THEIR PLANE LANDED in Alabama around midnight on Thursday, and Kaylan could have kissed the ground she walked on. Home—Southern accents, home cooking, Alabama football, family, and the lake she’d grown up on. Even as she crawled into her bed that night, she couldn’t believe the peace she felt. Already the fact that a killer shadowed her seemed like a movie instead of her life.
She woke early the next morning, despite the day off, eager to see a sunrise. She donned her bathing suit and cover-up, planning for a day on the lake. Warm sun, the wind on her face, and even the murky smell of lake water called her name. Anticipation tugged her feet down the stairs. Even the slight fall nip entering the air wouldn’t stop her.
Fresh, black coffee brewed in the pot near the stove. She opted for hazelnut coffee from the Keurig with Irish cream flavored creamer. Her mother had repainted the breakfast nook again, this time a warm cranberry color. A pastel-tinted sky filled the bay windows facing the dock and lake.
“Hey, gorgeous.” Kaylan jumped at Nick’s deep voice and his arms wrapping around her waist. Coffee splashed her hand as she steadied her mug. “Oh, babe, I’m sorry.”
She shook the liquid from her hand and turned in his arms, careful not to spill any more. Wrapping her free arm around his neck, she pulled his face down to hers. His lips tasted like coffee. As in the months after Haiti, once again she found safety in his arms. But while he had sought to comfort her then, it was her turn to be the comforter.
“Why didn’t you sleep longer this morning?” she whispered against his lips.
“I couldn’t miss an opportunity to spend the morning with you.” He kissed her again, and she leaned into his embrace. And in the warmth of her family’s kitchen, wrapped in Nick’s arms, she knew. She loved this man with everything in her. No matter the danger, no matter where the government sent them, she would follow Nick Carmichael anywhere.
She would tell him today. Her heart fluttered with her realization.
It was time.
Compared to the Pacific, the lake water warmed her to her toes. She knew fall approached and the time to winterize the jet skis and boat drew near, but for now she enjoyed the sun on her face and wind whipping her hair as she raced Nick on the jet skis. Water drops collected on her sunglasses, and she waved to neighbors on the shore as they zipped past. Nick lifted his hand off the handle. “Is that all you got?” he mouthed before speeding off in front of her.
No way could she let him win. More than once she’d flown off a jet ski while riding with her brothers. She leaned in close to the bars and pushed the jet ski to fifty miles per hour. Her skin pulled taut in the wind whipping past her. Up ahead Nick stopped and jumped into the water to float, his life jacket collecting around his face, a Frogman in his natural habitat. She followed suit, the water cresting her head as she plunged into the deep.
The life jacket ballooned around her as she floated on her back in the water. With a quick tug her head jerked below the water line, causing her to panic. A wave lapped over her head as she came up sputtering to Nick’s laughter.
“That was not nice, Nick Carmichael.”
His chuckle reverberated on the water. “I can’t be sweet all the time.” He unbuckled his life jacket and slipped it on the seat of his jet ski.
“Nick, we aren’t supposed to take those off.”
He looked around the calm lake, absent of boats this time on a Friday morning, and shrugged. “I never swim with a life jacket. It’ll be fine.” He swam back to her, his eyes the only visible part of his face as he approached.
“Don’t start that,” she warned, then squealed as he grabbed her around the waist and unbuckled her life vest. “Nick . . . ”
His hands stilled. “Do you trust me?”
“With all my heart.”
He studied her for a moment, then slipped the life vest free from her arms, tossing it on the floating vessels. She wrapped her arms around his neck, their legs treading water in sync in the gentle, bobbing waves. As he leaned in to kiss her, she pulled back and shoved his head under water. Laughter spilled from her until he jerked her below again.
They both came up spluttering and laughing.
“Truce,” she shouted, backing away from him.
He reached for her, and a nervous giggle spilled from her lips. “Nick . . . ”
Keeping his hands to himself, he leaned forward to kiss her. “Deal. I promise.”
She studied the rivulets of water that dripped from his hair down his face and the way his body maintained buoyancy with ease, truly a fish in this water. He found peace in the toughest waves.
“I’ve been thinking.” Her heart galloped as she licked her lips, tasting lake water.
“That’s a pretty dangerous pastime for you, isn’t it?”
“Watch it, mister.” She smiled. “Sarcasm is dangerous too.”
His arms repelled the water around him. “All right, all right. What’s been going through that gorgeous head of yours?”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about Sarah Beth and how much I loved her, how much it hurt when she died.” She blinked back the prick of tears, wondering when the pain would lessen. “I’ve watched you and thought about that night on the beach. And I’ve watched Logan and Kim as they weather this crisis, Kim’s strength, Logan’s leadership.
“I’ve thought about what love is. That it’s less about how I feel and more about a commitment. A choice. I’ve watched Kim choose what’s best for Logan, stand by his side, and still parent their children. She honors and respects Logan’s sacrifice. She chooses to love him no matter what shape he is in. Because she trusts him.” Kaylan closed the distance between them, slipping into the hollow of his arms. He stilled in the water, his gaze curious.
“Kayles, what are you trying to tell me?” His eyes searched her face as he wrapped an arm around her waist, supporting them both as they bobbed in the waves.
“I’m saying that I’ve been scared to love you. Scared to lose you. But when I look at what God says love is, Nick, you love me as Christ calls people to love others. More than once you’ve been ready and willing to lay down your life for me, to do whatever is necessary to protect me. You’ve been patient in my fear, constantly pointing me to Jesus.” Her eyes filled with tears, and she couldn’t wait to share her heart, all of her heart with him.
“Nick Carmichael, I love you with all my heart. I think I have for a while, but it took me a while to identify or express it. I want to follow you as you follow Christ. I’ll trust Him to take care of you as you once trusted Him with me after Haiti. But I will not live in fear any longer.” She laughed, her heart feeling free with the words. She framed his face with her hands, staring into his gorgeous blue eyes. “I love you, Nick. And I want a future with you.”
His lips covered hers, and for a few glorious moments she allowed everything she hadn’t allowed herself to feel pour into her kiss. It felt appropriate that all good things in their relationship happened in and around water. It somehow made each experience more powerful, more meaningful.
They both pulled away breathless. Nick rested his forehead on hers, keeping them floating in the gentle waves. “Do you know how long I’ve waited for you to realize that?”
“Wait, you knew?” She pulled back to look at him.
“Kayles, you said it. Love is a choice, not a feeling. You’ve demonstrated love in your actions, your words, and your respect for me for months now. I think you were expecting it to feel like something different than it does.”
She nodded. “I think I was expecting these giddy, over-the-top feelings. And there is a measure of that when I’m with you.”
“I get that. But you and I have experienced the nitty-gritty of life together the last year. When we first met, I was over-the-moon infatuated with you, like a little kid with my emotions. But this last year? We’ve had to weather the absolute worst, and we’ve still managed to care for one another and move forward. That’s love, Kayles. And I love you too, Kaylan Lee Richards.”
He kissed her again, and she relished his words, the meaning taking root in a greater way than it had on the beach. Her heart finally found a home with the man she adored on the lake where they first met. Their future began today.
He tugged her back to the jet skis, and she climbed on the back, the seat scorching her legs.
“Kayles, can I talk to your dad while we’re here? You know . . . about the future?”
She could read a subtle case of nerves he fought to hide, and her stomach knotted. The future. This was a big step. She took a deep breath and smiled. “Whatever you want to do, babe.”
He slipped his life vest on and grinned the smile he reserved only for her, the kind that made her heart race and rooted her all at the same time. “Race you back.”
Before she could even snap her vest, he took off like a shot. A smile spread across her face, and she thanked the Lord that life would never be boring with this Navy SEAL. She revved her engine and followed in his wake, her jet ski dancing back and forth across the waves he’d created on the way home.