, and no one messes with them,” Baker said.

“That’s good,” Kenna said.

Baker snorted. It was obvious he had his own opinions on what Jody was doing, but he didn’t share them. “Anyway, I just came up to make sure you all were good. I’m headed back down to the beach. If you need anything, Jonny will be happy to get it for you.”

They’d all met Jonny, the homeowner, and he’d seemed genuinely happy to welcome everyone to his home and to make them comfortable.

“I want to meet her at some point,” Ashlyn said.

Baker lifted an eyebrow.

“And don’t look at me like that. I was shot, I’m entitled to speak my mind.”

Slate’s arm wrapped around her from behind as he said, “Don’t like you being so blasé about being shot, babe.”

“I mean it,” she said to Baker, squeezing Slate’s arm to let him know she heard him. “You like her, it’s obvious. She sounds like a fascinating person. I love that she takes care of the high school kids. I’ve heard about how she brings snacks to them in the morning when they’re surfing and makes sure they all get off to school. But I’ve never heard anyone say anything about her having help, or about her hanging out with her own friends. And since you obviously think highly of her, she must be amazing. I’m thinking maybe she wouldn’t mind getting to know us.”

“She’s older than you are, Ash,” Baker said.

“So?” she fired back. “I’ve got lots of friends of all different ages. James is eighty-nine, and he loves hanging out with me and my friends.”

“True,” Baker said with a small smile.

“Look, I get that you’re secret and broody and all that, but that doesn’t mean you can’t at least introduce us.”

“She’s pushy,” Baker said to Slate.

“I am,” Ashlyn said before Slate could respond. “Because I have a feeling this friend of yours is pretty cool. And I need all the cool friends I can find to balance out my dorkiness.”

Everyone around her laughed. Ashlyn knew she was pushing a bit hard, but for some reason, she felt like this was important.

“Look around you, Baker. These guys might not have been your SEAL team, but you’ve helped all of them when they’ve needed it most. You’re their friend. And you’re my friend, and Elodie’s, Lexie’s, Kenna’s, Monica’s, and Carly’s. Letting us get to know Jody isn’t going to reveal any of your deep dark secrets. So let us in…at least this little bit.”

Baker stared at her so long, Ashlyn had the feeling she’d pushed too hard. But then his lips quirked, and he shook his head. “You aren’t gonna be happy until everyone around you is too, are you?”

“Nope,” Ashlyn said with a smile. “It’s what I do…I’m the happy fairy, sprinkling everyone with my special glitter everywhere I go.”

Everyone burst out laughing again, but it was Baker’s response she was most concerned about.

“Fine. I’ll see what I can do,” he said at last.

Ashlyn beamed. “Great. And don’t take too long either,” she ordered.

“Now you’re pushin’ your luck,” he said dryly. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go wash off the fuckin’ glitter all over me and get back to work.”

Ashlyn wasn’t offended in the least. She stepped out of Slate’s hold and hugged Baker once again. “Thanks for being awesome. Grumpy, secretive, kinda scary and standoffish, but awesome.”

She was rewarded with another smile.

“Later,” he told the group with a chin lift, then he turned and walked away.

Ashlyn couldn’t help but notice the man had one hell of an ass. He might be in fifties, but all the other women were right…he was hot as fuck.

“Are you ogling another man’s ass?” Slate asked, once again wrapping an arm around her, pulling her against his chest.

“Yup,” Ashlyn said without hesitation, then she turned in his embrace and stared up at the man she loved. “But he’s not you, so I’m not interested.”

“You better not be,” Slate growled.

“You’re the only one for me. Though it does seem I have a thing for broody, grumpy men.”

“You forgot impatient,” he said.

“Are you wanting to leave already?” she teased.

“Let’s see, hang out in the hot sun watching a bunch of idiots taking their lives into their hands by trying to ride those insane waves, and talking with the same guys I see every day…or go home with my woman, lie in bed, naked, and show her how much I love her more with every second? Tough decision,” he said sarcastically.

Ashlyn smiled and put her hand on his cheek. He immediately turned his head and kissed her palm. “Thank you for bringing me up here today.” She knew he was just kidding. Yeah, he didn’t like watching surfing and the traffic did suck, but he enjoyed hanging out with his teammates, even if he did see them every day.

“If you feel up to it, maybe we can stop and see Monica, Pid, and Charlotte on the way home,” Slate suggested.

“Yes!” Ashlyn agreed. She’d never turn down the chance to cuddle with the newborn. She wasn’t quite ready for her own, wasn’t sure she ever would be, but she loved being able to snuggle Charlotte, then give her back when she cried or needed her diaper changed.

“Love seeing you like this,” Slate said after a moment.

“Like what?”

“Happy.”

“I am,” Ashlyn said fervently.

“Good. Can I assume we’ll be making more visits up here to the North Shore in the near future?” Slate asked.

Ashlyn smiled. “Yes. I’m determined to meet this Jody person and bring her into the fold of our girl posse.”

“She’s a lucky woman then,” Slate said. Then he leaned down. He kissed her long, slow, and deep, not caring if anyone was watching. When he lifted his head, he licked his lips. “I love you, Ashlyn. More than you’ll ever know.”

“And I love you too, Slate.”

“Go hang with your girls. Before I throw you over my shoulder and drag you home.”

Ashlyn laughed. There was no way he’d throw her over his shoulder, not so soon after everything that had happened…but hopefully in the future she could egg him on enough to make him lose control and do just that.

“Go,” he ordered, as if he could read her mind.

Ashlyn backed up, then turned and sauntered toward Elodie and the others, swinging her hips a little more than she normally would. When she looked back, she saw Slate’s gaze glued to her ass, just as she’d intended.

Life was good.

* * *

Jodelle Spencer kept an eye on her high schoolers as she sat as far away from the crowds as she could get, but still close enough so she could see what was going on. She didn’t like being here, it brought back too many bad memories, but because this was where the surfers were, this was where she had to be.

“Do you have any more sandwiches, Miss Jody?” one of her favorite kids asked a little shyly.

“Of course, Rome. You want one or two?”

“You have enough for me to have two?” he asked.

“When have I never had enough for my boys to fill their bellies?” she retorted.

Rome grinned. “Then two please.”

Jody reached into the cooler she always had by her side and fished out two sandwiches.

“Thanks, Miss Jody. Later.”

She closed the lid as the lanky boy walked away, back toward a group of kids he’d been hanging out with.

She’d made it her mission to keep an eye on the boys, and the occasional girl, who liked to surf before school in the mornings, and in the afternoons as well. If someone had been there watching out for—

No. She wasn’t going there.

Looking around, she searched for her kids, spotting most of them. Brent and Felipe were hanging out on the sand watching the surfers, Rome was eating the sandwiches she’d given him and flirting with a girl barely wearing a bikini. Iwalani, who went by Lani, one of the few females who surfed nearly every morning, was getting the autograph of one of the professional surfers. Kalama was hanging out with a bunch of older kids from the high school…

But as hard as she looked, Jody couldn’t spot Ben Miller.

She’d been worried about him for a while now. He’d gone from a happy-go-lucky kid to someone who barely smiled lately, and even though he still showed up to surf in the mornings, he didn’t seem to enjoy it as much as he used to.

Last week, when she’d shown up in the morning to the beach where the high school kids usually congregated to surf before school, she’d seen him sleeping in the back seat of his older-model Kia. He was too tall to fit in the seat. When she’d tried to ask him what was up, why he was sleeping in his car, he’d blown her off and refused to talk about it.

Which was another worry. Ben used to sit and talk her ear off about nothing in particular before he’d head out to the waves. Now he kept his head down and barely looked at anyone. It was worrisome, and him not being here today, at the surf competition, didn’t make her feel any better.

“Hey, Jodelle,” a deep voice said from behind her.

Smiling—and telling herself not to act like a dork—Jody turned. “Hey, Baker.”

“Everything good?”

She wanted to tell him that, no, everything wasn’t good. That she was lonely. That she missed her son more with every day. That she was worried about Ben. That she was running low on sandwiches and knew she’d never find a parking spot if she left and tried to come back. That it scared her to watch the surfers in the huge waves. That she thought Baker was so damn good-looking, it was hard to keep her hands to herself. That she both craved and dreaded being alone back at her house…

She said none of that. She simply replied, “Yeah.”

But Baker had a way of looking at her that made Jody suspect he saw through her nonchalant responses. That he could see straight through to the heart of who she was. It was scary…and exhilarating at the same time.

He’d never once given her any indication he wanted to be anything but casual friends in all the time she’d known him. So Jody always did her best to hide her feelings. About him…about everything.

“You get your friends settled?” she asked. He’d told her earlier that his friends were going to be coming to watch the competition from up on the bluff.

“Yeah. They want to meet you,” he said.

Jody blinked in surprise. “Me?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Why not?” Baker countered.

“Um…because?”

Baker’s lips quirked upward, and Jody’s knees literally went weak at seeing that smile. He’d just started to respond when Lani came running up to them.

“Miss Jody! Something’s wrong with Ben!”

All thoughts about how attractive Baker was flew from her mind. “Where is he? I haven’t seen him.”

“His car was parked at the back of the lot and someone saw him sleeping in it. Because it’s so hot, he’s got heat exhaustion. The medics are looking at him now!”

Jody turned to look at the medical tent, but didn’t see any excessive commotion. She immediately headed for the parking lot.

She jerked in surprise when Baker reached out and took her elbow in his hand.

Looking up at him, she frowned. “You don’t have to come.”

He stared back with a look she’d never seen before on his face. “I know, but I am.”

“Why?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“Because as a friend recently reminded me, life is short, and I’m done being noble. I’m doing what I should’ve done a long fuckin’ time ago.”

Jody was confused. She had no idea what in the world Baker was talking about. But she didn’t have time to worry about that right now. She had to figure out what the hell Ben was doing sleeping in his car in the middle of the day. Something was going on with him, and she was going to figure out what it was, no matter what it took.

* *

FINALLY! It’s Baker’s turn! He meets his match with Jodelle! Get the final book in the SEAL Team Hawaii series, Finding Jodellenow!

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