Slate returned with a glass and handed it to her. “You good? Need anything else?”
“No, I’m good, thanks.”
“Don’t sit in the sun too long, babe. You’ll burn,” he told her, then leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I’m gonna go chat with the guys a bit.”
“You aren’t going to watch the competition?” she asked, looking up at him.
He smiled. “Not my thing,” he said easily.
“Oh, you should’ve said something,” Ashlyn said worriedly.
“I’m happy simply being with you, doesn’t matter what we’re doing. And if you want to see a surfing competition, I’ll bend over backward to bring you to see a surfing competition.”
“Even if the traffic drives you crazy? And all the tourists?”
“Yup. Let me know if you need anything,” he said, nodding at Elodie, then heading for where Mustang, Jag, and the other guys were standing.
“The two of you are so cute,” Elodie gushed. “I never would’ve thought it back when you guys first met. Considering how you were always at each other’s throats.”
“Yeah, well, he’s still in his ‘take care of Ashlyn’ mode. I’m sure we’ll go back to bickering soon,” she said, taking a sip of the juice Slate had brought her.
“Wait a minute…is that a ring?!” Elodie exclaimed.
Ashlyn grinned and held up her hand for Carly and Elodie. “Yeah. He proposed officially last night.”
“It’s about time! He’s been calling you his fiancée ever since you left the hospital,” Elodie said.
“When are you getting married?” Carly asked.
Ashlyn shrugged. “No clue. We haven’t talked about details. But honestly, it doesn’t matter to me. I don’t need a huge ceremony. I just want to spend the rest of my life with Slate.”
“I know the feeling,” Elodie said with a smile.
“Happy for you guys,” Carly said.
“Thanks.”
A comfortable silence fell over the women, then Elodie asked, “How’s James doing?”
“He’s good. He felt guilty about what happened for a while, but I think I’ve finally got him out of that funk. Slate getting him connected with that veterans group was one of the best things for him. The meetings get him out of the house more, and thinking about something other than what happened.”
“And is the new home health aide working out?” Elodie asked.
“Yeah. James was very reluctant to have anyone come into the house at first, but it was Slate who actually talked him into it.”
“How?” Carly asked.
“By personally interviewing each of the applicants and basically scaring the shit out of them. Telling them if they so much as laid a finger in anger on his friend, or took something as small as a Q-tip from the house, they’d have him to deal with.”
“Oh, Lord,” Elodie said with a laugh. “I’m surprised anyone took the job.”
“I was too. But I guess after hearing what happened to James, and me, the guy who finally took the position looked Slate in the eye, and promised over his dead body would anyone ever hurt James again.”
“Wow, yeah, okay, I guess that’s good.”
“Yeah. And the new guy is a Navy vet himself. And has a huge Hawaiian ohana, family, here on the island. He takes James over to his house every Sunday to hang out and eat with all of them. He’s a sweetheart, and I’m thrilled for James.”
“That’s awesome,” Elodie said with a smile.
Ashlyn nodded, then heard the guys calling out greetings to someone behind her. She turned to see a man she’d only met a couple times enter the yard. She put down her drink and got up to greet him.
Baker looked good, as usual. He wore a pair of board shorts and a T-shirt that didn’t hide all the tattoos on his arms. His salt-and-pepper hair was messy as usual, as if he’d just stepped off the beach after surfing all day, which probably wasn’t a huge stretch.
She had to wait her turn, as Baker was currently having his back slapped and shaking hands with the guys. When the macho greetings were done, Ashlyn approached.
Baker hugged her gently, as if she was made of glass. Smiling, she tightened her hold, squeezing him hard.
“Easy, woman,” he warned as he pulled back.
Ashlyn rolled her eyes. She felt Slate’s hand on her back as he came up behind her.
“Thank you so much for all this,” she said, gesturing to the yard and the view of the bay behind her.
“Of course. I know the family who owns the house. He used to be a famous surfer, and he owed me one.”
Ashlyn wasn’t surprised at that. She had no idea what it was Baker had done for the owner of the house, but she didn’t really care. She was happy to be away from the large crowds of locals and tourists below, all competing for the best viewing spots on the beach to watch the competition.
As she stood back and watched Baker greet the other women, a thought occurred to Ashlyn. When everyone had finished saying their hellos, she asked, “Where’s Jody?”
Ashlyn could feel her friends’ eyes on her. They’d talked about it some, about the woman Baker seemed to like, but the man himself never discussed her. She supposed she probably should’ve been more discreet when asking, but she’d learned the hard way how short life was. And she wanted Baker to be as happy as his friends were.
To her surprise, Baker didn’t blow off the question. “She’s down at the beach, workin’.”
“Working?”
“Yeah. Volunteering. Making sure the surfers get water and snacks when they need it. But more than that, she’s keepin’ an eye on her kids.”
“Her kids?” Lexie asked.
“The high school surfers. Everyone comes out to the beach to watch on competition days, and they stay all day. She makes sure they aren’t getting into trouble, and no one messes with them,” Baker said.
“That’s good,” Kenna said.
Baker snorted. It was obvious he had his own opinions on what Jody was doing, but he didn’t share them. “Anyway, I just came up to make sure you all were good. I’m headed back down to the beach. If you need anything, Jonny will be happy to get it for you.”
They’d all met Jonny, the homeowner, and he’d seemed genuinely happy to welcome everyone to his home and to make them comfortable.
“I want to meet her at some point,” Ashlyn said.
Baker lifted an eyebrow.
“And don’t look at me like that. I was shot, I’m entitled to speak my mind.”
Slate’s arm wrapped around her from behind as he said, “Don’t like you being so blasé about being shot, babe.”
“I mean it,” she said to Baker, squeezing Slate’s arm to let him know she heard him. “You like her, it’s obvious. She sounds like a fascinating person. I love that she takes care of the high school kids. I’ve heard about how she brings snacks to them in the morning when they’re surfing and makes sure they all get off to school. But I’ve never heard anyone say anything about her having help, or about her hanging out with her own friends. And since you obviously think highly of her, she must be amazing. I’m thinking maybe she wouldn’t mind getting to know us.”