Page 48 of Catch a Wave

Mavs leads the way back to the house where Kai is getting ready for work. The timing may not be ideal, but I’m not worriedabout that. When Kai sees her with this dog, he’ll say yes. Ben’s opening today, so we have a little bit of time to talk to Kai before he leaves.

Mavs opens the gate to the front yard and walks up the porch steps ahead of me. She’s taxed from the exertion of walking to the beach and back and also standing for so long while I surfed. I can tell by the effort it takes her to make it up the stairs.

“Are you hurting?” I ask.

“A little. Just sore. I’ve probably been overdoing it now that the boot is off. I’ll put my leg up for a while after we’re settled inside.”

“Okay.”

Mavs gives me a shy smile. Yeah. I’m still protective of her, and now she sees it. At least she hasn’t told me to leave her alone or to stop caring. I couldn’t if I wanted to.

“Hey, Kai?” Mavs shouts from inside the front door.

I’m still holding Shaka, walking in behind Mavs. I’m not sure what he’ll do once he’s out of my arms. Plus, my buddy needs a bath something fierce. I’m not letting him down until he’s cleaned up.

“Yeah. What’s up?”

Kai comes around the corner from the hallway into the living room. His hair is wet, but he’s dressed in shorts and a T-shirt—in other words, our work uniform. We take business casual to a whole new level.

Kai looks from Mavs to me to the dog. “What’s going on? Why is there a dog in here? Is that the dog that’s been hanging around the shack?”

Mavs squares her shoulders. When Kai’s gaze travels over the three of us, I realize how close Mavs and I are standing to one another. We look like a couple. Lines blur so easily with her. It would take nothing—and everything—to slip back into our old relationship. Only, that’s dead. Whatever we’re doing, it has tobe new. We’re like Pompeii, buried under rubble. Even if we dug up the remains of what we were, it wouldn’t be of any use.

“That’s Shaka,” Mavs declares with a tone that she only takes with her brother, and only when he’s challenging her capabilities or trying to cage her in.

“Shaka?” Kai looks confused.

“He’s my dog now,” Mavs says.

She reaches over and scrubs the dog behind his ears. Shaka turns toward her and places his cheek in her palm.

“If you don’t want me to keep him here, I’ll look for another place to stay—with him.”

Mavs thumbs over at me and the dog and it almost looks like she’s saying she’d move with me. Kai’s brows draw in a little.

Mavs squares her hands on her hips like she’s ready to take her brother on. This is not exactly what I pictured when she said she’d ask Kai. But, okay, this works too. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t impacted by seeing this fierce side of Mavs return to the forefront. She’s gentle and free—one of the kindest souls you’d ever want to meet—but when she sets her mind to something, she’s a force.

“Whoa. Whoa.” Kai holds his hands in the air. “I just asked what the dog was doing here, Kala. He can stay. You’re a grown woman. If you want the dog, he’s yours.”

“Really?” She nearly squeals, dropping all defensiveness and softening immediately at Kai’s words. She runs over—well, it’s a sort of a wobbly hopping kind of run—and gives Kai a huge hug. “Thank you! Thank you!”

Shaka’s tail thumps against my abs as if he knows he just got the go ahead to become the fourth roommate in this odd configuration we’ve got going on.

“What about me?” I mutter quietly into Shaka’s fur. “I don’t get a thank you hug? I’m the one who kept you around long enough for her to fall for you.”

Shaka just licks my jaw. It’s not a substitute for an exuberant hug from Mavs, not even close. This dog’s breath needs whatever dogs use for Listerine. It’s nearly toxic.

“I’m going to give him a bath,” I tell Kai. “I’ll meet you at the shack at ten.”

“We’d better get him food,” Kai mutters. “And whatever else he’ll need.”

Mavs shoots me a secretive smile. “Bodhi’s got that covered.”

I smile back at her and Kai looks between the two of us with an expression of confusion and concern.

“Okay.” He turns to grab his sweatshirt. “I’ll see you tonight.” Kai nods toward Mavs.

Then he turns his attention to me and the dog. “And I’ll see you in a few hours. Make sure that thing doesn’t poop in here.”

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