screwing up
were eased by the time we had finished. It wasn’t as hard as I'd
thought and if this was all I had to do then I was in luck. The boat
we were working on was huge and definitely a two diver job. We had to
have our dive hats on for this one, and Mr. Christian was up top
monitoring our surface air. I cleared my mind and tried to pay
attention as much as I could, knowing on the smaller boats I would be
diving by myself. And I realized I really didn’t want to let Mr.
Christian down. This was his livelihood, and if I didn’t know what
I was doing now, I’d better learn fast. When Zack and I had
surfaced, he confirmed that he just let me watch this one but the
next time he would actually expect me to work. I shrugged, past
caring, and feeling relaxed after being in the water.
It wasn’t until I saw
Hayden’s car pull up that I realized for the past few hours I had
forgotten all my problems. Having time to step back and look at our
little disagreement, I saw it for what it was; inconsequential. And
maybe I had overreacted from the combination of stress and lack of
sleep. When his car finally stopped, I almost ran into it to
apologize. I gripped him into a hug and exhaled the day away.
“Long day?” He
laughed, obviously already past our earlier conversation, and seemed
to enjoy my possessive hold on him. “Who’s that?” he asked when
I finally let go.
“Who?” I turned my
head out the window to see who he referred to. Zack stood outside the
warehouse, smoking a cigarette of all things, glaring at us. I drew
my lips up as I was reminded of how he treated me after the dive.
“Oh. That’s Zack, Mr. Christian’s son. I had a really long day.
I just want to forget about it right now.”
He leaned in and gave
me a chaste kiss on the lips, then shifted gear. Soon work was long
behind me, both literally and figuratively.
“You don’t have to
work, you know. You don’t have to want anything ever again.” I
knew where he was going with this and noticed he deliberately left
out any mention of money. I knew he had money, but it didn’t matter
how much; I refused to live off of him.
“It’s not even
about that. I’m not just working to make money; I’m working to
help out my dad and Mr. Christian. They are so busy as it is and I
don’t blame him for not trusting the expensive temps.”
“You always worry
about other people. When are you going to do what’s best for you?
You are already volunteering and going to school full time. And let’s
not forget you have premonitions you have to deal with. You’ve been
picking up your dad's slack for too long.”
“I know you’re just
trying to protect me, but it’s not even about my dad anymore. After
seeing Mr. Christian today, well, he is like family. He took care of
me when I was just a baby and now I am old enough to help and he
needs it. I want to be there for him.”
“I love your heart,
you know that?”
“I love yours.” I
smiled back at him and tried not to show the frown that threatened
when I remembered what he had told me about his heartbeat.
“Let’s just relax
at home tonight,” he sighed. “I’ll even cook.” He laughed
sweetly.
“You always know how
to make me feel better, do you know that? How about this: I’ll go
home and start making my grandma's red beans and rice that you love
so much and you can go get us a movie. Deal?”
He gave me a brilliant,
boyish smile. “How can I say no?”
Chapter Seven
Hayden dropped me off
at home so I could get started on dinner. I was still smiling as I
took my shoes off in the mud room. The thought of Hayden picking out
a movie was amusing. It was something so normal. I thought about how
easily he could pull off both worlds. Like he fit perfectly into both
while I, on the other hand, didn’t fit into either.
The rest of the house
was dim and I thought it was safe to say Luke wasn’t home. I hated
how I was unconsciously keeping tabs on him, though I felt relieved
he wasn’t
were eased by the time we had finished. It wasn’t as hard as I'd
thought and if this was all I had to do then I was in luck. The boat
we were working on was huge and definitely a two diver job. We had to
have our dive hats on for this one, and Mr. Christian was up top
monitoring our surface air. I cleared my mind and tried to pay
attention as much as I could, knowing on the smaller boats I would be
diving by myself. And I realized I really didn’t want to let Mr.
Christian down. This was his livelihood, and if I didn’t know what
I was doing now, I’d better learn fast. When Zack and I had
surfaced, he confirmed that he just let me watch this one but the
next time he would actually expect me to work. I shrugged, past
caring, and feeling relaxed after being in the water.
It wasn’t until I saw
Hayden’s car pull up that I realized for the past few hours I had
forgotten all my problems. Having time to step back and look at our
little disagreement, I saw it for what it was; inconsequential. And
maybe I had overreacted from the combination of stress and lack of
sleep. When his car finally stopped, I almost ran into it to
apologize. I gripped him into a hug and exhaled the day away.
“Long day?” He
laughed, obviously already past our earlier conversation, and seemed
to enjoy my possessive hold on him. “Who’s that?” he asked when
I finally let go.
“Who?” I turned my
head out the window to see who he referred to. Zack stood outside the
warehouse, smoking a cigarette of all things, glaring at us. I drew
my lips up as I was reminded of how he treated me after the dive.
“Oh. That’s Zack, Mr. Christian’s son. I had a really long day.
I just want to forget about it right now.”
He leaned in and gave
me a chaste kiss on the lips, then shifted gear. Soon work was long
behind me, both literally and figuratively.
“You don’t have to
work, you know. You don’t have to want anything ever again.” I
knew where he was going with this and noticed he deliberately left
out any mention of money. I knew he had money, but it didn’t matter
how much; I refused to live off of him.
“It’s not even
about that. I’m not just working to make money; I’m working to
help out my dad and Mr. Christian. They are so busy as it is and I
don’t blame him for not trusting the expensive temps.”
“You always worry
about other people. When are you going to do what’s best for you?
You are already volunteering and going to school full time. And let’s
not forget you have premonitions you have to deal with. You’ve been
picking up your dad's slack for too long.”
“I know you’re just
trying to protect me, but it’s not even about my dad anymore. After
seeing Mr. Christian today, well, he is like family. He took care of
me when I was just a baby and now I am old enough to help and he
needs it. I want to be there for him.”
“I love your heart,
you know that?”
“I love yours.” I
smiled back at him and tried not to show the frown that threatened
when I remembered what he had told me about his heartbeat.
“Let’s just relax
at home tonight,” he sighed. “I’ll even cook.” He laughed
sweetly.
“You always know how
to make me feel better, do you know that? How about this: I’ll go
home and start making my grandma's red beans and rice that you love
so much and you can go get us a movie. Deal?”
He gave me a brilliant,
boyish smile. “How can I say no?”
Chapter Seven
Hayden dropped me off
at home so I could get started on dinner. I was still smiling as I
took my shoes off in the mud room. The thought of Hayden picking out
a movie was amusing. It was something so normal. I thought about how
easily he could pull off both worlds. Like he fit perfectly into both
while I, on the other hand, didn’t fit into either.
The rest of the house
was dim and I thought it was safe to say Luke wasn’t home. I hated
how I was unconsciously keeping tabs on him, though I felt relieved
he wasn’t
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