Page 123 of Malibu Rising

As they sat in the waiting room, Jay told Hud the very thing he had been afraid to tell anyone.

“I have cardiomyopathy,” he said and then explained what it meant: that he would have to stop surfing.

“But you’re going to be OK?” Hud asked. His eyes were starting to water and Jay couldn’t quite stand to see his brother cry at that moment.

“Yeah,” Jay said, nodding. “I’ll be OK. I’m just gonna find something else to do with my life, I guess.”

Hud shook his head. “I mean, no worries there. You’re good at almost everything you do.”

Jay smiled and breathed in deeply. “But, I …” he said, having a hard time finding the words. “I’ve just been … worried. About letting you down.”

“Me?”

“We’re a team.”

Hud smiled and then came clean himself. “I actually think pretty soon I won’t be able to travel as much.”

“What do you mean?”

“I … I don’t know the best way to tell you this. And I swear, I just learned it tonight but …”

Jay knew. He knew it a half second before Hud said it.

“Ashley’s pregnant.”

Jay closed his eyes and laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said.

Hud shook his head. “I’m dead serious.”

Jay nodded. “Wow. Well, you know what they say. If you’re gonna sleep with your brother’s ex-girlfriend, make sure you knock her up while you’re at it.”

Hud laughed and then grabbed his rib cage and caught his breath. “I don’t think they say that.”

“No, they don’t.” Jay stared at his shoes for a moment and then back to his brother.

“Are we still cool?” Hud asked.

Jay nodded. “Look, I still think you’re a dick. And I’m probably going to think that for a while. But yeah, we’re OK. We’ll be fine.”

They were quiet for a moment, the world still recalibrating between them.

“So I guess we’re both sticking around Malibu for a while then.”

Hud nodded. “Yeah, although …” he said. “I was actually thinking of photographing Kit. Seeing if I can sell the photos toSurf.”

“Kit? Really?”

“She’s good, Jay,” he said. “She’s … outrageously good.”

Jay nodded slowly, realizing he already knew that. “Yeah, OK,” he said, thinking of how brash Kit could be in the water, how daring. He was imagining just how great the photos could be—she’d be something new and exciting, like Nina had been but she’d be bold, going for big waves and sharper moves, like him. Maybe she was the best of all of them.Maybe,Jay thought for a second,she’s the whole point.

“She’s good and we’ll help her be the best,” Jay said. “Maybe one day Kit takes the Triple Crown. Maybe that’s our new goal.”

Hud put out his hand and Jay shook it, and they ushered in the next chapter of the Riva dynasty.

Two hours later, after Hud’s nose had been reset, Jay drove him to Ashley’s house.

There, at her front door, Hud Riva got down on one knee and proposed. Jay watched from the car as Ashley said yes.

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