Ellie reaches out, swiping the remaining moisture from the path my tears had taken. Neither of us speaks at first.
Reaching for her face, I tuck her hair behind her ear and look into her red-rimmed eyes. Despite her anguish, they’re as beautiful as ever. I gently pull her into my arms, placing a chaste but loving kiss on her temple when I hear her voice.
“You came back.”
“I’ll always come back for you, Ellie.”
Chapter32
Ellie
Six months later
“Is this the last one?” Matt yells from the back of the U-Haul.
“Yes. For now.” It’s time to start a whole new chapter in my life. I’m not entirely ready to let go of Candy Cane Key, but excited to see what awaits in Sycamore Mountain.
I think I cried for a solid month after Pops died. He was my only real family, and now he’s gone. But as he and Grandma Joan taught me, family is what you make it. I consider Salty Jo, Ms. Fletcher, Charlene, Harrison, and of course, Matthew my family now. And Matt assures me his firefighter brothers and the people of Sycamore Mountain will soon feel the same.
I’d saved my winnings from the Best on the Beach contest until I could decide if I could afford to rent the restaurant space in tourist row. But when Grandpa got sick for the last time, I wasn’t in a place to make sound business decisions.
Matt and Harrison helped me to eventually talk through the pros and cons of moving to Sycamore. It wasn’t a hard sell. Now that Pops was gone, I had nothing keeping me here. And I wanted to be where Matt was. We were good together.
Harry helped me to put the farm on the market. He said he’d meet with potential buyers and the real estate agent to get the sale closed when the time came. Matt and I haven’t discussed marriage and family per se, but we both know. It’s just a matter of time. Once the farm sells, we’ll buy an older home in Candy Cane Key we can remodel. That way, we can return to visit Harrison and his mother, as well as the folks I’ve grown to love. We’ll use the new mobile home until we sell and then donate it back to Faith Builders. Matt thinks between the money I’ve saved combined with a rainy day fund of his own, we can open a restaurant in Sycamore Mountain.
Reaching over the newly constructed fence Matt built, I scratch Jimmy Dean behind one of his ears. “I’m going to miss you, old boy. Don’t worry, Jo will stop by to check on you. And we’ll come back just as soon as we can find somewhere in Sycamore you can live.”
“Really?” Matt grumbles.
“Or I can stay here, and your dad can visit us every three weeks like he was doing before.”
“Guess I need to reach out to Mildred when I get back and see if she’ll take on a pig. Wait. I amnotthat pig’s dad.”
I giggle.
“Climb in, babe. We have a long drive,” Matt says, swatting my butt.
We make it about four hours before needing to stop for coffee and a restroom break. I get a little emotional as we return to the truck from the fancy gas station with nearly fifty pumps and restaurant options from coffee to pizza inside. It’s a bit overwhelming, having never left Florida in my lifetime. That laid-back island is all I’ve ever known.
“Babe.” Matt grabs my hand, kissing the inside of my wrist. “Don’t be sad. This is going to be good for us.”
“I know. It’s just a lot to take in. I’ve never left Florida. I’ve only left the Florida Keys twice—when we were evacuated for storms.”
“I’ll do whatever I can to make it easier for you. I promise. Want me to fuck you into a coma? Done.” He chuckles. “You seemed to find calm in planning what you’d do for the festival. Maybe you should start working on a business plan for the restaurant. Draw out how you want everything to look. Linens, your logo. Work on your menu.”
“That’s a great idea.” He’s right. I’ve always felt grounded when I was focused on something important to me.
“But I think the first order of the day is coming up with a name.”
“Yeah. I didn’t really need one before. I could always name it Salty Jo’s.” I laugh.
“Nah, there’s already a Salty Jo’s. You want something unique.”
We drive several miles in silence, my mind bouncing ideas around, yet nothing seems to fit.
“I kinda like the way I found it. And you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, everyone in town but me seemed to know where you go to get the best food in Candy Cane Key.” He looks over at me and beams. “Elliot’s Hot Chicken.”
I silently toss the name around a bit. It makes me proud to share my grandpa’s name.
As if reading my mind, Matt says, “I think your Pops would be proud, baby.”
Elliot’s Hot Chicken. I like it.
