by Kay Correll
“I hear you on that.” Sara reached for a glass and took a long swallow of the cool liquid.
They sat in silence for a bit, watching as people walked out of the inn and along the pathways between the cottages, most of them headed for the beach.
Sara finally couldn’t help herself and turned to Robin, a bit exasperated at herself that she was going to ask the question. “So do you know who Noah’s girlfriend is?”
Robin frowned. “Girlfriend? I don’t think he’s dating anyone now. Not that I’ve heard of. Why?”
“I saw him in town. He was with a younger woman. He was obviously thrilled to see her.” She hated the flash of jealousy that swept through her, so she resolutely ignored it. Really, she did. “The woman threw herself into his arms, so there has to be something going on.”
Robin frowned, then smiled. “Did she have long chestnut brown hair? And was she really short?”
“Yes, that’s the one.” It sounded like her anyway.
Robin laughed. “That’s his niece, Zoe. She must be back in town.”
She tried to think back on what she knew about Noah’s family. He had one sister. She vaguely remembered something about him becoming an uncle. Or maybe he’d already become one when she met him? She wasn’t sure, because really, all they usually did was work or talk about projects or clients. Rarely about family. “His niece? Well, that’s nice that she’s close to him and came to visit him.”
“Of course she’s close to him. He raised her.”
She set her glass down with a clatter on the table between them. “He what?”
“I don’t know the full story. I just know when he came to town, he brought Zoe with him. I heard his sister and her husband died. Not sure how. Just that he’d been raising Zoe for some time before he came here. Zoe took to the town just like Noah did. Loved it here. Then she went off to college, then just took a job somewhere. I think maybe up by Orlando. Noah seems a bit lost without her here with him. Quite an adjustment, I’m sure.”
“He raised her?” Sara could not get her mind to wrap around that thought.
“Yes, and he did a great job. She’s a wonderful young woman. Sharp, funny, and just as giving as Noah.”
Noah? Giving? And raising a child? It just wasn’t meshing with the Noah she knew. Or thought she’d known.
She took another sip of ice water and looked out at the palm fronds blowing in the slight breeze. Her phone beeped, and she flipped it over on the table. She didn’t feel like being at Diane’s beck and call right now.
Robin looked at her curiously. “You okay?”
“You know what? I’m not sure… Everything is kind of topsy-turvy right now.”
“Who says topsy-turvy these days?” Robin raised an eyebrow.
“Me. When my life is like this.”
“Zoe, you’re back in town.” Tally gave Zoe a hug as she and Noah entered Magic Cafe.
“Just a quick day trip. Rumor has it Uncle Noah misses me.”
“I do.” He smiled at Zoe.
“Come on. I’ll seat you with a front-row view of the gulf.”
They followed Tally and took their seats. Zoe looked out at the water. “Wow, I miss this. I was used to just walking a couple of blocks over to the beach. Orlando is just so… landlocked.” She tossed back her head laughed. He’d missed her laugh.
He wanted to say she could just move back home but held his tongue. Wasn’t it a parent’s job to raise their children so they were independent? Not that he was really a parent, and Zoe wasn’t his child. But he felt like a parent and she felt like his child. What an unexpected blessing she’d been. Even if he’d been scared witless when he’d heard his sister and brother-in-law had died and he had custody of Zoe. He couldn’t believe anyone in their right mind would give him a child to raise.
Of course, he’d agreed to be her guardian when they’d asked him right after she was born. But whoever really thinks they’ll actually become the guardian?
They ordered sweet tea and grouper sandwiches. And he settled back in his chair, so happy for this time with his niece.
“You getting along okay?” She looked closely at him.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”
“I do worry about you.”
He could see the concern in her eyes, so he changed the subject. “How’s the new job coming along?”
“Oh, I love it. There’s a group of us new to the company. Been hanging out a bit with them after work. Joined a gym since I don’t have the beach to jog on.”
He was so happy to hear it was working out well for her.
“You know, there are a lot of huge community centers and activity centers in all the retirement communities near me. You could always apply to one of those…” She looked at him.
He laughed. “I’m fine, really.” Though it would be nice to be closer to her… But, really, she needed her space, right?
“You could at least look into them. I hear they pay pretty well.” She smiled at Tereza, the waitress who delivered their tea. “Hey, Tereza.”
“Hi, Zoe. Glad to see you back in town.”
“I thought I should come back and check up on Uncle Noah.”
“You do not have to check up on me. I’m fine.” He reached for his glass and took a swallow of the cool, slightly sweet tea. Magic Cafe had the best sweet tea. Well, so did Charming Inn, but he wasn’t going to chance running into Sara again. Especially not with Zoe. Zoe was a sharp one and might catch on to the undercurrent that seemed to flow around Sara and him.
“He practically single-handedly organized and ran the Beach Blast Festival.” Tereza waved to someone who just sat down and turned back to them. “We had a great turnout.”
“See? I’m so busy these days I hardly notice you’re gone.” Which was a big, fat lie.
Zoe shook her head. “Right. Don’t believe you for a moment. You miss me walking with you on the beach. You miss my cooking. You miss watching scary movies with me.”
“Okay, yes, I miss that. But really, Zoe, I’m fine.”
“Your food should be up soon.” Tereza walked away to wait on another table.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Zoe asked once again.
He didn’t know what he could say to reassure her. And he was the adult. He should be reassuring her and worrying about her.
“I know you love Belle Island, but you should maybe look into those jobs up near Orlando. It would be great to have you near again.”
He did love living on Belle Island, but he loved Zoe more. Maybe he would look into some of those positions up near where she lived now. Maybe this was her way of saying she needed him closer by. Yes, he’d put out some feelers about those jobs. Though he would hate to leave the island.
But he’d do anything that Zoe needed. Anything.
Chapter 14
Monday, Noah took Cooper for their normal morning walk. Only this time they walked in the opposite direction of the lighthouse. No use taking a chance of running into Sara again, since he knew she loved that lighthouse. She’d always talked about how special it was, and he’d agree with her. There was something extraordinary about it.
They headed down the beach with Cooper doing his chase the birds and trot back to walk beside him routine. Then Cooper raced down the beach toward a lone woman walking their direction. It didn’t escape him that the woman looked just like Sara. With flowing brown hair and— yep, he was sure it was her. Coop, the traitor, ran circles around her, his tail wagging. She leaned down to pet Coop, then looked up the beach toward him.
No way to escape her now. Not without leaving Coop. He jogged down the beach toward them.
“Morning,” he said as he reached her.
“Morning.” She looked surprised to see him.
For a brief moment, he wondered if she’d walked this way on the beach to avoid seeing him, too. How had that worked out for both of them?
Sara petted Coop again, then looked up at him. “So your niece was in town yesterday?”
<
br /> He looked at her in surprise now. “How—” Well, of course most of the locals would know Zoe had been in town. News traveled quickly on Belle Island. “Yes, just for the day.”
“That’s nice.”
“It was.”
They stood there looking at each other. His niece, the elephant in the room, so to speak. The reason everything had blown up between him and Sara. But he didn’t regret his decision. Not one bit. Zoe meant everything to him.
He crossed his arms and stood silently.
Sara stood staring at Noah, noticing a bit of a beard growing on his face and his eyes looking… what? Protective?
She wanted to ask him about Zoe but didn’t. Didn’t really want to know what his life had been like since he left her. Didn’t want to know what his life was like now. Just didn’t want to know anything about him.
And yet… A small sigh escaped her. She exasperated herself yet again when she blurted out her question. “So, when did you start raising Zoe? Robin said your sister died but didn’t know any details.”
His mouth dropped open and he stared at her. His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean when did I get custody of Zoe?”
She frowned. It wasn’t that hard of a question, was it? “How old was she? How long have you been raising her?”
“Cut it out.” His voice was cold and sent icy shivers through her.
“What do you mean, cut it out?” Confusion and annoyance surged through her. It was one simple question. Why was he acting so strange?
“You know when I got custody. The same day I turned down that promotion at the ad agency.”
“What do you mean you turned it down? I got the promotion.”
“Right, after I turned it down. Because I couldn’t take it. I’d just heard about my sister and brother-in-law. I had to leave.”
“You left to take care of Zoe?” Nothing made sense. If he left to take care of her, why hadn’t he just told her?
“I left you a note that I gave to Diane and I left you voice mail on your landline. Told you what happened. I knew you weren’t a kid person, and Zoe was my responsibility, not yours. I told you to call if you still wanted to date, but it would have to be long-distance.” He shrugged. “You never called, so I realized that my taking on Zoe wasn’t part of your plans for climbing the corporate ladder.”
“I didn’t get any note or a message.”
He looked at her long and hard. “You didn’t? I called a couple days after I left—maybe a week—it was all a blur. I looked for you for a few minutes that day but couldn’t find you, and I had to get to Zoe. So I left a note with Diane.”
“Diane didn’t give it to me and didn’t say a word.”
“I just jotted it on a piece of paper. Said I’d turned down the job and would call you and explain. I told her why I was leaving. Maybe she thought it wasn’t her place to tell you, and that I’d tell you?” He frowned. “Or even more likely she didn’t want you to know you were their second choice. Anyway, I did leave you a note. I had to get Zoe settled down. She was devastated and couldn’t understand where her parents were. That’s all I thought about for the first weeks.”
She frowned. “No, I didn’t get the note or the message. I thought you left because I got the promotion and you didn’t want me to be your boss.”
His reaction was maybe more surprised by that remark than when she asked about Zoe. “You thought I’d leave because you got the promotion over me getting it?”
“And yet, it appears you got it first.”
“But you thought I was that kind of person? Who would leave over a lost promotion?” He stared at her hard once again. “I have no words, Sara. No words.” He turned toward his dog. “Come on, Coop. Time to go.”
“Noah, I—” Her heart pounded, and she reached out a hand.
“I guess I didn’t really know you after all. You’re not the person I thought you were if you’d think that about me. I thought you knew me. That we had something… special. I understood if you didn’t want to be involved with me with all my newfound responsibilities with Zoe. I got that. But if you thought I was that shallow of a person to leave over not getting a promotion…” He shook his head. “Coop, come.”
She watched him walk away, his shoulders set, and not turning around for even one glance back at her. She’d misjudged him. She should have known he wasn’t the kind of guy to just disappear because she got the promotion. She’d had so much pride though, she hadn’t been able to make herself call him.
But if she had called him back then, she would have known the truth.
Though, would knowing the truth have changed anything? What would she have decided about Noah with his new responsibility of raising Zoe?
And she didn’t like herself very much when she thought she knew what she would have decided back then. She’d just been so very, very focused.
Chapter 15
Sara headed back to the inn and helped with the morning rush of diners, then went in search of Robin. She found her at the yellow cottage, painting the front room. “Here, let me help.” She grabbed a paintbrush and the white paint can and began cutting in the trim. Not that she was very good at it.
After she’d gotten white paint on the freshly painted yellow walls three times, Robin took the brush out of her hands. “I’ll get the trim.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry. I guess painting trim isn’t my strong suit.”
Robin grinned. “I guess not.”
Her phone dinged, and she glanced at it. Diane, of course.
“Why don’t you go and work on your presentation for your boss? I’ve got this.”
“I hate not helping.”
“Trust me, you’re helping me by not painting.” Robin laughed.
She sank onto a chair and looked out the window for a moment. She should go work on her presentation, but she was just so out of sorts after running into Noah on the beach.
Robin glanced over at her and sank into the chair across from her. “What’s up?”
Of course, Robin would pick up on her mood. She was like that. She could read almost anyone.
“I… I ran into Noah on the beach this morning.”
“And?”
“And you were right about him and I was so… wrong.”
Robin just sat and waited for her to go on.
“He didn’t leave because I got the promotion. He actually got it and turned it down.”
Robin frowned. “But why?”
“It happened right when he heard about his sister’s death. He left to go take care of Zoe.”
“So why didn’t he tell you that?” Robin got up and placed the roller in the paint tray and came back to sit down.
“He said he thought Diane would tell me and he left a note for her to give me. But she didn’t. And he said he left me a message on my phone. My landline. Still had one back then.” She looked at her cell phone. Life had been simpler in some ways with landlines. Like Diane wouldn’t have been able to bug her a million times a day with constant texts and questions.
“But you didn’t get it?”
“No…” She frowned and thought back on that crazy time when she’d gotten that first promotion and had been so hurt that Noah had left. She snapped her fingers. “Hey, remember when there was the fire in my apartment building?”
“I remember you telling me about that. It was a long time ago.”
“It was about the time that Noah left. Our phones in the apartment building were messed up for weeks. Could he have left it then?”
“I guess. But why wouldn’t he have tried to call you again? Or call you at work?”
“He said on the message he explained that he was going to raise Zoe and understood if I didn’t want to be involved in all of that responsibility. He said if he didn’t hear from me he understood and he wished me the best.”
“Now that sounds like the Noah I know.” Robin pinned her with an I-told-you-so look.
“And this morning, he was hurt that I’d think he was the kind of
person who’d leave over a job promotion. He said he thought we knew each other better than that.” She sighed. “You were right about Noah. I was wrong. So very, very wrong. And I let my pride get in the way of doing what I should have done. I should have just picked up the phone and called him.”
“So what are you going to do about it now?”
“Now? There’s nothing I can do. It’s water under the bridge. That ship has sailed. We lost our chance. We both have different lives now.”
“Instead of spouting trite idioms at me, you could at least go find him and apologize. Make things right with him.”
“I don’t know… I don’t think I can make it right.”
“You could try.” Robin pinned her with another of her famous listen-to-me gazes.
Sara pushed back from the table. “Okay, okay. I’ll go talk to him.” She grinned at Robin. “Better late than never.”
Sara walked into the Belle Island Community center. A sign on a chalkboard proclaimed it was senior luncheon day in the main hall. She followed the signs until she came to a large open room. Tables were scattered around the room and a long buffet of sandwiches and desserts stretched along one wall. People were seated at the tables. Some playing cards, some just chatting, and a group of women sat knitting and laughing.
She saw Noah come walking in with two big pitchers of iced tea. He froze when he saw her, but then turned when someone asked him a question. He set the tea on the buffet and turned to leave.
She hurried up to him and caught his arm. “Noah. Can we talk?”
“What’s the point, Sara?”
“The point is, I want to apologize.”
He paused and looked directly into her eyes.
She took a big breath and blurted out all she’d been holding inside. “I was so hurt when you left. I realize now I jumped to the conclusion that you left because I got the promotion. But I couldn’t figure out any other reason you’d just… leave like that. No goodbye, no word, nothing.”
“But I did leave a message and a note.”
