Casey put her hands on his face, leaned over her daughter, and kissed his lips, tears falling down her cheeks.
“You about killed me, taking so long,” her mom said once everyone had settled down, and they all laughed.
“I got stuck in traffic on the way in. Sorry.” He bounced Isabella in his arms. He looked over at Faith. “Hey, Faith,” he said with a big smile.
She smiled back with and gave a little wave. It had been so long.
“It’s good to see you,” he said.
“You too.” And it was good. It wassogood to see him again.
As Faith looked at Scott, she was taken with how much more mature he looked, how different. It had certainly been a while. His eyes were the same, and his smile, but his face had aged, his haircut a little shorter. What made her the happiest was the fact that she was able to enjoy him and to enjoy his family.Herfamily. Having him there with them was like finding that missing puzzle piece.
They’d all spent the day together, Scott had explained that the minute he’d gotten Casey’s text, he’d changed his plans, texted their mother from the airport, and headed straight there. He was going to spend the next week with them, and Faith couldn’t be happier for her sister. Isabella barely got a breath between the stories she was telling her daddy. She told him about the shells she’d found, about making sandcastles, about Jake’s party and her necklace. Faith was full of joy, hearing it all because she knew that Isabella was making memories just like she had as a girl. And now she got to make new memories with her dad.
Faith stood alone out on the porch, taking in the view. This beach had felt the patter of her little feet as she ran across the hot sand as a baby, it had cradled her when she’d fallen, the ocean knocking her wildly as a girl, and it had seen her grow into a young woman. Now, she looked out at it, feeling sad. In only a week, they’d pack up, leave this place, and someone new would find her beach. Maybe, if they were lucky, they’d get a chance to rent the cottage occasionally, although the cottages booked up so quickly, it would be tricky to get this very one. And, if Jake had his way, the villages would look nothing like her memories when she returned. As she looked at the beach—herbeach—she wanted to stay there forever. She wanted Isabella to know it like she had. No wonder Nan had dragged them all here. It took seeing it as an adult to really understand the importance of it. Faith hadn’t realized as a kid how lucky she’d been to have that beach house, nor could she have imagined how many memories were lying out there in that sand.
She leaned over the railing to see if Scott had gotten the grill set up. He’d brought it in the back of his SUV—it was only a small grill, but the smell of the burning charcoal wafted up toward her, reminding her of all those barefoot days when they’d cooked seafood at the old cottage. Her mom would set the picnic table up for dinners, the paper plates and napkins having to be weighted down with rocks to keep them from blowing away. She and Casey had cleaned and painted about fifteen rocks, and their mom would always pack them. She wondered what had happened to them. Where had they gone? Now, with no picnic table at the new cottage, they’d planned to eat inside, but Faith had stayed on the porch. She wanted to have every minute she could with her view of the beach, and she didn’t want to miss a single one by sitting inside. She watched the sky turn from orange to pink, the sun casting long shadows on the sand. It was a perfect night. Jake was due to arrive any minute, however. How would he fit in? Would things be perfect between the two of them tonight too, or would their differences get in the way again? She worried as she waited for him to arrive.
“Hey there,” she heard his familiar voice and turned around. Jake was heading up the steps. He walked up beside her and looked out at the ocean. “It’s nice tonight.”
Faith tried to keep her emotions in check, but now when she was with him, even a comment like that made her want to grab him by the shoulders and ask why they couldn’t see eye to eye. It would make things so much easier. She wanted to understand him.
“Do you really think it’s nice tonight?” Did he really think it was nice to be with her or just nice outside?
“Yes,” he said, that tiny wrinkle forming between his eyes.
“Don’t you want to have more nights like this?” Being around Jake still made her pulse speed up, her hands becoming jittery. She’d learned a lot about herself this week. She’d learned that it was easy for her to fall for someone, but that she had to step back and look at the situation carefully before acting.
“Of course.”
“How can you when you’re sandwiched in a row of high-rises?”
She watched him closing up right before her eyes, and she exhaled in surrender. She hadn’t meant it to come out like that. She didn’t want to argue with him or debate his work decisions. She didn’t want tonight to be ruined by their differing views. She’d taken a risk with Jake by being vocal about her opinions, and he’d made his wishes clear.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t want to spend tonight trying to change your mind. I’ll let it go for tonight. I promise.”
Surprisingly, he looked at her with fondness in his eyes. He didn’t look at anyone else that way. She wanted to cut to the chase, to just ask him outright what he thought about her.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.
“No reason.” His expression was serious but the affection was still in his eyes.
“Well, I like it when you look at me like that.”
He smiled but didn’t offer any response. She wondered what he thought about her admission.
“So Casey’s husband is here?” he asked, his eyebrows going up in curiosity. “That’s a surprise.”
“Yeah,” she said. “It’s a good thing.”
“I know. Given what she told me when we were out, she misses him.”
“She told you that?”
“Yep. She misses him a lot. I should go down and help Scott,” he said, looking down at Scott grilling below. Her mother had prepared a feast for him to grill.
“Why are you so relaxed around strangers?” she asked with a grin. He’d never even met Scott, yet he was going to go down and help him cook.
