A Healing Heart Read online

  “Bailey, it’s not like that, I promise.”

  “Yeah, sure. That’s not the impression I got from her.”

  “Oh, come on, you’re reading into things. We’re just friends. I swear she’s like a sister to me.”

  “Do you have eyes? She’s like a model, Collin. I can’t even come close to comparing to that.”

  He stopped me in my tracks and dropped everything he had in his hands, “Bailey, look at me.” His hands gripped my upper arms. I glanced up into his eyes; they had taken on an icy tint. “You are beautiful, and you mean more to me right now than I’d really care to admit. Don’t sell yourself short. You’re the one that holds my heart, not Savannah. You have nothing to worry about with her.”

  My heart melted right on the spot. I felt slightly foolish, but oh, so relieved. “Okay, I believe you. I’m just saying, I don’t think that’s the way she feels.”

  “Point taken. But I still think you’re reading into things.”

  Collin picked up the items that he’d discarded in the sand, and we finished our hike to the fire pit. Someone had already set up a canopy, and a table with food had been laid out. Ice chests were sitting on the ground; blankets and chairs were spread out. There were already almost a dozen kids from school there. We settled our towels and bags next to Mia and Natasha. Quinn had come up and had already hauled Collin off to help bring more firewood over. I was left introducing Savannah to the rest of the kids from school.

  Several of the guys flocked around Savannah and were trying to outdo each other for her attention. I noticed, though, that she was constantly searching for Collin. I knew deep down my intuition was right. I couldn’t let my guard down around her. As innocently as she was playing the game right now, I knew she wanted Collin, but I had no intention of letting her get her hooks in him.

  Relaxing for a moment, I was able to take in my surroundings. I always loved the tranquility of the beach. The sun was bright and warm; the salty sea breeze was blowing white puffy clouds across the sky. It was indeed a beautiful day for a beach trip. I wouldn’t enjoy the sand clinging to everything it touched, but it was a small price to pay.

  I sat on a blanket while Collin finished helping Quinn with the firewood. Mia and Natasha were in their beach chairs drilling me with questions about my week and the beautiful stranger that had come with us.

  “Did you know he was bringing her today?” Mia asked.

  “No. I knew he had company, but I didn’t realize she was coming until they got to my house to pick me up.”

  “Damn, that sucks. Sorry, Bailey.”

  “It’s okay, Tasha. Collin swears she’s only a friend. I think she was pretty shocked to see me too.”

  “Uh-huh, well, I’ll tell you one thing, I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her. You better keep alert with her around.”

  “I know, Mia. I came to that conclusion the moment I set eyes on her.”

  “Well, you’ve got us here today for backup. We’ll help keep her busy and out of your hair.”

  “Thanks, guys, you’re the best!”

  We were interrupted by Collin’s voice. “So, is this just girl time right now, or am I allowed to join?”

  “You’re welcome here anytime, Collin.” Mia smiled sweetly. “Have a seat.”

  I turned to Collin and gave him a bright smile. “Hey, since you’re back now, can you finish spraying my back with the sunscreen? I really don’t want to fry today.”

  “How bad could that really be? I promise to come over and rub aloe vera gel on you every couple of hours,” Collin replied.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Thanks, but I’d rather not turn into a crispy critter It’s too painful.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right. Come here. Let’s get you sprayed, then we’ll go down to the water.”

  Collin finished with the sunscreen, deeming me “completely protected” with my SPF of 70 everywhere. He grabbed my hand and we walked off into the deep sand toward the water, our hands entwined. For the time being, Savannah was forgotten and it was just Collin and me. We reached the embankment near the water, and he pulled me down to sit in front of him on the sand. I leaned back against his warm chest as he wrapped his arms around me. With my fingers laced over his hands, we sat there watching the waves crash and wash up over the wet sand.

  “Mmm...this is nice,” Collin exhaled over the top of my head.

  “Yes, absolutely perfect.”

  ~ Savannah ~

  I was left at the fire pit, rage burning inside of me as I watched Collin walk with Bailey down to the water. Trying to ignore them, I focused my attention on the boy talking next to me. What was his name? Brett? No. Brent? No. Brad—yeah, that sounded right; it must be Brad. I nodded absently as he continued to ramble on about something, I think football. Brad was handsome with his short blond hair and blue eyes. He was tall, very tan, and athletic, a typical Southern California teenager. I really wasn’t interested in Brad—my interest lay elsewhere—but maybe he could be useful. Test the waters a bit, maybe I could spark a little jealousy in Collin. It was worth a shot, and at this point I had nothing to lose.

  I couldn’t understand what Collin saw in Bailey; she was nothing special. I knew, though, that I needed to be careful about how I handled things with Collin. The wrong move could backfire very quickly.

  Turning toward Brad, I gave him one of my stunning smiles that showed off my perfect white teeth that I had spent nights bleaching. I could see my smile had the desired effect on him, so I knew I hadn’t lost my touch. I just needed to figure out how to get the same reaction out of Collin. Focused on my goal for the day, I leaned over to touch Brad lightly on his shoulder, which was bare and muscled. To Brad’s delight, I oohed and ahed over how strong he was. Boys could be so predictable. Just a little stroking to their ego and they were like putty in my hands. Collin was going to be a challenge, but it would make the end reward even sweeter.

  I knew from the little bit of conversation that I’d been paying attention to that Brad was the quarterback for the football team. He was talented enough that he’d even been awarded a college scholarship for the fall. As I sat there beside Brad, my mind wandered and I began planning how I would disentangle Bailey from Collin. Really, I thought to myself, how hard could it be?

  ~ Bailey ~

  The day had flown by, most of the guys playing football and surfing while the girls laid out in the warm sun tanning. Collin and I walked along the beach together, picking up the few seashells that we came across. The sun was beginning to set over the water, tinting the sky with streams of pink, yellow, and orange. Together we watched as it finally dipped past the water and vanished.

  Walking back to the campfire, my head rested comfortably on Collin’s shoulder. His arm was wrapped around my waist. As bad as the morning had started, it really had been a nice, peaceful day. Savannah seemed to be caught up with Brad, which allowed me to let my guard down a little. Maybe I had overreacted a little. Collin, although friendly with Savannah, had not appeared to be overly attentive toward her. She would only be here for a week; maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

  Reaching the rest of our group, I noticed that they had already brought out the hot dogs and were roasting them over the fire. Sodas were set out on the tables and bags of chips were next to the plates and napkins. Mia and Natasha were sitting with Alex and Matt, both juniors and members of the football and basketball teams. Mia and Alex had gone out a couple of times over the past couple of months and seemed to enjoy each other’s company. I thought they would make a cute couple: both very outspoken and athletic.

  Collin and I grabbed our food and sat with the four of them. Before I could even take my first bite, Savannah was settling in on the other side of Collin. Brad sauntered up behind her carrying two plates of food and sat next to her, carefully handing her a plate and a diet Coke.

  “Thanks, Brad, you’re such a sweetie.”

  I almost choked on my food. Good grief; the comment was so forced and overdon
e. Glancing around, I noticed that only Mia and Natasha were rolling their eyes. Collin had noticed my slight cough, though, and was looking at me intently to make sure I was indeed okay.

  “I’m fine. Food just went down the wrong track.”

  “Okay, I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to start pounding on your back or something.”

  Smiling warmly, “No, I’m good, but thanks.”

  We finished eating our food, all the while chatting about the seniors’ plans for the fall. Some of them were planning on attending college, while a few of the others had decided to work for a while and then figure out what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. I realized that Collin and I had never really talked about what his plans were for the fall. My heart skipped slightly; I hoped that he wasn’t planning on attending some faraway college. Now that it had come up, it was a topic I was anxious to ask him about.

  I watched as the smoke from the fire pit trailed across the darkened sky. The stars were beginning to appear, and the crash of the waves pounding the beach was a constant soothing background. As the salty, sticky breeze tangled through my hair, I breathed in deeply, just enjoying the calm and letting my thoughts wander.

  The fire pit crackled and brought my attention back to the present. Glancing around our group, I realized that Alex had grabbed one of the bags of marshmallows and a couple of hangers. He easily unfolded them into skewer sticks, placed them in the fire to burn off the coating and then passed them around our circle. Laughter floated through the group as several of the marshmallows that others were holding quickly burst into flames. The outside of the marshmallow scorched to a burnt crisp, falling into the fire.

  I held out the wire with my marshmallow near the flames, but not where it would catch fire. Mine was turning a nice, light caramel color as the heat blistered the exterior of the white mushy goodness. I was a pro at toasting marshmallows; my family had gone camping together a lot, and marshmallow roasting had always been one of my favorite activities.

  My eyes darted over at Savannah; she was clinging to Brad’s shoulder as he attempted to roast two marshmallows at the same time. I was just glad she seemed to be leaving Collin alone. As she sat there, she looked so perfect; her hair did not have a strand out of place, and I wondered how that could be after spending an entire day in the breeze. Her clothes were coordinated, and revealing almost to the point of being slutty. Hoochie mama, that’s what Mia would call her. Yet Savannah was able to pull off the entire look with it simply enhancing her curves. It was hard not to wonder how Collin could not be attracted to her. I couldn’t wait until she went back home. My marshmallow was finished, and I pulled it away from the heat, allowing it to cool off just a little before sticking it in my mouth.

  Collin reached for my arm and began pulling me up from the blanket that we were sitting on. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”

  Following, with my hand gripped tightly in his, I swore I could feel angry eyes boring into my back. I tried to ignore the shiver that immediately coursed down my spine, causing the hair to stand on end at my neck.

  Slipping into an easy stride down to the water’s edge, we walked hand in hand along the cold packed sand. The water occasionally lapped against our feet; the moon was full and bright and cast silvery shadows as we walked. It felt like a dream, one I never wanted to wake from. It was then that I realized that I had been able to sleep through the night for the past couple of weeks now without being tormented by my nightmares. I knew without a doubt I had Collin’s presence to thank for that. Collin’s voice broke through my wandering musings.

  “Penny for your thoughts.”

  The comment caught me off guard, and I almost stopped in my tracks, forcing air down into my lungs. Collin noticed the paleness of my face in the moonlight and turned to me, alarmed. “What? What did I say? Is it that bad?”

  My voice strained, trying to find the right words. “No, I’m okay. It’s just my dad used to always say that to me. He’d tap me on my nose and ask me that question. It was always a little joke between us. I haven’t heard anyone say that for a long time.”

  Collin wrapped me tightly in his arms. “I’m so sorry, Bailey, I didn’t know.”

  “I know. It’s okay, really. I’m fine. I was actually thinking of how this all feels like a dream for me. I’ve lived under a constant nightmare for so long, it’s hard for me to really believe things could be right again. Almost every night since the accident, I relive it in the nightmares, many times being woken up by my own screams. For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been able to sleep through the entire night, completely nightmare free. I can’t tell you how amazing that is for me.”

  “You’ve had nightmares every night for the past two years?”

  “Yeah, pretty much.”

  “And now they’re gone?”

  “Yes, because of you.” Reaching up, I ran my fingers along the side of his face and down his cheeks. Our eyes locked, his blue eyes dark as the night; I felt like he could see into my soul. His arms tightened around me and pulled me closer to him; gently he touched his lips to mine. The electric jolt I always felt when we kissed pulsed through my body. My hands moved up behind his head, my fingers running through his thick hair. Slightly pulling back, he still kept me close, our faces just inches from each other, our noses touching, so slightly, so gently.

  “I’m glad I could help chase away your nightmares.”

  “Me too.”

  “It’s getting late, we should probably get back.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right, but I wish we could stay here, just like this, forever.”

  * * *

  We walked back to the car loaded down with our bags and chairs. As we got closer, I could tell Savannah was maneuvering to get the front seat again. I vowed that she would be the one that ended up in the backseat on the way home. Dumping everything in the hatch, I was able to reach the passenger door first.

  “Here, Savannah, go ahead and get in back. I’ll hold the seat up for you.”

  Her eyes glinted with anger, which she quickly tried to hide, but it confirmed my fear that she could be potentially dangerous. Without a doubt, I knew that my instincts were correct and that I needed to watch her carefully.

  Her voice was strained as she tried to sound normal. “Thanks, Bailey. I guess it’s only fair that we trade off.”

  Smiling to myself, I knew it was petty, but one small victory felt good. I slid the seat back after she had climbed in and settled into the front seat with plenty of legroom.

  The ride home was mostly quiet. It was late, and we were all tired from the day in the sand and sun. My hand lay interlocked with Collin’s on the console most of the way home.

  “I’m going to drop you off first, Savannah, then I’ll take Bailey home.”

  “Oh. Isn’t that kind of a waste of gas, though?”

  “It’s no big deal. The front door should be open for you. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  The car stopped in front of Collin’s house, and I opened the door and stepped out, allowing the front seat to slide forward so that Savannah could extract herself out of the tiny backseat. As she gracefully exited the car, our eyes caught. Her deep chocolate brown eyes were hard and cold, and hostility was plain in them. The battle lines had been drawn, and we both knew it.

  “Goodnight, Savannah, it was great meeting you.” The lie stuck in my throat.

  “You, too Bailey. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.” Her voice was icy.

  She turned and walked up the sidewalk with her bag, and I got back into the warmth of the car and to the boy that had stolen my heart.

  ~ Savannah ~

  I had the urge to stomp all the way into the house. Fury blinded me; Bailey had no idea what she was up against. She might have the upper hand right now, but Collin was not something I had any intentions of losing. As I sat in that backseat all the way home, having to stare at their hands together on the console made me sick.

  Earlier in the day I had seen Collin kiss
ing Bailey, and it had made me crazy. Collin should be kissing me, not that twit. I didn’t have very much time, and before long my family would be headed home, back to Las Vegas, hours away. I needed to get the ball rolling quick. Drastic times called for drastic measures. I just had to figure out what the best approach was going to be.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ~ Bailey ~

  The rest of the week was uneventful and seemed to fly by. I just had to make it through two more days until Savannah’s family left town. That day couldn’t come soon enough for me.

  I rushed to finish getting ready, since I was supposed to be over at Eileen’s in less than twenty minutes. It was taking me a while to get used to actually sleeping in the morning, and many times now, I had overslept my alarm. It was so good, feeling rested and alive. I felt like I was ready to take on the world again. The haziness of the past two years was quickly fading, as if I had finally left the shadow and moved into the sunlight, able to feel the warmth of life as it moved around me.

  After grabbing the clothes I planned to wear that night on my date with Collin, I tossed them on the bed as I walked out the door. Time would be short after I was done baby-sitting Riley, and I would only have a few minutes to get ready before Collin would be there to pick me up. As I walked out of my room, I sent a text to him:

  Good morning sweetheart :) have a great day I’ll c u later

  hey sweetie have fun with Riley text me when u r done and I’ll come pick u up

  Rushing down the stairs, I practically flattened my aunt as she was coming up.

  “Sorry! I’m late for baby-sitting! I’ll see you later.”

  “It’s okay. Hey, Bailey.”

  Halting at the bottom stair, I turned to look back up at my aunt.

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s good to have you back. I mean, really back. The shadows are gone from under your eyes, and you seem like yourself again. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me.”