Cara Lockwood - The Big Break

“Well, I’m sorry for that, everyone,” she said, addressing the others. “I guess Mr. Hiram kind of missed the point of using Tai Chi to calm his Chi.”

A murmur of laughter rippled through the class.

“Okay, let’s start again with Moving the Water,” Jun said as she swept her arms forward as if pushing air.

* * *

FORTY MINUTES LATER, after a cooldown session, as the class dispersed, gathering their towels and bags and heading back to their cars, Jun saw that Kai had stuck around. He was kneeling next to Po, helping him add another turret to his sand castle. They had their heads together. Kai talked softly to the boy, the conversation not carrying over the wind. For a second, she just stood by, watching them. Kai showed him the trick to getting the wet sand out of the bucket without crumbling the top: three hard taps to the flat side of the bucket before gently lifting. Po listened and watched carefully and then repeated everything he’d just learned. Jun marveled at her son’s attention. He rarely sat still long enough to learn tips from her, and yet here he was, soaking up Kai’s every word.

Maybe Po could use another adult in his life, someone else to help him learn about the world. Someone other than his mother or aunt. Yet as soon as the thought entered her mind, defensively, she pushed it out.

No, they were just fine on their own. Her and Po against the world. Always had been. Always would be.

Kai wasn’t someone you could depend on, she reasoned. Jun remembered the two tourists at his house and the empty beer bottles on his floor. He might have done us a favor today, but he’s not the fathering type.

“Hey, Po, time to pack up, buddy,” she said, interrupting the scene.

“Aw, Mom.” Po looked up, disappointed. “Do I have to?”

“Yes, young man. You know the rule.” She prayed he wouldn’t test her on it. Not today. Not in front of Kai.

“When you say it’s time to go, it’s time to go.” Po hung his head in defeat and shuffled his feet in the sand.

“Sandals on. Go on.” Po reluctantly went to fetch his sandals, which he’d flung off earlier near a palm tree.

“He’s a good kid,” Kai said as the two watched him sit in the sand and put his shoes on.

“Yeah, he is.” Jun knew that in her heart to be true. The biting just wasn’t him at all. He really was a sweet kid, and he minded her so well, most of the time. “Listen, thanks for what you did. With Mr. Hiram. I don’t know what made him go off like that...”

“Who knows? But it wasn’t anything. Bullies are the same wherever they are.” Kai smiled, and the air between them got suddenly heavy. Jun was aware of how close Kai was standing, his dark hair ruffled by the sea breeze, his deep eyes like a warm, familiar place that she’d visited before.

He flashed a dazzling smile and Jun felt her heart shift just a little bit. She liked it when he smiled. She liked it a little too much.

Kai cleared his throat. “Your class was...really good.” He sounded surprised, but Jun tried not to take that personally. A lot of people had misconceptions about Tai Chi, and few realized how relaxing it could be when you really put yourself into it. It could have the same centering effects of yoga, she thought, but without all the contortion.

“Listen, this may sound crazy, but I recently lost my personal trainer. I looked you up. You’ve got all kinds of classes at Island Fit. I know you know your way around weights and training, because I called the gym and checked up on you. How much would it take for you to come work for me...full-time?”

CHAPTER FIVE

JUN STOOD FROZEN to the spot. Work for Kai Brady, full-time? She stared at his warm brown puppy-dog eyes and right at that moment she almost blurted out “Yes!” before her brain suddenly caught up to her mouth. She pressed her lips together. Careful, her brain said. There’s got to be a catch.

Did she want to work for him for the job, or to be closer to that smooth, unlined face, those strong, kissable lips?

She needed to figure this out. She wasn’t used to being recruited. Every job she’d ever had, every class she’d ever started, was her own doing, brought to life with blood, sweat and tears. Nobody ever handed her opportunity, ever. She was stunned, her mind trying to work through all the implications, even as her whole body reacted to the possibility. Working full-time for Kai Brady? All the hours they’d spend in close proximity... Her heart sped up a little.

“I used to pay my last trainer six figures to clear her calendar for me. I’ll offer the same thing for you.”

Jun’s knees felt weak. Six figures! She’d never made that kind of money in her life. It would double her salary. “But I...” With that, she could afford a nanny, she thought, and much more. Her head spun.

“I don’t know...” Jun couldn’t think. It was the promise of money, but it was also Kai, standing so close to her, the hem of his thin T-shirt fluttering in the beach breeze, giving a tantalizing glimpse of his flat tanned stomach and the muscled V just below his abs. She blinked, trying to regain her senses once more. But work for Kai Brady? She’d have to quit all her jobs, Island Fit and her private classes. That would mean counting entirely on the surfer, who might hire and fire at will. Jun remembered the scene at his house. Could she even train someone like that? And what if he got mad? He’d fire her, and she’d be completely out of work and completely out of luck. She didn’t like relying on anyone, and if she took the job, she’d have to rely on Kai for...everything.

“Po doesn’t have day care. And I wouldn’t have time to find a nanny...” This would be the deal breaker, she thought. Then she wouldn’t even have to think about accepting the job. Po would be her out.

“I know.” Kai shrugged, indifferent.

“You know?”

“When we were building sand castles, Po told me that he can’t go back. Because of the biting. But I’ve got someone who could watch him while we train. My aunt is really great with kids. She raised me, like a mom, and I know she’d be happy to stay with Po. I’d need to ask her, but I bet she’ll say yes. He could be at the house while we train. You wouldn’t be far from him.”

Jun felt dizzy with possibilities. It seemed like a dream job in so many ways, except one: she really didn’t know if she could do it. Could she whip Kai into shape?

“I don’t know...”

Kai grabbed her hand. Electricity shot up her wrist. She glanced at his strong hand on hers.

“Don’t say no. Just think about it, okay? Take two days.”

Jun wanted to say no. So much about it seemed perfect, which was why a small part of her screamed, It’s too good to be true!

And yet Jun found herself nodding.

“Okay, I’ll think about it.”

* * *

“WHAT’S TO THINK ABOUT?” Jun’s sister, Kiki, said, as she picked up her toddler daughter and held her on one hip. “He’s offering day care and more money than you’ve ever made. And you’ve had a crush on him for a year.”

“I have not.” Jun crossed her arms and leaned back against her older sister’s kitchen counter in her small house near Hilo, about an hour away from Jun’s apartment. Her heart beat a little faster in her chest, making her wonder if she was telling the truth. “He saved Po’s life. I’ve just been trying to figure out how to pay him back.”

“Take the job, then,” her sister said, shrugging as she stirred chicken stir-fry in an oversize wok on the stove. She took a sip of her iced tea. “What? Afraid you’ll fall into bed with him before the first week is up?”

“Kiki!” Jun instinctively glanced at Po, worried he’d overheard, but he was out of earshot, busy playing awful music on his cousin’s baby electronic keyboard, shaped like a smiling Cheshire cat, with the ivories as teeth. He was singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and pounding ruthlessly on the keys. His cousin, two-year-old Rose, squirmed to be let down, and so Kiki put her on the ground. She tottered around “helping” by dancing and shrieking in delight.