The Sphere Chronicles: A Holding Kate Series Book (10 page)

Euphemia encircled Mel’s shoulders and walked her toward the door. “We may never know. But you will miss your flight if we do not get you on the road,
mi caro
.” They walked through the mansion arm in arm. “Please send us pictures when the
bambino
is born. We will have a celebration and invite the Gray Maiden to attend.”

Mel grinned and nodded. She ran her palm along the dark banister as they descended the regal marble stairs.

Mel whispered in her trail, “Farewell, Gray Maiden. Thank you for your message of hope.”

DIRK RAN ACROSS
the beach, dripping surf in his wake. He loomed over the two beach beauties and shook saltwater across their backs.

“Dirk Johnson, that is cold!” Karen Marcus whined and threw a handful of sand at him.

He plopped down in the sand beside her. “Where’s your fiancé?”

Karen pointed to the bar and checked her tan line. “He went to get some drinks.”

“Kim, the waves are perfect right now. You’re missing all the fun.” Dirk nudged Kim with his toe.

She muffled a reply into her towel and scooped her hair to fan out above her.

“Come on!” Dirk snapped the strap on her back.

Kim sat up and flipped her hair. “You are just a big child!” She grinned, folded her legs, and dug into her beach bag, scanning the white foam rolling in. She whipped her hair into a ponytail and jumped up.

“Well, come on!” She grabbed her surfboard and raced into the water.

Dirk brightened and chased after her, surfboard tucked to his side. They hit the water and slid onto the boards, paddling to deeper swells. They reached the breakpoint and straddled their boards, waiting for the perfect wave, bobbing with each ripple.

Dirk glanced back at the Royal Hawaiian Resort. The seashell-pink hotel stood in contrast against the bright azure sky. The beach, speckled with bright colors and white sand, blurred into a picture-perfect postcard. He couldn’t pick out Karen on the sand among the other sun worshipers. He licked saltwater from his lips and rode the corduroy waves.

“When is the big day?” He jerked his head back to the engaged couple.

“Three months.” Kim leaned forward, resting her elbows on her board.

“You in the wedding?”

“Of course. We’ve been best friends for years.”

“So are you the—what do you call it—honor maid?”

“Maid of honor. Yes, I am, though Mel would have been, but Karen changed her to matron of honor now that she and Donnie are married. That leaves me as maid of honor.” She flourished her hands in spirals to her sides.

“How did she take it that her baby sister got married first?”

“They all adore Donnie and knew it was inevitable. They’ve been together since middle school, did you know that?”

“Yeah, there’s not much I don’t know about them.” Dirk laughed. “We’ve been through some intense stuff together.”

Kimberly raised her eyebrows and nodded. “Yeah, I can imagine that’s true.”

“This one looks pretty good.” Dirk nodded to the approaching wave.

“No, wait for the next one.” Kim stretched to look over the ocean swell. They rode the crest and dipped down on the other side. “This one. Akaw!”

They turned around and began paddling faster as the large wave drew them into its billow. At the peak of the wave, they stood and took the drop, Dirk in the lead with Kim riding the face a bit longer before dropping in behind him. They carved the wave until it frothed off then Dirk tried a 180 and wiped out. Kim bailed in a fit of giggles and they washed up into the shallows, weak from laughter, collapsing in the froth.

“Choka,” Dirk huffed out, laying on his back in the sand as the water eddied around him.

“What was that back there?” Kim sat up and broke the leash on her ankle. “You kook!”

“Kook?” Dirk sprang up and grabbed Kim around the waist, hoisting her over his shoulder.

She squealed, “Yes, you are a kook! Show off, barney!”

“I’m no kook. You are the kook!”

“
Contraire
mon
fre’re
, I taught you how to surf. I am the local; you are just a benny! A kook!”

“Yeah, Red, I can see you are definitely a native with your bright ginger roots and freckles. How are you not sunburned perpetually, Whitie?” He tossed her into the ankle busters and dove in after her.

They took turns dunking each other and wrestling in the waves until spent, then plopped down beside their surfboards, cheeks burning from laughter. Kim dug her fingers into the wet sand and watched it drip into a pile beside her.

“Your drinks are getting warm.” Matt and Karen floated umbrella-topped beverages in front of them.

“Mmm, I forgot, thanks.” Kim took hers and slurped the icy fruit.

Dirk accepted his from Matt. Matt sat down beside him. Karen lowered herself on the other side of Kim. They slurped and watched the waves break. A gentle breeze caressed them and something roasting in a nearby pit tickled their senses.

“Dang, that smells good.” Matt turned to look at the hotel staff tending the pits. “We are gonna eat good tonight.”

“Right, the luau. I forgot that’s tonight.”

“I just want some more of that coconut shrimp we had last night.” Kim shivered in delight. “That was so good with the pineapple mango sauce.”

“Kim, your dad is so nice to let us stay.” Karen stirred her straw, breaking up the ice in the bottom of her glass.

“Yeah, the Village was going to pay to put us up. He didn’t have to do that,” Dirk agreed.

“He was happy to do it. Perks of being the hotel manager’s daughter.” She nudged Karen. “The honeymoon suite is still available for your wedding weekend if you change your mind!”

Karen cut a smoldering glance to Matt. “Matt has a surprise planned. He won’t tell me where we are going.”

“Nice, dude.” Dirk grinned at Matt and held out a fist.

Matt bumped his fist, flashed his brows, and grinned. “Hey, Dirk, walk with me.”

“See you girls later.” Dirk scrambled up and followed Matt into the east crescent.

“You know, I’ve got six brothers.”

“Yeah, I’ve met almost all of them, I think.” Dirk nodded.

“Yeah, except for Jarrod. He lives in Sydney.”

“Right.”

“Well, Karen has five bridesmaids and my brothers were going to be the groomsmen, but Mark is being shipped out next Tuesday. He won’t be back in time for the wedding. And Jarrod can’t come from Sydney. So, I know it’s sort of last minute, but we’ve worked together for years at the Village, and I consider you my best friend. Could you stand up for me at the wedding in Mark’s place?”

Dirk flashed a sparkling grin. “Dude.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Yeah, man! It’d be an honor.”

“Cool.”

“Never saw this one coming.” Dirk laughed.

“I know, right? With all my brothers, I never thought about it. But you are the only one I’d want standing with me, besides family. You practically are family.”

“Thanks, I feel the same way about you and Karen. I sure do miss you guys at the Village.”

“Yeah, Karen was telling me about the mess you guys just came through.”

Dirk’s face fell.

“She said you were sent back to the insect world.”

Dirk swallowed and clenched his jaw. “It was…” He looked down at his feet. “No words, man. It was brutal.”

“I can’t believe they didn’t send a team in to clean that place out after what happened on our first jump.” Matt kicked at a shell.

“They shut it down. There wasn’t supposed to be a way back to it. But this one guy…”

“I still don’t understand how he did that.”

“Me either. I’m just glad no one died this time,” Dirk’s voice rasped, husky and strained.

Matt placed a hand on his shoulder. “Me, too, man.”

“It was close. Two girls were stung and a guy.”

“What?” Matt’s face creased into lines of horror. “How? I can’t believe it!”

“Yeah, one of the jumpers had a vial of medication in his pack. It cured them instantly, or we’d have been right back where we were eleven years ago.”

“Jeez.”

They sauntered along the beach, listening to the waves roll in.

“Karen wants to return to the Village when she completes her internship and accreditation.” Matt shook his head. “I just don’t know.”

“You know it’s home to you guys. You belong there.”

Matt shrugged. “It is. But I don’t know if I want to raise a family there if that kind of danger is still going on.”

Dirk huffed. “It’s an ideal place to raise a family. They don’t have to be involved with the jumps. With Karen’s counseling degree and your quantum mechanics degree, you guys would be a power couple there.” Dirk turned toward Matt. “Besides, the infiltrator is gone. He’s no longer affecting the jumps. It will be back to business as usual by now.”

“We’ve got some time to think about it.” Matt resumed his strolling.

“Right, you don’t have to decide until next year.”

“Enough about me. When are you going to make your move on Kim, eh?”

Dirk grinned. “Who says I haven’t?” He punched Matt in the arm and took off running back down the beach toward the hotel. “Last one back buys the wine for dinner!”

The remnants of the luau feast spread before them, and the tiki torches flickered across their sun-drenched skin. They’d watched the sunset, stuffed themselves with mahi-mahi, poi, Kalua Pua’a, Polynesian chicken wrapped in laulau, and a diabetic-coma-inducing selection of decadent desserts.

Sipping Mai Tais and Blue Hawaiians, they watched the native dancers wiggle and leap across the stage, jumped up and joined in the hilarity when invited, and leaned into each other’s shoulders as the night wore on. When the show ended and the revelers moved to the dance floor, Karen and Kim kicked off their heels, wrapped arms around the boys, and headed for a moonlight stroll along the beach.

Dirk snagged a fiery-hued hibiscus bloom and tucked it behind Kim’s ear as they passed under the floral-draped arch leading onto the sandy strand. “It matches your hair,” he whispered, wondering if the blush spreading across her cheeks originated with the drinks, the dance, or too much sun. They followed Karen and Matt from a distance.

“Thanks, Dirk.” She lay her head on his shoulder as they slowly inched along the beach. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“Why didn’t you go to Galapagos with the others?”

Dirk furrowed his brow. “I don’t know. We’d been planning this trip for a long time. Why would I back out?”

“I don’t know. I just thought a trip like that comes once in a lifetime, you know? It just seems like it would have been a more reasonable choice. And…” she hesitated.

“And?”

“You and Tara seemed to be getting closer and closer.”

“Oh. She’s awesome and all.”

“And gorgeous.”

“And fierce.”

“Yeah.” Kim’s voice wafted into the surf as she turned her face away.