“Shirking your chores to go to the beach to surf is irresponsible, Riley.”
“I know. Just this once? I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
Sean smiled. Riley was a good kid, just wave crazy. “All right. I’ll do it, but you’ll owe me. The next time we have a family gathering, you can go pick up Grandma.”
“Sean, she always pinches my cheeks like I’m some kinda baby.”
“That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”
“I’ll take it,” he said over his shoulder as he ran for his car and jumped in. He pulled away from the curb with a screech.
Sean shook his head and headed for his car. The same old story. Good ol’ Sean will always pick up the slack.
* * *
In her car, Lana thought about Sean and his family. They relied heavily on him as the oldest, and Sean never said no. Even when Lana thought they were asking too much, he just shrugged and smiled. She had to accept that it was just Sean’s easygoing nature that allowed him to tolerate his family’s demands.
It was three-fifteen, and she was revved from turning in early last night and getting ten hours of alarm free sleep.
The first thing she did was go back to the site of the fire. She took a plastic bag with her and filled it with a sample of the soil. Afterward, she went over to the San Diego University football field and started to run the bleachers, something she did regularly. She needed a way to blow off some steam and stop herself from acting like a stupid high schooler with a crush.
Lana had just finished when she saw a small figure way down at the bottom. She sprinted down as the figure sprinted up. Halfway, Lana saw that it was Sienna Parker, one of the women-who-dare girlfriends.
“Hey, I called the station, but they said you’d left,” Sienna said when she got within hearing distance. Sienna looked radiant. Matching wits with the SEAL must really be good for her.
“And you guessed I was here,” Lana replied.
“I heard about the apartment fire and your run-in with Bryant.”
Lana sat down on the closest bleacher and Sienna sat next to her. “Oh, and how did you hear about that?”
“Sean answered the phone. He told me you were edgy. I know what happens when you’re edgy. You either go to Mahoney’s and play a game of pool or come here.”
Lana shifted on the bench. She hated to be predictable. “You checked Mahoney’s?”
“Sure did. Why are you edgy?” Sienna handed Lana one of the bottles of water she was carrying. She gave Lana a rueful smile before she opened hers and took a sip.
Sweating profusely, Lana stared at the liquid in the bottle for a minute, then opened the top and took a long drink. “I’m surprised that you didn’t get that information from Sean, too,” she quipped.
“Youareedgy.” Sienna bumped her with her shoulder. “Still no luck with Sean?”
“I seduced him in the shower after the fire.” It sounded so mild and uneventful when she said it that way, when it was anything but.
“No wonder you’re out here then. After my first time with A.J., I could have jumped to the moon.”
“It was incredible,” Lana said.
Sienna looked at her and smiled. “You’ve had a crush on him for as long as I’ve known you. It’s good to hear that it was everything you wanted it to be.”
Lana took another drink, feeling pleasantly jazzed from her run. “I have to say that it was hard to work with him after that. I wanted to find a quiet place and kiss him.”
Sienna shook her head and took a drink from her own bottle. “I hear you. It was hard to keep my hands off A.J. when we were working, but I kept reminding myself to be a professional. Must be hard for him, too. Surely you must know how much he adores you.”
“What?”
Sienna rolled her eyes. “Lana, I can see it every time he looks at you.”
“It was a wonderful experience, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, so I’m glad he adores me. So, what’s up with Kate? Has she had any luck with St. James?” Lana asked.