Beachcombing in the Bahamas (Once Again #11)

Chapter 13

13

Y vette climbed onto the wooden block as if it were an executioner’s stone.

Don’t be ridiculous , she whispered inside her mind. She would not be afraid. It was just a zip line. And Brock was waiting for her.

But she couldn’t help the trepidation that made her heart beat faster and her palms sweat. She wondered if she could hold on to the trolley handle at the same time. Not that it would matter if her hands slipped, since she was still attached to the line.

Nacheline said softly, so no one else could hear, “You have this. Enjoy the ride. By the time you get to the second line, you will love it.”

Yvette launched, the woman giving her a slight push. She stifled the scream when she went airborne, feeling as if she were falling until the zip line took control. The jungle had been slightly muggy, but as she flew through the air, the breeze blew cool across her face.

A kind of euphoria took hold of her, and she leaned back to gaze into the canopy overhead. Spots of blue sky and white clouds seemed to rain down on her through the leaves. It was a freedom she’d never known, and it seemed to go on and on, even though when she’d watched the others, especially Brock, they’d reached the other side so quickly.

She heard him calling to her. “You go, girl.” As if she were a teenager. As if she were her daughters’ ages. As if she still had her whole life ahead of her.

Then she looked down at the tree and the platform coming up at her.

A sliver of fear took over again. What if she went in wrong? What if she didn’t land on the block, and she broke her ankle or her leg?

Then it was so close she no longer had time to think. Her feet miraculously landed on the block, and the two young men steadied her and unhooked her. She almost fell into Brock’s arms.

She would have thrown herself at him, let him wrap her up in his arms, hold her. Kiss her. Only at the last moment, when she was inches from him, did she remember Darryl and Kacey on the platform, and all the others looking on.

They were all cheering her, even Darryl. But it was Brock’s smile that curled around her. She smiled in return. “I did it.”

“I got a picture of you doing it,” he said with a smile. She thought of the subtle sexual innuendo in that. The picture of her in his mind as he made love to her.

As Jodi started down the line, she wiped it all from her mind. She shouldn’t think about that now. But she smiled to herself. Because she would think about it later tonight.

Jodi squealed all the way down. It was only at the end, after taking so long to get her phone out of her zipped pocket, that Yvette snapped a picture of her daughter having the time of her life. Garth came next. His hoots and hollers filling the canopy and then he landed, throwing himself at Jodi and twirling with her in his arms. “That was so effing amazing.”

Jodi bounced on the balls of her feet. “Totally.”

Yvette looked at Brock, knowing that they used effing instead of the F-word for her sake.

Standing next to him, she whispered, “Oh yeah, it was effing amazing.”

His muscles bunched, and she felt his need to throw his arms around her. If they were alone, he would have done it. But there was always that hesitancy between them whenever they were around other people, always making sure they never touched if anyone else could see, just those sexy surreptitious brushes of their hands or legs under the table. Or when he buckled her into a zip-lining harness.

It was all because of her fear of being discovered. They couldn’t even hug the way they had before all this started, like brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Like she hugged Trevor. Like Jodi and Garth could dance around the platform after a fabulous flight down the zip line. She and Brock couldn’t have that. And yes, that was because of her too. Her and her fears.

As much as she loved his arms around her at night, as much as she loved his kiss, his touch, the stroke of his body inside hers, she missed those familial touches.

And instead of touching him the way she craved, she joined Kacey and Jodi, shouting encouragement to the boys and their girlfriends as, one after another, they launched themselves into the air and flew down the zip line.

“Oh my God,” Yvette said. “I should have gone with all of you when you went to Mount Hermon.” Her need to distance herself from Adeline had made her miss so much. She’d even distanced herself from her nephews.

This time, Brock touched her, just a hand on her shoulder, but the heat of his palm made her imagine everything he’d do to her tonight. “We’ll do it again. And this time, you’ll come.”

He could have been speaking of tonight.

Jodi punched the air. “You go, Mom. Let’s do it.”

They continued down each zip line, sometimes with her going before Brock, sometimes after, but always together. She loved the pictures she took of his beatific face as he flew down the line. The experience was exhilarating, the sky above, the earth beneath, the trees surrounding her, the bird calls, the scent of flowers, the feeling of flying and never having to stop.

As they worked their way steadily downhill, Darryl always did something a little over the top. She’d learned that was his nature. He needed the attention. If her daughter stayed with him, she hoped he’d curb that need for attention. Oddly enough, Kacey merely smiled at his antics. She never berated him for being an idiot or unsafe. Yvette realized that wasn’t like her daughter either. Kacey wasn’t weak. So why did she want to believe in Darryl so much?

It was an unanswerable question. Their relationship would have to play itself out. And when it ended—Yvette didn’t even feel disloyal hoping that it would end—she would be there for Kacey.

They were on the sixth zip line, and Brock had gone before her. It wasn’t as steep as the previous ones, and though she’d pushed off as heartily as she had from the other platforms, she didn’t feel as if she had the same momentum. Sure enough, she stopped short of the platform, hanging there, nothing moving, and she called out. “How do I get down now?”

The guide on the platform said, “Turn around and grab the cable.” Brock added, “Just pull yourself in hand over hand.”

She did as instructed, turning herself around so she faced the platform she’d jumped from, putting her hands up to the cables. And those steel rollers. What if she slipped, or she moved too fast and they rolled right over her fingers? They’d cut them off.

Then Darryl—of course it was Darryl—called out, “Don’t be weenie, Yvette.”

She was not a weenie. And when she got down to the platform, she might have to bop the kid on his nose. But she pulled herself hand over hand down to the platform, never letting the wheels chop off her fingers. The two guides helped her turn around, unhooked her, and hugged her after she jumped down.

Then she stalked to Darryl and poked him in the chest. “Who are you calling a weenie, Mister?”

“Well, it got you down, didn’t it?” he quipped.

She ended up laughing. Because she had to admit his taunt had gotten her moving.

Flouncing to Kacey, she threw her arms around her, hugging her as they jumped around the platform. Then she pulled Jodi into their hug. And God, it felt so good to be with her girls. To be with her family.

To be with Brock.

Yvette’s exhilaration turned his body hard. There was something about her utter enjoyment, of zip lining, of being with the girls, with family, even being with him, that made him want her so badly he could have dragged her off into the jungle. Of course he wouldn’t. But he could dream about it.

And a plan took shape in his mind.

With the final line, they flew into a clearing near the bottom where they’d stepped onto the cable car. Brock zipped before Yvette, and as she soared down to him, the mental picture of her joy burned itself forever into his mind. The guides steadied her as she landed—though she was getting quite good at it and needed little help—then let her step away.

After only a short walk to the hut where they’d received their gear, Nacheline said, “And now you may take off all the harnesses. I hope you had fun.”

“We did,” Ethan called out, the other kids adding their voices to the clamor.

Brock had already shed his harness, and he reached for Yvette. It was another perfect excuse. No one was looking. They were all busy removing their own harnesses.

Smiling, he said softly, “Here, let me help you.” And he touched her liberally.

“You shouldn’t do that,” she hissed, but he heard the husky note of desire in her voice. She wanted him to touch her, especially with her blood high after the exhilaration of the zip line.

As he bent over to unclasp the hooks, he used the excuse to whisper in her ear, “I want you so bad right now. You better be ready for tonight.”

Her breathing ratcheted up, and he scented how much she wanted it too. But she pushed him away, saying with a glacial tone, “I’m fine. I can do it myself.”

He saw the fire in her eyes and knew she’d use it on him tonight.

He couldn’t wait.

It was only then that he noticed Jodi’s gaze on them. And he realized he was pushing the limit. He needed to cool it, at least in front of the kids.

Jodi couldn’t know they were lovers. But maybe she suspected an attraction. It wasn’t horror in her gaze, merely curiosity. He could live with that. Maybe he could even get his niece on his side.

With all the harnesses collected, Nacheline twirled on her heel. “Follow me. You now get a drink of your choice, and you will taste test some products we sell in our store. And a Merry Christmas to all of you.”

Brock hung back, letting Yvette precede him, and Jodi looped an arm through her mother’s. He heard her say, “Wasn’t it awesome, Mom?”

Yvette skipped a few steps with her. “That was so amazing. I can hardly wait for the waterfalls tomorrow. I’ve never had so much fun in my life.”

Jodi hip-bumped her. “We should do this kind of stuff more often. And I’ll teach you how to ride a horse when we’re back home at the big house, I promise. You’ll love it. And there’s lots of other fun things we could do around the Bay Area.”

Yvette said, “I’d love that.” Emphasis on love .

“They’re expecting a superbloom this year out at Carrizo Plain National Monument. You’d love all the flowers. You should come down for that. It’s pretty close to school. And San Luis Obispo has some great restaurants.”

“Thank you for inviting me, sweetheart. I’d love that.” Brock made out the gratitude in her voice. What college kid wanted their mom to come down just to hang out? But that was Jodi.

The girls went to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. With the family’s money, they could have afforded a more exclusive school. Yvette would have taken the money if she had to, but Cal Poly had a well-respected interior design school, which was what Kacey had wanted to do. Their business administration school was also highly respected, and Jodi had chosen a concentration in accounting. He hoped she’d come into the company, but that would be her choice.

Though his sons had gone to Berkeley, there was nothing wrong with Cal Poly. If they’d wanted to be doctors or lawyers, it would have been a different decision for Kacey and Jodi. But as it was, they’d chosen well. And they hadn’t needed to dip into the trust funds their grandfather had set up for them. Yvette had used money out of her 401(k), which is what she’d been saving it for. The trusts were for the girls to use as they wished after they’d graduated. Then the choice of how to spend it would be theirs.

When they entered the open-air shop, the kids, including Jodi, headed to the bar on the back patio. A small Christmas tree stood on the cobblestones, and Christmas carols played softly. They seemed to cater to Americans escaping the winter cold.

Instead of rushing to the bar like the kids, Yvette sauntered through the shop—of course Brock followed her—examining the delicacies she could sample. She stopped by a basket of tortilla chips with three bowls in front.

The young woman standing beside the table said, “This is banana ketchup.” Then she waved a finger as if she were chiding them. “Please do not turn up your nose.” Her use of the terms was spot on. “We put banana ketchup on everything here.” She pointed to the tortilla chips. “Try. I promise you will never go back to American ketchup again.”

The side of Yvette’s mouth quirked. “I’m game if you are.”

When Brock nodded, she dipped into the chips, then scooped out the banana ketchup. Not a tiny morsel, but something that truly gave her a good taste of it. She chewed thoughtfully, the crunch of tortilla chips audible. And finally, she closed her eyes, a moan falling from her lips.

It was enough to send his body into orbit. She made that exact sound when he had his mouth buried against her, or his body filling her.

She glanced at him with a twinkle in her eye, and he wondered if she’d made that sound on purpose just to drive him wild.

She held out a chip dipped in the ketchup. “Oh, you’ve got to try this.” Then she fed him.

Christ, it was sexy. He wanted this all the time. He wanted to be with her on these fun excursions, not just in the middle of the night, not just on business trips. But all the time.

The ketchup burst with flavor on his tongue, as piquant as her luscious taste. Sweeter than ketchup, with a hint of banana, the condiment was an odd but delightful combination.

He let the smile grow on his face. “That,” he said, elongating the word, “is delicious.” He looked at Yvette, long, hard. “And I need it again. Over and over.”

He didn’t look to see if the young woman blushed, or even glanced their way. But she would have to recognize the intimacy in his tone and the sensuality of his words. And Yvette blushed.

“We’ll take five bottles. I’m pretty sure we can’t get banana ketchup back home.”

“Thank you, sir.” The young woman smiled as wide as the moon. “It is on the shelf right over there.” She pointed. “I can put them behind the counter if you would like to get your drink.”

“That would be perfect. Thank you.”

He wanted to take Yvette’s hand, walk with her to the bar. But most of the kids already had their glasses, and they would notice whatever he did.

Christ. He didn’t care, but Yvette would.

Jodi watched them as if she’d seen the byplay over the ketchup tasting. Was that knowledge in her gaze? But she said nothing.

He knew instinctively that Yvette would hate the speculation. It wasn’t cool to keep pushing it. Especially since it was against her wishes. And he backed off.

“You guys have to try that banana ketchup,” Yvette enthused, as if she were trying to hide her embarrassment. And Brock added, “Yeah. It’s tasty.”

“Ewwe,” Francine said, and plugged her nose.

But Ethan told her, “Listen to Dad. He always knows about the good stuff.”

Brock ordered an alcoholic passionfruit punch. And even after telling himself he needed to back off, he couldn’t help leaning closer and saying softly to Yvette, “Passionfruit. How appropriate.”

The concoction was delicious, with the tang of rum. The drinks weren’t strong, and they’d all be safe to drive home. “Can we get the passionfruit juice here?” he asked the bartender.

The young man smiled. “Of course, sir. And you will want to try the guava juice as well. The guava has been infused with banana. You will enjoy it. Here, let me make the lady’s drink with the guava juice.” He poured a glass for Yvette, then, with a smile, added, “You should share, taste each drink.”

When Brock would have bent down to sip from her drink, Yvette handed it to him. And he groaned the way she had over the banana ketchup. “You’re so right. They’re both delicious. Thank you for the recommendation,” he told the bartender. “We’ll need to get a few bottles of this to enjoy while we’re here.”

“I’ve seen the bar back at the house,” Yvette said. “And we’re stocked with enough alcohol for five bottles of juice.”

“That’s it then,” he said to the bartender. “Five bottles of each.”

Yvette laughed. “I was joking about the five bottles.”

“I wasn’t. We’ll want this with breakfast.”

“Big spender, Dad,” Malcolm called, standing at one of the cafe tables.

“You’ll be glad I am when I get all this back to the house.”

Everyone laughed, agreeing with him.

“Grandmother will refuse to try the banana ketchup,” Ethan proclaimed.

“Then there’s more for all of us.”

And tonight, he had big plans involving passionfruit and the woman who held his heart in her hands.