Sunset Beach(135)

“This view never gets old,” Drue told him, kicking at a wavelet with her pointed toes. “And you know the funny thing? When I was kiteboarding, I never really paid attention to it. I loved being on the water, and I really, really loved doing tricks and flying, but the water and the wind? They were just there. Part of the equipment, like my board and my harness and my kite. Being grounded with this stinking knee injury has made me really stop and appreciate all of this.”

“Do you miss it?” he asked.

“Yeah. Sometimes. It was my passion for so long, from the time I was fourteen and started working at a skateboard shop and then a surf shop on weekends to get money for lessons, right up until my accident. I built my life around kiteboarding. And it never occurred to me that it could be taken away from me in a split second.”

“If your knee gets rehabbed, would you go back to that life?”

“Right now? I’m not sure. I still have nightmares, sometimes, where I’m falling, and I can’t release my harness, and the kite is dragging me through the water and I’m drowning.”

“Really? I can’t imagine a badass like you being afraid of anything. Especially not after the way you got the jump on Ben two nights ago.”

“I’m afraid of lots of things,” Drue admitted. “I just hide it better than most people.”

“Like what?”

“Spiders. Fire. Anchovies.” Her tone turned unexpectedly serious and she reached for his hand. “Dying alone, like my mom.”

“You weren’t with her when she died?”

Drue shrugged. “Physically, yeah I was right there in the room with her. But my mom wasn’t your typical mother. I always knew she loved me, but she was very closed-off, emotionally. She had boyfriends, over the years, after she and my dad split, but nothing was permanent. I think that was by design.”

A breeze kicked up then, ruffling her hair, and she felt goose bumps raise on her arms.

“Let’s walk,” she said.

He took her hand and they strolled past the lights of Sharky’s and the Gulf Vista, without comment.

They were almost back to the cottage, and Jonah stopped, taking in the view of it from the beach. They’d left the lights on inside.

“It looks so peaceful from here, it’s weird to think about everything that happened here two nights ago,” Jonah said.

He kissed the top of her head. “I’m guessing you must have had that talk with your dad? About Colleen?”

“Yeah. I met him and Zee for drinks at Mastry’s, after work.”

“How’d it go? Pretty awkward?”

“Very awkward. And painful.” She swallowed the unexpected lump that rose in her throat.

“If you ever want to talk about it, I’m willing to listen,” he told her.

“I know you are,” Drue said gratefully. “I don’t want to be like my mom,” Drue said, looking directly at him. “Or my dad, when it comes to that. Okay?”

“Okay,” he said. “Understood.”



* * *



Jonah insisted on entering the cottage ahead of her, to, as he put it, “run reconnaissance.”

“No bad guys,” he reported, after searching all the rooms, including both closets.

He gathered up his laptop and headed for the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Drue asked, hands on hips.

“Home?”

“What about that do-over you promised me?” she asked.

He raised one eyebrow. “On a school night? You are a naughty girl.”



* * *



Later, naked and tangled up in sweat-dampened sheets, Jonah got out of bed and propped the fan up on the dresser.

“My apartment is tiny and crappy and the only view is of the next-door-neighbor’s roof,” he said, spooning his body next to hers, “and I never thought I’d say this, but I also never thought I’d miss air-conditioning as much as I do right now.”

“You get used to it,” Drue said.

He kissed her bare shoulder.

“I certainly hope to.”





64


On the next sunny Saturday morning, Rae Hernandez stood on her doorstep, her hand resting lightly on Aliyah Mayes’s shoulder. The girl was dressed in a purple print two-piece swimsuit, staring up at her through a pair of neon-green swim goggles.

“Surprise!” the detective said.

“Um, hi,” Drue said. She leaned down and smiled at Aliyah. “Hi, Aliyah. What’s going on?”

Aliyah beamed. “Miss Rae bought me swimming glasses.”

Drue looked up at Hernandez. “Seriously, what is going on?”

“You promised to teach her how to swim so she could be a mermaid, right?”

“Is this a joke?“Drue opened the door wider. “Come on in, honey,” she said cheerfully. “Why don’t you go sit down in the living room while I have a word with Miss Rae.”

Aliyah looked up at the detective, seeking her approval.

“Go ahead,” Hernandez told the child. “It’s all right. I checked. Miss Drue doesn’t have a criminal record.”

Drue waited until the girl was out of earshot. “Are you serious? I have plans for today. You can’t just drop a kid off like this. Does Yvonne know you’re doing this?”