Always Another Sunset, page 1
ALWAYS ANOTHER SUNSET
PREVIOUSLY “ONE LAST SUNSET”
KC LUCK
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons either living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2022 KC Luck Media
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Epilogue
About the Author
Thank You
Also by KC Luck
iReadIndies
1
Unable to stop herself, Bella Wood dropped her forehead to the keyboard and let out a long growl of frustration. Enough was enough. The blinking cursor on the laptop’s blank screen mocked her, almost scolded her for not writing all day. Six hours spent in her chair, at the desk, trying to write. She wasn’t going to look at the damn thing any longer. Rising from the desk without a glance back, Bella cut across the small studio she had rented three days before and stepped onto the lanai. Four stories below, the famous Waikiki Beach thrived with early summer excitement as sunburned tourists headed home for the day along Kalakaua Avenue, dodging trolley busses and rented cars, all convertibles naturally. In the distance rolled the ocean—turquoise blue water accented with white caps racing toward the famous beach. The day was starting to fade, and as she looked on, another spectacular Hawaiian sunset was already in the making.
She willed herself to enjoy the view and not think about the weeks passing without progress on her next book—a sequel to her debut, runaway bestseller, Catching the Moment. The novel hit the lesbian romance bestseller list only six months before. Unfortunately, writing it wasn’t easy. As much as they professed to love the story, her fans were growing restless, and emails from them sounded more demanding than ever. Readers were desperate to know what happened next to their beloved characters. If only I knew, Bella thought, feeling a constant knot of anxiety tightening in her chest. But I have no idea. Every possible plot that popped into her head over the last few months seemed flimsy and contrived. She would sit and write what felt like something promising and then abandoned it when she realized there was nothing worth reading there. Boring.
Add in that Bella could not shake the idea that anything but another blockbuster would dissatisfy everyone, and she was paralyzed. The thought she might disappoint her fans petrified her. So, in the end, she wrote nothing worthwhile at all. Thousands of words were simply deleted.
At least tomorrow I’ll have a reason for not writing, she thought, slipping into one of the cushioned, wicker patio chairs. They were nestled around a small glass-topped table, cute and a little romantic, assuming she was with the right person. Leaning her back against the cushion, Bella took in a deep breath at the thought of finding anyone special and then sighed. Whoever that is. Being a lesbian romance writer, fans assumed, or rather, expected, a fantastic love life behind it. For Bella, nothing could be further from the truth.
People, real people, not the brave and flirty ones she dreamed up and wrote about, made her nervous. In the real world, meeting someone for the first time left her tongue-tied and ready to flee. Just another thing her readers would never know about her, because she worried they would love her less. But tomorrow, I’ll be different, she thought. Tomorrow, I’ll be brave and do something exotic. I’m going on an adventure. The colorful, glossy pamphlet that inspired her rested on the table beside her, accompanied by an empty wineglass faintly stained with pinot noir from last night. The wine had proved to be the extra inspiration she needed to leave a message at the number in the pamphlet to sign up. When the nice, young-sounding man called her back at lunchtime, Bella almost changed her mind, but at that moment, anything seemed a better alternative than the blank computer screen and taunting cursor. So, tomorrow, at dawn no less, Bella Wood was embarking on something significantly far out of her comfort zone—a sea kayaking adventure.
Sitting at the computer on the old metal desk at Oahu Paddle Adventures and working on the day’s paperwork, JC Monroe’s blue eyes glanced up from the screen when someone stepped through the small building’s backdoor. Blake, her teammate for the day and favorite employee, had wrapped up his chores outside. “Kayaks are rinsed and stowed for the night, and I locked up the shed. Anything else you need done before I head out?” he asked, already grabbing his red, waterproof gear bag and heading for the front door.
JC waved her hand toward the exit. “Thanks. You can take off,” she said with a smile. “Same time tomorrow.”
Blake gave her a grin, his teeth flashing white against his tan skin. “Sure thing, JC,” he said and then he was gone, while she refocused on finishing her last task. She nearly had the day’s customer insurance waivers filed in the computer, then she would lock up the hut that served as the company’s headquarters and head home. The idea of settling in a lounger, putting her feet up around the small pool in her backyard, and enjoying an ice-cold Kona Longboard sounded like a good one. Although, for JC, every minute spent in the Hawaiian sunshine was a good one. Even today, which had proven to be tougher than normal, she loved the tropical paradise she called home. Back-to-back, three-hour kayaking tours, with the first starting at eight in the morning, were part of why the day was a struggle. It didn’t help that the groups were larger than expected for so early in the season and that no one showed much natural skill at the sport. It was all she and Blake could do to keep everyone upright in their kayaks and paddling in one direction. At least the weather cooperated, only misting the group with one ‘pineapple shower’ as they were leaving Moku Island. The island was a popular seabird haven just off the coast of Lanikai Beach on Oahu’s windward side and served as the midpoint for the paddling adventure.
Thinking of the small bit of rain they experienced, she remembered the weather forecast notification for tomorrow sat in her email inbox. Clicking on the Gmail icon on her screen, she took a look and frowned. A significant weather front was coming in. High winds and heavy rain were predicted to arrive late in the day, so it might not impact the tours, but it was still something to note as the ocean swells in front of the storm would be higher than average. Canceling tomorrow’s activities crossed her mind, but she felt that might be overreacting. The weathermen were so often wrong, especially about the severity of storms. She decided to peek at the next day’s appointments before making any kind of decision. Another big, inexperienced group could be trouble, and she didn’t want any surprises.
Opening the client registration program, JC scanned the list of people signed up. Thankfully, the day’s A.M. and P.M. groups were more manageable. In fact, the morning one was really small. Only three people had registered for the tour, and no one had signed up for the afternoon. Not great for business, but after wrangling a dozen in the day’s first group, she was happy to see it. The afternoon might still fill up, but if the weather moved in faster than expected, that excursion would need to be rescheduled. The tourists wouldn’t be happy about it; no doubt some would cancel outright because they were only on the island temporarily, but JC put safety first. We will just have to play it by ear, she thought and went to close the list when a name caught her eye. Bella Wood.
Not the most common name in the world, so not entirely impossible it was the person she knew. Still, odds made it unlikely the woman was the same one she remembered from college back on the mainland. The one JC had a wicked crush on through four years of English classes together. They were always ‘just friends’ and devoted study partners. For JC, the infatuation was so much more than friendly that she used her electives to take the same classes Bella had enrolled in. Suffering her way through courses about Faust and Shakespeare, she endured the confusing plays and poems in old languages if it meant they could hang out with each other afterward. Could Bella Wood actually be in Hawaii and going on a tour? With my company? She felt a flutter in her stomach at the idea, but then frowned. No way. JC considered herself fortunate, sometimes would even say a charmed life, but she knew even she wasn’t that lucky.
2
Bella bit her lip as the white passenger van rolled into the nearly empty parking lot near the beach where she and the others would launch their adventure. For the tenth time she considered bailing out of the whole thing. What am I doing? she asked h
The driver, a polite young man named Blake, pulled into a parking space and shut off the engine. “Here we are,” he said with a smile as he turned to look at his passengers. “Everyone excited to hit the waves?” Bella swallowed hard. She hated conflict and knew her sudden decision not to go would be unpopular. Still, quite possibly, her life depended on explaining she had changed her mind. Before she could raise her hand and begin to rationalize her desire to quit, the young couple, honeymooners as they had announced during introductions, exclaimed they could not wait. Their enthusiasm was so great that the new husband opened the sliding door to the shuttle even before Blake could come around to do it for them.
Suddenly, Bella felt her hand being grabbed by the bubbly bride. “Come on,” she said with a laugh. “This is so incredible.”
Never one to put up a fight and not sure what else to do, she let the young woman pull her along until she stood with them beside the van. With an aching stomach, Bella tried to distract herself by scanning the parking lot around them. They were not alone, and her eyes stopped at the sight near them. Blake began giving a few instructions, but he could have been speaking Greek for all Bella heard. Her focus was entirely distracted by the athletic, tan woman, with blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, unloading kayaks from a trailer attached to a black Jeep Wrangler. Stenciled in gold on the side of the vehicle was Oahu Paddle Adventures, and Bella’s decision to abandon the trip was temporarily forgotten. If that goddess was going with them, the trip might be worth dying over. Watching the woman for another minute, Bella felt the strangest sensation of déjà vu. Like I’ve seen her before somewhere, she thought, but before she could process anything, she heard someone calling her name.
“Ms. Wood?” Blake asked and, feeling herself blush at being caught staring longingly at a stranger, Bella forced herself to pull her eyes away and refocus.
“I’m sorry. What were you saying?” A broad grin flashed on Blake’s face. Friendly and warm, but also perhaps a little knowing.
Clearly Bella was not the first person to ogle his partner. “Just explaining we will be fitting for life vests first, then learning some strokes with the paddle before heading out. Okay?” he asked.
Unable to stop herself from simply going along with what was happening, she nodded. “Yes.”
“Perfect,” Blake said before motioning in the direction of the blonde and the jeep. “Here comes JC with some vest options for everyone to try on.”
JC? Bella thought. The initials brought back a rush of memories. College. Studying for quizzes on Shakespeare’s sonnets. A friend who Bella had wished would kiss her almost every day of the four years they spent together. But that’s not possible…
Suddenly, the goddess from the trailer was standing beside her. For a second, the morning’s rising sun was behind her, so the woman’s face was shadowed. There was no way to discern her features. It could be anyone, but then she turned. Bella saw who it was, and her heart nearly stopped. “Hello, Bella,” JC said with a smile, and Bella was whisked back in time. The same gentle voice, the same beautiful smile, the same gorgeous blue eyes… it seemed impossible. The woman she once had an incredible crush on stood right in front of her.
As JC had walked across the parking lot with the life vests, she studied the dark-haired woman standing with the others. She was tall enough, maybe curvier than in college, but there was something in her stance that made JC think it could possibly be the Bella she once knew. When she came up beside her, and their eyes met, the world seemed to stop. JC was looking into the face of her old college crush. In an instant, fifteen years were wiped away. There they were together, in a parking lot, on a tropical island, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Stunned, JC forced a smile and a hello and was amazed she was able to get the words out. Especially considering her mouth went dry the minute she realized it really was Bella Wood from college. Unfortunately, she didn’t know what to do next. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, except her heart, which galloped a million beats a minute.
Thankfully, Blake came to the rescue from where he stood with the others. “Hey, you guys know each other?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow at JC when she didn’t answer or move to hand him any life vests. Stepping closer, he took the lot of them from JC’s arms, while looking back and forth between Bella and her. His furrowed brow proved he was more puzzled than ever. “Everything okay?”
As if his question broke the spell that had frozen them, JC watched Bella cover her mouth with her hands, but she didn’t say a word. Her eyes were wide and filled with emotion. For a split second, JC wondered if maybe everything wasn’t okay. They lost touch not long after college when JC went to Kuwait to serve her time in the Army ROTC. Bella went to Italy to write. There was never a long, drawn-out goodbye, simply time and distance making a friendship fade away. For JC, she considered it a lost love, but as far as she knew, Bella never saw what they had that way. The separation seemed amicable, but it wasn’t impossible that JC had misinterpreted something so long ago. Maybe I hurt her somehow, she thought, feeling a prickle of anxiety. What if she never wanted to see me again and here we are? “Is everything okay?” she asked, looking harder into Bella’s eyes, trying to read them.
“Yes,” the other woman finally breathed. Lowering her hands, Bella shook her head. “Everything is definitely okay. I just can’t believe it. JC, is it really you? After all this time?”
At those words, delight bloomed in JC’s chest and all her worrying if it was really her Bella or if she had somehow offended her vanished. “It’s really me,” was all JC could muster before laughter bubbled up inside her. The impossibility of the situation, yet the wonderfulness of it too, seemed suddenly funny. After a beat, Bella started to giggle, then laughed harder. Before JC knew what she was doing, the two were hugging and laughing and crying all at once. In the magic of that moment, JC realized a piece of her had been missing all these years. By some miracle, on some random morning, what she had been lacking was back in her life, even if for only a moment. Not until Blake cleared his throat and caught her eye did JC reluctantly pull away. Her partner was grinning, looking confused as ever, but there was a touch of worry too. JC never normally acted so spontaneously and certainly never laughed and cried at eight o’clock in the morning over a guest. She was the serious side of the business, and he was the adventurous one.
His worry didn’t matter to JC though. She would explain everything later, but in her mind, something special was happening, even though JC didn’t know what bumping into Bella meant. She only knew that her long lost friend was on the trip with her. Even if the woman was married with three kids or was a criminal on the run, JC didn’t care. All that mattered was having a chance to get to know her again.
3
With her mind spinning, Bella somehow managed to put on her life vest and learn how to hold the kayak’s paddle correctly. She was also able to walk with the group to the broad, sandy beach where they would launch the kayaks, all while her thoughts raced over memories of JC. There were so many questions she wanted to ask her, but it was not the right time. But will there be another opportunity? she worried. JC was clearly as happy to see her as Bella was to see JC, and the hug had been tight. A warm glow lingered from where their bodies had touched. Reflecting on the magical moment, she had no doubt all the laughter and the tears were genuine.
