My Little Runaway (Destiny Bay) Read online

  This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental. All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.

  Copyright © 2013 Helen Conrad

  Cover Copyright © 2013 DoorKnock Publishing

  Cover images from Shutterstock.com

  First Edition April, 2013 published by DoorKnock Publishing

  My Little Runaway

  Destiny Bay Book 1

  By Helen Conrad

  She ran. He wants answers. But some secrets are just too painful to share.

  Jenny jumps out of airplanes in order to block out the painful memories of what made her run away from her family. Reid wants to fix the damage. The only problem is, he doesn’t know how deep it is, and how impossible it will be to cover over. Will his intoxicating love tempt her to risk it all again? Or will it end up making everything worse after all?

  Destiny Bay-Forever Yours

  Book 1-My Little Runaway

  Book 2-Wife For a Night

  Book 3-Too Scared to Breathe

  Book 4-Make Believe Wife

  Book 5-Promoted to Wife

  Book 6-Not the Marrying Kind

  Cast of Characters

  Destiny Bay Series~Forever Yours

  MY LITTLE RUNAWAY

  The three sons of Richard Carrington, wealthy attorney,

  and Martha Grover Carrington.

  Reid Carrington~ambitious attorney determined to restore the reputation of his family after his father’s scandal almost ruined them.

  Jennifer Thornton~grew up next door to the Carringtons, but left in order to save her parents from heartbreak. Reid brings her back to face a reality she’s not sure she can live with.

  Matt Carrington~has been gone for years after a rift with his father sent him into undercover work in Los Angeles. He now owns hotels in Hawaii.

  Grant Carrington~always a rebel, Grant went against his father’s plans for him and became a race car driver whose championship career is now in jeopardy.

  A Few Others

  Tag Carrington~their cousin, younger and more adrift, he lives mostly on his boat and avoids all risk of becoming a responsible adult.

  Mickey Adams~owner and proprietor of Mickey’s on the Bay, a local café where the Carringtons tend to hang out. She’s in love with Tag but can’t admit it, even to herself.

  Meggie Adams~Mickey’s adorable three year old

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Info

  Title Page

  Cast of Characters

  CHAPTER ONE: Tempting the Fates

  CHAPTER TWO: Picnic In The Park

  CHAPTER THREE: Have I Ever Kissed You?

  CHAPTER FOUR: Going Home

  CHAPTER FIVE: Memories of a Golden Boy

  CHAPTER SIX: Tennis Anyone?

  CHAPTER SEVEN: Tender is the Night

  CHAPTER EIGHT: Jumping Out of Airplanes

  CHAPTER NINE:The Perfect Dive

  CHAPTER TEN: Runaway Home

  Also in the Destiny Bay series

  Excerpt from Wife For A Night

  Excerpt from Dead Furst

  CHAPTER ONE:

  Tempting the Fates

  “Don’t look down.”

  Jennifer froze and forced her gaze back from the open doorway of the little airplane.

  “Why not?” she asked the tall, dark-haired man seated next to her, trying not to let fear sound in her voice. “Isn’t that where I’m going?”

  He threw his head back and laughed, the epitome of utter confidence. “Wait until you’re hanging out there under your canopy,” he advised. “Then you can look around all you want. But until you get out of the plane, you don’t want to be reminded of how far it is to the ground. You just might not be able to make the jump if you look.”

  Jennifer tried to grin, hoping she didn’t look quite the death mask she felt like.

  “I’ll make the jump, Eddie,” she promised faithfully. “Have I failed you yet?”

  He reached out and squeezed her hand. “Never,” he agreed. “Though it did get a bit dicey that time on the Colorado River when the whitewater got a little rough.” He smiled at her. “But you hung in even then, green as you were.”

  “Green!” She still got a queasy feeling even thinking about that horrible day. “I felt like chopped spinach. Very old and moldy chopped spinach.” She shuddered. “But I stayed with my kayak, and I’ll do this, too.”

  No matter how scared I am, she added silently to herself.

  “Here we go,” the jumpmaster called back to the four passengers. Each of them was fitted with a parachute and crouched, waiting by the open door of the plane. “Target below.”

  Jennifer’s stomach flip-flopped, then somersaulted again. Her icy fingers felt useless. How was she ever going to pull the line to activate her reserve if her main didn’t open? She closed her eyes, gave herself a quick mental kick in the pants, then rose to meet her fate.

  “Those of us about to die salute you,” she mumbled to herself.

  “What?” Eddie asked, but she shook her head and followed him to the takeoff position by the door.

  Why was she doing this? Despite her fear, she found herself smiling. She always asked that same question— but only as she stood on the brink of some new potential disaster. Why was she doing this? What was it that kept compelling her to challenge fate, to find new thrills?

  “Out you go,” Eddie ordered, his hand firmly against the parachute on her back, and she stepped out onto the platform under the wing, gasping as the wind hit her face.

  She was moving in sheer terror now, a numb white void in space. If she lived through this, she would never, never do it again!

  “Go!” he ordered, and she didn’t think but obediently stepped back and away from the wing, just as she’d been taught in ground school.

  She felt as though her nerves had been stripped away in one long, screaming instant. Then the static line automatically pulled the ripcord on her parachute, just as she’d been promised it would, and suddenly, the fear was over and pure enchantment began.

  She was floating like a lazy balloon. The only sound was a small rushing wind. Looking up, she could see the white canopy taut and full above her, holding her safe. Down below, the mountains rimmed a landscape stretched out like a giant game board.

  All fear forgotten, she laughed with delight and found her shroud control lines, pulling first on one set, then the other, to make herself flare out and turn, a merry dance in the skies.

  So this was what it was all about. This was why people loved it! It was wonderful. She was hooked!

  The ground came closer. She could see the target area, the building and fenced-in spectators’ gallery where the small crowd of onlookers—mostly passersby who’d stopped to watch and potential jumpers trying to get up the nerve to try it—was gathered. And there were the telephone wires off by the highway. She knew she had to avoid them at all cost, along with the duck pond that ran along the side of the landing field.

  She pulled on her shroud lines again. She was really getting pretty good at directing her fall. Wouldn’t it be something if she actually hit the target?

  She bit her lip, concentrating hard and trying to aim. The ground was very near now. She’d have to make an allowance for wind. Pulling hard on the right shroud, she found herself suddenly caught up in a dive toward the highway. She pulled hard again, but the dive only deepened. Suddenly, the ground was there, sweeping away
at a frightening rush around her, and she landed with a muddy splash.

  She was up again in a flash, but the harness that attached her to her soggy parachute held her back, and she couldn’t get free.

  “Damn!”

  She looked back toward the field, hoping no one had noticed where she’d landed. The humiliation! She could see Eddie landing right on target, hundreds of yards away. If only she could get out of this swamp before anyone came.

  The first thing to do was release the capewells. She fumbled but found them, and they came open easily enough, then she was free.

  She stumbled, trying to walk through the thick mud at the bottom of the pond and pull her soggy parachute behind her. What was light as a butterfly’s wing in the sky now felt like a lead balloon. With a tremendous effort she pulled the muddy fabric free and sank to her knees on solid ground.

  Sitting down with a weary thump, she leaned forward to begin working at her boots, trying to pull them off her soggy feet.

  Suddenly she was aware that someone had walked over from the spectators’ gallery and was standing near, watching her. Her head was bent over her work, but she could see a pair of highly polished shoes, attached to expensive, neatly creased slacks.

  She let out a long sigh. She’d been found out. There was certainly no use trying to hide what she’d done. She only hoped there wasn’t a water lily sitting atop her muddy helmet or a water snake down her jumpsuit.

  “It’s a new sport,” she said, not looking up but attacking the knotted lace on her other boot. “It’s called pond diving. I’m the world’s leading authority, as things stand right now.”

  The shoes didn’t move but managed to convey an air of impatience nonetheless. The person attached to them spoke.

  “Jennifer Thornton, when are you going to grow up?”

  His voice was familiar enough to capture her complete attention. She gazed up at the man, but the late afternoon sun was behind him, wrapping him in a mantle of light spears. All that stood out was a set of very wide shoulders and the vague outline of dark glasses hiding his eyes.

  “Who says I have to grow up?” she asked lightly, reaching under her chin to unclip the strap on her helmet, then pulling the hard hat from her head and shaking her full head of chestnut curls free. “I learned long ago that grownups never have any fun.”

  She peered into the shimmering light, trying to see his face. That voice was so familiar.

  “There’s a lot more to life than fun,” he scoffed. “You must be twenty-five years old by now. Haven’t you learned that yet?”

  “Twenty-six,” she corrected automatically. She knew who it was now. Leaning back, she let loose the natural smile that so many called irresistible.

  “Reid Carrington,” she said slowly. It had been a long time since she’d said that name aloud, but she’d never forgotten it. A bubble of happiness rose in her throat. “You always were trying to teach me something, weren’t you?”

  “Was I?” He stepped closer, and she could see the outlines of his handsome face. “The way I remember it, you were the one trying to teach me.”

  Despite herself, Jennifer blushed, then bent to hide her smile. If he was going to bring up the embarrassing way she used to chase him when she was a kid, she’d deny everything.

  What a crush she’d had! Every summer, she’d spent the long, lazy days mooning over the handsome older boy next door. She must have made his life miserable.

  “It has been a long time,” she said softly, wishing she could see him better. “Seven years.”

  “You look the same.” His voice had a curiously flat sound, and she frowned, wondering why. “Just the same.”

  “You look different.” She pulled herself up to stand before him, and now she could see his face clearly. All of it except the blue eyes. They were still covered by the dark glasses. “You look very Junior Chamber of Commerce, now.” She grinned, examining his wrinkle-free slacks and the expensive pale blue shirt with the little polo player over the pocket. “Or is that an insult? Should I say Junior Stockbroker?”

  She laughed softly, enchanted with seeing him again. He brought back all the good memories of the past. The misery, the unhappiness, that she tried so hard to blot out, had nothing to do with Reid. She’d often wondered over the years what had happened to him.

  One night, after helping to drink a whole bottle of champagne to celebrate a friend’s engagement, she’d even dialed his number, long distance. The maid who’d answered said only that Mr. Carrington was “not at home,” and she’d never had the nerve to try again.

  She remembered his smile from all those long-ago summers. His hair was cut shorter now, but it still gleamed just as dark, with silver highlights glistening in the afternoon sun. Were his eyes still that bright deep-sea blue?

  “I can remember when you had long, shaggy hair and never went anywhere unless you could wear your old patched jeans,” she said softly, wanting to reach for him, to touch him, as though to make sure he was real. “What ever happened to those jeans? Remember the patch I sewed on for you, the one that said, ‘If Today Was a Fish, I’d Throw It Back”?”

  “I got rid of them,” he broke in coolly. “Ever hear that old saw about putting away childish things? Most of us live by it.”

  She drew back, stung. They’d always argued in the old days—but never with malice. What had happened to the warmth between them?

  There was a time she’d wished Reid could be her big brother instead of Tony. Then she’d grown up a little and realized Reid would be much better for another role in her life. Through all the changes, he’d always been a friend. Why was he so distant now?

  His strange attitude made her wary, exposing a bit of her old pain. She’d lost so much, more than she cared to think of. Had she lost him, too?

  “It’s nice to see you.” Maybe. “What are you doing out here at Elsinore?” she asked, hoping with sudden desperation that he would loosen up and be his old self again.

  He shifted his weight, but whatever he was thinking was hidden behind the sunglasses.

  “I’ve just spent the week at Palm Springs with friends,” he replied shortly. He gestured toward the gallery, and she could see three people standing apart, as though they were waiting for him. Two women and a man—all three of them looking as highly bred and well groomed as thoroughbred racehorses. Their clothes reeked of expensive taste.

  “We’re on our way back to Destiny Bay now. We stopped by to watch a little of the skydiving, and then I saw your name on the roster.”

  She licked her lips, no longer smiling. His voice was so cold. He was like a stranger.

  “Were you surprised?” she asked, wishing she could see his eyes. Why was he so hostile? What had she done to make him angry? She couldn’t imagine.

  Before he answered, she could see the muscle along his jawline tightening. She could feel his contempt as though it were a physical force that could slap at her and leave a scar.

  “No, I wasn’t surprised,” he said flatly. “Nothing you do surprises me anymore.” He stepped closer. “Other people’s lives don’t seem to mean much to you these days. Why wouldn’t you risk your own for a cheap thrill?”

  For just a moment she was shocked, but she held back the quick retort that jumped to her lips. She wasn’t sure why he was attacking her. But then she stopped. Of course she knew. Why try to fool herself? Still, she couldn't admit it to him.

  “What is it, Reid?” she asked, wariness quivering along her spine. “What’s the matter?”

  He looked back toward his friends, then down at her again. “Why haven’t you been back, Jennifer? You know your parents need you.”

  She swallowed hard and looked down at her wet and muddy parachute. It had looked so light and silky —gossamer like—when she was sailing down through the sky. Now it looked like dirty laundry. Nothing good ever lasted.

  “I didn’t see you at Tony’s funeral,” he added shortly. “You might at least have shown up for that.”

  She look
ed away, hiding the pain that was an open wound now.

  “Funerals are depressing.” She tried to keep her tone light, but she didn’t succeed very well. “I didn’t want to ruin my weekend.”

  Couldn’t he tell she was lying? Couldn’t he hear the agony in her voice?

  No, obviously not. He took her words quite literally, and despised her for them, while she tried hard not to care.

  “So you ruined your parents’ lives instead.” He said it calmly, as though he really believed it.

  Her pain was cutting like a knife in her chest, and she had to get him out of here. She swung her head up, glaring at him.

  “Listen, Reid Carrington, what I do is really none of your business. Why don’t you just go back to your high-class friends and leave me where you found me?”

  Barefooted, she faced him, positioning herself so that the light wasn’t blinding her any longer. He was only a few inches taller than she was, but he had the athletic build of a professional diver, with shoulders wide enough to hold up the sky and slim hips that seemed made especially to show off his beautifully made slacks. She wished she had the nerve to pull the shades from his face so that she could see his expression.

  Damn those sunglasses anyway!

  He was taking his time answering her, and he didn’t look like he was about to follow her angry advice. Disconcerted, she turned away and took hold of the zipper on her muddy jumpsuit, pulling it down the length of her body.

  And then she wished she had waited until he’d gone. There he was, staring at her, while she began to peel the coverall away like a butterfly shedding a bulky cocoon. In no time she stood before him in the very brief denim shorts and skimpy tank top that she wore underneath.

  This was how she dressed. She’d never thought twice about it before. But with Reid watching her, his gaze touching every inch of her, she suddenly felt almost naked. The breeze blew her curly hair across her eyes, and she sneaked another look at his face.