Beyond the Waves (Pacific Shores Book 1) by Lynnette Bonner Read Free Book Online Page A

with her father and, in fact, the entire male half of the species made her want to scream.
    Officer Wilkes cleared his throat. “I see. Well”—he turned to Taysia—”will you be pressing charges?”
    Unbelievable! She opened her mouth to demand that Daddy tell her what was going on.
    “Layne.” Kylen’s tone held a note of warning.
    She turned to look at him.
    He gave a small shake of his head and mouthed, “Tell you later.”
    She snapped her mouth shut. Pressing one hand to her forehead, she closed her eyes. “No, Officer. I won’t be pressing charges.”
    “Well, then, if there is nothing more you need, we’ll be leaving.”
    Taysia looked at Daddy, worry niggling like a barbed hook. “No, I don’t think we need anything, thank you.” Except the return of some sanity.
    “See you on Monday, guys.” Kylen raised a hand of farewell as the officers left the way they had come.
    “Daddy, come sit down, please. I can finish mopping in a minute.” Taysia pressed the Band-Aid over Kylen’s cut and gestured for his other foot.
    “I really best be getting home.” Daddy shoved his hands into his pockets.
    Kylen hissed as her probing found another splinter of glass. “Easy, Layne. I kinda need that foot for a while longer.”
    “Sorry.” She concentrated on a gentler application of the tweezers.
    “Don’t swear much, do you, young man? A lesser man’d be scorching the room right about now.”
    Taysia and Kylen both lifted their heads and looked at each other. Hope pounded in Taysia’s chest. She had been praying for this kind of opportunity for months.
    Kylen rubbed his temple with one forefinger. “Well, sir, I used to swear with the best of them, but not anymore. Not since I gave my life to the Lord.”
    Daddy huffed. “Oh, you’re one of them .”
    Taysia’s heart sank.
    Kylen didn’t look offended. “If by ‘one of them’ you mean someone who has found joy and happiness by finally deciding to do things God’s way instead of my own, then yes. Giving my life to the Lord was the best decision I ever made.”
    Taysia could see the sincerity on his face.
    Daddy jingled some change in his pocket. “Well, I’ll have to admit to admiring a man who stands by his convictions without flinching.”
    Taysia felt hope, like the first green glimpse of a spring tulip, shooting through the soil of doubt in her heart.
    “Well, if you don’t want to see me flinch, you better turn your back, because your daughter doesn’t have a very good bedside manner.” Kylen grinned.
    Taysia smacked the side of Kylen’s foot in disagreement but ignored his ribbing and spoke to her father. “Daddy, I’m going to church tomorrow. Would you like me to pick you up? You could come with me.”
    “Nope.”
    Taysia’s hopes died with the ice in his voice.
    Daddy’s voice softened. “Well, sorry to have caused all this ruckus.” His gesture encompassed the floor and Kylen’s feet. “But it is late, so I’m gonna head for home now. Good night.”
    Swallowing her disappointment, Taysia lifted her hand. “Night.”
    The front door clicked shut, and Daddy’s car crunched out of the drive, leaving total silence behind. Taysia could feel Kylen’s eyes boring into the top of her head as she applied the last Band-Aid.
    “Don’t let it get you down, Layne. He’ll come around.”
    She sighed. “I hope so. I think your foot is done. Can you feel any spot that I need to look at again?”
    Kylen palpated first one foot and then the other. “They feel fine. I think you got it all.”
    “So what was I missing? Everyone seemed to know why Daddy was here but me.”
    Kylen’s chuckle only irritated her more.
    “Just think about it. Where was he when I got here?”
    Taysia thought for a moment before her eyes widened in sudden understanding. “He needed to use the…”
    Kylen nodded. “Yep.”
    “Oh, for Pete’s sake! And I might have never known he was here if I hadn’t rearranged the furniture and put that crystal