A warmth for Winston bubbled up inside Emily. He’d only been trying to save the little pup. She recalled the fear in his tear-filled eyes when Patrick had burst through the door with him. She thought again what a blessing it was that they were all okay.
“You should’ve asked them to come,” Emily said, tearing off a piece of flatbread.
“The skewers would’ve been in real jeopardy,” he said with a chuckle. “Stormy’s definitely not trained.”
“I don’t know if I could ever get a dog,” Sienna said. “They’re a lot of work.”
Blair snorted.
“What?” Sienna’s brows pulled together. “Oh. Yeah.” She looked down at her belly. “I’ll probably be the most ill-equipped mother on the planet.”
“No one really knows how to parent, do they?” Patrick asked. “I mean, Julia surely didn’t. She kept calling me with questions like I knew something. But then we just settled in, and it’s not too hard, apart from running out in storms.”
They all laughed, and Patrick’s eyes met Emily’s with an interest she couldn’t define. He smiled and then looked down at his plate, fiddling with his bread. She couldn’t help but think she’d finally gotten through to him.
NINETEEN
The fire crackled as the last embers glowed, casting a warm, flickering light across Patrick, Blair, and Sienna’s faces. The sky had turned to a velvet black, sprinkled with stars that glimmered behind the sporadic cloud cover. They sat together, their quiet conversation punctuated only by the rhythmic crashing of waves that had crept toward them and the occasional snap of a burning twig. In that intimate circle of light, the stress outside their little group felt nonexistent, leaving just the soft radiance of fire and the steady presence of this new bond between them all.
Sienna yawned and hoisted herself out of her chair. “I think I’m gonna head to bed.”
“Me too,” Blair said.
The last thing Emily wanted to do was try to sleep. The night hours tended to bring the heaviness of her life to the forefront again. If she allowed herself, she’d lie in bed, mind racing until her eyes stung for sleep, waiting for consciousness to leave her.
“I think I’m going to sit out here a little longer, if it’s okay?” she said to Patrick. “Do you need help to get the chairs folded up?”
“I’ve got time. Let me text Julia to make sure they’re okay,” he said. “I’ll take the cooler and things to the truck, so if theyneed me, I can just help put the chairs back by the house and get the fire pit tomorrow.” He gathered the supplies, slinging the bag over his shoulder.
“Okay.” Her heart fluttered at the idea of the two of them around the fire. It was as if she’d been one person with Will and another with Patrick. Which one was the real her? Was this all some kind of dream she’d eventually rouse from? Would she get back into the classroom and just return to her old life, meeting up with Sienna and Blair at the coffee shop on weekends? Or was she someone different now? Someone who couldn’t take her eyes off Patrick…
When he started making his way to the front of the house, Sienna turned around, her eyebrows bobbing.
“It’s just too nice to go inside,” Emily said. “That’s all.”
“If you say so.” Sienna winked at her. Then she linked arms with Blair, and the two of them walked toward the house.
With the radio still softly playing against the lullaby of the surf, Emily consciously tried to feel this new version of herself. Had the breakup made her stronger or weaker? Was she always going to fear that anyone she met might leave, blindsiding her the way Will had? Would she ever have a restful night’s sleep? When would that day come? Would she one day fall into slumber without a care in the world, the way she’d done before Will had shattered her heart? She couldn’t imagine it.
The fact that her phone had sat silent in her pocket all night gave her an indication of how quickly Will had changed his tune. Why had he checked in that last time as if they were best friends and then nothing? She pulled out the phone and checked the screen. No calls or texts. As much as she loathed it when he broke into her personal time, a tiny part of her wished he had. Then she’d feel as if she was worth something, as if she hadn’t just been discarded.
She shook the thought from her mind. What a stupid way to feel. She gritted her teeth, swallowing the tears that wanted to come. With determination, she opened her email, pulled up the quitclaim form, and signed it. Then she sent it off.
There. Stay far away from me now.
“Julia said Winston’s already asleep,” Patrick said, rounding a chair and plopping down into it. “Stormy’s in bed with him.”
She slipped the phone back into her pocket. “That’s so sweet. I hope he gets to keep him.”
“Me too. He’s wanted a dog forever. If we can’t find an owner, I’m going to have to help Julia with taking it to training classes, and it’s going to be a lot with work, but Winston needs a buddy. He’s always with adults. It would be good for him to have another friend to occupy his time at home.”
She smiled. Patrick took her mind off Will, and somehow managed to lift the weight on her heart at the same time.
“I’m not keeping you from anything, am I?” she asked.
“Not with Winston asleep. And once the sun goes down, there’s only so much cleanup I can do around her house and mine. The restaurant’s in good shape. We haven’t brought in much of the furniture yet because we’re waiting on a custom hood and bar to be built and installed. Most of it’s in a storage facility inland. I’ve been waiting until Julia’s class is finished to bring it all over so Winston can play basketball while I work. It’s the only thing that keeps him entertained.”
“You help out with him a lot?” she asked.
