Written in the Sand (Pacific Shores Book 4) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  By Lynnette Bonner

  More books in the

  PACIFIC SHORES SERIES

  by Lynnette Bonner

  — Contemporary Christian Romance —

  Beyond the Waves, Book 1

  Caught in the Current, Book 2

  Song of the Surf, Book 3

  Written in the Sand, Book 4

  Other books by Lynnette Bonner

  ISLANDS OF INTRIGUE: SAN JUANS

  — Christian Romantic Suspense —

  The Unrelenting Tide — Lynnette Bonner — Also available in audio

  Tide Will Tell — Lesley Ann McDaniel

  Deceptive Tide — Janalyn Voigt

  Coming Summer 2015

  THE SHEPHERD'S HEART SERIES

  — Christian Historical Romance —

  Rocky Mountain Oasis — Also available in audio

  High Desert Haven — Also available in audio

  Fair Valley Refuge — Also available in audio

  Spring Meadow Sanctuary — Also available in audio

  HEART'S OF HOLLYWOOD SERIES

  — Contemporary Christian Romance Novellas —

  My Blue Havyn

  Mistletoe and Mochas

  Find out more at www.lynnettebonner.com

  Written in the Sand

  PACIFIC SHORES, Book 4

  Published by, Serene Lake Publishing

  Copyright © 2015 by Lynnette Bonner. All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Lynnette Bonner of Indie Cover Design - www.indiecoverdesign.com

  Images ©

  http://www.istock.com, File: #000034164654XXXLarge, Couple.

  http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/, File: #beach.

  Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

  THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

  Written in the Sand is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity and are used fictitiously. All other characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination.

  Published in the U.S.A.

  Jeremiah 29:11

  “For I know the plans I have for you,”

  declares the Lord,

  “plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

  plans to give you hope and a future.”

  Chapter 1

  Riley Ross set her bags of groceries from the Thrift and Save into the back seat of her old Jeep and glanced at the time on her phone. She yanked open the driver’s door.

  Of course Mom couldn’t have given her any more than five minutes’ notice that she needed Rem picked up from soccer practice today, because that would be too much to ask.

  From the slight slur in Mom’s voice when she’d called, Riley would be willing to bet her last dollar Mom was keeping a barstool warm, and a healthy tab running, down at Pete’s. And why was it Mom hadn’t arranged to have Rem picked up in the first place? Mom couldn’t even drive right now. But had she thought ahead to ask Roddy, their groundskeeper, to plan to get him? No.

  Riley just hoped Mom had been telling the truth about taking a cab. The last thing I need to deal with is Mom getting pulled over for driving under the influence. Especially since her license was currently revoked from the last incident.

  A huge sigh slipped free. This was the first day of soccer for Rem. And she supposed it was going to become her regular responsibility to pick him up each day. Because it was seemingly beyond Mom’s capability to get her son to and from the places he needed to be when she was so busy helping gravity with its job of keeping the chaise lounge firmly on the floor at the house. Or instructing Lucia, the live-in maid, what meals to prepare and what rooms to clean. Or apparently equally taxing, keeping Pete in business.

  Riley grimaced at herself in the rearview mirror as she pulled out onto the two-lane coastal highway in front of the grocery store and headed toward the high school. “Stop it.” She gave herself a pointed look.

  It was too easy to let her frustrations with her mother’s behavior make her forget that it was all a mask to bury the pain Mom refused to face. Heaven knew Riley had tried to get her to counseling on more than one occasion. And had talked to her about moving on until she was blue in the face.

  Jesus, it’s going to take something big to reach her, I’m afraid.

  Thankfully, Riley’s job as a second-grade teacher’s aide had regular hours. She got off at four o’clock each day. So it wouldn’t be too much of a hardship to swing by the high school and pick up Rem and run him up to the Bluffs. She reminded herself how thankful she’d been when she heard he’d decided to play soccer. She hoped it would keep him from finding too much trouble this year. The way Rem was always trying to prove himself to everyone had her just a little bit terrified of what he might get involved in during this his first year in high school. She’d heard the school had hired a new coach. Hopefully, he would be a guy who had his head on straight and not one of those macho jerks who would teach his kids to obliterate the opponents no matter what.

  The late August sun beat down unmercifully and Riley could feel sweat dampening the armpits of her light blue silk top. She lowered all four windows and let the breeze cool the interior of the car. At least her hair was up in a bun off her neck today, not that the wind was probably doing her any favors in that department. But the only thing on her schedule for tonight, after dropping Rem at home, was to change into jeans and head over to finish up some of the remodeling to the house on Second Street, so it wasn’t like it mattered what she looked like.

  She whipped into the high school parking lot and stopped in a slot close to the soccer field. She could see the team doing cool down stretches near the far goal, but couldn’t pick out who Rem’s coach might be from this distance.

  She propped her elbow against the window and rested her head against her fist. Her eyes slid closed. Five a.m. had been a long time ago. And she still had a lot of work left in her day. Maybe she could catch a few minutes of rest while she waited.

  Birds twittered lustily from the shade of the maple off to her left, and somewhere high overhead she heard the shrill cry of a gull. The sun beat down on her head warming her and only increasing her drowsiness. An insect droned by and the wind slipped through grasses and leaves, whispering tranquility and peace. All the details blurred into a soft haze.

  Riley’s head fell off her fist and jolted her awake. She blinked and focused. The team was standing now and several players were already near her in the parking lot loading their sports bags into vehicles and laughing and joking with one another.

  She scanned the field for Remington, but didn’t see him anywhere. He might be expecting Mom to pick him up from the parking lot on the other side of the pitch. Riley sighed and rolled up her windows, then climbed from the Jeep and slung her purse over one shoulder as she clicked the locks into place. She should have thought to ask Mom if they’d predetermined a place to meet
. Not that Mom would have necessarily remembered if they had.

  She rubbed the back of her neck, willing away the last vestiges of sleepiness as she picked her way up the low grassy hill to the level of the field.

  She sheltered her eyes with one hand as she scanned the players, searching for Rem’s red mop of curls. Finally, she spotted him, still in the center of the field twirling a soccer ball around with his feet while he apparently engaged in a conversation with…

  Riley froze where she stood. She felt the heels of her pumps sink into the soft moist soil at the edge of the field, but couldn’t seem to move. Her hands fluttered to her hair and she could feel even without the aid of a mirror that the disarray would be hopeless to repair.

  She sighed. Her mouth was dry. And all thoughts of sleepiness fled. In fact, her heart was beating so hard anyone might have thought she’d just been running a 5K instead of napping in her Jeep.

  And all because of the sight of the man talking to Rem. The man with the whistle hanging around his neck. The man who was quite obviously the new soccer coach at Marinville High.

  Jalen Rivera.

  She shook the surprise away and focused on the simple happiness washing through her, instead. Jalen was the reason she’d finally seen the Truth that God loved her and wanted her to serve Him. The reason she was serving Him today. And without Jesus to lean on over the past few years, she didn’t know where she would be right now. She thought back to what her life had been like not long before she met Jalen for the first time, and shuddered. Thankfully, God had helped her put those memories behind her little by little over the last couple years. And that had all started because of Jalen – well, Marie and Dakota and Taysia had a big part in her salvation story too.

  She couldn’t be happier that Rem was going to have such a great coach. She just totally hadn’t expected to see him here. Or her reaction to seeing him here.

  Slowly, she eased her heels from the dirt and started toward them.

  Her thoughts turned to the past and the promise she’d made herself. The night Nate had beaten her so badly she’d lost their baby, he’d left the house in a drunken rage and wrapped himself around a rock along the Pacific Highway and killed himself. After that night, she’d promised herself she would never be so vulnerable to the power of loving a man again.

  And then she’d met Jalen. He’d only been in town for a short time for Reece and Marie Cahill’s wedding, but Riley had felt more of a connection with him in that short time she’d known him than she ever had with any man previously. But he’d had to go back to his job on the other side of the state.

  Jalen had texted with her for a few months after he’d returned home, but then, to sever ties with some of her old friends who were not such great influences, Riley had changed carriers and her number. She’d thought about reinitiating contact numerous times, but her newfound commitment to remain single had always kept her from doing so.

  Now she took a breath. It was great to see him again, but she needed to keep up her guard.

  Because if ever there was a man who could tempt her to give up her vow, it was Jalen Rivera. And…her hand skimmed over her abdomen… For his sake it was best she remember that and keep her distance.

  Jalen bent and grabbed up his towel from the bag near his feet and scrubbed at the sweat coating his forehead and hair as he smiled at Remington Ross. The kid had shot up quite a few inches since the last time Jalen had seen him two years ago, when he’d been in town for Reece Cahill’s wedding. He was still scrawny as all get out, and short for his age, but that didn’t bother Jalen in the least. The kid could control the ball like few his age, and from what he’d seen today, Rem had a good understanding of the positions of the game. And it was obvious his interest went beyond just an understanding to an actual love for the sport, as evidenced by the fact that while most of the team had already meandered off the field, Remington was still here pacing through some footwork.

  Jalen slung his towel over his shoulder and rested one hand on the kid’s shoulder. “Nice job out here today. You have a real knack for the game.”

  What he really wanted to talk about was Remington’s older sister. The woman who was the reason he’d come back to Marinville in the first place. Was she faring better now that some time had passed after the death of her abusive boyfriend? Was she seeing anyone? Jalen scooped up his sports bag. Please, heaven forbid, she wasn’t married was she? But he held all those questions inside. Time would reveal the answers. Time would tell him whether he was simply a fool lingering over memories of a woman who had somehow captured his heart in a few short days, or whether something could actually come of it.

  Remington bent and picked up his ball, resting it against one hip as he eyed Jalen. The expression in his eyes said he wasn’t quite sure whether to take Jalen’s compliments seriously.

  Jalen nodded. “I mean it. I was impressed with what I saw today. But I hope you won’t let that go to your head because the whole team has some improving to do.”

  Remington shrugged. “Sure. I get ya.”

  “Good. So I’ll catch you tomorrow, okay?” He waved goodbye and turned to head for his car in the parking lot. He stilled, his heart rate kicking up as though he hadn’t just spent the last fifteen minutes cooling down.

  Picking her way toward them from the edge of the field, one small hand shading her eyes, was Riley. Black slacks. A silvery blue blouse. Red hair piled into a messy knot at the back of her head. And – he swallowed – looking even more beautiful than he remembered.

  Take a breath, Rivera. He did that, and then forced one foot in front of the other in what he hoped looked to be a casual stroll across the field and not something similar to the dashing, dancing, and leaping of joy his heart was doing in his chest.

  He stopped a few feet before her when he suddenly realized he probably smelled like a field horse after a long day of plowing. He resisted a grimace. Good thing the breeze was brisk so the odors wouldn’t linger around. “Riley.” He offered her a smile.

  “J-Jalen.” Her face looked stricken, but she followed up quickly with “It’s so good to see you again!” She stepped toward him, intent on pulling him into a welcoming embrace.

  He jumped back. “It’s good to see you too, but I probably smell like the wrong end of a mule right about now.” He nearly clenched his eyes shut. Talk about smooth, Rivera. Way to leave her with such a charming picture.

  “Of course.” She offered the reassurance, but her tone said she thought she’d somehow offended him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—” Her gaze searched out his left hand where it still gripped the towel slung over his shoulder and she stuttered to a stop and let the rest of the sentence trail away, then dropped her gaze to the grass at their feet.

  His own gaze searched out her left hand where she twirled her car keys nervously. No ring, at least.

  A herd of wild mustangs on the run must have taken up residence in his chest. When she’d cut off contact with him, he’d been discouraged. But he’d decided to honor her obvious wishes. But something about this woman wouldn’t release his thoughts and he didn’t think a day had gone by that he hadn’t wondered how she was doing. He’d weaseled information out of Dakota a few times, but it had never been enough. So, for two years he’d been waiting and praying. Wanting to come back and pursue Riley, but never feeling it was quite the right time.

  And then he’d seen the ad for the high school soccer coach—or rather Dakota had sent it to him in an email with a little winking face and no other comments. The email had arrived the day after he and Justus had learned that the funding for their ministry, Deschutes Rejuvenation, had dried up and the church that had been sponsoring the program was cutting it. He had a feeling that cutback had answered a few of Justus’s prayers as well as his own. They both had been willing to continue serving, but both of them had been serving with divided hearts for the past couple years.

  The breeze tugged at the golden-red strands of Riley’s hair and he noticed that the sun
had brought out a few light freckles across the bridge of her nose. Seeing her again made him feel like an out-of-oxygen scuba diver breaking through the surface of the water and pulling in that first life-giving breath of air.

  “So you’re here to pick up Rem—”

  “—So you’re the new soccer coach.”

  They spoke at the same time, and then smiled at each other sheepishly.

  She tilted her head. “I hadn’t heard you were back in town?”

  There was something different, less vulnerable, about her countenance. “I just got here last night. They interviewed me on Skype since the last term at Deschutes Rejuvenation was still going.”

  “Dakota told me your funding was cut. I’m sorry about that.”

  He shrugged. His years in that ministry had been good. Blessed. But there wasn’t a place he would rather be right now than where he was standing. “Was time to move on, I guess.”

  She spun her keys around one finger. “Where are you staying?”

  “Reece has given Justus and me a room at a discount out at Serenity Shores Bed and Breakfast, for now. But we’re looking for a place to rent.”

  “I see. Well, I can tell you I’m very pleased that you’ll be Rem’s soccer coach.”

  She tilted her head and smiled fondly at him, but it was a smile that suddenly had him second-guessing his plan to make his feelings known to her, because the gesture was sisterly. Cordial. Platonic. Guarded.

  She tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. “I’d better get going. It’s nice to see you again, Jalen.” She looked past him. “Rem, Mom asked me to pick you up. Let’s go, please.”

  “Just a sec!” Remington called back, continuing to dribble the ball toward the soccer goal at the far end of the field.

  Riley opened her mouth to call him again, but her phone rang and she paused to dig it out of her purse. She glanced at the caller ID, a small frown forming on her brow.

  He should go and leave her to her call in private, but after seeing her for the first time in two years, he wasn’t quite ready to deprive himself again so soon. Especially since this might be the most interaction he’d ever get with her.