Barefoot Bay: When You Touch Me (Kindle Worlds Novella) (13 page)

“She is all grown up, isn’t she? I couldn’t believe how much she had changed when I saw her yesterday.”

“She’s a gorgeous woman, and if I wasn’t in love with her sister, I might….” Sam’s voice wobbled on the last word and fiddled with placemat beneath his coffee cup. He cleared his throat and continued. “I’m hoping maybe we can put aside the past and start over.”

Had she heard him correctly? Had he said that word? Love? Jillian had been fighting that emotion for days, sure it was one-sided on her part. But he was asking to rekindle their relationship.

“But you’re going back to North Carolina and I’m here. Long distance relationships have never worked too well for me.”

“For me either. But I’m coming back to Mimosa Key.”

“Oh? Back for more voodoo at the spa?” she teased.

“Actually, I’ll be starting a job here. With McBain Security. I have to go home and handle a few details. My brother ships out to the Middle East soon and I want to spend time with him before he leaves. I start work in about a month in the new branch office in Naples.”

“Luke’s a great guy from what I hear.”

“He is. He is taking a chance on me after I was such a shithead and gave everyone at the resort every reason not to.”

“I’m guessing he was able to sift through all the bravado and see all the reasons why he should hire you. You’re a good man, Sam Hartman. You just got caught up in a series of events that cut you to your soul. You reacted normally.”

Sam grimaced. “Yeah, if being a real prick is normal.”

“But you’ve said yourself you are going to do whatever it takes to improve. Jillian paused. “And um, maybe you could work on your colorful language, too?”

“And deprive Poppy’s orphanage of my donations?” His laughter spread to his eyes and they sparkled clear blue.

“I think Gabe Rossi keeps that orphanage pretty well funded. Have you met him yet? He works for McBain too.”

“No, but I’ve heard about him and he sounds like one hell…heck of a guy. See? Working on the language.”

Jillian patted him on the hand. “Atta boy, Sam.”

“And since we won’t be long distance once I get back, I was hoping maybe we could pick things up where we left off. Candlelight dinners. Watch movies snuggled on the sofa. Maybe even meditate on the beach at sunset.”

“But you hate the sand,” she declared.

“With you right there beside me, I think I could learn to like it.”

Sam rose and moved around the table to pull Jillian to her feet and take her into his arms. He lowered his head to hers and kissed her tenderly.

“I hate to break this party up because I’d sure like to see where that kiss could lead.” He let his hand glide down her body, past her shoulder, into the curve of her waist and then settle on her hip. “I’d go a little lower but I don’t want to cross any lines.”

Jillian buried her face in his chest and laughed. “You and your lines.”

“Oh no ma’am. They were
your
lines. But regardless, I have to return my rental car and check in for my flight home.”

They walked arm in arm to the front door and Sam kissed her softly once more. When she shut the door behind him, she collapsed against it, closing her eyes to remember Sam’s touch and his tender kiss.

Her reverie was interrupted by a knock. Could Aunt Daffy be back already? Jillian opened the door to find Sam standing in front of her.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, puzzled at his sudden return.

“I forgot something.”

“Oh?”

“I forgot this,” he said, a sexy smile curving his lips. He pulled her into his strong embrace.

Jillian relaxed into his arms as he caressed her cheek with his fingertips and covered her lips with his. Her mouth molded to his, and when his tongue begged entrance, she parted her lips and let him in.

He groaned and rocked his hips against her. Cupped the curves of her backside and pulled her closer to him. Then as suddenly as the kiss began, he stepped back, the only remaining contact being his hands on her bare shoulders.

“Damn, that was good.” His lids were heavy, nearly covering his eyes, and he licked his lower lip as it to savor her taste.

“Mmmm hmmm,” she agreed, wanting more.

“I don’t want to leave you. Believe me, sweetheart, if I didn’t have a plane to catch, I’d be carrying you to the nearest bed and crossing so many lines you’d be in a different time zone. You believe me, don’t you?” His brow furrowed with trepidation.

“I do, Sam. I do.”

“Do you also remember how I said I thought I could learn to like the sand?”

She nodded.

“I lied. Truth is,” he said, leaning in for one last brief kiss. “I believe with you I could learn to really love it.”

One year later

The banner hanging on the storefront across the street from Mimosa Memories announced the grand opening of Mimosa Touch. Jillian beamed with pride and pinched herself to make sure her dream of a center specializing in the treatment of veterans had finally come true.

Jillian had left Casa Blanca eight months earlier with their blessing, shortly after she and Sam said “I do” on the sand at Barefoot Bay. She had worked long hours to assemble a team of psychologists and counselors so the center could pair talk therapy with massage, Reiki and meditation.

Becca had designed a first-class advertising campaign as a project for one of her business classes. As a result, Mimosa Touch had received more requests than it could handle, and Jillian had spent hours on the phone and the Internet finding other facilities to refer them to.

Sam tugged on one corner of the banner to straighten it. “Mrs. Hartman, I do believe your venture is a success.”

“We’ve just opened, so I’m hesitant to use the word success yet. The real success will be when these men and women walk out of here as whole beings again.” She grabbed Sam’s hand and squeezed. “Whole like you.”

McBain Security had provided him with a flexible work schedule, and after sessions with a counselor and lots and lots of assistance from Jillian, Sam had come to grips with his and Trip’s survival and his squad mates’ deaths. His shoulder was fully functional, and while the scars across his back remained, they bothered him less and less. Best of all, he no longer woke in the middle of the night re-living the bombing.

“We got it!”

Jillian glanced over her shoulder and saw her sister standing in the doorway of Mimosa Memories. A broad smile brightened her face as she moved outside to the paved walkway.

“The Bucks’ management agreed the other contender’s application exaggerated their sales statistics and traffic flow,” she said. “They reversed their decision. We are now the sole source of Barefoot Bay Bucks merchandise on Mimosa Key aside from the stadium sales.”

“Oh hell,” Sam groaned. “We’ll never hear the end of this from Charity.” Jillian elbowed him sharply in the ribs. He cleared his throat and muttered. “Sorry. I was so overcome with excitement, you know.”

“Can it, Hart Throb,” Jillian said, using the old Army nickname she loved to tease him with. “You know our deal.”

“Oh, and Aunt Daffy has learned to text.” Becca waved her cell phone in the air. “I’ve received eight texts from her in the last half hour. I knew I shouldn’t have encouraged her to get a smart phone.”

Jillian laughed. “Then how would she have the Spirit Talk and Aura Mania apps? Where is she now, by the way?”

Daphne had departed a week earlier on an eighteen-day motor coach trip across America with a group of fellow retirees.

“I think she’s in your old stomping ground. She mentioned red rocks in one of her messages.”

Just then, Jillian’s phone pinged with the sound of an incoming text. She pulled it from her pocket and opened the texting app.

“Speak of the devil,” she said, reading the words on the screen.

Sedona is gr8. Communed with the spirits. Felt the force of the Velcro.

Damn it. Vortices. I hate autocorrect. LOL!

Got new sage for cleansings. And your mother came to me in a dream last night to congratulate me on becoming a great aunt.

Way 2 go with the center!!! Heart you!

“I see she’s getting texting lingo down. But what’s that about?” Sam asked, pointing to the phone screen. “Do all her friends’ children call her Aunt Daffy, too?”

Jillian sucked in a breath. How did Daphne know? Jillian hadn’t even told Sam she thought she was pregnant because she wanted to see the doctor first to be sure.

“Sam? Remember that night we meditated up near Barefoot Mountain? She paused as she considered her next words. “And then we didn’t meditate?”

Sam’s eyes narrowed as he processed the question.

“Yeah, what about it?” His eyebrows shot nearly to his hairline. “Ohhhhh. Are you…?”

“I think so. I have an appointment with the doctor next week to find out for sure, but the stick said yes.” She laughed. “I had to drive across the causeway to buy the test.”

“Charity’s going to be upset not only about the Bucks merchandising decision but that she didn’t get to spread this news first. Should we tell her she was scooped by a ghost?”

“What are you two laughing about?” Becca asked. Jillian hadn’t noticed her sister cross the street.

“Just Aunt Daffy’s text. She’s learning about autocorrect,” Jillian explained, shoving the phone into her pocket.

“I’m going to leave you two to your new business,” Becca said, “and go start on the mountain of paperwork for the Bucks deal. I’m thinking of refinishing that old counter I bought when the Tidal Pool Hall closed and use it to display the baseball merchandise. I’m going to call it the Bucks Bar.”

Jillian hugged her sister. “Thanks for all the work you did to make that deal come through.”

“I’m just keeping the family business going,” Becca replied. “And congratulations, by the way.”

Jillian held her breath. Had Daphne told Becca too?

“On Mimosa Touch. You are going to make such a difference in so many lives.”

Becca returned to the opposite side of the street and Sam guided Jillian into their business, his hand at the small of her back. Once inside, he placed his palm against Jillian’s belly.

“For now, let’s keep this our secret. Until we know for sure,” he suggested. “This baby is going to change our lives, sweetheart. And I’ll be right there for you, like you were there for me. Just like when you touched me and changed my heart forever.”

I have been a fan of Roxanne St. Claire for over a decade. I’ve read every book she’s written – many more than once. And I’m always anxiously awaiting the next book. And the next and the next. When she switched from romantic suspense to straight contemporary, I had no doubts that the books would be great. And the Barefoot Bay series didn’t disappoint me. I have devoured the series from its debut book, Barefoot in the Sand, to the most recent, Barefoot with a Bad Boy. In addition to being a favorite author before I started writing, Roxanne has encouraged me since I began writing and would be a friend even if I didn’t write. That’s just how she is.

So color me surprised and very honored when Roxanne (or Rocki as she tells everyone to call her) asked me to be among the group of seed authors for the launch of the Barefoot Bay Kindle World.

Writing is a solitary pursuit because it’s just the writer and the computer. While it is true I spend a lot of time alone with my computer, I’ve found I’m not really alone in the writing of a story. In addition to my friend Google, my writing world is filled with a variety of resources. The best ones are the friends, and sometimes strangers, who answer the questions I pose in emails, text messages and telephone calls, on Facebook and Twitter and any other way I can communicate with them. Any errors in this story are mine alone.

For their very important help with this story, I would like to thank the following people.

Kristi Gold, fabulous author and brainstorming genius who helped unsnarl the plot of this book – more than once.

SFC Michael Vasicak and his wife, author Donna Michaels for answering questions about how wounded soldiers are dealt with on the battlefront and beyond.

Author Brina Cary for the long Facebook private message session one night where she answered lots of questions about military life.

Multiple members of the Published Author Network of RWA who provided information on the topography of Afghanistan and Army base locations.

Beth Ludwig, licensed massage therapist and Reiki Master for giving me information and insight about her fields of expertise.

Carol and Bill Elliott of the Healing Arts Center of Huntsville, Alabama for not only introducing me to Shambhala meditation but not laughing when I told them I was researching meditation for a romance novel.

Charlotte Chavous for an early beta read and feedback.

Annie Rivers for reading and re-reading and re-re-reading the manuscript and offering feedback that helped make the story better. I am also grateful that she did not report me for harassment over the multitude of emails asking for assistance and opinions about this, that and the other.

Kim Killion for my fabulous cover.

Jessie Patterson who made sure I crossed every T and dotted every I and put commas where they belonged.

Maria Connor of My Author Concierge for formatting.

The other Barefoot Bay Kindle World authors, Mandy Baxter, EmKAY Connor, Leigh Duncan, Maria Geraci, Chris Keniston, Kiersten Hallie Krum, Lucy Lakestone, Jill Monroe, Jeannie Moon and Fiona Roarke, for their friendship during this venture and for answering numerous questions and guiding me through the waters of my first self-publishing venture.

And even though I thanked her earlier, thank you again, Rocki, for inviting me to dip my toe into the fabulous and fun world of Barefoot Bay.

Marilyn Baxter