After the conversation, he felt both the weight of peace…and the shadow of a storm.
The sky did openup that day, drenching Destin in a downpour that lasted for hours, but left the beach glistening and fresh. The weather and lack of a car forced Eli to concentrate on work, so he and Meredith battled the drawings, fixed the arch, and helped one of the other designers at Acacia Architecture put the finishing touches on a new business pitch.
By four o’clock, the world looked much more inviting than the computer screen and when Kate came up and announced that Atlas was well and truly napping, he didn’t hesitate to ask her to take a walk.
“Yes, please, but?—”
“I’ve got him,” Meredith said, sliding her own laptop into a case. “And I’m not alone.”
“You are not,” Vivien said, swooping into the room from the deck where she’d been on a call. “I’m done for the day and would love some baby time.”
“Then let’s go.” Eli draped his arm around Kate. “I’ve been cooped up all day.”
A few minutes later, they hit the boardwalk in a familiar beat, heading off for their favorite activity. He and Kate had fallen for each other on beach walks back in the spring, and they hadn’t taken enough since she’d been here this time.
When they walked in the dark, they usually wore sneakers, in deference to the possibility of stepping on a shell. But today, they both kicked off their shoes and let their feet sink into the cool sand.
The Gulf was restless, though. Not stormy, but churned up—like something beneath the surface had been stirred and couldn’t quite settle. It matched Eli’s gut, sensing this might be a difficult conversation. He’d felt it ever since Jonah left.
They headed down to the shoreline to walk in the firm, wet sand, their bare feet leaving twin trails in the amber-lit beach. The waves reached for their ankles, retreated, tried again. The sun was still above the horizon but had lost most of its power.
“Good day of babysitting?” he asked, taking her hand.
“Exhausting,” she admitted on a laugh. “For such a little guy, he keeps ya hoppin’. How did the architecture world treat you?”
“Good, good,” he said. “Meredith is a little…odd.”
“Really? I don’t know her well enough to notice. She seems fine to me.”
“She’s fine, yes. But Mer doesn’t really do ‘fine.’ She’s more…fire.”
She chuckled. “It’s the beach, the old Destin magic. She’s relaxed, I imagine, and taking a break from being a world-beater.”
“You’re probably right,” he said. “I didn’t know shecouldrelax, but yeah.”
They walked for a few steps, then he tightened his grip on her hand and eased her closer. “Thanks for your help this morning with Jonah.”
“I didn’t do anything but call in the big guns,” she said. “You handled it.”
“Well, I certainly had help.” He looked toward the sky. “He never lets me down.”
He felt, rather than heard, her sigh.
“You don’t like that, do you?” he asked after a beat.
“What I like or don’t like isn’t important. We’ve discussed it before.”
“In other words,” he said slowly, “there’s no need to rehash it.”
She didn’t answer right away, but slowed her step and looked out toward the turquoise water.
“Nothing you say is going to make me…believe.” She stated that last word very softly, as if it terrified her. Well, it did terrify a lot of people.
When she didn’t continue, he gave her hand another squeeze. “And?”
“And nothing. I just don’t believe the same things you do, at least as far as religion and…God. I believe in the same family values and principles, though. I believe in showing up for the people you love, and you certainly did that for Jonah today—and in every moment you have with him. You love deeply—something I find infinitely attractive—and if that is a credit to your God, then good. I believe that’s also a credit to…science.”
He gave an easy laugh, choosing not to jump on the “yourGod” comment. He was everyone’s God, but he knew better than to try and correct that. But science and love? That he had to question.
