Page 6 of Dragon Daddy's Second Chance

“Are you trying to make me feel guilty?” he asked. “Because it’s working.”

“Good, I’ll see you at eight,” Max said, smiling at him. “And don’t worry about dressing for dinner, we’re strictly casual around here.”

When they got back to the village, Max pointed out the path to his cabin, then headed for his office. He made his way to his cabin, climbed the ladder, then fell into bed, too tired to even take off his shoes. After sleeping for most of the afternoon, he woke feeling refreshed, had a long talk with himself sitting in a rocking chair on the porch of the cabin, then took a quick shower, looking forward to reconnecting with his friends.

Wren was a part of his past. He had to get over her. Fate wasn’t going to drop her back into his life no matter how much he wanted her. They’d had their shot at happiness, but something had come between them, and he had to accept that he’d never know what it was, let it go, and move on with his life. With new determination, he set off down the path toward Max’s cabin, looking forward to a night with his friends, hoping that for once, Wren’s memory didn’t intrude.

***Wren***

Wren was practically skipping as she walked up the beach. It had been a great morning, and she was still flying high from the endorphins sailing had dumped into her blood. Pleased to see Susan tucked up in a lawn chair in the shade of a big palm tree, a cooler by her side, she waved to her friend and hurried a little faster, her stomach growling loudly.

“Glad to see you finally got out of bed,” she said, flopping down in a chair next to Susan. “What did you bring for lunch? I’m starving.”

Susan lowered her sunglasses and looked over the top of them at her, a little smile on her face, then shook her head. “I can’t believe this is the same person who was sulking aroundthe cabin last night,” she said, leaning back in her chair. “I take it you’re feeling better this morning.”

“Sorry about yesterday, I guess I just needed to get it out of my system,” she said, grabbing the cooler. “I was thinking we could go for a hike after lunch. I want to explore, and I want to see everything we can while we’re here.”

“Hey, slow down, I just got out of bed,” Susan said, holding up her cup of coffee. “I’m definitely not ready to go trekking around in the jungle, so maybe we should start by going for a swim.”

“Fine, but tomorrow we’re going hiking,” she said, pulling a sandwich out of the cooler. “And no excuses, I’m getting you up before I leave for my sailing lesson.”

“You’re taking another one?” Susan asked. “Montgomery must be a good teacher, you don’t usually take direction from anyone well.”

“Hey, that’s not true,” she said, then shrugged. “Well, it might be a little true, but Montgomery is great. He knows exactly when to step in and when to let me make mistakes. I can’t wait to get back out there tomorrow; he said we’d try circling the island if the weather is right.”

Susan shivered. “I’ll stay right here on the shore where it’s safe,” she said. “I was thinking about checking out the surfing lessons while you’re on the boat.”

“That’s not exactly staying on the shore,” she pointed out through a mouthful of food. “Won’t you be scared?”

“Honestly, I don’t know, maybe,” Susan said. “But I won’t know until I try.”

“You go, girl,” she said, giving her friend a big smile. “This vacation is all about trying new things.”

“Speaking of new things,” Susan said, grinning at her. “How was coffee this morning?”

“Uhhhh…don’t remind me,” she said. “It was awful, Sam spent the whole time talking about some business deal. I almost fell asleep in my coffee, and he didn’t even notice.”

“Oh, well, they can’t all be Prince Charming,” Susan said. “At least you got out there. Next time it will be easier.”

“There won’t be a next time,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m happy being single. I don’t need any more stress in my life; I’m just not ready, but maybe someday.”

Susan just sighed and sat back in her chair, and she turned her attention to her lunch, happy to let the topic fade away. Romance was nothing but a headache and a hassle. She had already had enough of that in her life, and the last thing she needed was a man messing everything up even more. She’d meant what she said, someday she might be ready to let someone into her life, but right now, she was happy with how things were.

When her stomach was satisfied, she packed the leftovers back into the cooler and sat back in her beach chair to watch the water, the food making her sleepy. “A little nap might not be the worst idea in the world,” she said, rubbing her stomach. “Then we’ll go for a swim.”

“Fine with me,” Susan said. “I’ve got my book, and it’s nice here in the shade. Sleep as long as you want.”

Wren had no idea how long she’d been asleep when the happy laughter of children woke her. She sat up slowly, looking around, confused for a second, then remembered where she was and saw the source of the laughter. Out in the water, a mother and two children were splashing around in the waves, their faces filled with happiness, and for the first time, she missed Theo. Pushing the feeling away, knowing it wouldn’t be the last time, she focused on the family, surprised to see the father blowing up a huge float shaped like a doughnut.

There were signs posted on the beach prohibiting the use of floats in the water. The danger of being swept out to seawas real and very likely, especially with no lifeguards on duty. Wondering if she should say something, she watched as the father set the float in the water and then called to the woman and children. They all piled onto the pink doughnut, and the man pushed them out into the water, holding onto the strap to keep them from going too far.

Growing more uncomfortable by the second, she watched the family playing in the surf, wondering if the man knew that he was slowly going deeper into the water. She saw the moment when he realized what was happening, then held her breath as he struggled to pull both himself and the raft back to the shore. Her lungs released the air with a whoosh when the man lost his grip on the raft, and it began to float out into deeper water.

“Wren, that doesn’t look good,” Susan said. “What the hell are they doing with that thing?”

“Trying to drown themselves,” she said, getting to her feet. “See if you can find some help. I think we’ve got a big problem.”

Susan jumped to her feet and took off at a run for the village without a word as Wren ran down to the shore, hoping that the current would bring the raft back in. After watching for a few seconds, the sound of the man screaming at his family to paddle in the background, she ran into the water, fighting her way through the waves, then dove in and began swimming for the float.

---