I leaned back, basking in the rays and listening to the waves. They gently bounced the jet-ski up and down. I could see clouds forming on the horizon. In the distance, there were large whitecaps, but right next to the reef it was relatively quiet. I could hear the soft splashes emitted by Tyler as he swum around looking at fish and the hum of another electric jet-ski. Logan wasn't far from us, bouncing off the water and doing tricks on his own jet-ski. He hit a wave and shot up into the air, the jet-ski rolling in a controlled spin before hitting the water with an easy splash. Showoff, I thought, adjusting my sunglasses. I pointedly turned and looked back at Tyler. I did not need to give Logan Hayes an audience.
“Aunt Liv!” Tyler called out, his head popping up from the water. He was on the far side of the small reef. “There's a moray eel over here! You have to come see it!”
“On my way!” I shouted back, starting the engine. I would have to circle around the edge of the reef to get to him since I didn't want to go over it and risk damaging the delicate ecosystem. The jet-ski purred to life and I started the quick jaunt into deeper waters to reach him.
The waves were rougher outside the calm of the reef, but I had been on a jet-ski enough times to know how to ride it. I was almost to Tyler when a rogue wave came out of nowhere and slammed into the jet-ski.
I wasn't ready for it. I felt my body lift from the seat, and suddenly become alarmingly weightless. The last thought through my head before I hit the water was that I had forgotten to put my life jacket back on. Maddy was going to kill me.
Chapter 5
The world was a beautiful shade of blue, like a robin's egg, but with swirls of white that made me think of cotton candy. I heard Tyler's voice, full of panic and fear, but it was very far away. Pain rushed through me, but it was as if I had never experienced it before and wasn't sure what pain was. My thoughts were dull and foreign as I slowly came back to myself.
“Olivia, can you hear me?” A deep, masculine voice asked. I knew that voice. I loved that voice. No, I hated that voice. That voice belonged to Logan Hayes.
I quickly righted myself so I was no longer looking up at the sky to find myself bobbing in the ocean. Logan had been holding my shoulders to keep me floating above the waves since I didn't have my life jacket on and had been out cold. As I sat up, he released me and I had to remember to tread water to keep my head from going under again. There was a splash as Tyler tossed me my life jacket and I clung to it so I wouldn't have to swim. My head was pounding.
“Of course I can hear you,” I answered. I meant to sound cross, but my tongue was sluggish so I just sounded sleepy. “What happened?”
“You hit a wave and flipped¸” Tyler answered. He was sitting up on our jet-ski, his freckles dark against pale skin. He looked like he might be sick. “It knocked you out.”
That would definitely explain the headache. Tyler shifted in his seat, eyes as big as saucers. Maddy would never forgive me when she found out about this. “Are you okay, Tyler?”
“Yeah, I'm fine,” he said with a small nod. “Are you okay?”
I did my best to smile up at him, but my whole head was pounding. “I'll be all right. My head just hurts.”
“You are pretty damn lucky,” Logan admonished. I had almost forgotten that he was there. His jet ski floated peacefully in the water behind him. “Tyler got to you and flipped you onto your back so you wouldn’t drown. You're lucky he's a good swimmer and has a good head on his shoulders.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked Logan, turning to face him. His blonde curls were plastered to his head from swimming in the water. He looked pissed.
“Tyler was screaming for help. You're lucky to be alive. Why the hell weren't you wearing your life jacket?” Logan glared at me like I had been an idiot. To be fair, I was, but I wasn't about to let him know that I agreed with him.
“I wasn't going that fast. It's not like this was my first time on a jet-ski.” I wished I could cross my arms, but that would mean letting go of the life jacket. Logan's frown deepened as his eyes went to my cheek.
Water was dripping from my hair down my face, so I wiped my hand across my cheek to stop the tickling sensation...only it wasn't water. Blood was trickling down my cheek from a cut in my scalp. It wasn't much, but I suddenly had a very strong desire to get out of the water.
“We need to get you back to shore,” Logan said with an air of authority. I hated that I immediately wanted to do what he said. “You need to have someone look at your head. You probably have a concussion.”
“Thank you, Dr. Hayes,” I said as sarcastically as possible. Logan didn't even bat an eyelash. I kicked my feet, propelling myself toward Tyler and the jet-ski.
“Where do you think you're going?” Logan asked, grabbing the life jacket and halting me easily in place.
“To get on my jet-ski and go get my head looked at,” I sai
d as calmly as possible. “Are you sure that you're not the one with a head injury?”
“You are not driving. Tyler will take that jet-ski back by himself. You are riding with me.”
“Like hell I am!” I pulled at the life jacket to free it from his hands, but his grasp didn't budge an inch. He didn't even sway in the water.
Logan looked at me as though I might be clinically insane. “You're head is bleeding and you were out for a good couple of minutes. You need someone else to drive.”
“I'll ride with Tyler. He can do it,” I said stubbornly. The last thing I wanted was to be so close to Logan.
“No,” Logan explained patiently, still holding onto my life jacket. “Tyler will be able to handle the jet-ski on his own, but you won't be doing him any favors being off balance. You're riding with me.”
“It'll be okay, Aunt Liv. I'll be right behind you. Logan's good on a jet-ski. I saw him. You'll be fine.” I looked up at Tyler. He was so pale against the orange of his life jacket that I thought he might pass out at any moment, but he stayed sitting and did his best to smile encouragingly at me. Bless that kid's heart, he was trying to comfort me. He thought I was scared of Logan's jet-ski abilities and of falling again. If that were my only problem with Logan, life would be easy.