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urge to grab his hand and run away
from life—if only for a short time.
    "One
of the neighbor kids let me borrow his kite." He lifted his eyebrow.
"You don't like flying a kite?"
    She
opened her mouth, but no words came. A kite? Seriously?
    He
shook his head when she merely stared at the kite. "I swear I had you
pegged for a kite flyer."
    The
seriousness etched in Tom's eyes stopped Charlise's laughter. She wasn't going
to disappoint him by telling him she didn't know if she enjoyed flying a kite
or not. Her childhood years included hanging out at the corner boxing matches
and working on cars with her dad, not weekend outings to the coast or flying a
kite.
    "I
would love to fly a kite." She raked her teeth over her bottom lip, and
Tom awarded her with a grin. More than the excitement of a couple hours on the
beach, she wanted to give Tom a day of happiness. No bad moods, no drama, and
especially, no Jared.
    "Good.
For a moment I thought I was out ten bucks." He clicked his tongue and
wiped the imaginary sweat off his brow.
    She
cocked her head. "Ten bucks?"
    "That's
how much it cost me to bribe the kid across the street to give up his kite for
a couple hours."

Chapter Six
    Tom
popped his finger in his mouth, held it up in the air, and tested the direction
of the wind. "You want to be the runner or the holder?"
    Charlise
crossed her arms and tapped her chin with her index finger. Tom acted like it
took an N.A.S.A employee to fly a kite, but she played along with his game.
    "I'll
be the runner." She leaned to the side, stretching her hamstring.
    It
bewildered her how something so simple made her happy. If Tom had asked her
several months before what she wanted to do today and not have to worry about Jared,
she might have suggested a day at the spa or a shopping spree. Never in a
million years would kite flying have registered with her. Yet, she wanted to
fly a kite more than anything in the world this morning.
    "Let's
get this baby up in the air." Tom grinned like a little boy.
    He
unwound the string and passed the handle to Charlise before taking off jogging
in along the coastline. Closer to the water, the wind was stronger and she
figured it would help the kite stay in the air.
    Tom
stood thirty feet away from Charlise with the kite held above his head. She
shielded her eyes with one hand and waited. He yelled, but over the whir of the
wind, she didn't know what he said.
    She
held her arms up with her palms facing the sky. What?
    He
pointed at Charlise, back at his legs, and ran in place.
    "Oh!"
Charlise held the string draped over her shoulder and ran.
    She
pushed her legs to move through the thick bed of sand. Her muscles screamed
from the exertion. She sucked in air and promptly lost it in a gush.
    Charlise
glanced behind her. The kite dragged along the sand. She came to a stop and
dropped down on her butt in the sand. What am I doing wrong?
    She
sat dejected in the sand as Tom ran to her. He seemed to have no problems
breathing, and yet, here she sat winded from the run and she tried to keep
herself in excellent shape.
    "I
can't run anymore." She patted her chest. "It's like running in
quicksand."
    Tom
dropped the kite and stepped on the string to anchor it. She grabbed the hands
he offered, and she was instantly on her feet again.
    "You
can hold the kite this time." He handed the kite to her. "Let's try
this again, okay?"
    Tom
jogged away a few feet and turned around. "When the string gets tight and
I start running, throw the kite straight up in the air."
    The
muscles in Tom's legs bulged below the jeans cuffed at his knees. The kite
pulled out of her hand, and she scrambled after it.
    "Come
on Charlise, pay attention to the kite," she mumbled. Not the sexy legs on
a super hot body.
    Tom
ran, and she flung the kite up into the air.
    "It's
flying, it's flying," she yelled, clapping and running along behind Tom.
    The
kite climbed higher and the silly tails made it appear to dance in the air. She
kept her gaze on the kite