Unplanned Love (Savage Love) (9 page)

     “Good morning beautiful,” Kevin drawled moving to embrace Seanna.    

     “Don’t,” she said coldly and took a step back folding her arms in front of her.

     “What
now
?” he asked frowning.

     “Go get Carrie,” she said motioning to the bathroom with her head.

     “What’s this all about,” he asked.

     “What I have to say, needs to be said to both of you,” she bit out between clenched teeth.

     “Carrie,” he yelled now that the bathroom was quiet.

     “What do you need?” she yelled back.

     “We have company, get dressed and get out here,” he said watching Seanna.

     “Um…can you hand me something…” she said peeking her head out.

     Seanna raised her eyebrows at Kevin’s look of embarrassment when he realized what it must look like to have his ‘cousin’ in his bathroom with no clothes. “I was still sleeping when she got up.”

     Seanna turned to look out of the window while he rummaged through the bags on the floor and thr
ew something into the bathroom. Just as the bathroom door opened again, Seanna notice that Bryce was standing right outside the window. Feeling her courage rise, she turned and saw a look pass between the other two.

     “What’s up?” asked Carrie regaining some of her attitude.

     “I’m here to get the sim card and the film,” said Seanna.

     “I had planned on bringing them to breakfast, you didn’t need to make the trip over,” she said
sullenly.

     “What’s your problem, Sea?” Kevin asked angrily.

     “No problem,
Kev,”
she said calmly. “Well, there won’t be. Because you’re
cousin
is going to hand over the film and the sim card and then you two are packing up. There is a boat waiting for you at the dock. You’re both going to leave the island, right away, this morning.”

     “What’s she talking about Kevin?” Carrie asked as she dug through her camera bag.

     “I told you, she’s jealous of you. She can hang out with her lover-boy and excuse it because she pretends that he’s her brother, but she has a problem with me hanging out with my own flesh and blood,” he sneered. “Give her the film and she’ll get over it.”

     As soon as Seanna had the film and sim card in the pocket of her shorts she looked Kevin right in the eye. “Speaking of flesh…I came by last night and saw a little more than I wanted to. Cousins?” she said looking at him with disgust.

    “What
are
you talking about?” he asked calmly.

     “You make me sick. Which one is it, are you sleeping with your cousin, or have you been lying
about Carrie being related, since the first day we met?” she asked.

     “Well, honey
, I guess that would be a ‘no’ to your first question and a ‘yes’ to the second one!” he laughed. “Did you seriously think I’d be interested in someone like you. You are the most boring woman I have ever met, who puts more passion into eating then into lovemaking, a simple-minded repressed religious freak.”

     “
Then…why?” she asked trying not to let what he had just said get to her.

     “
It’s simple really. I overheard your conversation in the café about a rich relative and we hatched a plan to get some of the money. Then when I found out that he wasn’t a part of your family until the ‘I-do’s’, we decided to go along with the photographer thing.”

     “What could you possibly get out of it?” she said amazed.

     “A vacation, not to mention that Carrie and I haven’t spent a night apart since she moved in with me in September.”

     “You two live together…you mean after
you took me out, you’d go home…” she said incredulously.

     “
…to me,” Carrie cut her off with a smirk.

     “He
kissed
me…bought me gifts…he tried to get me to
sleep
with him,” Seanna said to Carrie in shock.

     “I guess Kevin forgot to tell you that he’s
on the drama team. My man can act,” said Carrie with a smile. “And you sucked it right up. When he’d get home we’d laugh about your holier-than-thou attitude and your eating habits. You kept us quiet entertained.”

     “Well, the entertainment is over. You’re leaving.” Seanna said
firmly as she turned to leave.

     “We aren’t going anywhere. You can have the photos, call it a gift. But
we
are staying out the rest of the vacation. I haven’t put up with you for the past few months just to cut it all short. It’s not like you can make us leave without telling everyone what a fool you’ve been,” said Kevin. “There is no way you’ll let your family know that the man of your dreams can’t stand the sight of you.”

    
“That’s enough!” said Bryce angrily as he stormed in the door.

    
“Well, if it isn’t the big brother coming to the rescue,” sneered Kevin.

     “Get your things. You two are out of here. Seanna go out to the porch,” Bryce said between clenched teeth.

     No sooner had Bryce gotten the words out and Kevin pulled back his arm and hit Bryce square on the jaw. Catching him off guard, the sucker punch knocked Bryce back out the door, giving Leal access to the inside of the cabana. As Seanna and Carrie stood in shock, Leal quickly put Kevin in a submission hold, with one arm twisted in an unnatural way across Kevin’s own back, and was speaking calmly into his ear.

     “You have ten minutes to pack up and get to your boat. There are two men outside to make
sure
you do. When you get back to Wisconsin, you will
not
contact Seanna or come near her again. Understood?”

     “Don’t hurt him!” squealed Carrie. “We’ll go. Come on Kevin
they aren’t worth it!”

    
Leal turned Kevin loose and shoved him towards Carrie. Bryce was rubbing his jaw when Seanna walked out the door. Leal followed behind them and stopped to talk to the two burly staff members. Carrie slammed the door behind them as soon as they had got off of the veranda.

Chapter 10

Family

     “What was
that
?” asked Seanna staring at Leal.

     “Didn’t we ever mention that Leal met Trisha when he was working as Daffyd’s body guard?” laughed Bryce.

     “Um…no,” she said amazed.

     “And he was a marine before that,” Bryce said
slapping Leal on the back as the hero caught up with them.

     “Man, I hate fights,” said Bryce. “
They don’t solve anything.”

     “I never start them, but I am willi
ng to stop them,” chuckled Leal as he crooked his arm around Bryce’s neck.

     “What were
you
doing there and where did those other guys come from?” asked Seanna still trying to figure it all out.

     “Bryce told
Trisha and I what happened and asked for some backup,” shrugged Leal.

     “Family stick
s together,” Bryce explained with a shrug when she looked up at him in appreciation.

     “
Bryce…your jaw is turning purple,” said Seanna wrinkling her eyes.

     “Let’s get some ice on that before breakfast,” Leal said.

     “What are you going to tell everyone when those two don’t show up,” Bryce asked Seanna.

     “The truth,” she said. “Remember what Sally said about family.
‘Home is where you can act the worst and still be loved the most.’ I was stupid…but you all will still love me.”

   
“Speaking of Grandma, I better go let her and Trisha know that it’s all settled. They’re praying at Grandma’s. Seanna you make sure Bryce gets an ice pack on his face.” He went on ahead of them to clue the two prayer warriors in.

     “You don’t believe all that crap he said back there, do you?”Bryce asked Seanna.

     “Most of it, well…some of it…maybe,” she said her voice catching.

     “Don’t listen to that guy, Sea. You are so much better than them, too good for a guy like that. Promise me that you won’t let anyone one else dictate how you are supposed to feel about yourself,” said Bryce as he stopped walking. Seanna stood looking at the ground, so Bryce gently lifted her head by her chin and looked into her eyes.
“Promise?”

     Seanna looked into those eyes and wondered how she ever thought that Kevin had beautiful eyes. Bryce
’s brown eyes were full of love and kindness. Something she had never seen in Kevin’s. While Bryce waited for her answer, something warm crept into her broken heart and threatened to bring tears to her eyes again.

     Lowering her eyes, she said, “I’ll really try.”

     When Bryce pulled her into an embrace she held on to his waist like she was clutching a life preserver. Bryce, too, felt something well up inside of him. He had a strong desire to comfort and protect Seanna in a way that was new to him. Before either one could even begin to consider the new emotions they were experiencing, Bryce pulled away.
What was I thinking, she’s vulnerable right now and the way to protect her isn’t to cross that brother-sister line.
Seanna felt embarrassed for clinging to him and bewildered by her new feelings toward Bryce.

     “Sorry…I think we better get that ice,” she said turning away and heading towards the dining area.

    
She had secured some ice and had Bryce sitting at one of the tables when Alyssa found them.

     “What happened?”
Alyssa asked her eyes wide.

     “It’s a long story. Can you help him with this while I go check on something?” she asked Alyssa indicating the ice bag. “I’ll fill you in when I tell the rest of the family what happened. That way I’ll only have to live through it one more time.”

     “Where are you going, Sea,” said Bryce warily, worried that she was leaving because she felt uncomfortable with him now.

     “I’m just going to spy on the boat
, from a distance, to make sure they are leaving.” she said. She felt like she needed some space from Bryce to give her mind a minute to process what had just happened.

    
     When she was satisfied that her ex-pretend-boyfriend and his girlfriend-cousin had boarded the boat, Seanna returned to find her family all gathered for breakfast. The group was so large with the added guests from the day before that they occupied several tables. Seanna had second thoughts when she realized that there were several people here that really didn’t need to know what had transpired. But then she got up her courage and told them all she had something to tell them. When she had everyone’s attention, she explained what had happened starting with the day they met and ending with Leal’s subduing Kevin.

     Afterwards most of them hugged her, Sally offered to be a shoulder to cry on and Daffyd offered to hire a hit man, which made everyone laugh. “What? I am serious,” he said innocently.

     “Give me a few days and I’ll get back to you on that one,” said Seanna shaking her head.

    
Samantha had asked her to come and talk to her and Daffyd later when it would be more private. When they got up to take a walk with their other guests, Leal and Trisha took their spots at the table. Alyssa was there as well sitting next to Bryce and looking up at him with those big blue eyes. Seanna convinced herself that Bryce was the brother she’d always wanted and that he had behaved exactly like any big brother would have. It was apparent to her that Alyssa was interested in him, and she happened to really like her.
Maybe I’ll get a sister soon. That would be great, right?
She hadn’t been listening to the conversation until Trisha’s words broke into her musing.

    
“The world is full of people like them,” said Trisha, “That’s why we hang on to the good ones when we find them. I had a similar experience, only worse, I think. That’s how I met Leal. He was my knight in shining armor.”

     “How did the two of you meet? And how come no one ever told me that you were Uncle Daffyd’s
body guard?” asked Seanna coming back to the conversation.

     “Wait…how famous was your Uncle
… he needed a body guard?” said Alyssa.

     “How come you never once even asked about Daffyd? Kevin was full of questions,” replied Seanna
liking her even more.

     “I guess
it wasn’t important. I figured if you all wanted me to know you’d tell me…and it wouldn’t change anything, he’s a great guy,” she said shrugging her shoulders. “But…a body guard.”