AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Leo looked at me suspiciously but then put his face up to the viewing device. He moved it about and then stopped. “Beautiful,” he said, and I knew he had found them.
“My dad took me there as a little girl. Assateague is sort of a historical hotspot with the wild ponies. Legend is that a Spanish ship was carrying a cargo of horses when it wrecked nearby in 1750. The surviving horses swam ashore, and there’s been a herd there ever since.”
Leo stepped back so I could take a turn. I peered through the binoculars and stared at the horses in wonder. I’d always thought it was magical, how wild and free they were there on the beach.
“What a story. What a journey. I like that. From the wreckage comes freedom, in a way. Beautiful.”
I turned to smile at him. “Maybe you could work that into your next song.”
He grinned. “I think there’s already a pretty famous song about wild horses, but I’ll see what I can do.”
Leo took my hand then and pulled me over to an empty bench at the edge of the pier. We took a seat and stared out at the sea, watching a few boats and the fisherman.
“It’s turned out to be a pretty good day, I think, after my rescuer stepped in,” I said, breaking the silence.
“He must be a pretty amazing guy, that rescuer,” Leo said, grinning. And then, his face grew serious. “I think I like this place, too. It’s beautiful.”
I nodded in agreement and turned my attention back to the ocean, watching the waves crash and feeling at peace. I noticed Leo’s hand on the bench beside me. I wondered what would happen if I reached down and took his hand. But instead, I let mine linger near his, the two of us in our own vastly different worlds of thoughts but together nonetheless.
***
MOM WAS DRINKING A glass of wine at the kitchen table when I got home.
“How did it go? You’ve been out for a while, so it must have been a rather good date,” Mom said with a soft smile. She was thumbing through a magazine.
“Fine,” I lied, even though I knew deep down it couldn’t be that easy. Connie Ashby wouldn’t be calmly sipping wine with a magazine if she thought the date had gone so well. She would have been standing at the peephole on the door, waiting anxiously to leap on me with wedding venue ideas.
Mom instantly stopped thumbing through the magazine and stood up.
“Jacques called and said you left Carl at the restaurant.”
I groaned. Of course he did. I knew it was too easy.
“I’m sorry, Mom. He was just being horrible.”
She sighed. I waited for the lecture. “I’m sorry, Tillie. I knew it was probably not a great idea. I was just hopeful. I desperately want to see you happy, I really do. Watching you go through the heartbreak with Brad was awful.”
“I’m okay now, though. Other than the ankle situation. You know what they say about rock bottom,” I said, heading over to the table.
“I know you went out with Leo. Tillie, I hope you’re being careful.”
“We’re just friends,” I said. I thought about the electricity that jolted through me when he’d grabbed my hand.
“But there’s no such thing as being friends with a popstar. Listen, he’s handsome and fun, and I want to believe things could work out for you,” she said.
“Mom, stop. There’s nothing.”
“There’s something. You can see it in your eyes, Tillie. It’s the first instance you’ve looked alive since coming here. And I’m just afraid because when he breaks your heart, it’s going to be so much worse.”
“Well, you don’t need to worry,” I replied, trying not to get frustrated. “I’m not falling in love with a popstar. I’m not that dumb.”
“You’re not dumb. You’re human. Look at how you light up already. That ship has sailed. And I’m worried for you.”
“Well, you don’t have to. I’ll get it together. But in the interim, it’s been nice to get out and to have a little fun.”
Mom nodded, walking over to hug me. “I’m sorry about Carl. Was it that bad?”
“Worse.”
