Page 51 of Long Shot

Jack swipes his tongue over Reese’s chin, looking like he’s smiling himself.

Christ, seeing Reese like this is killing me. I’ve seen her smile, I’ve seen her laugh, but shadows always lurk in those mysterious green eyes, and this pure, unbridled joy nearly takes my knees out. I have no idea why I’m reacting so strongly to this, but it suddenly makes the drenching in cold Pacific waters all worth it.

Jack wriggles out of her arms and she lowers him to the sand. He races to the water and barks at Cade.

“He wants to go again!” Reese’s smile is as bright as the Sunday sunshine.

“Sure. Come on, little dude. If he likes it, sometime I can try taking him with me on bigger waves.”

I catch Reese’s wrinkled nose. She’s still hesitant about this, but seeing how much Jack actually likes the water will probably assuage those fears. And I’m showing her that I can take care of Jack in the water.

I carry Jack back out into the surf and wait for a good wave, not too big. This time Jack stays on the board longer until Reese meets up with him at the edge of the water.

She’s dressed in a pair of short shorts that are damp at the hem, and a long-sleeved T-shirt now wet from picking up the dog. Her hair is piled up on her head in a messy knot, a peachy flush colors her cheeks and nose, and she’s gorgeous. “Attaboy!”

Jack and I do a few more runs, but the breeze is picking up and the surf getting rougher. Plus, my legs are numb.

I carry Jack under one arm and the surfboard under the other as I trudge through the water to Reese. “Enough for today, I guess.”

“You did so good.” She drops to a crouch and unfastens the life jacket. Jack proceeds to shake himself as usual, giving us both a shower.

She stands, holding the jacket. “Thank you. That was so cool.”

“It really was.” I grin. “I had no idea if he’d do it.”

She mock-punches my arm. “Hey. I thought you had all the confidence in the world in him.”

I grab her hand and twine my fingers into hers. “I knew you were nervous about it. But I wasn’t going to let anything happen to him.” Our eyes meet and hold, the breeze teasing loose strands of her hair around her face. “It was a hard lesson for me to learn, but there’s nothing wrong with having a little fun.”

She doesn’t answer.

I squeeze her hand. “Right?”

“Why was it a hard lesson for you to learn?”

Ugh. Am I going to go there? “I told you about my life growing up,” I say slowly. “There wasn’t much fun. We were always on edge, waiting for my old man to come home drunk out of his mind and try to beat the shit out of us, or fall down and break something. It took Cade and Marco to teach me that it was okay to relax and have fun.”

She regards me thoughtfully, her head moving up and down slowly.

“Maybeyouneed more fun in your life,” I add.

“I don’t think so.”

I frown. “Why not?”

“I don’t deserve fun.” She pulls her hand loose and turns to call Jack, who’s wandering. “Jack! Let’s go! Time to go home.” Jack runs back to her and she picks up his leash where she left it on the sand.

What? She doesn’t deserve to have fun? What the fuck is that about?

I stare at her slender back as she hikes across the sand away from me. I grab my board and towel and stride after her. “Hey. What the hell does that mean, Reese?”

“Nothing.” She shakes her head and keeps walking.

“Nothing my ass. Reese, wait.” I inject a commanding tone into my voice and she slows and glances over her shoulder at me, but doesn’t stop. “Why would you say that?”

She sighs. “It’s just how I feel. Just forget it.”

Like hell I’ll forget it, but once again she’s closed off.

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