FURY: A Rio Games Romance Read Online Free Page B

Arriving at the room, they discovered Wyatt and a guest, Suzy, one of the Oxford coeds.
    Leaving the lovebirds to resume after the untimely interruption, Laini and Jack dined together. With the weather worsening, Laini excused herself to return home, to one of the smaller, “non-touristy” islands. She had young cousins who expected her in the morning, and if conditions didn’t change, there was no telling when she’d make it home. An uncle with a boat waited impatiently as the couple shared a kiss, promising to reunite the following afternoon.
    Sadly, the reunion would never happen.
    As Jack’s plane ascended into a welcome break in the clouds two days later, he scanned the islands below through eyes glistening with regret. Due to the storm, Laini had been unable to leave her island for two days, and the kiss on the dock had been their last.
    He wanted nothing more than to leave Ohio behind, forget grad school, and remain in Fiji with Laini. Forever. But the real world beckoned, and she was destined to remain a memory, albeit a delicious, spectacular one.
    A baby has a way of changing everyone’s plans.

Chapter Six

Solomon
    Jack, it’s Gavin. Mom got some letter, an airmail letter that was forwarded to her from your old apartment address in Columbus. I can mail it or bring it when I come up to visit, just let me know what to do with it.
    J ack listened to the voicemail from his brother twice, not quite sure who’d be sending him a letter from outside the country, especially to the apartment he lived in during his senior year at Ohio State. After his return from Fiji, he spent a month with his parents in Cincinnati before striking off for grad school at Penn State.
    School was going well, his wound had healed nicely, and he was already looking forward to Spring Break 1994, a return to Hawaii, where he and Wyatt would keep themselves sharp for a trip to Australia in the summer.
    Jack phoned his older brother Gavin regarding the mysterious letter.
    “Dude, just go ahead and open it. Read it to me. I have no clue,” Jack requested.
    “Sure thing, give me a sec. Okay, it’s from…holy shit, Jack.”
    “What? Who’s it from?” Jack heard laughter coming through the line, then Gavin cleared his throat and composed himself.
    “You didn’t tell me how much fun you had in Fiji, bro.”
    “I almost got my leg bitten off by a shark. ‘Fun’ isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.”
    “And what did you do for ‘physical therapy’ following the accident? Does the name Karalaini ring a bell?”
    “Yeah, of course, she was a girl I…” Jack’s voice trailed off.
    “A girl you what , bro? Had unprotected sex with?”
    “Are you fucking kidding me?” Jack sat down, suddenly feeling lightheaded.
    “Wish I was. Looks like you left a souvenir behind in Fiji. This Karalaini is pregnant and she says it’s yours.”
    Jack had always been careful. He’d had more than his share of fun and had no problem attracting women, but he was always adamant about a condom being involved.
    Well, almost always.

    * * *
    O nce Karalaini realized she was late, got a test, and her suspicion was confirmed, she immediately knew who the father had to be. The American, Jack. There had been no other.
    She briefly considered finding a way to terminate the pregnancy, as she was nineteen, barely knew the father, had no real way to contact him, and was positive he’d deny everything and pretend she and her child didn’t exist, anyway.
    But abortion was only legal in Fiji if either her life or the life of the baby were in danger, and she didn’t relish the thought of either of them being at risk. Her best friend, Lucy, had family in Australia, and she thought that laws were different there, but she didn’t have the money to make that a reality, either.
    Besides, it had never been a question she would keep the baby. Despite what many would have told her, she knew it was her destiny. Jack had come into her life for a reason. And now