Beachcombing in the Bahamas (Once Again #11)

Chapter 18

18

T hey made the half hour drive to the waterfall park, where the attendants assigned their lockers and handed out life vests and helmets. Cameras weren’t allowed since the company couldn’t take responsibility if they were ruined in the water. Yvette chattered with the girls, with Brock’s sons, with their girlfriends, and any of the other six tourists joining their group. Then they all trekked up the trail to the top of the falls. Just as there had been seven zip lines, there were seven waterfalls.

She was gorgeous in the dappled sunlight falling through the trees, and all the things they’d done to each other in the night came back to him. His breath came heavier, his body reacting to the memories, to her. She would always do this to him, always make him hard and hungry. If he were honest, she always had, but he’d buried the feelings so deep, denied them so harshly, they were almost nonexistent. Until every single need and emotion erupted like a volcano in the months after Corrine divorced him for another man.

Perhaps that was why he hadn’t cared when his wife was gone. He hadn’t cheated, hadn’t thought about cheating, hadn’t admitted any feelings for Yvette were even there. And yet they had lain dormant inside him, like magma waiting to bubble through the cracks of his resolve.

And now he couldn’t get enough of her.

Their water shoes crunched on the gravel path.

It was like the crunch of his heart every time she stepped on it. Every time she refused to marry him or even admit to the family that they were lovers.

It didn’t matter that he understood her reasons. It still broke him.

But this holiday was his chance to show her how good they could be together. All the time. During the day. Long into the night. Over breakfast, lunch, and dinner. On excursions with the kids or just walking on the beach at sunrise. And tomorrow, he had a very special day planned for her.

Maybe it would be her tipping point.

Climbing a set of solid wooden stairs, then taking another that trailed slightly down, Yvette heard the rush of water below them. The sound rushed through her veins like the alcohol she’d drunk last night. Like the taste of him in her mouth. Like the feel of him deep inside her.

Waterfalls? Or making love with Brock? Which was more exhilarating?

Definitely Brock.

Stepping off the wooden walkway, she landed on a relatively flat rock, worn smooth with thousands of footsteps. She felt Brock at her side as she leaned over the edge to look down, whispering, “Oh my,” as vertigo hit her and she had to pull away.

Brock whispered back, “That’s what you said last night.”

She should have elbowed him, but she laughed and murmured for his ears only, “I said a lot more than that last night.”

“Gather round,” called Kristiano, their guide. Just as for horseback riding, they had two guides, José taking up the rear and Kristiano leading.

Kristiano told them, “The rocks are very smooth, especially with the water constantly running over them. But this is important. Cross your arms over your chest and keep your elbows in as you slide down. You will be jostled, and you do not want to hit your elbows on the rocks. Then you will plunge into the water and go deep. But with your life vest, you will come up quickly.” And finally, he asked, “Who wants to go first?”

Darryl, naturally, raced to the edge. “I’ll do it. The rest of these guys are all weenies. I need to show them how it’s done.” Two of the guys who were not part of the family group grumbled at Darryl’s characterization.

José guided him to the top of the waterfall and tapped on his shoulder. “Down on your butt. And just slide.”

The water gushed over the edge, providing a smooth ride down the rock face. As José pushed Darryl off, the rest of them automatically leaned over the side railing to watch. While he started with crossed arms, when Darryl was almost free-falling, he put his hands out, giving a great whoop as he fell.

The crack of his elbow was audible even over the crash of the water.

Kristiano said nonchalantly, “That is going to hurt.”

When Darryl hit the water with a massive splash and plunged beneath the surface, appearing a few seconds later, José called down, “Are you all right?”

“I’m great.” He waved an arm, but not the one with the cracked elbow, Yvette assumed.

“Are you sure you didn’t break your elbow?” Brock yelled down at him.

Darryl raised both arms this time, waving them in the air as he treaded water, then sank beneath the surface again. When he popped back up, Kristiano called once more, “Okay. Then get out of the way for the next guest.”

Kacey went next, screaming, her arms crossed, elbows in, and splashed down in the water almost on top of Darryl, who hadn’t moved as far as he should have. She came up spluttering, and they threw their arms around each other. Then Kacey fluttered her feet, pulling them farther out of the way.

A girl who’d joined their tour—Yvette couldn’t remember her name—stepped up next, and Kristiano said, “You must take off your sunglasses.”

“But they’re prescription,” she said, fingers tight on the stem as if Kristiano might tear them off her face. “How will I see everything if I don’t have them on?”

Kristiano smiled widely. “If you keep them on, you will not find them in the water once you land. Then you will not see anything for the rest of your vacation.”

Accepting the logic, the young woman slipped them into the baggie Kristiano held out. She squealed as she went down, and when she bounced back up to the water’s surface after her dunking, she screamed her pleasure. “That is so cool.”

When Yvette would have stepped forward, Brock held her back. “Let’s go last.” She had a feeling why when Jodi finally took her turn, and they were the only two left. The moment José pushed Jodi off the top of the waterfall, Brock leaned into Yvette for a deep kiss.

They stood far enough back from the railing along the rock ledge that no one would see, and the kiss was delicious, spiked with the heat of his desire.

When they heard Jodi’s shriek from below, he pushed her to the edge. “Your turn.”

She sat in the flow of water, crossed her arms, elbows in, and José pushed her.

It felt like that last kiss from Brock, like free-falling without a parachute. Nestled in the slick curve of the rocks, she plummeted along with the warm water, and screamed with the utter exhilaration.

Pointing her toes, she hit the pool below, plunging deep, until the pull of the life vest shot her back to the surface. Though she’d tied her hair back in a ponytail, some had come loose and fell over her eyes.

“Wasn’t that incredible?” Jodi grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the way as Brock sat on the rocks above.

“Outstanding.” Especially with the bliss of Brock’s kiss still rushing through her veins.

Then he was sliding down, his powerful arms clasped in front of him, his mouth wide with an exultant shout, and he hit the water with a force that drove her back into Jodi.

Popping up moments later, he punched a fist in the air. “That was incredible.”

His sons laughed, Garth swimming forward to hug him the way Yvette wanted to.

And they had six more waterfalls to go.

Kristiano and José took their turns down the falls, then led them to the next waterfall.

After three more, they entered a canyon with steep sides, the water too deep for her feet to touch the bottom. She swam through, the buoyant vest making it easy.

She slid off the next falls, screaming her pleasure. This was what she’d loved about making love with Brock in her house, the big house a quarter-mile away. Where she could scream like this and make the pleasure so much more intense.

Whenever he could, Brock held her back where the others couldn’t see, kissing her, then shoving her towards the rocks. But other times, the ledge wasn’t wide enough. One even had a ladder to get to the waterfall.

Finally, they came to the last drop. Below them lay a crystal blue lagoon, its water so deep the bottom was invisible. On a small beach beyond it, couples, families, and kids sat on the sand watching the spectacle.

Yvette stood at the edge of the viewing platform. This drop was probably twenty feet, which didn’t sound like much when you said it. But when she looked down from above, it seemed so far below.

Kristiano said to the group, “Have no fear. The water below is very deep. You will not hit the bottom.”

Darryl’s elbow was red, already turning purple around the edges. But he didn’t seem to notice, and he went first. But this time, as he had on the last five falls, he kept his arms tucked.

Yvette watched. The outcropping hung over the water, and there were no rocks to slide down this time. It was a straight drop, the falls careening down over Darryl’s head. Then he hit with a massive splash, plunging deeper than she could see.

Could she do that?

As if she spoke aloud, Jodi said softly, “You can do it, Mom. You can do anything.”

She wanted to laugh. Because there were so many things she couldn’t do. Like stepping up to Adeline and saying, I love your son. And we’re getting married .

Could she even say it after the girls moved out?

A couple from below scrambled back up the rocks, finding handholds that seemed designed for that purpose. When they got to the top, the man said in German-accented English, “Awesome. We have to do it again.”

But José held them off since his group was still making their first drop. She and Brock went last, everyone on the beach looking up at them.

He couldn’t touch her. He couldn’t kiss her. But he gave her a look that said, You’ve got this .

She sat on the edge, the water seeming so very far below.

“You are ready,” José said softly in her ear. And she nodded. Though she wasn’t ready. Maybe she never would be. But she had to take the plunge.

Maybe that’s what she had to do with Adeline. Just take the plunge.

And José pushed her. She kept her toes pointed, her arms tucked, even though there were no rocks for her to hit. Then she closed her eyes. And suddenly she relished the weightlessness of a free fall that seemed to go on forever. Maybe time even stopped.

And God, yes, it was exhilarating.

Then she hit the water. It went up her nose, pushed past her eyelids, even between her lips. She came up spluttering, plugging her nose, spitting out what had gone into her mouth. Kristiano had been right, she never hit the bottom. Then she opened her eyes to see Brock far above her.

She swam backwards through the water to give him room. It was amazing how quickly he fell, while she had seemed to take forever. The splash created waves in the lagoon, pushing her closer to the sand. Then he was up and swimming hard toward her.

She knew deep in her gut what he intended. And she turned, swimming as fast as she could for the shore, scrambling up the sand.

Then he was on her, wrapping his arms around her, and twirling with her on the beach, laughing, shouting his joy.

She felt his joy deep inside. She wanted so badly to let go of the fear that their kids were watching. Finally, when he set her on her feet, he was laughing, turning to the family, his arm still slung around her shoulders. “Wasn’t that the most incredible thing you’ve ever done in your whole life?”

Jodi threw herself at him, as if she didn’t even see her uncle’s arm around her mother. As if she didn’t care. As if it meant nothing.

When the truth was, it meant everything.

After the fabulous day at the waterfalls, the family gathered in the living room for a pre-dinner cocktail.

“Trevor took us to a terribly exclusive spa,” Lorna enthused. Her cheeks glowed from a facial.

“It was ridiculously expensive,” Adeline said sharply, as if she hadn’t enjoyed a single moment.

But Lorna took her hand, squeezed, and with a smile, she said, “You know you loved it. You even said your deep tissue massage relieved so many aches and pains.”

Adeline merely snorted. “I said that so Trevor wouldn’t feel bad.”

Lorna laughed, a tinkling sound. “You’re such a hard case,” she said through a smile.

Adeline didn’t even bite off her head. It amazed Yvette what Lorna could get away with. Was that because of her pregnancy? Although Adeline had never cut Yvette a single millimeter of slack when she was pregnant, not with either of the girls.

Good Lord, she actually sounded jealous.

Brock had pulled Trevor aside, talking earnestly with him in the corner, highball glasses in their hands.

What about? Yvette would have to ask later.

“They even had couples’ massages.” Lorna was beaming.

“I hope you didn’t take your clothes off in the same room with your husband and a massage therapist,” Adeline groused, then sipped from her whiskey glass. She took it neat. She hadn’t tried any of the sweet island drinks. Adeline had always preferred one small glass of the strong stuff.

Lorna freed that tinkling laugh again. “Of course we were naked. How else could they massage every part of our bodies?” Then she winked at her mother-in-law. “But I promise you a towel covered all the naughty bits.”

The kids gathered around, laughing with her. They loved their aunt. From Brock’s boys to Yvette’s girls, they thought Lorna was wonderful. Perhaps it was because she was closer to their age, almost an older sister, rather than a parent.

“That sounds like fun,” Jodi said. “I haven’t had a good massage since I started university.”

“Oh, you’d love it.” Lorna smoothed a hand down Jodi’s arm. “We were so pampered. They had fruit-infused water, fruit plates, and vegetable trays. They even had fat-free vegan baked goods. The carrot cake was delicious.” She closed her eyes and licked her lips.

Adeline merely huffed. “How can a cake be fat free and vegan and still taste delicious?”

Lorna gave her a playful slap on the shoulder. “That’s because you didn’t try it. You should have. You would’ve loved it.”

The play slap once again flabbergasted Yvette. Adeline didn’t say a word about it. She didn’t even brush off Lorna’s touch.

Either Adeline was mellowing in her old age, or Lorna was a miracle worker.

Yvette’s attention skipped back to Brock and Trevor. There was something fishy about this one-on-one discussion. Brock was planning something. She’d have to ask him later. And not let him weasel out of telling her.

Olive entered then, carrying a sizzling platter of something that smelled divine, and called out, “Dinner is ready.” And of course, everyone rushed to the dining table, dying to see the amazing meal Olive had prepared this time.

Adeline didn’t take her customary place as first in line at the buffet. Instead, hand on the back of the sofa, she waved at the kids, who grabbed their plates and dug in.

Returning with another plate, Olive said, “I have something very special for madame. No extra spices. Just a deliciously flaky fish that I think you will love. Along with steamed vegetables and brown rice.” She set the steaming plate in Adeline’s place, then took the old lady’s arm and walked her to her seat.

Adeline graciously accepted the help from Olive. “I appreciate that you’ve made a special dish for me, Olive. It’s very considerate of you.”

The miraculous chef smiled her pleasure.

Getting in line behind Brock, Yvette used the cover of leaning over to check what was in the warming tray to ask, “What were you and Trevor talking about?”

Brock merely smiled, saying smoothly, “Just about the waterfalls and how amazing they were. He didn’t want to talk about it in front of Lorna in case she felt bad that he gave up the excursion to be with her.”

But there was a gleam in his eye, and she didn’t believe him.

She was sure he and Trevor had been planning something.