Worth It All(79)

They didn’t speak for a while after that, didn’t need to. More classics came on the radio and they sang along or just listened. And with her hand in his, they sped along Highway One, windows down, hair blowing, and the smell of the sea in the air.

An hour later, Jake parked in an open area at the top of a steep ravine. She’d seen the ocean, stretching blue and endless from the car, but now she could feel it. The enormity and movement of it pulled her gaze left and right as the power of it pounded in her chest. The white foam contrasted with the vivid blue where it crashed against half-submerged boulders. “It’s beautiful.”

Jake wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Something on your to-do list.”

Casey stood in front of her, for once speechless. Paige’s heart expanded as she imagined the picture they made and then even more when Jake pressed his lips to the top of her head.

“Come on. It gets better.”

The trail down was narrow and barely visible through the thick vegetation. Jake carefully picked his way down the steep path made uneven with rocks and small plants and shrubs. But even with his prosthesis, he was more sure-footed than she was in thin-soled sandals. He carried the backpack with food on his back and a blanket under one arm.

She also had a blanket under her arm. Might be more useful tied under her butt. She considered taking her sandals off, but the ground was covered in prickly-looking things. Casey walked a few steps in front of her. “Do you want me to carry you, Case?”

“No. I can do it.”

Of course she could. If Jake could do it, she could do it.

He held his hand out to steady her. “Almost there.”

“You’ve been here before?”

“A few times.”

She was hit with a sudden pang of jealousy and it must have shown.

“Always by myself,” he said, and her possessive heart warmed.

The trail was even thicker the last few steps, but then her feet reached the sand and she froze. The crashing waves were louder here at the bottom and the cool mist blew strongly on the wind.

Jake took a towel out of the bag and changed into a new prosthesis he’d already explained was designed specifically for water. Casey didn’t have one of these yet, but he assured her it was okay to wear the one she did have into the ocean. Within minutes the three of them ran into the frothy tide, one on either side of Casey, holding her hands.

—

JT smiled, listening to the girls laugh and squeal as they ran in and out of the chilly surf. But then everything about Paige and Casey made him smile. He didn’t remember seeing the ocean for the first time, but he’d always remember this. The joy on their faces, their eyes light with excitement.

The water was too cold for them to swim. Water temperature in the mid-sixties was a long way from the low eighties of Virginia Beach where he’d spent his summer days as a child. They gathered sticks and other items washed onshore and went to work on a sand castle. When Casey flicked sand in her eyes, he went back to the bag for a towel.

As he walked toward them, Paige glanced over her shoulder at him, just a simple turn of her head, and time stopped. It was a swift, hard punch to his chest, realizing how much he loved her. Both of them. They filled a hole in him that he’d made himself, or maybe he’d always had it. But he felt fixed, healed, a better version of himself than he’d ever been.

She gave him a curious look, then left her sand castle and came to him. Her arms circled his waist and she looked up at him, her chin on his chest. “What is it?”

“Nothing. Having fun?”

“So much fun.” She smiled. “I think Casey might take a nap, and then I could have even more fun.” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively, or tried to, and he laughed.

“I’m all for more fun.”

They finished their castle, a haphazard structure that ended up covered in dirt and rocks. After a quick dip to rinse off the sand, he coaxed Casey into lying down on her quilt. Now that she’d finally stopped moving, there was a lot of yawning going on. He pointed out the moon, faint in the late-afternoon sky, and told her a constellation story, guessing at the facts and completely making up the rest. She was asleep in minutes.

“Hey,” Paige called softly. “You asleep over there?”

He rolled to face her where she lay a few feet away on the other quilt. “Nope.” He stood, pulled Casey’s quilt into the shade, then made his way to Paige.

She smiled up at him, looking all sun-kissed and tousled and beautiful. Her blond hair was messy and tangled from the wind. Her cheeks had a glow he’d never seen before, and her eyes were clearer. He wanted to keep her here always. “You need me to help you fall asleep too?” he asked, lying down beside her.