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

vase on the pedestal.” She glanced to where the vase had been displayed, and moaned. “It looked so nice!”
    Kylen grinned and eased to his feet. “I better get home. I’ll see you at church in the morning.”
    She saw him to the door. “Thanks for coming to my rescue.” She meant the comment to sound flippant.
    His face turned serious. “Anytime, Layne. You just call and I’ll come running.”
    She watched him soft-foot across the lawn toward home and knew he meant exactly what he’d said.
    Drat the man and his troublesome timing!

Chapter 4
    The church gymnasium was loud despite the carpeted walls and cloth ceiling. Bouncing basketballs, squeaking tennis shoes, a stereo pulsing upbeat Christian music, and the buzz of high-energy conversations created a typical youth-group atmosphere.
    “Thank you, Mr. Reed!” Taysia shouted over the cacophony to the white-haired man. “We appreciate your support for the youth of our church!” She handed the stoop-shouldered gentleman the box of baked goods he had just paid for and wished again that Daddy would come with her to church. There were some wonderful men he would enjoy getting to know.
    Mr. Reed pointed to one hearing-aid-filled ear and shook his head. But the smile on his face said “thank you” as he scuttled out of the gym on rickety legs.
    Marie, who was arranging cookies on a tray, looked over and grinned. “Thanks for bringing me, Taysia. This is fun.”
    Taysia smiled and gave her a one-armed squeeze, glad Marie was enjoying herself.
    Blaine stepped up next to them, hands in his pockets, as Tom Quigley snagged a cookie from the tray set out for the youth. The six-foot-six lanky senior stuffed the whole cookie in his mouth and spoke around it. “We’re trying to get a pickup game going, Miss Green. We need one more player. Will you play with us?”
    Taysia gave Blaine a sly look. “Why don’t you ask Blaine here?”
    Marie huffed. “Blaine can’t pla—oh!” Taysia’s elbow connected solidly with one rib.
    Tom shrugged and glanced at the floor, face red.
    Blaine was quick to come to the young man’s rescue. “I’ll take my turn at the table now, Taysia. Why don’t you go play ball? You can work at trying to get me into shape another time.” At Taysia’s dark look, he continued, “Tell you what, I’ll toss the ball at the beginning of the game.”
    Taysia rolled her eyes but grinned at him and then turned to Marie. “Do you mind if I play a little ball before we go to lunch?”
    Marie waved a hand, her eyes darting toward the court. “No. Go ahead.”
    Taysia followed her gaze. Reece Cahill stood chatting quietly with one of the other female players, but even as Taysia watched, his focus drifted over the girl’s shoulder toward Marie. By the time Taysia turned back to Marie, her receptionist had returned her attention to arranging the cookies on the tray like her life depended on it.
    Hmmm…so maybe the breakup hadn’t been as easy for Reece as she’d thought. She’d love to see Marie settled in a relationship with a guy like him. She’d have to put the matter to some prayer.
    Looking back to Tom, Taysia said, “Alright. I have some gym clothes in my car. Give me five minutes to change, and I’ll be there.”
    Taysia ended up on the “shirts” team, for which she was thankful because the two girls on the “skins” team wore sweatbands around their heads to distinguish them—and she hated wearing a sweatband.
    Scooping her hair back into a careless ponytail, Taysia walked onto the court as she cheered her team on. “Alright, guys! Come on, let’s do this.” She clapped her hands and stepped into the center circle, ready to jump for the ball. Tom Quigley looked down his nose at her from the other side of the line, and she grinned up at him. “How’s the weather up there?” She knew he was proud of his height—even hoped to play college ball for Gonzaga next year.
    Reaching out, he ruffled her hair playfully and replied,