Tidal Wave
Forces of Nature - 1
by
Vivian Arend
Dedication
To my hubby, who doesn’t share my love of erotic romance but is amazingly tolerant of my newfound obsession with storytelling. I’m grateful to have you by my side, even if you’re reading woodworking magazines.
To Sandie, who read my first stories without cringing and made me feel like I really was an author. You are a wonderful person, even if we don’t know what to call you. CP? Beta? I think “friend” works the best.
To Anne, who has taught me more during the editing process than I learned in any English course. At some point I hope to stop tormenting you with word echoes and plot holes. Thank you for taking a chance on me. It’s been a blast.
Chapter One
“Gram, where do you keep the rice?” Alexia rummaged through another cupboard in frustration. “Gram?”
Her grandmother stared out the window. Alexia wrapped an arm around her and led her back to the kitchen table. “We need groceries. I can’t find much of anything in the house right now.”
Gram waved a hand to the front of the fridge and a list of numbers tacked by the phone. “Get what we need delivered. Just call and they’ll come by. You need to be here, that’s more important than groceries. You need to be ready for it, Ally.”
Alexia poured some tea and forced the cup into her grandmother’s hand. She hadn’t been warned how far her relative had regressed in the past year. It was no longer an active senior who greeted her across the table. This was a frail reflection of the dynamo Alexia knew.
It broke her heart to see Gram lose herself.
“You need to be ready, my dear,” Gram repeated as she patted Alexia’s arm with fingers gone soft with time. The old lady sipped her tea and Alexia saw a flash of familiar eagerness as Gram’s gaze returned to the window. To the ocean.
Alexia sighed and held Gram’s hand. She was glad to get this last bit of time with the woman who meant so much to her, but it was hard to see her changed.
“You look lovely. The boys will all be fighting over you, but you make the decision. It’s your choice, no matter what they say.” The old lady chuckled. “I remember when your Gramps courted me. He wouldn’t leave me alone. I had my eye on him too, even though there were others who were supposed to be better for me. It’ll be the same for you. I know it. You’ll see him and he’ll be the one you want.”
“I’m not here to find a husband, Gram. I’m here for you.”
“Bah, what do you need with a cranky old lady? You need a nice strong young man with beautiful eyes.” Gram leaned forward and shook a finger in her direction. “Don’t you take any guff from them now. You’re stronger than they think.
“Fetch me the purple box, Ally, there’s something I need to give you.” Gram motioned toward one of the stacks of boxes and books scattered throughout the house like so many treasure piles. Every spare inch of the house was filled with the things Unca and Gramps had collected over the years, and Gram couldn’t seem to part with any of them. Alexia poked and prodded until she found the one Gram wanted and brought it back to the table.
“This has been in the family for a long time, and now it’s yours to care for and enjoy.” Gram’s eyes twinkled. Alexia smiled at her. Whatever was in the box had the power to energize the old woman. “Wear it for me now. I know it seems too fancy for everyday, but I want to see you two together.”
Alexia opened the plain box and gasped with delight. Inside lay an ornate medallion, the etching of a dolphin leaping out of the water bold on its surface. Strong leather straps looped around the open edge, bits of mother of pearl lining the border. Alexia scooped it off the satin cushion and laid it in her palm to admire. The metal warmed her hand, flickers of light from the sun shining on its surface. Sparks floated in the air, dust motes turned to fireflies in the reflection.
“Gram, it’s beautiful. I’ve never seen it before.” She stared into glittering gray eyes. “You said our family has had it for years?”
“Generations. Come, let me help you put it on.”
Alexia turned around and Gram lowered the beautiful object over her head. The metal warmed as it nestled intimately between the swells of her bosom. Alexia impulsively removed her ponytail holder to allow her hair to fall around her in a riot of brunette curls.
The necklace fit right. It felt right. It caressed her skin and she covered it with a hand, tracing her fingers down her body, a trail of heat following.
Buttery soft fingers patted her cheek and Alexia gazed into a face worn with years, lit with a beautiful smile. “It does look wonderful on you. I knew it would. Now, I want to hear all about what you’ve been doing and how long you can stay with me.”
Alexia forced herself to chat quietly for a while, stopping when Gram’s eyes rocked shut too often. After tucking Gram into her main-floor bedroom for the night, she returned to the kitchen to make a grocery list.
Then she stood and stared at the ocean, her arms wrapped tightly around her. Her grandmother was fading fast. The only constant in Alexia’s world and she was falling away. Alexia’s fingers drifted to rub at the medallion like a touchstone, the warm metal relaxing her, even as her heart was breaking.
Gram said she couldn’t live in the beachfront house any longer on her own. She’d called Alexia in a panic asking for help in selecting a new place to live where she’d get assistance yet still have some independence. Alexia wished she could care for her grandmother permanently, but it wasn’t possible. She’d taken all her vacation time to come and settle Gram into her new home. Beyond that she needed to make a living, returning to her position as a massage therapist at the hospital. She couldn’t stay, no matter how much her heart longed to remain in the familiar setting.
Shutters rattled in the stiff breeze off the water, the sound settling around Alexia like a familiar blanket. Distant memories rose as she hopped out of bed and opened the French doors to stare at the ocean waves, the crash against the shore growing louder as she stepped onto the balcony.
Moonlight shone on the water, the night air warm in spite of the wind that tossed her hair into her eyes. She dragged a hand through her curls and faced into the growing storm. It exhilarated her to think of the power building in the darkening clouds, the waves whipped into a frenzy of whitecaps and foam. Alexia stood near the railing, her gown pressed to her body as she leaned forward to look down. The row of flags placed in the sand that led out to the shore stood stiff and unfurled, the flapping fabric a beacon against the dusky sand.
She couldn’t resist and raced down the stairs to follow the path to the water’s edge. The sea danced before her, the crash and slap of the water echoed in her ears and she stepped into the surf. She stretched her arms and rotated slowly, eyes closed, head thrown back. It had been years since she’d been able to experience the night air, taste the salty spray on her lips, and it was a homecoming she’d longed for. The house on the rocks was Gram’s, but the memories were all hers. Memories of endless summers, filled with quiet days of pleasure.
A lone gull cried and Alexia opened her eyes to watch it ride the air currents, the moonlight shining on its white body. It dipped low over the water and she could just make out the fins of dolphins in the distance as they played in the waves. Her heart leapt.
It was a good omen, it had to be.
The dolphins were always there when good things happened.
She remembered the first summer she’d gotten dumped at Gram’s. At fourteen she’d thought it was a punishment to be abandoned by her mother to the old woman’s care, but that soon changed. Gram was a hoot to be around. The house library was extensive and the beach… For a girl who had grown up in the city, all the water and sand was a playground to delight the senses. She’d spent every minute of daylight outside the first week, called in only for meals by her doting grandmother.