Read, Write, Love at Seaside

by Addison Cole

  “That’s love, man.” Rex stood up and put a hand on Kurt’s back.

  Kurt’s phone rang, and he pulled it from his pocket. “It’s Leanna.”

  “Go ahead, man,” Rex said. “Talk to her. We’ll catch up later.”

  Kurt watched Rex walk away, and headed toward the front yard as he answered Leanna’s call.

  “Hey, babe. How did it go?” He climbed the porch steps, thankful for the privacy.

  “Hi. Wanna FaceTime?”

  “Yeah, sure.” A few seconds later, her lovely face—and worried eyes—filled the screen.

  The look in her eyes tugged on his heart. He wished he were there with her, holding her, easing whatever disappointment she was feeling.

  “Uh-oh. What happened?”

  “Are you in a place where you can talk, or is your family right there?”

  Something in her voice brought him to his feet and caused his gut to clench. He descended the porch steps and walked at a fast pace toward the driveway, feeling the need to move. He didn’t know why his legs propelled him forward, and he didn’t question it. He trusted his instincts and continued walking.

  “I’m alone.”

  “Okay.” She bit her lower lip, and he breathed a little harder.

  “Babe? What is it?”

  Her eyes filled with tears, and he froze. He stood on the side of the road staring at his phone and feeling completely impotent. “Leanna?”

  She wiped her eyes. “I’m okay. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. Tell me what’s going on.” He held the phone in both hands and watched her wiping her eyes and taking deep breaths. He caught glimpses of her kitchen behind her as the phone shifted with her movements. At least she was home safely.

  “Take your time, babe. Take a deep breath.” What was going on? His heart hammered against his ribs with worry. Every muscle tensed.

  “The meeting went well.” She wiped her eyes again.

  “Okay. Good.” But?

  “They want to carry my products in all their stores.”

  “That’s fantastic, so those are tears of joy?” Why don’t they feel like that?

  She shook her head.

  Uh-oh.

  “They want me to remain local, and in order to fulfill the distribution to the stores, I’d really need to be here full-time.” She pressed her lips together in a tight line.

  “Full-time.” His heart sank.

  She nodded.

  “Why? I don’t understand. Can’t you get another facility in New York and continue there in the fall and winter? Or work from my house? Our house?”

  She shook her head. “They want to support local businesses, and they said if I prefer not to remain local, they’d rather not carry the products because they don’t really need another jam distributor, but they would welcome another local business to support.”

  So it’s me or your business. It was an awful position for her to be in, and he could see from her watery eyes, the wrinkles along her forehead, and the way her lips turned down at the edges that the weight of it was too much for her to bear. Kurt had his career. He had his well-planned and enjoyable life that ran smooth as butter in New York. How could he ask her to give up the chance at having all of that herself?

  He couldn’t.

  He wouldn’t.

  “Well, is this what you want?”

  Tears tumbled down her cheeks as she shook her head. “I don’t know. I finally found something that I really love doing, something that resonates with me on every level—and then I found you. I love you, Kurt, and you resonate with me on every level.” She laughed through her tears and covered her face with her hand. “This is par for my crazy, messed-up life.” She lowered her hand and he studied her hooded, red-rimmed eyes.

  All he wanted to do was ease her pain, and he knew there was only one way to do that. He knew how much she loved him. Every word she spoke was laced with love. Every glance of her hazel eyes bathed him in her warm emotions, and her heart—her glorious, generous heart—brought forth feelings he never knew he was capable of feeling. He had to do what she might not be strong enough to.

  “Your life isn’t crazy or messed up.” This situation is. “It’s okay, Leanna. We can still make this work, if that’s what you want.”

  “Yes. I want you. I want us.” She nodded and swiped at her tears. “But how?”

  “We do whatever it takes. This is your chance, Leanna. You’ve found the thing that you were searching for, and with you, I found what I never knew I was missing. So, no matter how hard it is, we make it work. You’ll stay at the Cape and do all the things you should be doing to build the business you’ve been working so hard to create. I’ll stay in New York and commute to the Cape every chance I get. It’ll take some coordinating, but we can do this.”

  Even if I hate it.

  Even if I’ll barely be able to think past the empty side of the bed where you should be.

  Even if I miss you like a phantom limb.

  “We can? You’re sure?”

  “Unless it’s not what you want. You tell me, babe. I want you to be happy.” And I hope like crazy that you want me.

  The worry slipped from her eyes, and the edges of her lips curled up. “I want us on every level, so if that means weekends, then yes.”

  It had taken Kurt only a few days to fall head over heels in love with Leanna, and it took less than ten minutes for that love—and their new decision about their living arrangements—to rip his heart to shreds. He let out a breath and pressed his hand to the dull pain in his chest.

  “I love you. We’ll make it work.” The sounds of laughter carried in the air. Laughter. He felt like his life was crashing down around him, and he couldn’t lean on anyone for support. He wouldn’t ruin their good time with his troubles. And there was no way he’d let Leanna feel bad at a time when she should be over the moon about her new endeavor. Weekends. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. He could write without interruption during the week and make the best of his time with Leanna. He tried to convince himself that this was okay, that he could live with it.

  “I don’t want you to worry. Just…celebrate. This is your time, Leanna. Go out with the girls and know we’ll be just fine. I’m not going anywhere.” Except, apparently, to Cape Cod every weekend. Kurt began calculating drive times, flight times, and how much time they’d actually have together each weekend.

  Not nearly enough.

  It would never be enough.

  Chapter Thirty

  LEANNA DIDN’T GO out with the girls Friday night. She was too conflicted to celebrate. Instead they all went to Bella’s cottage, ate too much pizza, finished the bouquet of fruit Kurt had sent, and watched Say Anything. She made the girls promise not to talk about Kurt or Daisy Chain so she could try to enjoy the movie. It didn’t work. Even without mention of him, she’d thought about Kurt all evening. He had called again before she went to sleep, and he’d reiterated that they could make their relationship work, even if long distance. She thought she’d detected a hint of sadness in his voice that he was working hard to mask, but she tried to push the thought away and convince herself they really could make a long-distance relationship work. But she already missed him so darn much after two days that she had no idea how she’d get along seeing him only on weekends.

  He’d called again this morning and reassured her that they’d be just fine. He’d sounded surer, and she’d clung to his confidence like a security blanket as the day dragged on. The flea market was crowded, hot, and humid. Carey hadn’t shown up, and without him to talk with, the afternoon seemed to last forever. By three thirty she was too distracted to concentrate, so she packed up her booth early and went home. She knew Kurt had plans with his family, and he was going to call her when he was settled back at Treat’s for the evening, so she checked her email before going to help her friends pack.

  The contract from Daisy Chain was waiting in her in-box. Her pulse kicked up as she read it, and her stomach clenched. The contract could not
have brought on more bittersweet emotions. She still had a few days to make a final decision.

  Leanna spent the rest of the evening helping Bella and Jenna close their cottages for the season, hoping to distract herself.

  Bella came out of the bedroom in her T-shirt and shorts and wiped her face with her forearm. “Well, ladies, I think that about wraps it up. I can’t believe another summer’s over.”

  Jenna rebuttoned the buttons on her shirt that had come undone while she was scrubbing the bathroom, and one of the buttons popped right off and shot across the room.

  Bella, Amy, and Leanna burst into fits of laughter.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have had that pizza last night.” Jenna stifled a laugh as she pushed her boobs together.

  “I can’t…I can’t believe it flew off.” Leanna covered her mouth, trying to regain control.

  “I can!” Amy stood beside Jenna and arched her chest forward. They looked like a short-haired Sofía Vergara and Kate Hudson. Jenna swatted her.

  “I can’t help it if I was born with a killer body.” Jenna wiggled her shoulders.

  “Killer is right. You could knock someone out with those babies.” Bella flopped onto the couch. “So what now? Amy’s all packed. We’re all boxed and ready to go. Except Leanna, of course, who has the luxury of living on the Cape—which makes me incredibly jealous.”

  “Don’t be. Without you guys or Kurt, it’s just me and Pepper, and as much as I love being with Pep…” She flopped onto the couch beside Bella and leaned her head on her shoulder. “I’m removing the ban on Kurt talk. I need to know. Am I making a huge mistake?”

  “By building your dream job?” Bella asked.

  “By not moving to New York with Kurt.”

  “Hey, if he loves you, he’ll make it work. You can’t change your life for a man. That’s so…1950s.” Bella patted Leanna’s thigh. “I love Kurt, but I love you more. You’ve spent your whole life bouncing from thing to thing. Now you have something you love. It’s time to allow yourself to do it.”

  “But I love Kurt, too.”

  “Yes, I know you do.” Bella nodded. “And he loves you. This is a bump in the road. Fate will figure it out. Just don’t you give up on following your dream. You’re my inspiration, Leanna. You have tried a million things and you didn’t settle. Don’t settle now, or you’ll crush my faith that women can have it all.”

  “Crush your faith? You aren’t even religious.” Jenna arched a brow.

  “Faith in Leanna. Faith in ice cream. Whatever. You know what I mean. Global energy faith.” Bella put her arm around Leanna and pulled her close. “Build your business; the rest will work itself out.”

  “And what if it doesn’t?” Her voice was just above a whisper.

  “Then you take that sexy little butt of yours to New York and get that man back full-time. But if it doesn’t work out, that means that he didn’t want it enough to make it work. See? I have this great double standard. We women get to progress as the years move on, but men?” Bella smiled and looked up at the ceiling with a sigh. “They still have to be chivalrous.”

  “I don’t care about progressing. I care about Kurt.” Leanna leaned her elbows on her knees.

  “Do you care about your business?” Amy asked.

  “Yes. Very much.”

  “Then you can’t give it up. I agree with Bella.”

  Leanna closed her eyes. “I hate you both. Why aren’t you telling me to pack my stuff and go to New York right this very second? Do you think I’m making a mistake by being with Kurt?” She ran her eyes between them. “Wait. Before you answer that, you need to know that no matter what you say, I’m with him.”

  Amy knelt before Leanna and held her hands. “We love Kurt, and we love you. It’s just that opportunities like this come once in a lifetime for some of us, and…” She glanced at Bella, then back at Leanna. “I agree with Bella. If Kurt wants this to work, he has to make it work.”

  “Then this should be easy, because he’s already said he wants it to work, and he’ll come to the Cape on weekends. So I guess I just need to get my act together, accept the offer with Daisy Chain, and live with a long-distance relationship. No matter how much it sucks being apart.” Even as the words left her lips, she knew easy wasn’t even in the realm of possibilities.

  Amy pulled her to her feet and hugged her. “That’s my girl.”

  Leanna took a step back. “And if you’re wrong, I’ll have to kill you. All of you.”

  THE EVENING SLIPPED seamlessly into night, bringing with it a cool breeze from the mountains. Kurt was enjoying a few minutes alone by the stone fire pit on the patio, scrolling through the pictures of the studio that Blue had sent. The work was progressing much faster than either Blue or Kurt had anticipated. He heard the sliding glass door to the house open and recognized the heavy, determined steps of his brother Jack, followed by the slightly slower pace that could only be Hal Braden. He didn’t recognize the third set of footsteps.

  Jack pulled two chairs over to where Kurt sat. “How’s it going?” Jack wore his typical outfit of Levi’s, a black T-shirt, and heavy hiking boots.

  “Oh, pretty well,” Kurt lied.

  “Mind if we join you?” Hal sighed as he sat beside Jack. He wore a white T-shirt beneath what must have been a favorite flannel shirt for the soft, worn appearance. It fit snugly across his broad shoulders and strong chest. His jeans were dark and his cowboy boots black. At six foot six, Hal Braden was a bear of a man, with weathered cheeks, graying hair, and an easy disposition.

  “Not at all.” Kurt slid his phone into his pocket.

  “It’s nice out here tonight. You doing okay, Kurt?” Josh Braden was a few years older than Kurt, and like Kurt, he was the most reserved of his siblings. Josh wore a pair of dark slacks and a button-down shirt, and like his father, he exhaled as he settled into his seat.

  “Yeah, thanks. I’m well.” Kurt was anything but well. “The dress you designed for Savannah is gorgeous, Josh.”

  “Thank you. Savannah seemed to like it,” Josh said. His eyes were dark and serious.

  “Hal, this has been a very enjoyable weekend. Thank you for hosting the wedding and putting up with my family.”

  “Son, there’s nothing to put up with. Family knows no boundaries, and you, Jack, and the rest of your family are my family now, too. You’re always welcome here.” Hal looked out over the mountains. “I’d like for you and your family to meet my sister, Catherine, and my niece and nephews at some point, too. Time goes by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday they were traipsing around the ranch. Catherine’s youngest son, Luke, raises Gypsy horses over in Trusty, Colorado. He’s had a love of horses since he was just a boy.” Catherine had six children. Before her husband signed over his parental rights and took off with another woman, they’d lived in Weston, and after he left, Catherine and her children moved to Trusty. She changed her name back to Braden and gave her children the Braden name, too.

  “Wes called me the other day. We’re going to try to get together soon.” Josh turned to Kurt. “Luke is your age, Kurt, and his older brother, Wes, owns a dude ranch just outside of Trusty.”

  “I look forward to meeting them,” Kurt said. “I’d imagine it’s hard to coordinate everyone’s schedules.”

  “Life moves fast and changes often,” Hal said. “Yes, sir. When your children settle into their lives, it’s a good feeling.”

  Jack crossed his ankle over his knee. “It’s a great feeling, Hal. I’m a lucky man to have met Savannah.”

  Hal set his dark eyes on Jack. “She’s lucky, too, Jack. You’re a good man. Your father raised you boys right. And your sister, of course. She’s a nice gal, that Siena. She and Savannah are like two peas in a pod.”

  “You can say that again,” Kurt said.

  Hal lifted his chin toward Kurt. “You’re heading back to New York tomorrow?”

  “Yes, that’s right. I’m meeting with my agent Monday; then it’s back to real life. I’ve been gone al
l summer, so there’s a lot of catching up to do.” Catching up. With what? Kurt usually craved getting back on schedule after spending time away from home. Now his muscles corded tight at the thought of returning home instead of going back to the Cape to be with Leanna.

  “Did I hear a rumor that your little lady is moving in with you?” Hal crossed his thick arms over his chest and smiled.

  Kurt’s stomach clenched. “That was the plan, but she’s been offered a contract for her business, and it looks like she’ll be staying at the Cape.” He tried to keep the disappointment from his voice, but even he could hear the thread of sorrow.

  “Staying? When did this happen?” Jack narrowed his eyes.

  “Yesterday.” Kurt rubbed his hands on his thighs to try to calm his nerves.

  “Yesterday? Why didn’t you tell me? Are you okay with this?”

  No. “Sure. I mean, I have to be. When I met Leanna, she told me she was trying to get this business off the ground. I’d have to be a pretty selfish guy to ask her not to do it.” He scrubbed his face with his hand and sighed. “I want her to be happy.”

  “And what about you?” Hal asked.

  “Me?”

  “Yes, son. What about you? Are you happy with the woman you love miles away?” Hal held his gaze.

  Kurt shook his head. “No, but I’m a big boy. Until I met Leanna, I wrote seven days a week. Now I’ll write five days a week and I’ll spend my weekends with her at the Cape.”

  “If my Adriana were in another state when she was alive, I think I’d have lost my mind,” Hal said with a serious shake of his head. “No sir. My heart wouldn’t have been able to handle knowing she was living hours away when I could have been with her.”