Which was another worry. Ben used to sit and talk her ear off about nothing in particular before he’d head out to the waves. Now he kept his head down and barely looked at anyone. It was worrisome, and him not being here today, at the surf competition, didn’t make her feel any better.
“Hey, Jodelle,” a deep voice said from behind her.
Smiling—and telling herself not to act like a dork—Jody turned. “Hey, Baker.”
“Everything good?”
She wanted to tell him that, no, everything wasn’t good. That she was lonely. That she missed her son more with every day. That she was worried about Ben. That she was running low on sandwiches and knew she’d never find a parking spot if she left and tried to come back. That it scared her to watch the surfers in the huge waves. That she thought Baker was so damn good-looking, it was hard to keep her hands to herself. That she both craved and dreaded being alone back at her house…
She said none of that. She simply replied, “Yeah.”
But Baker had a way of looking at her that made Jody suspect he saw through her nonchalant responses. That he could see straight through to the heart of who she was. It was scary…and exhilarating at the same time.
He’d never once given her any indication he wanted to be anything but casual friends in all the time she’d known him. So Jody always did her best to hide her feelings. About him…about everything.
“You get your friends settled?” she asked. He’d told her earlier that his friends were going to be coming to watch the competition from up on the bluff.
“Yeah. They want to meet you,” he said.
Jody blinked in surprise. “Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Why not?” Baker countered.
“Um…because?”
Baker’s lips quirked upward, and Jody’s knees literally went weak at seeing that smile. He’d just started to respond when Lani came running up to them.
“Miss Jody! Something’s wrong with Ben!”
All thoughts about how attractive Baker was flew from her mind. “Where is he? I haven’t seen him.”
“His car was parked at the back of the lot and someone saw him sleeping in it. Because it’s so hot, he’s got heat exhaustion. The medics are looking at him now!”
Jody turned to look at the medical tent, but didn’t see any excessive commotion. She immediately headed for the parking lot.
She jerked in surprise when Baker reached out and took her elbow in his hand.
Looking up at him, she frowned. “You don’t have to come.”
He stared back with a look she’d never seen before on his face. “I know, but I am.”
“Why?” she couldn’t help but ask.
“Because as a friend recently reminded me, life is short, and I’m done being noble. I’m doing what I should’ve done a long fuckin’ time ago.”
Jody was confused. She had no idea what in the world Baker was talking about. But she didn’t have time to worry about that right now. She had to figure out what the hell Ben was doing sleeping in his car in the middle of the day. Something was going on with him, and she was going to figure out what it was, no matter what it took.
* *
FINALLY! It’s Baker’s turn! He meets his match with Jodelle! Get the final book in the SEAL Team Hawaii series, Finding Jodelle now!