From This Moment On: Heartwarming Contemporary Romance (Windswept Bay Book 1) (10 page)

“Where are you going?” she asked when they reached the parking lot and she headed toward her Jeep and he went in the opposite direction.

He grinned. “I have wheels today. I decided relying solely on the kindness of others while I was here wasn’t fitting me, so Horace took me to see his friend Charlie, who owns Charlie’s Used Cars and Rentals, and I bought a Jeep of my own.”

“You did not.” She gasped.

He laughed at her disbelief. “I did. And why do you look so shocked?”

“Charlie’s is a rent-a-wreck place.”

“Now, don’t go calling my Jeep names before you’ve seen her.”

“Her, huh? Let me find her.” She scanned the lot and immediately stopped on the twenty-year-old, faded, light-blue Jeep with one white front fender and an unpainted patch on the rear fender. If that wasn’t enough to set it apart, it also had jacked up off-road tires that were made for exploring. A bubble of laughter spontaneously escaped Cali and she pointed. “An educated guess.”

“Don’t laugh. She may look less than gorgeous but boy can she crawl over rock crevices. Come on, hop in.”

“Hop being the literal term here,” Cali drawled, staring at the seat that was about chest high.

“Do you need me to give you a lift?” He moved to stand beside her and shot her a grin. To his joy, she gave him a cute look of scorn and then grabbed the roll bar. Just before she climbed into the seat, she frowned. “Maybe you need to look the other way. I was not intending to climb Pikes Peak today in this sundress.”

He glanced at the dress that hit her about mid-thigh. “Yup, I see what you mean. I can put you up there—”

“I can do it. Turn, please.”

He sighed and looked away.

“Okay, you can hop in.”

She sat in the passenger seat, her skirt flirting dangerously high on her thighs.

“That was quick.” He jogged around and climbed behind the wheel. He grinned at her, feeling more uplifted than he’d been in months. And it felt good.

As they drove along the beach road and into town, Cali felt that same sense of exhilaration sitting beside Grant that she’d felt from almost the first moment of meeting him. She loved that he’d bought such a road-worn Jeep to travel around on the island. He had the means to have bought a brand-new Jeep and then resell it for a loss if he’d been inclined to. But no, he’d bought one of Charlie’s cheap rent-a-wrecks. And the result was that he looked perfectly at home on the island now. He fit in as if he’d been here forever. He wore an old straw cowboy hat that shaded his eyes and reminded her of a country music video of Kenny Chesney riding around on an island in a topless Jeep. Like Kenny, fitting in with island life when he liked to relax, Grant seemed to do the same.

“You seem really relaxed and happy this morning,” she said as the salty breeze kissed her skin and streamed through her hair as they rode down the narrow road.

“I am. This island is beautiful. I’m glad I came. I did a little exploring yesterday. Getting the first painting done was a good thing.

“How are you? We haven’t talked much really since the day you were on my balcony.”

She didn’t want to go there right now. “I’m fine. Let’s not go there right now.”

“You were crying.”

And you nearly kissed me.
“You captured something that touched me. That’s it. I’m a girl. Girls cry.”

“We’re going to talk about it.” He pulled into the parking lot of the kayak rental business located beside a lagoon. It was a popular place for tourists.

“Really, Grant. I don’t want to. And especially not here in this busy parking lot.”

“Oh, no, we’ll talk later, but we will talk. This is what I want to show you.”

He climbed out of the Jeep and though she was confused as to why they were here, she followed him.

“What are we doing here?” She went to stand beside him on the boardwalk leading along the side of the building around to the back where the entrance and lagoon access was.

“We’re going for a ride.”

It had been a long time but she’d been down the lagoon many times growing up. It wove through the Windswept Bay interior and to the ocean. “But I thought you had found something to paint?”

“I have, but I’m still looking for what will be the best. Earlier today, I was talking to Jax, the owner of Lagoon Adventures, and he piqued my interest. He told me of some cool places the lagoon runs past.”

She’d been having fun but now she looked down at her dress and then back at him. “I’m not exactly dressed for kayaking. You could have asked me if I wanted to do this.”

He looked shamefaced. “I was afraid you’d say no.”

“I can still say no,” she pointed out, feeling her irritation evaporating when he grinned at her. The man was too appealing.

“Yes you can, but I’m hoping you won’t. I promise.”

He held out his hand to her. She told herself that he would be leaving and that for now she could just enjoy being around him while he was here. That he would leave and she’d have used him as a trial for moving into a new segment of her life. Shar and Jillian were right; she did need to move forward. And Grant was an amazing man, with an amazing career, and knowing he would leave was like a…a safety net of sorts.

Life was full of risks. She could do this.

She slipped her hand in his. “Let’s have another adventure.”

“That’s my girl.” He winked at her.

Suddenly she wasn’t sure whether she’d just made a mistake. Being his girl sounded far too perfect.

They headed to the outside window, where a young man waited. “You came back,” he said to Grant.

“I told you you’d given me a great idea yesterday. I just needed to bring my friend. Do you know each other?”

The young man was sandy-haired and had the look of a surfer. He looked slightly familiar to her but Cali didn’t know him. “I don’t think we’ve met but you do look familiar. I’m Cali Sinclair.”

His green eyes lit up. “You own the resort. My girl works there. I’m Jax, by the way.” He held out his hand and she shook it.

“Who is your girlfriend?”

“Blair Baines. She works with your sister in the gardens. She loves it.”

This was a part of being back that Cali loved. Knowing they were supplying jobs for the islanders and that they were enjoying those jobs made her feel good. Knowing that they could make it even better pushed her to work harder. “If she’s working with Jillian, then Blair is learning from the best.”

“She says the same thing. So, you two ready to take a ride on the lagoon?”

“We’re ready,” Grant said. “I want to show Cali something around the building. We’ll be right back.”

“Sure thing.”

The look in Grant’s eyes caused anticipation to fill her. The man was always causing something like that to happen. He took her hand and led her toward the end of the building. “This place is cool. It not only has lagoon access but also on the backside it has beach access.” He turned the corner and she saw the beach down the sloping hill.

When they rounded the corner, Cali gasped when she saw the gorgeous mural on the wall. It was of a large wave; a surfer was in the tunnel and several others were watching it from the water. But it was the various blue hues of the water that was spectacular. Not Grant Ellington spectacular but it was wonderful.

“It’s wonderful.” She repeated what she’d thought. Walking over, she touched it. “This reminds me of your work.”

“I thought so too. I was jogging down the beach yesterday evening when I spotted it. The kid painted it.”

“Oh wow. Did you ask him about it?”

“No, I wanted you to see it first. You brought me here to paint something amazing and it looks to me like you’ve got the talent right on the island.”

She looked at him sharply. “Are you wanting out?”

His eyes crinkled at the edges. “No, but I would like to ask you if you’d mind if I asked Jax to help with the painting. I hate to see his talent not be recognized.”

His proposal stunned her. “You’d do that?”

“I need some help on the big project, if I can get it, and I like to encourage people to use their talent.”

She loved the idea. “Sure, ask him. I can’t believe I hadn’t seen this. But I’ve been away for several years.”

They walked back around the building and waited on Jax to get another couple into their kayak. After they had paddles in hand and were moving down the lagoon, he turned back to them, running a hand through his shoulder-length hair.

“Ready?”

Grant nodded. “First I’d like to talk about the stunning mural on this building that you painted.”

“Sure.” He shrugged. “And thanks, I just tried it. But it’s not the best. It’s not an Ellington.”

Grant laughed. “Well, it’s close. Maybe a little crude in a few areas and maybe not the right technique to preserve it for years, but for the wood you painted it on, it’s great.”

Questions filled Jax’s eyes. “Man, you sound like you know what you’re talking about.”

Cali smiled. “He does.”

Grant still didn’t say his name and Cali realized that with his cap and shades, even someone who knew what he looked like might not recognize him. “You have talent, Jax. Did you take lessons?”

He shrugged. “Nah, no money for that. I just saw a great picture of a building online and it got me in the gut and I decided to try it.”

Grant laughed, a big, robust laugh that made her chuckle and goose bumps to shiver across her skin. It was obvious Grant was having a great time with this.

“You are amazing, Jax. Do you know how much talent it takes to pick up a brush and paint something like that? Your scale is great. Your eye is good. You should pursue it.”

“Thanks, man. But, it’s not like doing that is going to pay my bills or anything. I’m into making a living. I plan to ask Blair to marry me soon and this business pays my bills.”

Cali couldn’t take it any longer. “Jax, this is Grant Ellington and he loves your work.”

Jax looked startled and then squinted; she saw recognition dawn.

“Holy smokes, it is you.”

“It’s good to meet you, Jax. And I’ve got to tell you that if my work inspired you to pick up a brush, then I’m pumped by that.”

“Wow, man. You’re excellent.”

“You’re excellent. You could be better than me if you took to it.”

Jax looked at them in disbelief. “You’re really serious, aren’t you?”

“Oh, I am without doubt. And I’d like to make you a proposition. I’m here, about ready to paint a couple of murals at the resort. I need an assistant. I’d pay you and you’d get some experience.”

“Seriously?”

The kid liked that word.

Grant nodded. “Why don’t you come by tomorrow and we’ll talk after I show you what we’d be up against.”

“Sure, man. I’ve got to at least hear you out.”

“Sounds like a plan. Now we’ll head out and see what magic waits for us down the lagoon.”

Jax grinned. “Have fun. I still can’t believe you’re here.”

“One day someone could be saying the same thing about you.”

Cali loved it. She took Grant’s hand and cautiously got into the front seat of the two-seater kayak. With her skirt, it took some maneuvering not to embarrass herself but in the end she made it without flipping the kayak and dumping herself into the water. Within a few minutes, they were headed down the lagoon. The green foliage was a canopy above their heads and the sounds of the forest once again took over around them. And the peacefulness surrounded them.

But she was far from peaceful. Grant had just shown her another side of him and the man just kept getting better and better. But she was touched by the fact that he didn’t just act humble; he was. “Are you going to give Jax a credit for working on the murals?”

“Of course. He’ll learn a lot on these projects. And if he’s as good as it looks like he is, then he can gain some great recognition. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to be doing this project for you but the thought of helping a guy out who has absolutely no idea how good he is is cool.”

“You love giving back.”

“I do. Paying it forward with an overlooked artist makes me happy. Jax is the perfect example of someone who is underutilizing his talent. And, this means a lot to me.”

She knew he was thinking about the men who’d died. “I can understand that. Artists come from all over to paint here. I think it’s a wonderful idea.”

They let the lagoon take them along then, and for a little while they were quiet. It dawned on Cali that it had been a very long time since she just relaxed. Hiking to the falls had been beautiful but it had been a hike. This was effortless. Yes, they were in a kayak with paddles but the lagoon was doing the work.

The only problem that she could see with the situation was that when the lagoon did the work, that left more time for her to think. And she was thinking about the intriguing man sitting behind her.

Chapter Eleven

“So, how does it feel to be a part of such a large family?” Grant knew that Cali’s family was huge and he needed something to talk about. Sitting behind her in the kayak, he found his attention constantly on her russet curls and the graceful movements of her arms as she dipped her paddle into the water. She was no stranger to kayaking but that wasn’t what his mind kept getting stuck on… He kept thinking about how she’d felt in his arms. He kept thinking about everything about her.