Surge : A Stepbrother Romance (14 page)

Chapter 27 Mick – False Evidence Appearing
Real

        Fear courses through my entire body. As we practically run to the
department, where the look on Sam’s face is one of intense pain. I am scared,
we could be losing this baby now. The doctor on duty immediately brings us in
and conducts an examination.

        “Let’s get you to an ultrasound machine. We
need to see what’s going on.”

        “Is everything okay?” Sam whimpers.

        “We don’t have enough information yet. Time is
of the essence.”

        Tears begin to flow from Sam’s eyes as I hold her
hand. Sam gets onto the bed with some difficulty as the technician puts jelly
on her stomach. My feelings regarding having a child are all clarified in one
simple moment. I was not sure just how much I wanted that child until I thought
it would not be OK. As I watch the technician search for my unborn child, a flicker
appears on the screen. It’s a heartbeat.

       
        “That’s good, right, doctor?” I ask.

“Yes, that part is good. The
concern is your water has broken.”

We wait for what seems like
hours, but it must have only been a few minutes.

“Ah, there it is,” the
doctor says at last.

“There what is?” Sam
replies.

“It seems you have a gall
stone.”

She frowns. “What?”

        “Thankfully, these two things are not related.
You have gall stones, which can cause tremendous abdominal pain. The liquid was
not amniotic fluid—it was most likely urine. A reaction to the pain, or to the
pregnancy and an inability to control your bladder. All good news, guys. Everything
is okay here. Use Tylenol for the pain, these stones will pass.”

What an anticlimactic
ending. Just like that the fear is over. What is left to be said? “Thank you,
doctor.”

I am going to ensure that
no ill ever comes to my child. All of my life comes into perspective in that
one moment, and now I feel I have a purpose. I hug Sam and kiss her, and we share
some tears of joy as we leave the hospital to prepare for the next day.

***

        I awake early to prepare. This contest is a
strange one, as it is a one-day competition. Kind of an “all or nothing”
challenge. There’s a lot riding on this for me and my impending family. Sam and
I make our way down to the beach.

        “Good luck, Mick,” she tells me. “I know you
will do great things.”

        “I love you, Sam. Truly, I do.”

        Just then, Jaime walks over with his prodigy.
He makes a face. “Aww, how cute. Love. Are you ready to lose, Mick?”

        “I am just here to surf. Nothing more, nothing
less.”

        “Are you going to use that old crappy board? Looks
like its a hundred years old.”

        “Yup.”

        Jaime laughs. “You’ve changed, man. Doesn’t bother
me. I have a nice place in my driveway picked out for my new car.”

        “An asshole to the end, eh, Jaime?”

        Jaime begins ranting and raving at me, but I have
already walked away. The beach is packed as the announcers introduce all of the
surfers on the beach. This is an invitational contest, so it’s a small field. The
waves are big today, really big. I can feel a lump in my throat as I hop in the
water to paddle out. Jaime’s prodigy, Blane, catches the first wave. He’s a
really good surfer. I’m unsure I can compete with that, but I have no choice. The
announcer calls out:

        “That was a ten-point wave, with a total score
of 9.79”

        I paddle into the next wave, cutting back as
hard as I can. This is a great one, should be a good score. Looking back, I see
the tube creeping up on me. I duck down as the wave comes overhead and surrounds
me. I stay in for as long as I can, then rocket out to the crowd, cheering and
yelling.

        “Welcome back, Mick! We’ve missed you,” the announcer
said. “9.70”

        Crap, just a little off the pace. I’m unable
to match that wave or ride for the rest of the time limit, but it’s enough to
get me to the finals. It was now a two-horse race and I am going to have to
really bring it on to win this next heat. Never have I wanted to win so badly
in my life.

        Sam is cheering as I come out of the water.

        “You were so good out there. I am so proud of
you.”

        “It wasn’t enough, Sam. It wasn’t enough.”

        “Well, it’s not over yet. You can beat this
kid.”

        Out of the corner of my eye, I spot the weasel
again. “You don’t have it anymore Mick,” Jaime says.

        “Go fuck yourself, Jaime. You are the biggest low-life
on the planet. There is no loyalty in you. I was your client for ten years. I
made you who you are, the least you can do is not be an asshole.”

        “Mick, when will you learn? It’s not where you
start, it’s where you finish. I will always win, because I have all of you
working for me. You will run out of time, or energy, or just not be good
anymore. That is where we drop you. In fact, I am kinda glad this all happened.
It saves me from having to get rid of you on my own. You were pretty much
washed up, anyway.”

        I leap to my feet and throw an errant punch at
Jaime, barely missing his face.

        “See?” he laughs. “You’re too slow to even hit
a guy like me. Goodbye… loser!”

        I have to watch him saunter away with my pride
in his hand. There is nothing I can do except beat that kid. He’s right, though—it
really doesn’t matter where I started. If I don’t win, I’m finished. I look
over to Sam as she puts her arms around me in an attempt at consolation. I have
to win. I
have
to!

        I paddle out to meet the kid for perhaps the
most important competition of my life. When I get there, he begins to speak.

        “Hey, Mick, I know this may not mean a lot,
but I am a big fan. You’re what got me in the water in the first place, and I
just wanted to say that it is a real honor to surf with you.”

        “Thanks, kid. Good luck.”

        In any other moment, those words would have
felt better. Knowing how much I had to lose, they almost stung.
        Looking out to the water I notice the waves have really shrunk in size,
which should favor me with my longer board. I watch as Blane catches the first
one. This kid is good—his kickback’s amazing. Then he does the unthinkable: he catches
air and lands it, off that tiny wave.
Shit!
I can’t do that anymore. The
score comes out over the loudspeaker.

        “9.0.”

       
Wow, low score. Why would they score him so
low?
My wave is next. It’s a decent wave that I’m able to ride relatively
well. I throw in some old school tricks, which make the crowd hoot and holler.

        “9.1.”

        I’m ahead, but not by much. The kid rides the
next wave expertly. He is such a clean, technical surfer. He’s definitely
better than I am, in this state.

        “9.5.”

        Okay, it’s performance time for me. I ride my
next few waves, unable to meet or match his score.

The horn blows. Five
minutes left. I have maybe one more chance to beat him. On his next wave, Blane
receives a 9.8, which is as high a score as I have ever achieved, even at my
best. It seems all may be for naught. I can’t beat that score. I slump into my
board and accepted defeat.

As I lift my head, I look
to shore and see Sam standing there. Her belly has started to protrude with our
unborn child. I guess I could give up, but why should I? That would be no way
to teach a child how to live. The least I can do is try.

Looking back, I see as perfect
a wave as I have seen all session. I paddle in, and it is a big, powerful,
charging wave. I make a few nice cutbacks and ride into the pipe. I realize, at
this point, I am going to have to do something magical to win. I am going to
try and air my board. I don’t know if I have the strength, but this will be my
only chance.

On my next kickback, I
power my way down the wave, increasing my speed, then cut sharply to the top of
the wave. My board comes up and off of the wave to the cheering of the crowd. For
a moment, I am weightless above the wave, looking down. I am going to land this.
I am going to land this and win the competition.

I come back down into the
wave hard, but my bum leg betrays me. As I crash down into the water, I feel numb.
I close my eyes and let the wave bounce me around, almost not wanting to
resurface. I’ve just lost the competition and about every penny I didn’t have. I
have disappointed Sam, myself, and now my unborn child. I sadly swim to the
beach to the cheering of the crowd. Everyone pats me on the back, saying how
incredible that was. This definitely puts a damper on the plan I had for Sam,
but it will not stop me from doing it.

        Blane comes up to me and shakes my hand.

        “Amazing, Mick, just amazing. You are an
inspiration to us all.”

        “Thanks, kid, you’re good, really good. You
earned that win.”

        Sam is next. She comes up from behind, hugging
and squeezing me.

        “You’re the best, Mick. We will find a way, I
promise.”

        Her reassuring words are all I need to carry
on. My life has changed so dramatically in the past few months that all I
really want is to have a little bit of money, teach surfing, and have Sam at my
side. Moments later. my happiness is broken by the appearance of Jaime.

        “Too bad, kid. Looks like you’re all washed
up.”

        A loud voice calls through the crowd and
people begin shuffling out of the way. “Step aside, please, step aside.”
Emerging from the crowd are more than ten police officers.

        “Jaime Redman?”

        “Yes?”

        “You are under arrest for grand theft and fraud.”

        “What are you talking about? This must be a
mistake.”

        “We have been investigating you for quite some
time. I assure you, there is no mistake.”

        I watch, as does the crowd, quite shocked as
they cart Jaime away. His ranting and raving continues until he’s put into the
car. Later, I learn he’s defrauding his clients out of millions of dollars by
stealing the money from trust funds and investments. I’m just one person in a
long line of people Jaime scammed.

        As the action settles, the TV cameras circle around
to interview me. Now it’s my moment.

        “Mick, what’s it like to be back surfing?”

        I grin. “I can only answer that one way.” Pulling
Sam in closely, I bend down on one knee and reach into my wetsuit where I had
placed the ring.

        “Sam, we have had our ups and downs this past
year, but you have always been the one to see me through. You give me the
strength and power to carry on the fight, day in and day out. Without you, my
life is incomplete. Money will come and go, but our love is forever. Would you
do me the honor of being my surf buddy for life?”

        Tears well up in Sam’s eyes as she covers her
mouth with her hands. Then she leans down and kisses me, whispering, “Yes.”

Chapter
28 Samantha - Tomorrow

        Mick and I have just welcomed our first child
into the world, Tobin Anderson, II. He is a beautiful baby boy, and though it
is a little tough, sometimes, we make it through our days together. When I
return from my maternity leave, I will continue to teach people how to love
surfing.

        Mick still teaches there sometimes, but he has
taken on Blane as a client in his new business representing and protecting
surfers. Several other surfers have come to him, asking him to represent them,
so that occupies most of his day. Our life is now a simple one, by design. We
live in a small house by the water and enjoy the sunsets together, the three of
us.

Our love is strong and
continues to grow every day, without love we are nothing.