Turtle Bay (24 page)

"Hey, are you guys hungry?" Buttercup asked, rising from her chair.

Josh and I both agreed that we could eat, so Buttercup buzzed around the kitchen, preparing a late-afternoon cold lunch. Our conversation shifted to lighter and more superficial topics. The last forty-eight hours had brought a roller coaster ride of emotions, and I think we needed a break.

After eating, we helped Buttercup clean up, and I walked Josh out to his truck on the way to my room. I was so tired my bed was practically calling my name.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Josh said. "I thought maybe we could just hang out tomorrow night."

"I'd like that," I answered, looking up at him. I wanted to kiss him, but in light of the situation I wasn't sure if that would seem insensitive. Somehow I sensed that it would make me feel better, less disjointed, but I couldn't speak for Josh.

He must have read my thoughts because he stepped in close, pulling me into his arms. "Is this okay?" he asked.

I nodded with my heart in my throat. His handsome face moved closer as my eyelids drifted slowly closed. I sighed with pleasure, feeling his lips gently caress mine. A kiss didn't hold magical powers. Unless, of course, you believed in fairy tales, but somehow Josh's kiss held the power to heal me. The pinching of my heart loosened enough so that each grieving beat felt less painful. My mind released the agonizing thoughts that had threatened to drown my soul and I began to feel whole again.

To say what Josh had given me was only a kiss would be stating a half-truth. In reality, it was so much more than that. It was a new beginning. It felt like hope.

Chapter 15

Josh came by to pick us up the next morning and we arrived to find the station back in working order. It was as if the last few days had never happened with the exception of the black drape Vanessa had attached to the door, along with an announcement regarding Larry's funeral service. It was glaring evidence that some healing needed to be done.

I knew as soon as we walked through the front doors and everyone suddenly stared at me that they had news. Reaching for the handle on the door, I fought the urge to back out the same way we had come in. Buttercup reached for my hand, sensing that I would need her.

Pasting on a brave face, I stood up straight and stated the inevitable. "They found him."

"This morning," Mitch said, nodding as he rubbed a hand over his unshaven face. He looked rough. I couldn't help wondering when he had last slept.

A lump the size of my fist moved to my throat, but I swallowed it back. There was no way I would break down again. Not now, and especially not here. There was already enough sorrow in the room over Larry.

"Are Josh and I working the beach?" I croaked, thankful to have gotten the words out.

Mitch opened his mouth to say something before abruptly closing it. "Yeah, we'll be sending all of you out there. The city manager is sending in crews too, so there should be plenty of help."

I nodded, turning on heel and heading for the back door. I needed to get away from all the eyes staring at me.

"You okay?" Josh asked when he joined me.

"I'm fine."

He looked skeptical as we climbed onto the ATV.

I shrugged. "This is my brave face," I said. "Believe me, I'll be all right."

He patted my knee and steered the ATV away from the station. Despite the damage caused by the storm, the roads were busy with cleanup crews and residents trickling back into town to survey the damage to their homes. Crews from the utility company were busily working on all the downed electrical lines. I hoped that meant power would be restored soon. Butch and Buttercup may have been able to survive without it, but I needed my modern comforts.

Josh and I headed to a nearby stretch of beach near the boardwalk where more cleanup crews joined us. "Wow," I said, taking in the number of people lying in the sand and playing in the water like it was any other day. The many small business owners were busy making quick work of cleaning up the area around their shops for the tourists and other patrons who were scattered about. Why wouldn't they? The storm had passed and life moved on.

"It's what we do," Josh said, dragging the broken half of a surfboard to our overflowing pile of rubbish. For a brief moment I wondered if the board had belonged to Evan, but I knew that was crazy, morbid thinking.

"That's cool," I replied with a bead of sweat trickling down my temple. "The beaches are here for our enjoyment after all."

"As long as we do our part to preserve them," he reminded me. That was Josh for you. Always the Boy Scout. Although, that was one of the reasons I was falling for him. He had passion and that was something everyone needed.

"It's going to take us forever to preserve this one," I said, seeing a lot of work that needed to be done.

Josh nodded to a worker in an orange vest who had asked about bringing in a truck for the piles we had created. "Nah, it'll be back to normal before you know it," he said, addressing my comment. "Just think about all the community service hours you're busting out. I'm probably not supposed to tell you this, but I think Mitch plans on writing a letter to the judge to tell him how helpful you've been through this crisis to see about getting your sentence reduced."

I shrugged. "If they don't, it's okay. I like working with y—well, there," I added lamely, almost spilling my guts to him. He didn't need to know how much I liked seeing him every day.

He stopped to look at me. "You know I haven't forgotten what we talked about, right? This is not my idea of a date."

"Thank god, otherwise we would have a serious problem," I teased. "Honestly, I just like seeing you every day," I admitted, trying not to blush. I swear he turned me into a total sap.

"I like seeing you too," he said, wiping a smudge of sand from my cheek.

My heart swooned over his words. It felt wrong to be even a little bit happy after everything that had happened, but there was a lighter feeling in my chest.

The hours of the day ticked away. Clearing the beach was grueling and hot, but with the help of the city work crews we got the area cleaned up for miles in either direction of the boardwalk. In spite of all the reports we had heard about possible erosion, Josh seemed to think the beach had held up pretty well. Most of the houses and hotels that sat directly on the beach looked to be in good shape with no visible damage.

When we arrived back at the station I found out Butch and Buttercup had left earlier in the day, getting a ride home from another patrol officer so they could pitch in at cleaning up our own street.

"Mitch is making me take tomorrow and Wednesday off since I've been working so many hours," Josh said as we climbed into his truck. "He doesn't like me getting more than forty hours. I thought maybe we could hang out tomorrow."

"Of course," I said. "I want to go with you to Larry's service on Wednesday too, if that's okay?" I hoped I wasn't being presumptuous by inviting myself. After all, he had known Larry a whole lot longer. Maybe he wanted to go by himself or with the other guys from the station.

"I was hoping you did. I'm sure it's going to be rough," he sighed.

I nodded. I didn't know what to expect since I'd never been to a funeral. It made me wonder what plans Evan's parents had for his funeral. It would be in New York, I imagined. I was sad I wouldn't be able to pay my respects, just like I didn't have the chance to say my goodbyes.

Eventually, we made it to my house and I noticed right away the light over the garage door that led to my room. I must have left it on, but more importantly, the power had been restored.

It wasn't dark yet, but Josh climbed from his truck and walked me inside. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said after giving my room a quick survey. He smiled sympathetically and I knew what he meant without saying the words. He kissed me on the cheek before twisting the lock and closing the door behind him. I smiled when he twisted the knob from the outside to make sure it was locked.

After he left, I looked longingly at my bed. Working in the sun all day wiped me out every time. As bad as I wanted to jump right in, I forced myself to shower, not wanting to fall asleep too early. My intention was to get in and out quickly, but it felt so good I ended up sagging against the wall, letting the water cascade over me.

After dragging myself from the shower, I went into the house to have some dinner, and chatted with Butch and Buttercup until I could no longer keep my eyes open. My last coherent thought before I crashed was how I wished Player was there to comfort me, especially after being plagued by nightmares the entire night. Awful, vivid pictures of waves dragging me under the water haunted me to the point where I woke up sweating.

I was in the main house eating breakfast when Josh showed up almost simultaneously with Farrah, who had come over to drop off Player. She had just knocked on my door when Josh pulled up in his truck.

"What happened to your face?" she asked, horrified, when I answered the door.

I'd forgotten about my injury. It seemed so long ago. "Long story. Come on to my room and I'll fill you in," I said, leading her toward the garage.

"Obviously you and Josh are still on," she said, letting Player out of his carrier when we entered my room. "And for god's sake, will you please tell me what you did to your face?"

Bending down, I scooped up Player in my arms as he purred loudly, nuzzling his head under my chin. "Did you drink a case of Red Bull or something before you got here?" I asked as Farrah bounced on my bed.

"I'm just excited to be home. Nice try at dodging my questions though. What's the deal with you and Josh? You two serious or what?" Just like my eye, so much had happened between Josh and me in the past few days that I didn't know where to begin.

"She's madly in love with me and can't stand for us to be apart," Josh answered as he entered my room.

I blushed at his declaration. Love was a strong word that I didn't like to throw around on a whim, but I also knew how quickly I was falling for him. My feelings for Josh could write their own romance story. They were new, but deep rooted in the tragedy we had shared. "Works for me," I finally answered.

"Aw, that's sweet," Farrah said. "Now what the hell happened to your face?" she continued without skipping a beat.

My heart dropped as I exchanged a look with Josh. Judging by the way Farrah was acting, she had no idea about anything that had happened with Evan and Larry. "Um, Farrah, did you hear about Evan?" I asked.

"No, why? Are you telling me that jerk had something to do with you looking like Two-Face? Is that why his dad put their house up for sale?" she asked, brimming with curiosity.

"He did?" I asked in shock. "He's selling their house?" Farrah's news took me by surprise. Evan had only been found yesterday. His dad must have had plans to move in the works.

"Yeah, I saw a moving crew there when I walked by. I looked for Evan, but he must already be back in New York."

"Farrah, Evan died in the storm," I said quietly, sitting next to her on my bed.

"Get out of here," she snorted. "I told you he probably headed back to the city."

When I didn't laugh with her, she began shaking her head in denial. "You're serious?" she asked.

"Yes," I answered. "He got into a major blowout on the phone with his dad. I came home and he was here, waiting for me. He was drunk and pissed at the world, so I invited him in so he could cool down a little and maybe sleep it off. We talked for a while until he stumbled and smacked me in the face with his head. Then Butch came in and all hell broke loose before Evan took off," I said, pointing to my eye.

Not wanting to add any fuel to the fire, I left out the part where Evan had tried to kiss me, just like I had done when I told the story to the cops. That secret would forever be between Evan and me. "I think he thought he was going to get in trouble," I added. "The cops said they would talk to him and make sure he calmed down, but I don't know if that ever happened. The report we got was that he called his dad drunk during the storm and told him he was going surfing."

Farrah gasped, putting her hand to her mouth as her eyes welled up. I reached over and held her hand. "They sent patrols out to rescue him and one of them also didn't make it," I said as a lump formed in my throat. I looked over at Josh who stood silently against the wall.

"One of the beach patrols died?" she whispered, horror-struck. I felt bad dropping all the bad news on her at once. I'd had the last couple days to digest everything and I was still struggling with it.

"Larry," I answered. "Remember, the guy you worked with?" She looked away, unable to keep her tears from falling down her cheeks.

"Oh my god. That's awful. Evan could be a dick, but he also had his good days. His dad just never gave him a fair shake. He was always riding his ass."

I nodded. "I know. It broke my heart when he disappeared that night," I said. "In a way, I feel partly responsible."

"You shouldn't. It wasn't your job to go save him. Believe me, Rain, the bad blood between Evan and his dad was going on long before you came around," she said, swiping tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry about Larry," she said to Josh. "He was a really great guy."

"Yeah, he was," Josh said. Watching him mindlessly toying with Player, who was reaching for his toes while they wiggled, I got the impression Josh was barely holding it together.