Within These Walls (The Walls Duet #1)(65)

She was literally vibrating with excitement. Being out of the hospital had awoken her spirit and had breathed fresh new life into her lungs.

“Shut up! It’s my fancy car dubbing speech. I’m supposed to sound like Shakespeare.”

“Oh, sorry,” I faked a cough as we turned west. “Go on. You do so-eth?”

“I hereby name this car, um…” She looked around, searching, and finally her eyes grew wide. “Yertle the Turtle!”

She was so proud of herself that she didn’t even notice where we were when I pulled the car to a stop.

“Very clever, Sam I Am.” I laughed. “But Yertle the Turtle was blue.”

“He was not!”

“He was,” I urged. “In the book illustrations, he’s blue.”

She looked over at me with her arms folded over her chest. “How the heck do you even know that?”

“My mom used to read to us a lot when I was little.” I shrugged. “And I’m smart,” I added with a grin, tapping on my temple.

“Well, whatever. We’re calling it Yertle, even if it isn’t blue. Now, where are we? And what are we doing?” she asked, looking up. She gasped when her eyes took in the panoramic view of the ocean.

“We’re going to put your toes in the ocean.”





I HADN’T LIVED my life completely in a box.

Living in Southern California my entire life, I had seen the ocean from time to time as we drove around the city. But sitting there in Jude’s car, seeing the turquoise water sparkle endlessly before me, I felt like I was seeing it for the first time. My gaze wandered down to the long stretch of sand standing between me and the gentle waves lapping at the coast.

I turned to him. “How? I don’t know if I can make it through all that thick sand without having breathing problems or getting too tired,” I admitted, hating my limitations and weakness.

“I’m going to carry you,” he simply stated.

“The entire way? In the sand?”

“Yep. Now, come on, let’s go!”

He pushed open his door and jumped out, and I was left staring at an empty seat. Moments later, he was opening my car door, grinning.

“The water isn’t going to make it all the way up here.” He held out his hand.

I reached out and took it.

“But that’s a long way to carry me, Jude,” I said.

He gave me a dubious, amused expression. “You weigh about as much as a box of Cracker Jacks, and in case you didn’t notice during all those times when you had your hands shoved up my shirt, I’m in good shape.”

His wink that followed was what sent my cheeks aflame, and I couldn’t contain the laughter that sprang forth when he lifted me into his arms.

“See? Piece of cake. Now, if you’re done complaining, I think we have something to do.”

I nodded excitedly, wrapping my hands around his neck, as he cradled me, and we took off down toward the sand.

“Where is everyone? I thought California beaches were always packed,” I said, looking around at the very empty beach.

Only a few surfers dotted the shoreline, carrying boards to and from the beach.

“It’s early still. The beach will start to fill up in the next hour or two, which is why I wanted to come now. I thought it would be nicer to be here without a thousand people running around.”

Gazing up and down the long beach, I smiled. “Yeah, it’s peaceful now. I like it.”

The sand changed from light to dark as the waves grew closer.

“Can I walk the rest of the way?” I asked, eager to feel the damp sand between my toes.

“Yeah,” he said with warm tenderness echoing in his voice.

I kicked off my flip-flops just as he began to slowly lower me to the ground. Our eyes met the second my feet hit the cool sand. It was gritty and wet, and it felt completely wonderful between my toes. Our fingers laced together as a crooked smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. I turned toward the horizon, and we walked the last few steps to the water’s edge. The icy water rushed over my toes, and I gasped.

“It’s cold!” I yelped.

Jude’s deep laughter filled the air. “Why do you think the surfers are in wet suits? You’ll get used to it,” he promised. “We can walk for just a little bit.”

Hand in hand, we walked down the beach, talking and laughing, as others passed by. It was the most normal morning I’d ever had, yet it felt extraordinary and exhilarating. It was a feeling I never wanted to end.

“I didn’t think this would happen,” I admitted.

We came to a stop not too far from where we’d started.

“I never thought I’d have a day like this, a day where I wouldn’t have to think about what others were doing while I was stuck at home.”

“We’ll have a lot more days like this,” he promised, tilting my chin.

He captured my lips. The kiss started sweet and delicate as our mouths brushed lightly against each other. As his fingers found their way into my hair, pulling me closer, while he fisted strands of my blonde waves in his palms, it turned into anything but sweet.

“We need to get off this beach,” I urged, pulling away breathlessly.

“Yes, good idea,” he agreed.