My Little Runaway (Destiny Bay) (2 page)

“You look different.” She pulled herself up to stand before him, and now she could see his face clearly. All of it except the blue eyes. They were still covered by the dark glasses. “You look very Junior Chamber of Commerce, now.” She grinned, examining his wrinkle-free slacks and the expensive pale blue shirt with the little polo player over the pocket. “Or is that an insult? Should I say Junior Stockbroker?”

She laughed softly, enchanted with seeing him again. He brought back all the good memories of the past. The misery, the unhappiness, that she tried so hard to blot out, had nothing to do with Reid. She’d often wondered over the years what had happened to him.
 

One night, after helping to drink a whole bottle of champagne to celebrate a friend’s engagement, she’d even dialed his number, long distance. The maid who’d answered said only that Mr. Carrington was “not at home,” and she’d never had the nerve to try again.

She remembered his smile from all those long-ago summers. His hair was cut shorter now, but it still gleamed just as dark, with silver highlights glistening in the afternoon sun. Were his eyes still that bright deep-sea blue?
 

“I can remember when you had long, shaggy hair and never went anywhere unless you could wear your old patched jeans,” she said softly,
wanting to reach for him, to touch him, as though to make sure he was real. “What ever happened to those jeans? Remember the patch I sewed on for you, the one that said, ‘If Today Was a Fish, I’d Throw It Back”?”

“I got rid of them,” he broke in coolly. “Ever hear that old saw about putting away childish things? Most of us live by it.”

She drew back, stung. They’d always argued in the old days—but never with malice. What had happened to the warmth between them?

There was a time she’d wished Reid could be her big brother instead of Tony. Then she’d grown up a little and realized Reid would be much better for another role in her life. Through all the changes, he’d always been a friend.
 
Why was he so distant now?

His strange attitude made her wary, exposing a bit of her old pain. She’d lost so much, more than she cared to think of. Had she lost him, too?

“It’s nice to see you.”
 
Maybe.
 
“What are you doing out here at Elsinore?” she asked, hoping with sudden desperation that he would loosen up and be his old self again.

He shifted his weight, but whatever he was thinking was hidden behind the sunglasses.
 

“I’ve just spent the week at Palm Springs with friends,” he replied shortly. He gestured toward the gallery, and she could see three people standing apart, as though they were waiting for him. Two women and a man—all three of them looking as highly bred and well groomed as thoroughbred racehorses. Their clothes reeked of expensive taste.
 

“We’re on our way back to Destiny Bay now. We stopped by to watch a little of the skydiving, and then I saw your name on the roster.”

She licked her lips, no longer smiling. His voice was so cold. He was like a stranger.
 

“Were you surprised?” she asked, wishing she could see his eyes. Why was he so hostile? What had she done to make him angry? She couldn’t imagine.

Before he answered, she could see the muscle along his jawline tightening. She could feel his contempt as though it were a physical force that could slap at her and leave a scar.
 

“No, I wasn’t surprised,” he said flatly. “Nothing you do surprises me anymore.” He stepped closer. “Other people’s lives don’t seem to mean much to you these days. Why wouldn’t you risk your own for a cheap thrill?”

For just a moment she was shocked, but she held back the quick retort that jumped to her lips. She wasn’t sure why he was attacking her.
 
But then she stopped.
 
Of course she knew.
 
Why try to fool herself?
 
Still, she couldn't admit it to him.
 

“What is it, Reid?” she asked, wariness quivering along her spine. “What’s the matter?”

He looked back toward his friends, then down at her again. “Why haven’t you been back, Jennifer? You know your parents need you.”

She swallowed hard and looked down at her wet and muddy parachute. It had looked so light and silky —gossamer like—when she was sailing down through the sky. Now it looked like dirty laundry. Nothing good ever lasted.
 

“I didn’t see you at Tony’s funeral,” he added shortly. “You might at least have shown up for that.”

She looked away, hiding the pain that was an open wound now.
 

“Funerals are depressing.” She tried to keep her tone light, but she didn’t succeed very well. “I didn’t want to ruin my weekend.”
 

Couldn’t he tell she was lying? Couldn’t he hear the agony in her voice?

No, obviously not. He took her words quite literally, and despised her for them, while she tried hard not to care.
 

“So you ruined your parents’ lives instead.” He said it calmly, as though he really believed it.

Her pain was cutting like a knife in her chest, and she had to get him out of here. She swung her head up, glaring at him.
 

“Listen, Reid Carrington, what I do is really none of your business. Why don’t you just go back to your high-class friends and leave me where you found me?”

Barefooted, she faced him, positioning herself so that the light wasn’t blinding her any longer. He was only a few inches taller than she was, but he had the athletic build of a professional diver, with shoulders wide enough to hold up the sky and slim hips that seemed made especially to show off his beautifully made slacks. She wished she had the nerve to pull the shades from his face so that she could see his expression.
 

Damn those sunglasses anyway!

He was taking his time answering her, and he didn’t look like he was about to follow her angry advice. Disconcerted, she turned away and took hold of the zipper on her muddy jumpsuit, pulling it down the length of her body.
 

And then she wished she had waited until he’d gone.
 
There he was, staring at her, while she began to peel the coverall away like a butterfly shedding a bulky cocoon. In no time she stood before him in the very brief denim shorts and skimpy tank top that she wore underneath.
 

This was how she dressed.
 
She’d never thought twice about it before.
 
But with Reid watching her, his gaze touching every inch of her, she suddenly felt almost naked.
 
The breeze blew her curly hair across her eyes, and she sneaked another look at his face.

He was gazing at her steadily, and for one brief moment, she thought there’d been a softening about his mouth, as though he remembered how they’d once been—and remembered that she wasn’t a prodigal at heart. He took a step closer, though he didn’t touch her.

“Why did you do it, Jenny?” he asked at last, his voice low and husky. “Why did you run away? Why didn’t you ever come back?”

Inexplicably, her heart was thumping in her chest, and she put a hand over it as though to keep him from hearing. There was something in the low, velvet timbre of his voice that haunted her senses. Turning away, she remembered, belatedly, that it always had.

Suddenly his hand was on her upper arm, the fingers firm but gentle. “We all miss you, Jenny,” he said softly, looking into her dark brown eyes. “We want you back, if only for a visit. Come up to Destiny Bay with me. Come now.”

She closed her eyes. He didn’t know how impossible that was. He’d always been close to Tony, her older brother. Obviously, Tony hadn’t explained what had happened. But that didn’t surprise her. In fact, in some ways it reassured her. She wouldn’t have wanted him to know.

His fingers tightened on her arm.
 

“Tony wanted you to come back,” he said. “Just before he died, he asked me to try to bring you back. I haven’t done anything all these months because I didn’t know where to find you. But now ...”

So Tony had felt guilty at the end. No. She closed her eyes for just a second, sorry she’d thought that. Of course he felt guilty. It hadn’t really been his fault either. He’d been too weak to tell her parents the truth. But she’d never wanted him to, had she? It was a truth her parents wouldn’t have wanted to hear.

She lifted her head defiantly. “That’s all in the past,” she replied, frowning fiercely to hold back the memories. “I can’t go back. I’m living a whole new life now.”

“So I see.” His voice hardened again, and he made a sweeping movement, gesturing to all of the air sports going on around them—the sailplanes and the hang gliding and the skydiving. “Making a meaningful contribution to society, are you?”

A meaningful contribution to society. How that phrase brought back the days when they’d lain side by side on the beach and talked for hours. That had been their goal then. Doing something significant with their lives.

“Just as you said,” she responded breathlessly, “I still haven’t grown up.”

He still had hold of her arm, and his grip was no longer quite so gentle. “Then grow up, Jennifer,” he said, his voice like gravel. “Grow up and do something for someone else, instead of only thinking of yourself.”

She stared up at him, wondering why he was taking such an intense interest in what she did or did not do. He’d never wanted to interfere before. She remembered the times she’d run to him, wanting a friend, wanting a shoulder to cry on, and he’d listened and sympathized, but he’d never taken sides. Why was he doing that now? Was it because Tony had asked him to? But before she could ask, Eddie arrived.

“Hey, Jennifer!” The shout was like a wave of ocean water dousing the tension between them. Jennifer turned to greet him, twisting out of Reid’s grasp.. “Hey, Jenny-baby!”

Eddie had finally found her, and he descended with his usual eager energy, racing up to sweep her into his arms.
 

“You did so great!” He whirled in place, holding her high against him. “I saw you below me, how you adjusted yourself. You’re a natural, sweetheart.” He put her down and laughed delightedly.

“Eddie,” she protested, trying to catch her balance, “give me a break! I landed in the pond.”

Eddie turned to glance at her limp parachute. “Yeah, well, you can’t win’em all. At least you landed, huh?” He grinned at them both. “Come on, there’s plenty of light left. What do you say we pack up these chutes and do it again?”

She laughed. “Speaking as the pond-diving champion of Southern California, I stand ready to teach you all my tricks in exchange for a quick rundown on some of yours. Like, why didn’t my shroud lines work right as I approached the ground?”

“Don’t worry about that stuff. I’ll give you a lesson before you jump again.” Eddie grinned. “You wanna?”

Jennifer glanced at Reid. “Why not?” she agreed impetuously. Right now the dangers of skydiving seemed a lot safer than anything Reid Carrington represented.

She noted that Reid’s jaw tightened as she spoke. “Why don’t you try it, too?” she suggested, her voice almost a taunt. “Have you ever jumped out of an airplane?”

“Not when it was moving,” he drawled sarcastically, his attention on her companion. “I was always taught to eat my vegetables, say my prayers, and fasten my seat belt.”

Eddie laughed. “The prayers you still need,” he told Reid. “But forget the rest. Half the fun in life is taking chances.”

“And the other half, I suppose, is recovering from them.”

Jennifer bit her lip. She heard the contempt in Reid’s tone. “Eddie, meet Reid Carrington, an old, old friend of mine. Reid, this is Fast Eddie”—she grinned at him—“my new friend.”

“Hiya, Reid.” Eddie stuck out his hand and shook Reid’s with enthusiasm. “You gonna try jumping with us?”

“Not a chance.”
 

His voice was condescending, and to Jennifer, it hurt. He’d always thought everything she did was silly. He’d always seemed so much older, so much more mature and in control of himself and his environment. Maybe that was why she always seemed to be all thumbs in front of him.

“Then why don’t you go back to your friends?” she asked, her voice soft but her eyes searching the black panes that hid his. “Why don’t you just leave me alone?”

His head went back.
 
Her words cut into his composure.
 
She’d always had a knack for getting under his skin, but it used to be a pleasantly provocative sensation when she teased him.
 
This was barbed with acid.
 

“Not yet,” he said.
 

He hesitated for a moment, then very deliberately took her by the arm again, looking down at where his fingers held her tanned flesh. She seemed so much the same . . . and yet so different. The adorable girl next door had grown up into a lovely woman, only it seemed she hadn’t realized that yet. It felt raw and rough to be lecturing her this way.
 

If only she would listen to reason.
 
They’d been friends.
 
Somehow he had to get back to that place again.
 

But first she had to understand how her careless attitude had hurt her family. She had to stop it.

He felt a tremendous responsibility toward Tony and her parents. They’d been there when his family had needed them. Now it was his turn to help them. And as far as he could see, getting their daughter back for them was about the best way to do that. Convincing her to give up her wild life was going to be the only problem.

“Let your friend take care of your parachute,” he told her. “I’ve got some things I want to say to you.”

She refused to budge, digging her heels into the soft dirt. “Then you can say them right here," she said brightly, pretending to smile.
 
"Eddie and I are good friends. We don’t have many secrets.”

He glanced at Eddie, who was watching curiously.
 

“All right.” His hand slid down her upper arm, the feeling more a caress than a threat, but still potent.
 
“This is what I think, Jennifer.
 
This is my advice to you."
 
He took a deep breath.
 
"You’ve had your fun. You’ve had your fling. Now it’s time you came home and took care of your responsibilities.”