Free Risk & Reward by Alisha Rai

Caine had snuck his hand under her bra for the first time. “You raised me, so I suppose it’s your fault.” Satisfied her mother was appropriately covered, she slipped out of her sundress to reveal the relatively modest bikini beneath.
    Her mom reached into her beach bag and pulled out a bottle of sunscreen. “You always forget.”
    Touched when she realized it was the same SPF she usually used—much higher than any her mother, with her skin’s natural tolerance to the sun, would ever buy for herself—she slathered it on. “Remember the first time I got badly burned?”
    Janet rolled her eyes and readjusted her sunglasses. “How could I forget?”
    Tatiana had been four or five, but she could still recall her mother’s frantic tears and calls to the pediatrician after her father had taken her to the beach, become absorbed in explaining the physical properties of marine vertebrates, and forgot to put sunscreen on her.
    They sat in silence for a few minutes, soaking in the hot rays of the sun. “Have you spoken to Clarissa?” Janet asked softly.
    Tatiana’s birth mother. Not her real mother. “Not since the last time.” They’d only communicated twice. Once to make initial contact, and a second time because Tatiana hadn’t received the hint that the woman wasn’t interested in pursuing a relationship.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “It’s okay.” And it really was. Tatiana held nothing against the woman who had given her up for adoption. Maybe it was a sign of her maturity, or maybe it was because her half-brother had given her that sense of genetic connection she’d wanted. Either way, she was fine. She stirred. “You didn’t want to attend the conference?”
    “Other than your father, the speakers are morons. It wasn’t worth arguing with them the whole day when it’s so nice out.”
    “Good thing you came here instead of San Fran then. It’s been super chilly there.”
    “I like San Francisco though. Maybe next time.” She hesitated. “If you’re still living there, of course. I don’t know what yours and Wyatt’s plans are.”
    “Oh.” She paused, thought about it. “Neither do I, really.”
    “Hmm.”
    Her mom didn’t push, for which Tatiana was grateful. She wasn’t a pusher, not since Tatiana had dropped out of college and left the coast to pursue her dreams. She figured her parents had decided the same thing she had—that they’d rather be in each other’s lives, even if they didn’t agree on every point, than cut each other off completely.
    This time, however, Tatiana was itching to talk to someone. The words bubbled out before she could halt them. “Last night was kind of a disaster, huh?”
    Her mother tightened her lips and then released a small sigh. “I agree. I’m sorry, love. I had told your father to be on his best behavior, but you know the man. He has always been very protective of you. Something about Wyatt rubbed him the wrong way when you were young, and I suppose that hasn’t changed. I told him that he needed to stay open-minded, but, well…”
    “It wasn’t all Daddy. Wyatt shouldn’t have been so defensive. And it’s my fault too.” She winced. “I kind of sprung dinner on him. About a half an hour before.”
    “Oh, Tatiana.”
    “I know. He wasn’t pleased.”
    “Why did you do that?”
    Tatiana squirmed, fidgeting until her legs were curled up under her. “I was scared he wouldn’t want to come.”
    Janet frowned. “Does he dislike us so much? We haven’t even seen him in a decade.”
    Tatiana relaxed at the note of genuine curiosity in her mother’s voice. She had hoped the other woman wouldn’t take a sign of Wyatt’s aversion personally. “No. I don’t know. I don’t think he dislikes you as much as he dislikes what you stand for.” Tatiana glanced down at her hands. “I mean, Daddy was always riding Wyatt pretty hard when we were kids—”
    “Honey. If your daddy wasn’t morally opposed to firearms, he would have been cleaning guns