Cody
Cody carried a steaming cup of coffee onto his covered beachfront lanai and settled in the uncomfortable lounge chair he swore he’d replace one of these days. He stared out at the water to distract himself from the aches and pains from the week of work. Maui sunrises were good for that sort of thing.
But no matter how much he tried to clear his head, too many thoughts loitered.
Two weeks in Maui should be enough to be in a solid groove of this next chapter. He always felt a little homesick during his time away, but never like this. A FaceTime call with Haylee and Melly made him physically ache for hours after it ended. Sadie still wasn’t talking to him, but he heard about her perfect attendance at the store from Mom’s daily email updates. Even Marc’s short text messages made him wish he was there in person to call out his grumpiness.
Then there was Jenna Kingsley.
Distance should be all he needed to move on from that one whirlwind week. The ocean between them should’ve delivered clarity by now. Clarity on what in the world made him think he was in love with someone he hardly knew. Someone who clearly didn’t feel the same way.
Except he still dreamed about her every night. He couldn’t bring himself to delete the photos they no longer needed now that she’d gotten her cabin keys. Too often, he caught himself scrolling through and stopping on his favorites. Especially the one from the eagle sighting with the blurry bird. Her dazzling smile would be forever burned in his memory, even without the photo.
Too many times he’d nearly called her, but the unanswered texts he’d sent while in the Anchorage airport kept him from making a fool of himself.
A FaceTime call rang through on his phone, and he lit up at the sight of Melly’s face on his screen. Talking to his family was truly the highlight of his time in Maui these two weeks. He’d skipped all the outings with the cast and crew of the show, and even turned down an offer to go kite surfing—the number-one thing on his Maui bucket list. All because he couldn’t stand the thought of missing a single text.
“You look way too miserable for a beach bum adrenaline junkie with an ocean view right off his back porch,” Haylee said when he answered the call.
“Yeah, definitely.” Sadie’s face popped into the frame. “Why don’t you trade me? I’ll move to Maui and live your life, and you can come home. I’ll even cut my hair and dye it blonde if that’s what the part requires.”
Cody was stunned to see the two side by side without one trying to strangle the other. Maybe this call on his beachfront porch was a dream. He looked down at his full coffee cup, questioning if it was real. It was his first cup, and he hadn’t even touched it.
“You can’t move to Maui now,” Haylee said to Sadie. “Not after I helped you move all your crap home. I’m still sore from carrying that stupid dresser you couldn’t live without.”
“Okay, fair enough.” Sadie returned her attention to the screen and waved her fingers at Cody. “I have to get to work. My boss says I can’t take any vacation time until I can afford my own plane ticket to Maui.”
Haylee watched something off-screen, returning her attention to Cody after a door closed. “Who would’ve thought she’d still be in Sunset Ridge? It’s a miracle.”
Though he wanted to ask what had brought the two sisters together, he didn’t want to jinx it. Instead, he asked, “Where’s my favorite niece?”
“Mom’s giving her a bath.” Loud rustling tore through the phone, and Cody pulled it away until Haylee came back with a tortilla chip. “Are you happy, Cody?”
“Of course I am.”
She crunched on the chip, taking her time to fire back a firm answer. “Liar.”
“Why wouldn’t I be happy?”
“Because you miss us. Likereallymiss us this time.”
He couldn’t deny she was right. Yesterday, he’d nearly broken his arm performing a dangerous stunt and it reminded him of something Jenna had said to him when they first met. One mistake could cost him his life. One slipup and he might never see his family or home again. Never before had that pesky thought troubled him. Now, he couldn’tstopthinking about it. “Of course I miss you guys.”
“Then come home.”
“It’s not that easy.” It was, though. If he walked off set and headed straight to the airport, he’d forfeit three million dollars. The next guy in line would take his spot. And Cody would officially retire from being a stuntman to start the next chapter of his life. But the idea of being in Sunset Ridge knowing that Jenna never felt the same way about him was a hard pill to swallow. They’d run into each other. It was impossible not to in a small town.
“She loves you, you know.”
“Who? Melly?”
“Well, duh. Of course Melly loves you.” Haylee rolled her eyes as she propped her phone up to free her hands. She folded her arms on the counter and leaned forward, lowering her voice. “You know who I’m talking about. Jenna.”
“You were there for the public embarrassment, right?” He scrubbed a hand over his face and sat back in his chair.
“She was lying.”
“Don’t think so.”
