Live In Position (20 page)

The kids were finishing
up when Max arrived. His boisterous and recognizable voice carried in from the foyer. It wasn't long after his arrival Larissa and Allison appeared in the kitchen.

"It's time to head down to the beach." Allison smiled and walked over to Gregory and Michael, who hopped down from their seats. Allison looked up to William. "Make sure you have a blanket and jackets for them
.” He nodded and headed toward the stairs.

"Hey," I stopped William.
"Why don't you head down and I’ll run up and grab jackets and blanket?" I turned to Amber, "You too."

"Are you sure?" Amber
was bouncing MJ in her arms.

"Yeah, tak
e Victoria down with you and I’ll be down in a few." I started for the stairs.

"Sophia," I looked back to William. "Across the driveway is a set of sta
irs that lead down to the beach." I smiled and nodded, thankful he’d told me.

First, I grabbed jackets for Gregory and Michael, then I moved on to Ryan and MJ, and finally I was in Victoria's room grabbing her things. I shoved everything in a large beach bag I brought with me and grabbed two large blankets. Halfway back down the hallway a darkened figure brought me to a stop.

"Sophia."

"Mr. Bedford." I said curtly and tried to walk around him.

He grabbed my arm and backed me against the wall. I dropped the bag and blankets to push him back.

"Please, call me Jonathan." He smiled, appraising me.

I furrowed my brow. "Shouldn't you be down at the beach?"

He laughed. "I'll head down, once we're finished here."

"We’re finished. Step back, please." I snapped.

His hand ran up my arm.

"Don't." I spat and smack his hand away.

"You’
re such a beautiful girl." His eyes bore into mine, “And feisty.”

"You have a beautiful wife and children." I countered.

He snorted. "That cold, bitter harpy is far from beautiful. Her appearance is deceiving." His fingers came up and danced across my cheek.

I
jerked away from his touch.

"Don't touch me. I
t's the last time I'll warn you."

He laughed again.

"What are you planning to do? Run and tell Collin?" He rolled his eyes.

"You should probably know who you mess with before you make these kinds of moves, Mr. Bedford." He smirked at my warning. "I assure you I do
n’t need someone to rescue me from
you
." I shoved his chest, but he barely budged.

"There is such passion in you Sophia. I admire
it. You’re warm, smart, and beautiful. It's very rare in this family to see someone like you around. I've been highly pleased about it." He cupped my cheek and moved his face closer toward mine.

"I warned you." I growled.

Grabbing the wrist belonging to the hand on my cheek, I spun and wrapped his arm up around his back. My knee was pressed between his legs and I pushed him against the wall. He struggled for a moment, but I pushed his arm upward harder and he froze.

"Get off of me," He yelled.

"I told you not to touch me," I shouted. "Perhaps you should listen next time." I snorted.

"My father was a police officer, Mr. Bedford. Do you think he would let his only daughter go through life without knowing self-defense?" He twisted his head to glare at me. "Don't touch me again," I exclaimed and then let him go.

He was rubbing his arm as I picked up the beach bag and blankets.

"Maybe you should go spend time with your family." I
glowered at him before turning for the stairs.

Chapter Twelve

I stopped in the kitchen to gather bottles of water. When I walked out of the front door I came face to face with Allison. Her eyes were narrowed and searching.

"Excuse me." I mumbled, and attempted to step around her.

She stepped out of my way, but I could feel her hard eyes on me.

"Where’
s my husband?" Her tone was as cold as Dr. Bishop's.

"I wouldn't know." I kept my back to her and walked toward the beach.

"Allison." The surprise in Jonathan's voice was obvious.

"Jonathan." She sneered. Even I could hear the accusation
in her words.

"I was just coming to meet you down at the beach." The bastard's tone switched to jovial, revealing nothing.

My footsteps came faster.

Once I stepped foot on the beach I kicked my shoes off and let my toes sink into the sand. It was a little cool, but it still felt good.

"Let me help." William appeared and started grabbing things from my arms.

"Thanks." I said with a smile.

Amber and I put the blankets out before sitting.

"It's really pretty when the sun sets." She was looking out at the close to setting sun.

"Mm Hm," I hummed in response, forgetting about what I was now calling ‘The Bedford Incident’.

I looked around the beach and saw William helping Ryan and the twins bury Max in sand. Larissa stood holding MJ and laughing at them. Then I spotted Victoria standing next to Larissa giggling. Smiling at her amusement I got up and walking over.

"Ryan, I can't believe you are burying me alive. Help, help!" Max pretended to be afraid and making gasping sounds. Ryan and the twins were in hysterics.

"Mommy has taught him well." Larissa smirked down at Max.

Max feigned surprise and hurt.

"That's it woman." Max chuckled and emerged from underneath the sand. Larissa squealed and shoved MJ into my arms. I quickly grabbed onto him as she took off running down the beach, Max chasing her and Ryan following. Laughter floated around them. Max caught up to her and threw her over his shoulder, heading toward the water's edge. I cradled MJ in my arms.

"Maxwell Joseph Bishop, don't you dare!" Larissa screamed out in laughter as he got closer to the water.

"Are they always like this?" I
turned to William. He nodded with a laugh. "Can I be like them when I grow up?"

He looked at me and started laughing harder.

"Daddy!" I turned at the sound of Victoria's shout and watched her run toward an approaching Dr. Bishop. He was on the last step, Allison and Jonathan close behind.

Dr. Bishop stopped at the two wooden chairs
in which his parents sat. Victoria held his hand as he spoke. Allison and Jonathan continued toward the rest of us. I stiffened at their arrival and Larissa stood closer to me. When she started to talk to me about MJ, I smiled at her - thankful for the distraction.

Larissa was talking about MJ's first smile and his still erratic sleeping habits when Dr. Bishop joined the group.

The remainder of the evening went nicely. After Max started a beach fire and roasted hot dogs with the kids, everyone sat around watching the sunset.

Victoria and I were wrapped up in a blanket sitting in the sand.
She slowly dozed off in my lap. William and Amber collected the blankets, shoes, jackets, etc. I was wrapping Victoria’s limbs around me when Dr. Bishop appeared.

"I'll take her." He
spoke coolly.

The shock of him actually wanting to interact with her, even if she were sleeping, slowed my response.
Once he took her from my arms and had a tight hold, he started walking toward the wooden stairs. I quickly helped gather things and walked back to the house with William and Amber.

As Collin entered the house with Victoria Ilene shouted.

"Collin, wake her and brush the sand off."

He froze
, causing me to bump into his back. 

"Sorry." I mumbled
, taking a quick step back.

He started walking again.

"Collin, you’re going to track sand through the entire house," Ilene scolded.

"I'll pay for someone to clean it." He snapped, but it wasn't loud enough for her
to hear. I bit the side of my mouth so I didn't snort out loud. After the two flights of stairs, we entered Victoria's room.

"Wait." I stopped him, moving
in front of him quickly. Kneeling down, I noticed his body tense. Ignoring his weird reaction, I started to brush off Victoria's feet and begin the clothing removal process. Dr. Bishop helped me get her in pajamas and into bed.

During the first week I recognized
how similar the vacation routine would be to life in Seattle. Allison and Ilene were often out of the house; shopping, having brunches, etc. Larissa would join them, but she would also stay at the house and take Ryan to the beach or other areas of the island with Amber.

Victoria and I
were spending our third day on the island at the beach. I was spreading out a blanket while Victoria dug out all of the beach toys.

"Come on Sophia. I want to build the tallest castle ever." She yelled and skipped down the beach with her shovels and buckets.

"I'm coming." I dropped the beach bag containing sunscreen, water, and towels and started toward her. I froze at the edge of the beach blanket and watched Dr. Bishop approach Victoria. He sat into the sand next to her.

I couldn’
t hear what they were saying, but I could see the excitement all of her face as she used her hands to explain what she planned to do with her buckets. Instead of interrupting, I sat down on the blanket with my writing journal, giving them rare father and daughter time.

"Sophia!" Victoria jolted me out of my writing thoughts.

"What's up?" I placed the journal next to me.

"Come see the castle Daddy and I built." She smiled so wide
my own excitement grew. She grabbed my hand, dragging me toward the castle and Dr. Bishop.

"Well, it definitely
is a big sand castle." I walked a circle around it.

"Look, it has shell windows and this right here," she pointed to some rocks, "is the pathway that leads to the private pool." She motioned her finger to a hole that she dug in the sand and filled with water. "The water won't stay filled up though." She pouted.

"I think it's great." I gave her a wink and she smiled proudly. "Good job."

"Daddy helped." She shrugged and looked at him.

He smiled at her.

"Let's go swimming!" Victoria dropped her shovel and ran toward the water.

"Hey, wait!" I went after her.

"What?" She turned at the edge.

"You need some more sun block." She rolled her eyes. "Come on." I took her hand. Dr. Bishop followed us back to the blanket. I reapplied sun block on Victoria. Then I rubbed some into my shoulders.

"Can we go in now?" Victoria begged and pulled on my arm.

"Yep," I smiled and pulled my sun dress off. "Let's go." Linking my fingers with hers, we headed to the water. I could feel Dr. Bishop's intense gaze and as usual I was unnerved.

"Ah!" Victoria screamed when the water rolled over her toes. "It's cold."

I smirked at her and grabbed her, pulling her into the water with me. She was right, it was cold, but it was more hilarious listening to her laughs and yells for me for pulling her in.

"Daddy, come in," Victoria yelled and waved
for him. I glanced in his direction and saw he was sitting on the blanket watching us. "Come on," She yelled again.

"Victoria, maybe he doesn't want…" the corner of my eye
caught motion. I looked toward the edge of the water and had to place my attention immediately back to Victoria.

It was only a glance at Dr.
Bishop's naked chest, but good God if it wasn't perfection. Victoria jumped at me and sent me under the water. I emerged with a gasp and a laugh while I could hear her giggling madly.

"Oh, that's it little girl!" I playfully threatened and moved to retaliate; however, I had been silently thankful for
the distraction and the cold water.

Once I had a hold of her waist I rolled us both and took her under the water. We both emerged and
gasped for breath. The water came to her shoulders and she started to walk in closer to the beach as she took deep breaths.

"Are you okay?" Dr. Bishop asked her quickly. I watched a flash of mischief cross her face and realized what she was doing.

"Look out," I tried to warn, but Victoria had already jumped. Dr. Bishop lost his balance, resulting in him falling back into the water, Victoria on top of him.

Her head broke the surface and she started to swim away from him as quickly as possible. I was in hysterics and had backed up to where the water was just at my waist. Dr. Bishop
sucked in a large breath when he resurfaced.

"I can't believe you did that."

At first I wasn't sure if he was angry. I looked at Victoria and could see a mirror of my emotions on her face. Then Dr. Bishop chuckled and started after her. She squealed and before I realized it, she was heading straight for me.

"Help me!" She wrapped her arms around my waist and I lost my footing. We were both falling back into the water when Dr. Bishop arrived and guaranteed we went in. He grabbed Victoria's shoulder and mine, pulling us both back.

We both screamed and the splash engulfed us. When we came up, Dr. Bishop was laughing at the both of us. It was an odd sight.  His laugh was so deep and warm.

I splashed Victoria.

"What was that for?" She giggled and splashed me back

"You got me involved," I chuckled and splashed her again. From there it turned into a splashing battle.

Over an hour of swimming passed before we went to the beach blanket and collapsed. Victoria sat Indian style and I handed her bottled water, a sandwich, and chips. Not surprisingly, Dr. Bishop left the beach to return to his office.

The following days were spent at the beach, the nearby park, local markets, and one trip included everyone except Connor, Max, Jonathan, and Dr. Bishop. All of them had been called away
on business.

I thought we would end up at a movie, a park, or something kid related; however, Ilene decided she wanted to visit local wineries. Once we arrived to the winery, I saw there was a theater down the street.

"You know, since the kids will just be…in your way, perhaps I should just take them down to the theater." I smiled hopefully.

"N
on-sense," Ilene rebutted, "It’s a good cultural experience for them. Now come along." She spat and turned into the winery.

We followed for what was the worst two hours of my life. Allison and Ilene gushing over different wine tastes, Larissa and Amber taking turns trying to calm MJ, and the rest of us trying to entertain the kids
, it was horrid.

The following day I grouped the nannies together
for a trip to the park. They loved it.

A few more days passed by and the
Bishops were planning a dinner at a restaurant with family and friends. Apparently this was a popular weekend for the community. Fireworks over the water, the water fills with boats, and the beach fills up with people. This was also my weekend off, not that I was sure it was going to happen.

Eventually Saturday arrived and so did Dr. Bishop. Max had returned a day earlier. I hadn't seen Connor for quite some time, but never thought much about it. And I certainly didn't even think about Jonathan arriving, leaving, or being around. I just avoided that all together.

Allison had made it blatantly clear I wasn't 'required' to attend the dinner; in fact Amber, William, and I had the evening free. Victoria looked at me sadly as they pulled away.

We started
our free night at Toby's, a local bar and moved around to a few other local places.  One stop included a karaoke bar called China City, but it didn’t take long before we were ready to head back.

"Let's go down to the beach." Amber
clapped, slightly buzzed. "Go get your suits on." She ordered and ran off. William obeyed his orders and I giggled on my way to change.