When they got out a ways, Nash turned off the engine and had Jared help him undo the other sail, taking him through the process of how the wind caught the sails.

  “If we put the sails up,” Jared asked, “does that mean we go whichever ways the wind blows us?”

  “Good question, kiddo,” answered Nash. “Wind is kinda like fate. It helps us. It pushes where we need to go, but it’s up to us to decide if we are going to accept where we are pushed.” He glanced over at Violet and saw her turn away quickly. Good. She was listening. “We can adjust our sails and fight against the wind, or we can decide to follow where fate guides us.”

  “What’re sails made out of? And what happens if the wind blows really hard? Will it blow a hole in the sail? And how far is the pirate treasure?”

  Nash found himself getting lost in the kid’s questions and he loved explaining things to him when he could get a few words in. After a bit, he gave Jared an old telescope and he showed him how he could see far away things up close.

  Jared rushed to his mother’s side, showing her. Vi took the time to look through it, then expressed how cool it was before handing it back.

  Jared rushed to the other part of the boat. “I’m going to look over here.”

  “Okay,” Nash and Vi called out at the same time.

  Their gazes met, and then Vi’s lips pressed into a line and she stared off the ship.

  He moved to her side. “Vi.”

  “This is nice,” she said, her voice soft.

  It wasn’t what he’d been expecting. “It is?”

  Turning to him, she pulled her sunglasses down. “Rishi, right?”

  Feeling caught, he could only grin and nod.

  “I knew it.” She slipped her sunglasses back on and then just stood there. The woman was gorgeous.

  Now, he stared at her and felt himself holding his breath. “It wasn’t her idea to invite Jared first, though. That was my major malfunction. I am glad you’re not as mad at me.”

  She let out a sigh. “I was. I was steamed, up until you went through every piece of equipment on this boat and explained it all in excruciating detail to my son.”

  “Well, I did promise sailing to a seven-year-old.”

  “Six,” she said, quickly correcting him.

  “Right.” It’d been six years since her wedding. He turned, following her gaze to Jared, who still held the telescope to his eye and peered from one sight to the next.

  “He’s a good kid.”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “His father was never interested in taking him to the ocean or sailing,” she said sadly. She jerked her head to look at him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be prattling on about Derek.”

  “No,” he said, resisting the urge to take her hand. “I want to know.”

  She faced him, and he picked up that faint fruity scent. “You want to know about my ex-husband?”

  “I want to know everything, Vi. I want to know you.” He did touch her hand this time.

  She was still for a while, and he felt the intensity between them. He longed to take her into his arms and feel her against his chest, again. But he refrained.

  “Mommy, look!” Jared called, catching their attention. “There’s a cove, Mommy, a pirate’s cove. Is that the pirate’s cove, Nash?”

  Vi smiled at Nash. “The same kid that got me here is the same kid that will distract me all day long.” She tugged her hand away and moved toward Jared. “Let me see!”

  Chapter 11

  After pulling into the “pirate’s cove,” Nash anchored the boat not far from the shoreline. “Who wants to snorkel?” he asked, pulling out the bags of snorkel equipment Rishi had conveniently included.

  “I do!” Jared was literally jumping up and down.

  Nash laughed and helped him put on fins, a snorkeling jacket, and a mask, then pointed to the end of the boat. “Go wait for us there and I’ll teach you some tricks.”

  Vi waited next to him, but he wasn’t sure if she wanted to.

  “You’re in, right?”

  She hesitated. “I don’t know how, Nash.”

  Nash frowned. This woman should have been on some vacations by now. “Didn’t you ever go to the ocean like you’d talked about every summer? You were adamant that the moment you got out of the house you would be at the beach.”

  Her lip trembled, making him wish he hadn’t asked the question. “I …” She sighed. “No, I didn’t.”

  He kept his game face on to hide his sadness. “Well, nothing like the present to start living.” He held out the bag.

  Taking off her hat and sunglasses, she flashed him a grin, reminding him of the girl he’d once known. The carefree, fun girl who’d learned how to ride a horse even though her grandmother hadn’t wanted her to. “Hand it over.”

  He laughed and gave it to her. He put his own equipment on, and they walked to the side of the boat and joined Jared.

  “Now,” Nash said as he adjusted Jared’s goggles, “you want to be sure you breathe through your mouth.” He put the tube into his mouth. “Breathe.”

  Vi was listening, and she put the tube into her mouth, too.

  Jared put his hand up. “Nash?”

  Nash paused. “Yes.”

  “Can I come live here, at Coconut Island, and we can come out sailing all the time?”

  “No,” Vi protested, putting her hand on Jared’s shoulder. “Sweetie, we live in Boston.”

  “I know.” He scooted over and met Nash’s eyes. “But you’d let us come back and sail anytime, right, Nash?”

  Nash grinned at him. “Why not?”

  She hesitated, then shook her head and threw up a hand. “Why not?”

  “Okay,” Nash said, focusing on the task at hand, but secretly happier than he’d been in a long, long time. “Let’s focus on breathing through the tube.”

  Jared laughed. “I can’t.”

  “Through the mouth.” Nash tapped the tube.

  Both of them breathed through their mouths.

  “Good.” He decided not to snorkel until they got the hang of it. He grabbed a kickboard from the deck. “Listen, I’m getting in with you two, but I’m not snorkeling until you both got it down, okay?”

  Both of them nodded.

  “This vest will keep you from sinking,” said Nash. He double-checked both jackets. “I’ll get in the water and help you out. Here goes nothing.” Nash jumped in, then waited. He wished he could take a picture of the two of them standing on the back of the boat, excitement obvious on their faces. “Jump!”

  “I’m scared,” Jared said, his face tight.

  Nash reminded himself that the kid was young. “Okay.” He held out his arms. “Jared, listen up. I was a Navy SEAL. Do you know what that is?”

  Jared shook his head and clutched to his mother as Nash pulled the kickboard in.

  “Do you know what a seal is?”

  “An … ocean creature that swims and bounces little balls on his nose.”

  Nash laughed. “Yes, but they are amazing swimmers. And I know how to swim really well, like an ocean creature.”

  Jared frowned. “Then why are you on the kickboard?”

  Again, Nash laughed; the kid had a point. Ditching the board, he dove into the water. He had the fins on, so he went into a freestyle swim for about fifteen yards, then flipped onto his back, doing the backstroke.

  “Wow!” Jared called out, laughing. “You’re fast.”

  Vi said, “Too bad we don’t have any balls to throw at him.”

  Jared giggled.

  Nash came to a stop in front of them again, not taking the board, but treading water and holding up his arms. “Come on.”

  Hesitantly, Jared let go of Vi, then jumped, his arms and legs flailing everywhere.

  Nash got to him and grabbed the board, giving it to him.

  Jared laughed and held to the board. “So the board was for me?”

  With a grunt, Nash rearranged the kid’s mask. “Remember, breathe through your mouth. Ready?”

  Jared nodded.

  Nash pointed to shore. “We’re going to head that way.”

  “Okay.”

  Nash looked up at Vi. “You jump in and come with us.”

  At first, he wasn’t sure she would do it. Then she grinned. “You can save both of us if you need us, right?”

  So much meaning was packed into those words. His heart pounded, and warmth filled his chest. “You can count on me, Vi.”

  Her eyes fluttered. She jumped in, and he pulled her close to him and Jared, helping her get her equipment ready.

  “Okay, now remember to breathe through your mouth. Let’s practice by having you put your face in the water and breathe.”

  They both did it, but Jared sucked in water and jerked his head up. “Sorry, Nash,” he said, sputtering.

  “It’s fine.” Nash helped him get resituated, and then he pointed to the shore. “This way. I’ll be on the kickboard.”

  Both of them took off, and it was rough for a bit—one of them would suck in water, and then they would come up—but they got the hang of it pretty quickly.

  Once they got to the beach, Nash ditched the board and put on his own mask. They spent the next two hours snorkeling by the shore. Nash showed them the secret pirate booty spot that looked like the rocks were made of gold. Jared took handfuls of the rocks and shoved them in his swim pockets.

  When they finally swam back to the boat and Nash helped climb aboard then take off their equipment, Jared grinned at him. “Is every day sailing as fun as today is?”

  Staring at this kid’s happy smile and the hope in his eyes, Nash knew he wanted to hang out with this kid more often. “Absolutely.”

  Chapter 12

  Violet sat on the shaded cushioned seat next to the captain’s wheel. Jared’s head was in her lap. He was drifting to sleep.

  She looked up at Nash, who sat at the captain’s wheel, his hair messed up, his tan deeper, his blue eyes focused. He wore a swimsuit and his beach shirt, but it was open.

  Dang, the man was attractive. More than attractive. After he’d spent the day teaching them to snorkel, then excitedly showing them all the special treasures next to the shore, she had to add patient, kind, and generous to the list. Jared worshipped the man already.

  Closing her eyes, she let herself relax in the warm sunlight, enjoying her son’s happiness. It was getting close to five and she was hungry, but it wasn’t bad. She ran a hand through her hair. It was almost dry, which made her wonder how it looked.

  Yet she didn’t care, because she knew Nash didn’t care. He’d seen her on plenty of bad hair days over the years and never seemed to notice.

  Yes, this was what she’d wanted Coconut Island to be for her and Jared—a place of fun and relaxation. Nash had made himself a huge part of that today. She opened her eyes and found that Nash was staring at her.

  “Hey.” His hands were on the wheel, and she saw that they were getting closer to the resort.

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For today. With Jared, the snorkeling, and this.” She gestured to the boat. “It’s been so great.” Her heart raced, and she hated the confusion twisting up her feelings. Nothing made sense except that somehow, spending the day with him felt right.

  For a moment, their gazes held. Then he turned to face the ocean. “I think you had fun today too.”

  She blinked, trying to stop tears from coming into her eyes. This man brought out so many emotions in her. Jared was crashed out, so she spoke freely. “I confronted my mother today.”

  He jerked to look at her. “What?”

  “She called, and she was angry I let Jared go camping with Marco, and she demanded to know why I hadn’t answered my phone yesterday, and it just … came out.”

  He stared ahead for a bit, guiding the boat slowly into the marina. “I guess she took it poorly. How are you?”

  She’d forgotten how Nash processed information. On the ranch, she’d talked to him while he was doing chores. She remembered thinking he was ignoring her, but he’d always surprised her by asking her something that made her think.

  She sighed. “You know, I haven’t believed much in God since Lily.”

  He jerked his head to look at her. “Okay, I guess we’re talking about something a bit bigger.”

  “I just wanted to tell you something from our conversation about Lily before.”

  He nodded. “I’m listening.”

  The words tumbled out of her. “You said you just accepted Lily’s death because God decided who lived and died.”

  He grunted. “It’s all you can do.”

  Her hands trembled and she felt every part of her start to shake. “I haven’t allowed myself to believe in anything since that day. Nothing made sense to me.”

  Nash pressed a button, and she heard the anchor deploying. He moved to her, carefully moving Jared off of her lap and putting him on the other part of the cushioned bench.

  Violet hated the tears stinging her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  Carefully, he took her hand and pulled her to a standing position, his arms going around her. “Vi, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

  She stayed against him for a minute, then pulled back, unable to believe they were here together. Gently, she touched his face. “You were right about us being kids. I did think it was my fault and your fault, and that was wrong. I …” She sniffed. “I was a kid.”

  “Yes.” He held her tighter, kissing her head. “Shh. You’re a good mother.” Nash stroked her hair, then peered into her eyes. “You have done really well, Vi.”

  She smiled, loving his praise and bewildered that they were standing here. Together.

  He shook his head. “I know you keep saying it won’t work with us, but I have to tell you that I never stopped loving you, Vi.”

  A flood of emotions surged through her, and she smiled at him. “Well, I think Derek might have been right. That’s why I was so mad at him.”

  He frowned. “What?”

  “I tried to be what I was supposed to be. I tried …” Tears finally won out, spilling down her cheeks. “I was a good wife while we were married; I have no regrets about that. But I never stopped loving you, either.”

  Nash pressed her hand flat against his chest, his hand on top of hers. “I knew there was a reason I told him to shut up that day.”

  “Kiss me,” she whispered, grinning.

  His eyes widened. Then he focused on her lips and put his hand behind her neck, pulling her in.

  She lifted her lips, and when they met his—it was a rush of intensity, pain, and happiness. The past and the present intertwined.

  He held her tighter and she put her arms around his neck, discovering how much she loved being in his arms, his lips on hers all over again. Now those summers didn’t bite her like a snake’s fangs. They washed over her with all they were—pure joy.

  He pulled back, smiling at her. “I can’t believe we were put here, together, like it’s our second chance.”

  She thought this was an interesting way to see their journey. “Do you believe in those?”

  Softly, he kissed her. “I do now.”

  Chapter 13

  Nash stood next to the entrance of the conference room of the Coconut Beach Resort Convention Center wing. He didn’t stand by the door to the ballroom, because he didn’t want to feel the pressure to greet everyone and shake their hands. Today he’d taught two classes, but all he’d thought about was holding Violet in his arms.

  Tonight he wanted to spend time with only her. But he’d made a deal with Jimmy, Noah, and Kane, so he had to keep representing during his week here.

  “Nervous?”

  Jerking back, he saw Rishi laughing. She stood there, dressed in a pretty red dress, holding her clipboard with her earpiece attached.

  “How do you come out of nowhere, and why are you here?” he asked. The woman worked too much, he thought.

  She giggled. “She’s not coming in that way.”

  Nash focused on Rishi, who looked like she was hiding a huge secret. “Then where is she?”

  Rishi put her hand out in a sweeping gesture toward the hallway that hooked the wing of the convention center to the rest of the resort.

  When he turned, Violet was walking toward them. She was stunning, like she’d come right out of a fashion magazine. Her sleek halter top silver dress had a slit up the mid-thigh, and she wore red shoes and red lipstick. The woman was high-class, and he felt the same way he had all those years ago—like she was way out of his league.

  Rishi elbowed him. “That second chance you were talking about, Bossman? Well, it’s right here.”

  Glancing at Rishi, he said, “Who told you about that?”

  Rishi covered her face, but her eyes were smug. “How do you think she got the dress?”

  He grunted and fixed his gaze back on Violet. Man, she was gorgeous. Her blonde A-line cut was fixed so it looked almost exotic—or was it the makeup she wore that made her look so different? Her expression was that of a person who was determined to keep up all her walls—not unlike how a runway model would look.

  He crossed the last few steps between them. “You’re gorgeous,” he said, reaching for her hand.

  The look on her face softened and her lip twitched up. “You’re not just saying that ’cause I’m the only woman you blackmailed into coming tonight?”

  His heart pounded, and it was all he could do not to take her into his arms, lean her back, and kiss her. Maybe later. “Shall we?” He nodded to the double doors that led to the huge room that was set up for the dinner.

  Violet looked at his hand, then at Rishi.

  Nash noted that Rishi had a huge smile on her face. “Go,” she said. “Have fun.”

  They walked into the dinner together. He leaned into her, loving the fact she was holding his hand—even though the reason she’d agreed to this whole night was for the chance to never see or speak to him again. She hadn’t said anything about that part of the bargain for a while, and he was hoping their days together had changed her mind. “I have a thing I need to tell you.”

 

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