She led him to the living room, where boxes were stacked haphazardly. The Christmas box sat on the coffee table, untouched. She perched on the edge of the couch, her hands clasped tightly.
“I… I need to tell you something.” She took a shaky breath. “I’ve decided to leave Belle Island.”
His face fell, the sparkle in his eyes gone. “Leave? But I thought… What about staying here? Living in your grandmother’s cottage?”
She tried to explain. “I can’t keep the cottage. I found a copy of the loan papers in my grandfather’s things with a handwritten note. The loan is real. I have to repay the debt. It’s what Nana would want me to do.” She looked down at her hands.
“But there must be some way—” he started, but she shook her head.
“I don’t have that kind of money. And then… well, I got a job offer back home. It’s with a great company. One I’ve always wanted to work for.” She tried to inject some enthusiasm into her voice, but it fell flat.
His forehead creased into a deep frown. “So that’s it? You’re just going to leave?”
Her eyes filled with unshed tears. “I don’t want to. But what choice do I have? This cottage was a beautiful dream, but it looks like it wasn’t meant to be mine. Nana always said you end up where you’re supposed to be in life.”
“And you think that’s not here?” His voice was low and tinged with hurt.
She looked around the room, at the boxes of memories, at the Christmas decorations they’d put up together. “I don’t know anymore. Everything seems to be pushing me back home. The loan, the job offer… it feels like the universe is trying to tell me something.”
He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “You can’t just give up. You’ve made friends here like Tally and Julie. You said you love it here on the island. There has to be a way to keep the cottage, to stay here. We can figure something out together.”
Her heart ached at the sincerity in his voice, at the way he said “we.” But she shook her head.
“But what about us?” He looked deep into her eyes, and she was helpless to turn away.
“I guess we just weren’t meant to be, either. Our timing was off.” She tore her gaze from his. “I’m sorry. I have to go home and take this job if I get it, or another one. Earn a living. It was a beautiful dream, but realistically, it just can’t happen.”
He rose from his chair, his eyes a mix of anger and hurt. “So you’re not even willing to try? To give us a chance? You’re just leaving?”
“I—I have nothing here, Randy. No place to live, no job. And to live here on Belle Island with someone else in Nana’s house?” She blinked rapidly, trying to hold back her tears. “I don’t think I could take that. It would crush my very soul.”
“Fine. It’s clear you’ve made your decision.” His words were laced with icy anger. “I should go.”
“Randy, wait.” She jumped out and reached out a hand.
He dodged her hand and headed to the door. “Goodbye, Evie. Have a good life.”
She sank onto the couch as tears began to flow. How many tears had she shed in the last month or so? More than in herwhole lifetime prior to these last few rough months. She looked over at the Christmas box, ready for her to take out today’s item.
But she couldn’t. Not alone.
Randy sat out on his porch, the thermos of hot cocoa beside him. He poured himself a single cup and took a sip. Somehow, it didn’t taste like it would have if he’d shared it with Evie.
He sat there and nursed his cup of hot cocoa until it went cold. Anger and hurt swirled inside him. He couldn’t believe she was just going to leave Belle Island, leave him, after everything they’d shared.
Memories flashed through his mind. Opening Miss G’s Christmas box and discovering the stories behind each item. The way Evie’s eyes had sparkled with curiosity and joy, the way her laughter had filled the room. He’d felt a connection with her, a sense of belonging that he hadn’t experienced in years.
But now she was leaving. Just like his ex-wife had left him all those years ago. The pain of that abandonment still stung, a wound that had never fully healed. And now, Evie’s decision to go felt like another knife twisting in his heart.
Maybe it was his destiny to be alone. To watch the women he cared about walk away from him, from Belle Island. First his wife, and now Evie.
Evie had talked about the job offer, about the need to repay her grandfather’s debt. But couldn’t she see that there was more to life than that? That there were things worth fighting for, worth staying for? Evidently, he wasn’t one of them.
He set the mug on the table beside him, the liquid sloshing over the rim. He stood up, pacing back and forth as the frustration and disappointment coursed through him. He’dthought Evie was different, that she understood the magic of Belle Island, the way it could heal a person’s soul.
But maybe he’d been wrong. Maybe she was just like everyone else, always looking for something better, something more. Never content with what was right in front of her.
He had to admit, though, the anger and hurt he felt over Evie’s decision to leave Belle Island warred with his desire to understand her perspective.
