“Or not. Maybe you want some privacy?” She stared up at him, then frowned. “Are you regretting me moving into the guest cottage?”
His eyes widened. “What? No, of course not.”
“My furniture gets delivered today… but if you want, I could look for somewhere else to live.”
“Why would you move? I thought you said the guest cottage was perfect.”
“It is…” She took a deep breath and pulled up her courage. “But I feel like you’ve been avoiding me since I moved in. Before that, I thought we were becoming friends.”
He dropped down on the sand beside her. “We are friends.”
“Then why are you avoiding me?”
“I’m not avoiding…” He laughed gently. “Okay, maybe I have been avoiding you. I just wanted to give you your space. You seem… to want to do things for yourself. On your own.”
She stared at him for a moment, then glanced at the birds darting back and forth before answering. “I do want to make it on my own now. I was so dependent on Victor for a lot of things. Mostly to support me. He never wanted me to have a job. I’m not sure how I let him make that decision for me. And… I had a hard time after the divorce. Got fired from some jobs I tried. Lost my house. Well, it never felt likemyhouse. It felt like Victor’s house. But I ended up in the crummy apartment and…” She stopped, embarrassed she’d spilled all that.
“I’m sorry. That must have been hard.”
“I look back on the woman I was and just shake my head. I did everything for Victor and my children. But now… I have nothing to show for it. My kids barely talk to me, no matter how hard I try. It’s like my world imploded around me. But now? Now I feel like I’ve taken back some control. That I’m going to be able to support myself. Make it on my own.”
“I’m sure you will.” He took a sip of his coffee. “I’ll make sure to give you space. I’ll quit bothering you with offers of help. You obviously like your newfound independence.”
“You aren’t bothering me.” She paused and gave a small smile. “Okay, you were a bit overwhelming with always offering help. But I… I like spending time with you. My becoming independent doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”
He looked at her closely. “I don’t want to interfere.”
“Dale, where is this coming from? Of course we can still be friends.”
He sighed. “I just know when women decide to make it on their own and their independence is the most important thing… Well, then there isn’t room for me.”
She started to put the pieces together. “So, some woman did that? Broke up with you?”
“Yes. The reason I left San Fransisco. My girlfriend—the woman I dated for over five years and talked to about getting married—decided it wasn’t for her. That marriage would hamper her independence. She’d always choose her job and her independence over me.”
So that’s where he was coming from. His actions made more sense now. She reached out and touched his hand. “Sometimes our past really messes with our future, doesn’t it?”
He nodded.
“I do want to make it on my own. I’m proud of how I’ve started making this life on Magnolia Key work for me.” She squeezed his hand. “But I have lots of room in my life to be friends with you. Iwantto be friends with you.”
“And I want to be friends with you.” He smiled at her, and the look eased away her confusion on where they stood.
She glanced at her watch. “I’m glad we settled all that. But I need to go. My things should be on the next ferry.”
Dale stood and reached down a hand. She took it and he helped her to her feet. “I… uh…” He laughed. “I still don’t want to overstep…”
She grinned. “Go ahead. Ask.”
“Do you want me to come? I could get some of my things in the cottage out of your way. A few things I think I’ll take to Second Finds and sell, and some I’ll donate.”
“I’d love your help.”
A wide smile spread across his face. “Great.”
They turned and headed across the sand, and she was glad they’d talked things out. She liked being friends with him. Liked it a lot.
* * *
