I missed him. I missed everything about him. I was stupid to think we could see each other every day and just stay friends. And when I thought about his texts and the things he said over the past several months, I realized I was an idiot for ignoring it all.
Our friendship was over because of me. I never wanted that to happen at all. I needed to talk to him. We needed to talk about everything that happened, and it needed to happen face to face. No hiding behind texts or a phone.
"Janice, do you know if Gideon has any meetings here this week?" I asked.
"Oh dear," she said with a worried look. "I thought he would've told you. He's not coming back. He finished his hours a while back and had been donating his time to us. He called me over the weekend and he said he's taking some time off. I believe he's heading to his friend's shore house in New Jersey. After that, he said some other developments occurred in his personal project so he was going to be traveling for that. He said he wasn't sure when he'd be back in Canyon Cove."
The news punched me in the gut. Had our friendship deteriorated that much that he couldn't tell me he was leaving? Or had I hurt him so badly that he needed to get away from me?
As Janice left, my phone vibrated with a text. I rushed to get it, hoping it was Gideon.
Taylor:I know you said you'd think about dinner, but what about lunch? I've been thinking a lot about our date Friday night and I'd really like to talk.
I pushed the phone away. Dating was the last thing I wanted to think about.
Taylor:No strings, I promise. I won't even tell my mother. lol!
I laughed at his second text. We did have a good time Friday night, even if I felt like all I did was talk about Gideon. Maybe lunch with Taylor would help get Gideon off my mind. Why should I sit around when he couldn't even text me that he was leaving?
Becca:I think lunch is just what the doctor ordered. How's noon at Mirabella's?
Taylor:Great choice! I'll see you then.
Chapter Fifteen
Gideon
When Navarro and I arrived at his mother's New Jersey shore home, it was already dark. The house faced the ocean and had a wide wraparound porch with several white rocking chairs. The cold air whipped through us as we climbed the steps to the front door.
"Remember I'm Grayson here," Navarro said. "Mom hates when you call me by my last name."
"I know, I remember the death stare," I said.
As Navarro looked in his luggage for the house key, I watched the white crests of the waves beat against the sand. The loud aggressive bark of a dog came from inside the house.
"Where's your key?" Annalise Navarro said as she opened the door. "You scared the crap out of me."
Annalise pulled Grayson into a hug as we entered the house. The source of the barking pushed past them and charged towards me. Benny was a one-hundred-pound, black, long-haired mutt that Annalise loved as much as her sons. Sometimes she joked that she loved the dog more.
Benny barked at me, baring his teeth viciously. I knew Benny since he was a puppy, but that didn't matter to him. He was very protective of his home.
He eyed me as he stepped closer, a low growl coming from deep within his barrel chest. Once he was inches from me, he shoved his head against my thigh.
"There are nicer ways to get your head scratched, Benny," I said, petting him.
"That dog has no manners," Grayson said.
"He has better manners than you and your brothers," Annalise said. "He's a sweetheart, he's just misunderstood. Kind of like Gideon here."
Annalise was in her early fifties but looked younger. She was curvy and soft with dark wavy hair that reached the middle of her back. Strands of silver randomly ran through her hair with a larger clump just above her right almond-shaped eye.
Her eyes were always what drew me to her. They were a strange light-brown color, and they spoke volumes. Annalise could give a look and everyone understood what she was thinking.
She reached out her arms and pulled me into a hug. With her just over five feet tall, I had to lean down to hug her. I held onto her for a moment and felt myself relax as I let out a long breath.
"You've got a lot of stress in you, Gideon," she said. "You're too young for that."
"That's why I brought him along," Grayson said. "I told him he needed to get away."
