As Blue as the Sky Page 7

  She laughed, imagining a whole island covered with sea lions. “I can’t believe I’ve driven this road countless times for the Baja 1000, either as pit crew or relay driver, and I’ve never heard all of this.” She felt a twinge in her heart as she noticed the beauty and serenity of the water, wondering why she’d never noticed it before.

  “Well, I guess you have to be going slow enough to notice,” Kyle said.

  “Ouch,” she said. “That hurt.”

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to poke. I guess I just think there’s more to life than going through the whole thing at high RPM’s. Faster isn’t always better.”

  She looked at his hands in the two and ten position on the steering wheel, noticing that his eyes were usually facing right on the road. Did this guy ever have any fun? Faster may not always be better, but she wasn’t old and dead yet. A little more excitement was her speed. At least, that’s what she’d always thought.

  They passed the final two islands, Encantada itself and the largest, Isla San Luis, and headed the last few miles to Gonzaga Bay. They turned west and followed what looked like an air strip, finally reaching the end, almost to the water, where the view opened up into a beautiful bay surround by mountains at the mouth. She drew a quick breath in, startled by the calm waters and rough, desert mountains that plunged in sheer walls of stone into the water. “It’s beautiful,” she said, her eyes not leaving the water.

  “It is, isn’t it?” Kyle said, as he turned left, following the single row of houses that covered a spit jutting out into the water.

  “Are those airplanes?” she said, sure that the surprise that she felt was clear in her voice.

  “Yes,” Kyle said, turning his gaze to where she was pointing. “There was a time when most homeowners had to fly down here from San Diego or Calexico. The road we just traveled on for an hour and a half is new. It used to take almost seven hours to drive just from San Felipe. A long time, plus a pretty rough road. Only the hardiest of souls would try to do it on a regular basis.”

  “So that’s what the air strip is for,” she said quietly, marveling at this new information. “I had no idea.”

  “You’ve been saying that a lot lately.” He pulled up in front of what looked to Jessica to be an older, very tropical two story hotel and restaurant. The rustic sign in front read Alfonsina’s, and there was actually a parking section for small airplanes, two parked there now.

  “Do people just come down for lunch? Fly down?” She craned her neck backwards to look at the airplanes parked outside the restaurant.

  “Sure. I’ve met some really interesting people in the restaurant who’ve just flown down for Sunday brunch or a margarita,” he said as he climbed out of the car. “We can just fish off shore here. I usually catch something. I thought about a boat, but not sure how you’d do in a panga, with your wrist a mess and your foot still sore.”

  “I’m happy to hold down a beach chair under an umbrella and be the fishing assistant, Cap’n,” she said, raising her braced hand to her forehead and hitting it a little too hard. “Ouch,” she said, her face scrunched up.

  “I hope you’re a better fishing assistant than a subordinate officer. Skip the saluting. It’s safer, probably.” His laugh started the butterflies in her stomach, and she climbed out of the truck, feeling the warm breeze in her hair. She looked around, wondering if people did this kind of thing often in the middle of the day, on a day right before a race.

  Jess sipped a cold soda that he’d bought from Alfonsina’s while he pounded an umbrella in the sand with the rubber mallet. He’d brought a big umbrella and two chairs and was grateful that it wasn’t a particularly windy day as he set up the chairs on the beach of Gonzaga Bay. The restaurant behind them, they had the whole beach to themselves, with just a couple of people paddle boarding further out. Just before the Baja 250, there wouldn’t be too many people around as the race route was further inland and he was grateful for the solitude.

  “I guess I am pretty much of a loner,” he said as she walked up under the umbrella, setting down the beach bag that he’d packed with towels and his tackle box. He’d already asked at the restaurant if they’d cook the fish he caught, so he was hopeful that he’d actually catch something.

  He tried to keep his eyes straight ahead as he noticed Jessica settling down under the umbrella in her bathing suit. She’d taken her cover-up off and the suit bore into his eyes as he noticed again just how pretty she was. She wasn’t especially tall, but she wasn’t petite either. He chuckled to himself, wondering if any girl would appreciate being described as ‘not exactly petite’, but what he actually thought as he looked at her was that she looked feminine — very feminine in her white bathing suit — but strong and capable at the same time. Except for the brace, which seemed to give her a great deal of aggravation.

  “Darn this thing,” she said as she struggled to arrange the towel she’d brought. “It really cramps my style, Kyle. When can I take it off?”

  He let out a deep sigh, dropping his head in frustration. “I’ve told you already. You should wear it for at least a month, and shouldn’t ride. But especially wear it if you do.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and saw her wrestle her curly hair into a pony-tail before her hands fell to her hips, her chin jutting forward.

  “I’m not sure I’ll be able to ride with it, and it’ll impact how well I can race.”

  “You know I don’t think you should race at all, and not even ride for at least another week,” he said as he threw his first cast into the calm waters. “If you do, it will definitely be against doctor’s orders.”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time,” she said under her breath as she watched him get a strike and reel in his line.

  “What did you say?” He watched as the line tightened and he reeled it in slowly, pulling the pole up a little bit each time before he did.

  “Nothing. Never mind. What do you have against racing, anyway? You seem adamant about my not doing it.”

  Kyle frowned as he reeled in his empty line. “Lost it, and it took my hook, too,” he said as he sat down in the chair, sipping his beer and reaching in his tackle box for another hook.

  “I really need to know what your problem is about racing, Kyle. I don’t get it. It’s one thing not to want to do it yourself, but another thing entirely to want to stop everybody else from doing it.”

  He looked down at his hands as he tied a new hook on his line. He glanced at Jessica as she sat next to him, her expression intent. This wasn’t a girl he could ignore, and he was positive it wasn’t a question he was going to be able to get out of answering.

  With a sigh, he said, “I used to ride. Race, too, and I loved it. Somebody I knew was in a racing accident and died.”

  He heard her sharp intake of breath as her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, that’s awful. I ... I didn’t know.”

  The familiar knot of pain gathered in his heart as he spoke and he wondered if it would ever get easier. “It was a long time ago, but I gave up racing — and riding — altogether and haven’t looked back.”

  “I assume that’s why you don’t like to speed, and are such a careful driver?” she asked, resting her hand on his.

  The warmth of her touch made his hand tingle, and he stared at her hand over his, surprised. He looked up at her, her eyes soft and her compassionate expression making her look younger, somehow. At that moment, her steely resolve and determination were nowhere in sight.

  “Yes. I vowed to go slow, take it safe, and not put myself or anyone else in danger.”

  “Were you in the accident, too?” she said, reaching into the ice chest for a soda. “Were you hurt?”

  Kyle stood, his hook firmly back in place on his line, and cast again into the blue water. The seagulls rose all at once, moving to another spot, the loud flapping of their wings creating ripples on the calm water.

  “No, I wasn’t. I got to the hospital after the accident, and only got to talk to her once. She was racing, and flipped. Al
most just like you did, but she hit her head so hard, even with her helmet on, that she had severe head trauma.”

  Jess had walked up beside him and looped her arm through his. “She slipped into a coma and never came back out before she died.” He felt her shudder as he continued.

  “I have wondered since then if there was something I could have done. Something I should have done, and didn’t,” he said. He quickly started reeling his line in, trying to shake the memory, as Jessica took a step away.

  “I am sure there’s nothing you could have done. Was she doing something wrong?”

  He shook his head slowly as he re-cast his line. “No, it was just a freak accident.” He turned to her, resting his hand on her shoulder. “And that’s what I’ve been trying to explain. It’s just a dangerous sport, and anything could happen at any time. Especially in a race, where people usually take extra chances. To win.”

  “Kyle, I don’t do that. I’m very good at what I do. I want to win, sure, but I think I do take pretty good care of myself. I’m cautious.”

  He searched her face as she spoke, and his eyebrows rose as he saw that she truly believed what she’d just said. “Intending to be safe and cautious doesn’t make it so. There are a whole lot of variables you’re not in charge of,” he said, turning back to the water. “As evidenced by the black brace on. Your wrist.”

  He felt more than heard her sigh as she turned and walked through the sand back to her chair, sitting down and crossing her arms over her chest. “I guess there’s nothing I can say or do to make you understand,” she said, pride and determination once again taking over her face.

  “No, probably not,” he said as his line tugged one again and he started reeling it in.

  Chapter 15

  Jess’s head whirled all the way home from Gonzaga Bay. The fishing trip had been fun, although she couldn’t do much except sit on the shore under the umbrella he’d planted in the sand. The cool water on her feet kept her comfortable as he caught fish after fish and she placed them in the bucket he’d brought, laughing as they squirmed in her hands. She’d dropped a couple, and she and Kyle had raced to catch them.

  They’d taken the bucket of fish to Alfonsina’s, asking for a few fish tacos each and donating the rest. As a result, they’d gotten a free meal of fish tacos, beans and rice and a margarita thrown in for good measure. They’d laughed as they ate, talking about anything not related to racing or riding, and found they had a fair bit in common. She had thought during their late lunch, with no agenda or timeline, that it had been one of the most fun and relaxing days she’d had. Ever.

  It had taken a while for Kyle’s mood to lighten once he’d spoken of the accident. As she leaned her head against the window on the way home, she thought how horrible that must have been. She hadn’t asked any details about the girl, and she wondered how close they had been, although it was clearly close enough to have changed his life. And left a gaping wound.

  They’d fallen quiet on the ride home, and she glanced over at Kyle. That tingling sensation returned in her chest as she looked at him objectively for the first time in a long time. His blond, wavy hair was blowing in the wind from his open window, his green eyes intent on the road. The sight of his strong hands and muscular arms made the tingles sharper as she remembered what his hands had felt like on her the first time they’d met.

  She shook her head quickly, hoping those thoughts would go. But they didn’t. Every time she saw him, they got stronger and more frequent. After today, and the pain she saw in his eyes as he shared his story, she knew that nothing could ever come of it with racing in between them. She rested her head back on the window, and slept as they sped north, back to the racing team, back to reality.

  “There’s my girl,” Jess’s father said as Kyle brought the car to a stop next to the garage at her house. They’d been silent for the last half hour, and she’d watched the sparkling water rush past her window thinking of all they’d talked about. As she saw her father walk toward them, a familiar steely resolve came over her, and all she wanted to do was to see the quad and hear about how the repairs were going.

  “Hi, Dad.” She hopped out of the car as he opened the door for her and wrapped his arms around her in a big hug. “How are things going?” she said, almost holding her breath waiting for his response.

  Cade poked his head out of the garage as they neared it, a grin from ear to ear. “Hey, Jess, how was it?”

  Her palms prickled as she glanced at Kyle, who was looking around her intently. “Yeah, how was it, Jess?” he said, his eyes flickering with laughter. He raised an eyebrow as he waited for her response, a grin on his lips.

  “It was fine. Lovely,” she said quickly, wanting to leave it behind as quickly as possible. With all that they’d talked about, she was uncomfortable knowing that she reminded him of things he’d rather not think about. She wasn’t the girl he’d talked about, and she didn’t want to feel like she had any responsibility to be anyone other than who she was.

  “The bike’s ready to roll, Jess,” her father said as he led her into the garage. She saw the familiar blue and white quad, new sponsor decals attached, all buffed and beautiful. “Good as new after a lot of patching and fixing.” He rubbed a final smudge off the fender and tossed the rag to Cade, who caught it although he was watching Jessica intently.

  Jess smiled at her father and walked to the quad, running her hands over the body work and bending to look at the handiwork below the gas tank.

  Mr. McNally returned her smile and squinted at her brace. He turned to Kyle and said, “Still wearing the brace, I see.” His face darkened. “She won’t be ready to race?”

  Kyle took his eyes off of Jessica and met Mr. McNally’s gaze. “I’ve been up front with Jess and told her that I don’t believe she should ride at all. But if she does, she’d need to do so with the brace on.” He cleared his throat as Jessica stood and turned toward both of them.

  “I did hear you say that. I guess I need to talk to the team about it, but I still think you’re over-reacting.” She bent back down over the quad, checking connections and hoses.

  “No, I don’t think any of you are listening,” Kyle said. “I really don’t.”

  “Dad, what’s this hose here? I remember there being a smaller one, but not a red one like this.” She tugged at the tube as her father walked over, leaning down and peering at what she was holding.

  “Oh, that’s just the gas line. It’s a different color because that’s the only tubing we could get down here and didn’t have any in the van. Somebody used it and didn’t replace it, as usual.”

  She laughed and stood up, turning to answer Kyle, but he was gone. It was just her and her race team in the garage, and she was sorry she hadn’t been able to thank him for a great time.

  She shook her head, glancing into the distance behind him. As she turned back to the quad, she said, “Cade, what do you think. Are we ready to roll?”

  Chapter 16

  Kyle had opened all the windows of the car to blow his thoughts out of his head. Yeah, he’d left Jessica’s in a hurry, but after seeing her turn so quickly back into the racer, he’d just wanted to get out of there. During the last few days, he’d seen a side of her that had just evaporated into thin air when she’d seen the quad and the team, and he wanted no part of it.

  He decided to drive up to see Cassie and Alex as he wasn’t quite ready to go back home alone yet. He’d be almost all the way to town and could go in to check with Dr. Gomez and see if he needed any help during race weekend.

  He rolled up onto the sand, seeing Cassie’s red four-wheel drive vehicle over by the entrance to the sanctuary. He saw her, her feet in the sand and her arms wrapped around her knees as she looked out into the gentle waves.

  She looked up and smiled as he plopped down beside her, throwing his flip-flops aside and wiggling his toes in the warm sand. She laughed as she patted his knee. “You always did love the feel of the sand between your toes, even when we were little.�
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  “Yeah, and I loved throwing you in the water, too. Especially if you still had your clothes on and not your bathing suit.” He reached toward her elbow as she pushed him away, her eyes wide and her hair blowing as she slid further from him.

  “Don’t you dare,” she said. “I’ll tell your mom.”

  His head fell back as he laughed, a deep happiness to his voice that he himself hadn’t heard for quite a long time. “Good one. She’s not here, and we’re grown up. So I just won’t do it because I love you. How’s that?” he said.

  “Thanks. I really appreciate that.”

  “It’s great to see you, Cassie.” He picked up a handful of sand and transferred it back and forth between his hands. “What?” he said when he noticed her staring at him.

  “I’ve known you my whole life, Kyle.”

  “That’s certainly stating the obvious,” he said, dropping the sand back onto the beach and wiping his hands on his shorts. “Hard not to since we’re practically siblings.”

  She smiled and laid her hand over his knee. “Very funny, and don’t try to brush this aside with humor, like you always do. And don’t run away, either.”

  “Uh-oh. You’re implying there’s something I need to be prepared to run away from, right?” He stood and walked toward the beach, the cool water washing over his feet as he shaded his eyes, looking for a porpoise.

  “You won’t see any right now. They’re at the far end of the sanctuary, cordoned off. So, I have something to say,” she continued, “and I want you to just listen.”

  He turned as she walked up behind him, his eyes lowered as he waited for what was to come next. Just like his sister, Taylor, Cassie had always been able to read his emotions, tell what he was thinking. He thought he’d just wanted to say hello when he came to visit, but maybe this is what he needed after all. He braced himself to listen to whatever she had to share.