Finding Serenity (Serenity Beach) (11 page)

~NOLAN~

Jordyn’s visit was the best part of my day. When Jordyn visited, she brought the light back in. Going down to the beach, we were able get away from everyone and everything else. As she walked out of the ocean, water dripping from her tanned skin, I marveled at her beauty. I loved this woman, and all I wanted to do was spend every second with her.

I was under a lot of pressure from my team manager and agent to rejoin the team. If I didn’t get it together soon, they were going to drop me for good. I actually needed to get some training done and that was never going to happen with Jordyn around, so I drove her home and then headed back to the Estate alone. She had protested my insistence on driving her, stating that she could ride her bike just fine, thank you very much. But I’d thrown it into the trunk and forced her into the passenger’s seat.

It was bad enough that she had a crazy stalker making threats, but she also had to insist on going about her life like that wasn’t the case. It wasn’t safe for her to be out riding her bike, especially as the sun was beginning to set.

When I dropped her off, it was almost impossible not to follow her inside. Besides being insanely attracted to her, I also hated the idea of her being alone in that house. She’d had the locks changed, and added a deadbolt, but Ben had already broken into her place multiple times.

“You’ll call me if anything comes up? Anything at all. A noise outside, a weird feeling, whatever. Call me.”

She had looked at me like I was the crazy one, but she agreed. I made sure she locked the door behind me before returning to my car and pulling away. I took the coastal drive, like always, thinking about Jordyn. I really hoped she would accept my invitation to go with me. It would be good for us to get away together, to a place where we wouldn’t have to worry about her crazy ex-boyfriend.

I was so distracted, I didn’t realize just how fast I was driving. Jordyn was always lecturing me to be careful going around the curves. When I put my foot on the brake just before heading into the biggest curve, I heard a loud snap and the car didn’t decelerate. I pushed down harder but nothing happened.

As a last ditch effort, I tried to swerve hard in the other direction, but it was too late. My car slammed into the guardrail, busting through in a loud crunch. My head snapped as the airbag went off, and the next thing I knew, the car was flipping upside down and I was headed down the cliff.

I woke up in the hospital, which was easily determined from the heart monitor beeping over my head, the scratchy hospital gown I was wearing, and the IV in my arm. I tried to lift my head, but it seemed to weight about 1,000lbs and it felt like my brain was about to explode inside my skull.

“You’re awake.”

I felt a squeeze of my hand and I blinked hard. When my eyes reopened, Jordyn’s face was hovering over me, twisted with worry.

“Hey.” It came out like a croak and made my throat feel like it was on fire.

Jordyn disappeared from sight, then just as quickly reappeared holding a cup of water. She put the straw to my lips and I took a tiny sip. It cooled my throat instantly and I took another, bigger drink.

“Thanks.” This time it was still hoarse, but not quite so miserable sounding.

She smiled sadly, running a hand over my cheek. “I was pretty worried about you.”

“I’m fine.” I realized that was a stupid thing to say. “Actually, you would know better than me. What’s the damage?”

“Concussion. A cracked rib. 23 stiches over three different areas.” She ticked each item off on a finger. “The doctor says you should make a full recovery, though, so that’s good. But your car was not so lucky.”

“I feel so stupid,” I groaned. “You warned me about those curves.”

Jordyn didn’t say I told you so, or lecture me that I should’ve listed to her. She didn’t say anything at all for a minute. When she did speak, her voice was so quiet I almost thought I didn’t hear her right. “Your brake line was cut.”

“Cut? What does that mean?” I wasn’t sure if it was because my head was pounding or because of the concussion, but things definitely were not clicking.

“Someone tried to kill you, Nolan,” she said, leaving no room for doubt. “It was Ben.”

“Hold on.” I pushed through the pain and sat up. “You don’t know that for sure.”

She scoffed. “I’m sorry. Do you have a list of people that want you dead?”

“I do have some crazy fans.” I frowned. Were any of them crazy enough to pull a stunt like this? Probably not. “You can’t stay in your house alone, Jordyn. It’s not safe.”

“I’m going to stay with Kennedy.”

“No offense to Kennedy, but I’m not sure that is any safer.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I know. But Snyder is going to be staying there, too. He’s out of rehab now and Kennedy offered him a place to stay.”

Again, I felt like I was missing something, but I was too tired to care. “Maybe it would be better if I stay with you.”

“You’re kidding right?” She laughed humorlessly. “You’re not getting out of the hospital for at least a couple of days.”

“If it means keeping you safe, I’ll leave right now.” Even as I said it, I knew that was a terrible idea. Not only would it be unsafe for me, I couldn’t exactly defend anyone in this condition.

Jordyn leaned down and kissed me very gently. Apparently, I also had a busted lip. “I appreciate your chivalry, but it’s clouded by stupidity. You need to heal, and I need to know that you are safe, so please stay in the hospital until the doctor says otherwise.”

“Alright.” I leaned back against the pillows, my failed attempt at strength getting the better of me. “How did you find out about the accident anyway?”

“Kennedy called me. Her father is in the hospital and she was here when they brought you in.” Jordyn’s eyes filled up with tears. “I was so scared.”

“Come here.” I tugged her arm and she sank onto the bed next to me, still keeping a distance between us. “Closer.”

Her head shook. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Being close to you could never hurt me, Jordyn.” I kept a grimace from my face as I scooted over to make room for her.

Reluctantly, she lay next to me on the bed. Tentatively, she put an arm around me. When I didn’t yelp in pain, she snuggled closer, resting her head on my chest. My eyes closed, and suddenly the pain wasn’t quite so bad.

Jordyn was gone when I woke up, the pain meds having done their job. At first, I thought I was alone, but when I groaned, a shadow moved in the corner.

“Wakey, wakey.”

I laughed, then clutched my ribs. “You are cruel.”

“Sorry.” Snyder actually did sound a little contrite. “You don’t usually find me funny.”

“That’s because you usually aren’t funny.”

“You just don’t get me.” Snyder stood nervously by the bed, keeping his hands tucked in his pockets.

I realized that his presence in my hospital room meant that he wasn’t with Jordyn. “Where’s Jordyn?”

“Don’t panic.” Snyder gave me a knowing smile. “The girls are with Brian. He was taking Jordyn home to pick up a few things and then he’s taking them back to Kennedy’s place. I made him promise to stay with them until I get there.”

My heart rate slowed just a little. “She could’ve been in the car with me, Snyder. She could’ve been killed.”

“But she wasn’t.” Snyder sighed loudly. “You can’t spend time worrying about something that never happened. That’s a waste of time and energy.”

“I can’t help it. I have to worry about her.” I wasn’t sure how much Snyder knew, whether Jordyn had told him about Ben. “I love her.”

“I know.” Snyder sighed again. “Trust me, I know.”

“What does that mean?” I’d never seen him act this way.

Snyder looked past my bed, out the window. “Kennedy and I have been… hanging out. For the last month, she’s been visiting me at rehab every day.”

“That’s nice?” I didn’t know how I was supposed to react. If Snyder liked Kennedy, then it was good she had been visiting.

“She invited me to live with her,” he blurted out in a rush. “And I said yes.”

“Did you mean to say yes?” This was definitely one of the strangest conversations we had ever had.

“Yeah, I did.”

“Okay, then… what’s the problem?”

Snyder threw up his hands. “I think I’m in love with her.”

“That’s sweet.” I smiled uncertainly. “What’s the problem, Snyder?”

Snyder flopped into a chair. “You aren’t at all concerned about this? You and me, falling in love with two waitresses at the beach? It’s absurd.”

“It’s a little unpredictable,” I admitted. “Maybe it’s the universe’s way of making up for all the shit it’s been throwing at us.”

“You don’t think we’re making a mistake?” Snyder was clearly troubled.

“Love is never a mistake.”

Snyder smirked. “Is that from a poem?”

“No, it’s just a fact.” My eyelids began to droop. Whatever drugs they were pumping into my system were powerful ones, indeed. “Now get out of here and let me get some sleep, lover boy.”

“Ha. Ha. It’s a good thing you’re injured or I would have to kick your ass.”

“You’re a lover, not a fighter.” My quipping was sapping my energy. “Hey, Snyder.”

“Yeah?”

“Take care of Jordyn for me?”

Snyder patted my shoulder. “I won’t let anything happen to her, man.”

Reassured, I let my eyes close.

The second I was sure he was gone, I reached for my cell.

“Ted, I need all the dirt you can give me on a guy named Ben Hallihan.”

“You want the platinum package?” Ted was good at cutting to the chase.

“I want whatever you can get me.” I paused to make sure the nurse walking the hall wasn’t about to burst into my room. “Do whatever it takes.”

“Understood.”

If Ted did his job, Ben Hallihan would no longer be a problem.

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~JORDYN~

At first, staying with Kennedy seemed like a great idea. She was my best friend, and Snyder agreed to stay with us in case Ben had any evil plans in the works. I was a little surprised at how willing he was to help out, but I figured he was just being a good friend to Nolan.

It started out according to plan. Kennedy set me up in her guest room and Snyder slept on the couch in the living room. We ate breakfast together in the morning, and cooked dinner together in the evenings. It was a bit like a dysfunctionally happy family. But Kennedy and I also worked together, and Snyder was always around. He made sure I never went anywhere alone.

By the third day, we were starting to get on each other’s nerves. Kennedy was a talker, and I needed my quiet time. Snyder was
always
home. Since he was concentrating on staying sober, he never left. That meant we got to know each other quite well, quirks and all. The one nice thing about our situation was that Snyder turned out to be an amazing cook.

“You made this from scratch?” I asked over dinner.

“I don’t know why that’s so surprising.” Snyder placed the pie in the center of the table. “Is it so hard to believe that a man can be a good cook?”

“It’s not because you’re a male. It’s because you’re a professional athlete.” I looked to Kennedy for support and she nodded that she agreed. “Don’t you people have your own personal chefs?”

Snyder shook his head in annoyance. “I’m not that rich, Jordyn. I never even really played in the pros.”

I took a big bite of pie and was pleased to find that it tasted even better than it looked. A little bit of my Snyder-annoyance evaporated with that bite. I devoured the rest of the piece in less than a minute.

“Great dinner, Snyder. Leave the dishes and I’ll clean them later. I want to call Nolan before he goes to sleep.” With the meds Nolan was taking, he often fell asleep shortly after dinner and didn’t wake until morning.

“Is he still coming home tomorrow?” Kennedy asked.

“That’s the plan.” It would be nice to have him home, and to not have my perpetual babysitters surrounding me at all times.

Nolan sounded upbeat when I called, and he was even more pleased when I told him I was taking the next few days off work to play nurse. I promised to ask Snyder to take me to the hospital in the morning and said goodnight.

Before I forgot, I headed back to the kitchen to talk to Snyder. I was only a few feet away when I heard a muffled sound, and then a crash as something hit the floor. Worried that it was Ben, I ran into the room and pulled up short.

“Oh, god.” My hand flew over my mouth.

Snyder had Kennedy pinned against the counter, his hand under her shirt. She stared at me over his shoulder, eyes wide. “Jordyn!”

“Sorry. I didn’t meant to… I’m sorry.”

I turned on my heel and ran back to the bedroom. It wasn’t so much that I was embarrassed, it was more that I felt bad for interrupting. It had been obvious that there was some serious sexual tension between Kennedy and Snyder and I was just glad they were finally acting upon it.

“Jordyn.” Kennedy was standing in the doorway, looking embarrassed, an expression I had never seen on her face. “I’m sorry you had to walk in on that. I meant to tell you.”

“Meant to tell me what?”

“Snyder and I are dating.” She bit at her lip nervously. “We’ve been seeing each other pretty much since he started treatment.”

I had not been expecting her to say that. “Why did you keep that from me?”

“I don’t know!” She threw her hands into the air. “At first, I just wanted to see if it would even last. But then I liked being in a relationship that was a secret. There was no pressure. If I screwed it up, no one else had to know.”

“I can understand that. Has Snyder really been sleeping on the couch?”

Kennedy actually blushed. “He has.”

“Why?”

“Well, we haven’t… you know… had sex. Yet.” Kennedy hurried to explain. “He didn’t want to do that while he was in treatment, which is respectable. And then with you staying here, it didn’t feel right.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me.” I held back a laugh. It was strange to see Kennedy so uncomfortable. “If Snyder’s okay with it, and you’re okay with it, then I’ve got no problem with the arrangement.”

Kennedy grinned. “No offense, friend, but I kind of can’t wait for you to go home tomorrow.”

“No offense taken.” I laughed. “I think we could both use some quality alone time with our guys.”

“Agreed. Oh, by the way, I’m going to catch a ride with you guys tomorrow. I want to check on my dad.” Kennedy’s father had made it through heart surgery and was recovering slowly. It would be nice when everyone was out of the hospital and we could all stop worrying. I wasn’t sure if that was ever going to happen at this rate.

Bringing Nolan home wasn’t as easy as it sounded. He was still in a lot of pain and walking even a few steps had him doubled-over. It was good that Snyder was there to help. Between the two of us, we were able to drag him inside and get him in bed. I was glad we had decided not to take him to the Estate since he never would’ve been able to take the stairs.

Kennedy and Snyder stayed to help me organize the rest of his things. When word had gotten out about his accident, the hospital had been flooded with gifts, flowers, balloons, and cards. Most of it had been donated to other patients, but I’d brought some of it home, thinking Nolan might want to look at the cards later. It was weird to think that so many people he didn’t know had taken time out of their day to wish him well.

“Did you get the same treatment during your stay?” I asked, holding up a drawing of Nolan that a fan had done using various shades of blue ink.

“What can I say, people love us.” Snyder tossed another crate of cards onto the table.

The next envelope I peeked into held a picture of a naked girl. “I think maybe I’ll just throw this one away.”

Nolan was too exhausted to look at any pictures. He slept the day away, and I fought back every urge to try to wake him. I spent the morning sorting the mail and organizing Nolan’s belongings that I had picked up from the mansion. I wanted him to be as comfortable as possible during his stay.

While I waited for him to wake up, I flipped idly through the television channels, hoping to find something at least mildly entertaining. After four laps through the channels, I gave up. Very few things could hold my attention with Nolan so close by. I peeked in one more time and he was still snoring softly. With a sigh, I turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” His voice was heavy with sleep and masked pain.

“You need to sleep.” I hovered uncertainly in the doorway. My brain was telling me that I should go, but my body was being drawn to him like a magnet.

As if he could read my thoughts, Nolan said, “Get over here.”

I happily hopped across the room and lay carefully on the bed, keeping a few inches of space between us.

“I’m not going to break,” he said with a laugh.

“You already did break,” I pointed out, eyes resting sadly on the bandages wrapped over his ribs.

“It looks worse than it feels.” Nolan took my arm and pulled me closer so that I had no choice but to touch him.

I moved slowly, wrapping an arm over his waist. Then I scooted my body closer until I was pressed against him and could rest my head on his chest. He sighed and stroked a hand over my bare arm.

“The doctor said I need to avoid physical activity for at least a month.” His hand moved down my side.

“Did he give you any guidelines for what constitutes physical activity?” I propped myself up on an elbow and moved a hand over his chest and down his stomach.

He groaned. “I’m pretty sure that whatever you’re thinking right now would be against doctor’s orders.”

“You’re probably right about that.” Now it was my turn to smile. “Maybe later we can explore the idea of a sponge bath.”

“Ow.” Nolan grabbed his side as he laughed. “You should know, you make a very good nurse.”

“Only if the patient is as hot as you.” I sat up. “You should rest.”

“Don’t go.” He reached for me, but I scooted away.

“If I stay, we both know you won’t get any rest.” I fluffed a pillow and put it beneath his head. “I’m going to need your body fully healed as soon as possible. I have big plans for that body.”

He laughed again and his eyes closed. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Before I even left the room, he was asleep.

Unfortunately for me, I still had adrenaline and hormones racing through my body. While Nolan slept, I changed into a swimsuit and headed to the water. A steady, rough wind was blowing inland and the water was choppier than I had ever seen it. I walked in a couple of feet and let the waves crash around my ankles and calves. Salt water sprayed over my body and into my hair. I dug my toes into the sand, feeling them sink even deeper as the undertow sucked the sand out from beneath me.

Taking in a deep breath, I rushed into the waves, diving beneath them. I stayed close to the shore. After just a few minutes, I was out of breath. Heading back to the shore, I looked up at the sky and saw that dark clouds were rolling in. A storm was coming, and it was coming fast.

A prickling sensation on the back of my neck caused me to turn. I searched the shore first but came up empty. My eyes moved to the house and I spotted Nolan in the bedroom window. When our eyes met, I expected a smile, or at least some sign of acknowledgement. But even from this distance, I could tell that something was troubling him. I threw a towel around me and headed back inside.

“What’s wrong?”

Nolan was still at the window, watching the storm clouds roll in, but he was holding his phone in one hand. “My publicist just texted me.”

“You have a publicist?” I asked. “What did the text say?”

“There are some pictures on the internet. Of us.” He turned around and held out his phone.

I took it silently and my eyes widened. Our private beach activities hadn’t been quite as private as we thought. I saw myself walking out of the water, wearing only my clinging delicates. Another picture showed Nolan climbing on top of me.

“I’m sorry, Jordyn.” Nolan looked at me sadly.

It was embarrassing, sure. Humiliating even. But looking at the pictures, I had a hard time connecting with the girl they had captured. For some reason, it didn’t feel like I was looking at pictures of myself.

“I supposed these have already been circulated a million times?”

Nolan didn’t reply. He knew it was a rhetorical question.

“Who took these pictures? That was a private beach.”

The photos weren’t grainy- they hadn’t been taken with a telescopic lens at maximum zoom. Whoever had taken these pictures had been close.

“I think it was him.” Nolan wouldn’t say Ben’s name.

“You mean he was on the beach while we were…” I waved the phone. “And then he cut your brakes?”

“Maybe.” Nolan shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“He could’ve killed you.” I couldn’t shake that thought from my brain.

“Stop.” Nolan’s pained look had nothing to do with his injuries. “I’m fine.”

I shook my head. “You got lucky.”

Nolan smiled at me and pulled me to him. “Yeah, I did.”

With his arms around me, I couldn’t stop myself from melting against him. I had no doubt that I was actually the lucky one. Lucky to have found Nolan and even luckier to have kept him. I was going to do whatever it took to keep him safe.