Tides of Love, page 1
Tides of Love
Synopsis
Life changes like the ocean tides, and Mikayla Pierce is discovering that the hard way. Recently divorced and learning more about her bisexuality, she struggles to find her way on her own. Living in a borrowed home in Oceana Mobile Home Park, Mikayla knows one thing for sure. She’s done trying to be the person other people think she should be.
Gem Helmstaad, the property manager of Oceana, has resigned herself to the life she’s lived since she was a kid, helping her dad take care of his business. She thought she’d broken free of her family obligations, but with her father’s poor health and her siblings having lives of their own, she’s back in Oceana and it’s up to her to keep the business going.
Falling in love is the last thing on either of their minds, but when Mikayla and Gem meet, sparks of possibility begin to shine, revealing a new path that just might lead them to a future neither expected.
What Reviewers Say About Kimberly Cooper Griffin’s Work
No Experience Required
“No Experience Required is full of realistic, multidimensional characters. …I liked the honest and straightforward way that bipolar disorder was discussed, and I feel like I understand how those with the disorder feel a little bit more than I had before. I think that so much of this book is relatable to readers in different ways, and can help us all stop and think about others and the bigger picture a bit more. Even if readers do not know anyone with bipolar disorder, or are not in a same sex relationship, the matters at the heart of the story are universal. …No Experience Required is a well written and engaging book. I thought the issues of dating advice and mental health were very well handled, and I honestly would love to see more from all the characters in the book. I will be reading more from the author.”—Sharon the Librarian
“The author does a thorough job of explaining Izzy’s condition, her internal workings, hopes and fears. …This book straddles a space between a being a romcom and something more serious (given that the protagonists are dealing with a mental disorder and paternal homophobic physical violence). One of the best things about the book is that at the end we feel that this couple will really be happy together because they seem to have got their shot together and have learnt how to be a couple that communicates and cares for each other.”—Best Lesfic Reviews
Can’t Leave Love
“Sometimes you just need a romance that will melt your heart, bring a tear to your eyes at least once or twice, and leave you with a warm, happy feeling at the end. Add a couple of the cutest dogs, and you have a wonderful story. That is exactly what I found in Can’t Leave Love by Kimberly Cooper Griffin. Besides being a beautiful love story, this book deals with some serious issues which is where the occasional teary eyes may happen. …This is a well-written romance with well-developed characters (both human and canine), set in a lovely small town, with just the right amount of angst to make the story interesting. It is exactly the type of romantic tale that I love to read. In fact, I think I’ve found a new author to add to my list of favorite romance writers. I will definitely be looking for more from this author.”—Rainbow Reflections
In the Cards
“Both main characters are very well developed and easy to connect with. The secondary characters are also well-written, especially Marnie, Daria’s younger sister who is autistic. As the mother of an autistic son, I can tell you that Marnie is realistically written. The romance is fairly lighthearted and uplifting though the two mains do have several hurdles to overcome. They get a bit of a paranormal/magical push to help them find and fall in love with each other. …I truly enjoyed this book.”—Rainbow Reflections
Tides of Love
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By the Author
No Experience Required
In the Cards
Can’t Leave Love
Sol Cycle
Tides of Love
Tides of Love
© 2023 By Kimberly Cooper Griffin. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13: 978-1-63679-320-7
This Electronic Original Is Published By
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, NY 12185
First Edition: February 2023
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editor: Barbara Ann Wright
Production Design: Susan Ramundo
Cover Design by Jeanine Henning
eBook Design by Toni Whitaker
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Sandy Lowe and Radclyffe for all of your support and letting me be a part of the Bold Strokes team.
Barbara Ann Wright, your demand for more feelings rings through my mind and soul on a continuous loop making me a better writer and, quite possibly, a better person.
Every author should have a support system and I am forever grateful to mine: Finnian Burnett, Ona Marae, Nicole Disney, Millie Ireland, Avery Brooks, Cindy Rizzo, Jaycie Morrison, and Renee Young.
Michelle Dunkley is my first reader and one of the main reasons I continue to write; her praise and support is the best kind of motivation a writer could ever have.
Finally, nothing is more meaningful to a writer than their readers. Thank you all for reading my stories, writing the reviews, and getting lost in the worlds that would have been trapped in my head without your support.
Dedication
Forever Summer.
Chapter One
Mikayla Pierce involuntarily licked her lips as she watched the server walk toward their table. She sat up in her seat as he placed the pint glass of amber hard cider before her on the square coaster and another in front of Ashe, who pushed her wild mane of bright blue hair back and batted her boldly lined and lashed eyes at him.
Mikayla kicked her sister under the table but had a hard time being truly irritated at her, not while they sat overlooking the glimmering Pacific Ocean from the glassed-in patio of the Grotto, a restaurant situated on the cliffs of La Jolla, California. She was determined to wait until the server left before she lifted her drink and took a big sip. She didn’t want to appear too eager. It wasn’t the alcohol she craved but the memories it evoked. Her memories were bleak these days, and the cider reminded her of happier times. Sought-after happiness typically didn’t come in a glass for her, but oh, the memories this one held.
“Thanks, Pete,” she said, prying her eyes from the glass.
“No problem, Mrs. Duncan.” He tucked the serving tray under his arm. “Will you be eating dinner with us this evening?”
“It’s Ms. Pierce now, Pete, but how many times have I told you to call me Mikayla? We’ll probably order something to eat in a little bit.”
“Sorry. I forgot you said you were celebrating your divorce today. This first round is on me, ladies. I’ll check in on you again soon.”
She refrained from reminding him that Ashe had used the word celebrate, not her. She was definitely not celebrating. She had no idea what she was doing. Still numb from the shock of it all, she’d been avoiding her feelings and had only recently started to allow emotion into her world again. To her surprise, the expected devastation at the mention of the D-word didn’t come. Maybe in time. She turned to ask Ashe how long it would take, only to catch her sister’s eyes glued to the back of Pete’s work pants as he walked back into the restaurant.
“He’s not a pork chop. You can wipe the drool from your chin.”
“I’m savoring the presentation,” Ashe said, slowly turning her head back to Mikayla after Pete disappeared through the swinging kitchen doors. “That man is yummy.”
“Jeez, Ashe. You’re as bad as a man and almost twice his age. Try the cider.” Mikayla buzzed with excitement to introduce Ashe to the new Julian Orchards Hard Fuji Apple Cider she’d discovered the last time she’d come to the Grotto. It tasted like a cherished memory, transporting her directly back to the winding drive up to the little mountain town of Julian with their beloved Grampa and Grandma James to pick apples. They’d died fifteen years ago, six months apart, he from a heart attack and she from a broken heart. She missed them as much now as she had back then. She wasn’t going to let her sister’s lechery spoil the moment. She needed this happy.
Ashe lifted her glass. “I’m certain he’s a man who wants more than missionary sex. I have a rigid two-orgasm requirement. Life is too short for anything less.”
Mikayla shook her head. “Whatever floats your boat, as Mom likes to say.”
“Do not bring Mom into my bedroom.” Ashe sipped her drink. She gave an impressed look at the glass. “This is good.”
“Does it evoke any memories?”
“Now that you mention it…” Ashe closed her eyes, and thinking lines appeared between her eyebrows. As Mikayla watched, she smoothed the same spo
“Grandma and Grandpa James,” they said together.
“Right?” Mikayla said.
“I miss them so much,” Ashe said, taking another sip.
“I couldn’t wait for you to try it exactly for that.”
“I wondered why my wine-drinking sister all of a sudden got all hot for cider.” Ashe laughed. “It’s not often you surprise me, and you’re such a sap for the good old days.”
Mikayla sighed. “Things were uncomplicated back then.”
“Well, we were ten and eight. Everything was uncomplicated.”
Mikayla blew out a long sigh. “Yeah.”
“Speaking of Mom, is she speaking to you again yet?”
Mikayla dropped her chin to her chest, blew out another big breath, then straightened, sitting tall in her chair. She trailed her finger through the condensation on her glass. “Dad says I should give her time to process. Apparently, it’s shaken her to her core that Craig’s going through with the divorce. As if it’s up to me to fix it. Were you aware that divorced men have lower life expectancies? She’s worried about Craig, and if I can’t make my marriage work, no one can. She’s already grieving the ocean views from our backyard and mourning our holiday gatherings.” She didn’t mention how their mother still hadn’t asked her how she was holding up. Almost as if it had been her shattering Craig’s hopes and dreams. Not the other way around. Craig would be fine. Mikayla? Well, that remained to be seen.
“You mean, she made it about herself? What a huge surprise.” Sarcasm dripped from Ashe’s voice.
Normally, having her sister say aloud what they both thought of their mother made Mikayla feel better, but this time, she only registered her mother’s words. She’d always hated how overly servile her mother behaved toward her father. Actually, her fathers. Plural, since the man she presently called her father happened to be her second stepfather. Her and Ashe’s biological father had died when they were seven and nine, and her mother’s second husband had died when they were eleven and thirteen.
Daddy number three, currently still in the picture, had assumed his position by the time Mikayla turned twelve. They’d all been wonderful men, and she’d called all three of them Father from the deepest parts of her heart, but she absolutely hated how her mother made no apologies about putting them first and her two children second. So different than her mother’s parents, Grandpa and Grandma James, who had always made them the center of their universe with unconditional love.
Both she and Ashe had spent years in therapy because of their mother’s behavior, and while they now accepted their mom as she was, that didn’t mean it didn’t still hurt. Their mother simply needed a man in her life to complete her. Now, Mikayla had to come to terms with the fact that she and her mother were more alike than in just their genes, sharing similar light brown hair, mossy green eyes, an almost-dimple in their left cheeks when they smiled, long pianist’s fingers, unmarked skin that blushed way too easily, and the exact same feet.
Mikayla had taken after her mother in the husband thing, too. She couldn’t imagine herself not married. Being a wife, taking care of the house, planning everything for two people, making sure they ate right, exercised, wore their sunscreen, and possessed the perfect foyer table in their perfect house…she and her mother were good at and enjoyed all those things. Mikayla tried to remind herself how she wasn’t as intently focused on the husband aspect but more on the whole package of what marriage entailed. Her career had been Cruise Director of her marriage, and she’d been fired. To make things worse, it took losing her marriage to realize she’d turned into her mother. It sickened her more than a little bit. She’d never set out to be that person.
Mikayla sighed. “Well, it’s Mom. Maybe it’s best for her to take time to get used to it. God forbid her emotions show.”
Ashe laughed and held up her pint glass. “To Mom, her contained emotions and this amazing fucking cider. I may never drink wine again.”
Ashe put into words what Mikayla had thought. She’d been coming to the Grotto at least weekly, and sometimes more, in the last several months, not exactly drowning her sorrows because she only ever drank one glass of wine—now cider—but she hated to eat alone. Ever since Craig had asked for a divorce, she’d been eating alone most meals. Thus, she found herself on a first-name basis with the waitstaff.
“To fresh horizons,” Ashe said, tapping her glass.
“I liked the old horizons,” she said, putting down her glass without taking a sip. Maybe it hadn’t been such a great idea to come here on the day her divorce became final. Six months after Craig had asked for one and while she no longer felt like bursting into tears at the thought of the night her husband of twelve years had told her he’d fallen out of love with her, she wasn’t anywhere near over it.
Ashe rubbed the top of Mikayla’s hand where it rested on the table next to her glass. “I promise you. It gets easier. I have three times as much experience than you, so this is coming from an expert.”
Mikayla appreciated the attempt to cheer her up, but it didn’t. “You divorced all three of your ex-husbands, not the other way around.”
Ashe snorted. “At least Craig didn’t cheat on you.”
Mikayla blew out a breath. “I think I might have preferred it. It probably wouldn’t hurt as much as the fact that he couldn’t stand my company any longer.”
Ashe flapped her hand. “You know that’s not true. It’s because you can’t give him children.”
Mikayla glared at her. “Thank you so much for clearing it up for me.”
“You’re welcome.” Ashe probably didn’t register the glare or the sarcasm. She had always been one of those people who preferred directness and assumed other people did, too. It wasn’t mean-spirited. Just the opposite, so she couldn’t remain irritated with her.
Mikayla downed the rest of her cider without taking a breath and covered her mouth when she quietly burped. “I still consider it my fault, you know.”
Ashe motioned to Pete for a couple of refills before responding. “What do you mean? Your inhospitable womb?”
Mikayla rolled her eyes. “I didn’t want kids anyway.”
Her sister reacted like she’d said she didn’t like coffee, which would have been a surprising thing to reveal, considering the enormous amount she drank every day. “Do you mean you purposefully prevented getting pregnant?”
“It wasn’t purposeful at all. I thought I wanted kids at first. Well, I didn’t not want kids. I actually got caught up in Craig’s excitement about finally starting a family after seven years of traveling and enjoying each other. I never took any precautions, and I tried to conceive…at first.” She didn’t mention how it didn’t take long for her to realize she didn’t want them. She’d figured it out when it had dawned on her that she’d be stuck with the lion’s share of the work. Craig’s career proved to be too demanding for him to help around the house, let alone with the raising of the kids thing. He mostly wanted them for the photo ops and Disneyland trips. Yep. Diapers and midnight feedings would all be on her. That wasn’t how she wanted it to go.
“It still doesn’t mean it’s your fault. You tried. You didn’t sabotage your uterus.”
Pete swooped in, dropped off two new drinks, and Mikayla paused to thank him before responding. “But maybe I willed it not to happen. You know, putting out the bad vibes. Manifesting it?” Maybe she should feel guilty, but she didn’t, at least not about not being able to have kids. Her guilt came from not feeling guilty. God. She was a mess.
“How come you never told me this?”
“Because he wanted kids so badly. I never tried not to have kids, at least until I found out about the inhospitable uterus situation.” Those were the doctor’s words, not hers. She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. It all came to the same end. The divorce is final. The house is sold. So it’s real. I’m officially an ex-wife at thirty-five.”
