DAnn Burrow - Playing by the Rules

P laying by the Rules , Secrets and Lies Book One

Copyright 2015 by DAnn Burrow

All rights reserved.

Except in the case of limited quotes used in critical reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form without written permission from the author.

w ww.dkburrow.com

ISBN: 978-1-942239-01-7

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events, and places are the products of the authors imagination or are fictionalized for this story. Any resemblance to actual happenings, people living or deceased, is entirely coincidental and unintentional.

C over design : Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations

ISBN: 978-1-942239-01-7

Created with Vellum

D angerous Games

Secrets and Lies, Book 2

Releasing 9/28/2015

:39 p.m.

T he wooden door banged closed with a thud, echoing louder than the roar of the waves breaking in the distance. Tower Six was officially closed for the night. In two more weeks, Id be saying goodbye to the seaweed, salt spray and ever-present sand between my toes for yet another school year. A dull ache filled my chest as I took in the fading orange-tinged light. Fourteen sunsets until senior year.

My dad not-so-secretly hoped Id give up my spot on Carlsbad State Beach forever, not just for the school term. I loved it here, and it gave me something to do over the summer other than the ever-popular shopping and flirting. Neither was an activity I excelled at.

But being a lifeguardthat was something I could do. It wasnt that he had anything against me being a lifeguard. It was more that his only daughter was workingsomething inconceivable to his decidedly-upper-class, British upbringing.

Thankfully, my mom was all for the summer job. Shed been working since she was thirteen, first at her moms daycare and later at the busiest pie shop in Piney Bluff, Texas. Shed stick a hand on her hip and challenge dad to take issue with how she turned out.

Maybe my mom wasnt the best example.

Closing up for the night? A cheerful voice called up from somewhere under the stairs. Grant always sounded cheerful. Even when he was lecturing the junior lifeguards within an inch of their lives, his grin was bright enough for a toothpaste commercial. It kind of diluted the threatening effect he was going for.

Yep. I took two steps down the ramp before turning back. I tested the door with two quick tugs.

He ducked and came around to meet me at the base of the stand. He smelled like coconut sunscreen. Only Grant would re-apply before sunset. No sunburns on his watch. And how was my star lifeguards day?

Im not your star lifeguard.

Really? He flashed a look that said we both knew he was playing with me. You know anybody else with their picture on the front page of the paper for saving a three-year-old?

I was just doing my job.

In swells Id be afraid to go into.

I didnt buy that for a minute. He had won more surfing trophies than I had awards for one-act plays. They sparkled on the shelves in his office. When the junior lifeguards didnt follow orders, they got stuck polishing the awards until he could see his reflection in them.

You wouldnt have been afraid of them. And it didnt matter if I was. Because I had been afraid. I was terrified. Thats why wed been under a red flag warning in the first place. Building sand castles or not, the little girls mom shouldnt have let her get that close to the water. And the former-lifeguard in the tower next to me should have noticed the kid wandering into the water. I didnt really have a choice. She was going to drown.

The glimmer in his eyes told me Id walked straight into his trap. Exactly. And thats why I dont want to lose you, Kennedy. You sure I cant talk you into staying on this school year? I could make sure you just work weekends. Maybe a Friday night here or there.

I closed my eyes, letting the soft night breeze rustle my bangs hanging limply over my forehead. When I left the beach each day, I looked like a train wreck. Grant didnt seem to care. He raised an eyebrow, and his gray-green eyes roamed my face. He knew how much I wanted to say yes.

No. A portion of the stillness that came over me disappeared. You know thats not an option.

Your dad?

Who else?

For a minute, he reached out, his hand hovered just above my arm. That was right before one of the police buggies drove past. Even from ten feet away, I could feel the set of eyes condemning us from behind the too-dark-to-see-what-he-was-looking-at sunglasses. Dude was deadly serious about the rules, including the one about no supervisor/lifeguard fraternization. I think he had the rule book memorized. He reminded me of my father. Speaking of

Ive got to go. I hated looking into those puppy-dog eyes. I knew I was the best lifeguard he had, and not just from the nine employee of the week signs hanging on the wall of the office that Id earned during this summer. And not from the ten from last summer. I knew I was the best lifeguard because wed had this conversation every night since I gave my three-week notice last week.

Dont tell me. Youve got a curfew.

Something like that.

Well, Ill see you tomorrow.

Bright and early. I sounded too chipper, too perky. Crap, I said I was bad at the whole flirting thing.

Grants curly, sun-lightened brown hair bounced against his neck as he jogged away toward a group of pre-teens who didnt seem to understand the meaning of the phrase Beach Closed.

I hoisted my bag onto my shoulder and began walking through the sand toward the deserted parking lot. Most of the lifeguards took public transportation, one reason I tended to hang out until everyone else had left. No one needed to see me getting into my car.

The sky blue convertible was too flashy for me. Id told my father that when we visited the dealership and while we were on the test drive. I lived three blocks from my school and less than five minutes drive from the beach. Hed just narrowed his eyes, listening to the salesman prattle on about the list of safety specifications and all the reasons the convertible was fitting for someone of my status.

Our status.

Before my grandparents disowned him for coming to the States after listening to one-too-many speeches about democracy, he was the Earl of something. Once the phrase when I was back in England was uttered, I found a way to leave the room.

He might not still technically be an earl, but he was still convinced his family would live like he was. If his parents ever darkened our threshold, theyd be comfortable at our house. He didnt have the title any longer, but he still had his familys money.

And I had a convertible I didnt want.

I dipped my hand into my bag as quickly as humanly possible and unlocked the car with a single press of the button. I checked the back seat. Twice. Then, I slid behind the wheel and started the car. Before backing out, I checked the windows and the rear view camera. Turning around in my seat, I looked around just in case someone was behind the car the camera didnt catch. So far, it hadnt been wrong but better safe than sorry. I checked the camera again. Clear.