“Jake,” I warned. “I’m getting over her. I want to get over her. So do me a favor, don’t try to convince me it’s worth hanging on. It’s not.”
He sighed. “I just—”
“Did you call to talk to me about business or my personal life? Because if it’s the latter, I’m done with this conversation.” I didn’t mean to be so blunt, but Jake was as tenacious as I was and sometimes he needed to hear it, flat-out.
“I’ve got things under control here. I just wanted to check in, make sure you were doing okay.”
“I’m good.” I smiled. “Jake…” It wasn’t easy to find words I should have said years ago, but I told myself if I kept shit locked inside I was no better than Briar. “You’re like a brother to me, man. I hope you know that. I’d trust you with my life. My business—”
“I know.”
And in the silence, I realized he did know. I may not have said the words, but he clearly didn’t need them. When we got back from our last tour, I’d sold him on my business idea and it had given both of us purpose, ignited our passion, at a time when we’d desperately needed to obliterate the haunting memories of death, destruction and despair.
“Thanks, Jake.” I hope he knew I was thanking him for… everything. Which was a hell of a lot, with friendship ties that were as long and tightly bound as ours.
“You got it. I’ll check in next week. Enjoy the R&R, Rhett. You’ve earned it.”
“Yeah, I have. And so have you. So, you’re gonna get your ass down here as soon as I get back. Take all the time you need here. It’ll do you good.”
He chuckled. “Not sure I could be alone with my thoughts that long without going crazy, but thanks for the offer.”
We said our good-byes and I spotted my caretaker. Diego was clearing beach debris that had washed ashore overnight. I grabbed two beers from the fridge and made my way outside.
He looked up when he heard me close the door, smiling and waving.
I made my way towards him, holding up a bottle, “Cerveza?”
His smile widened and he nodded, setting aside his waste bag, gloves and trash grabber. “Thank you.” He sank down beside me in one of the two brightly colored beach chairs.
“Here’s to another day in Paradise, my friend,” I said, tapping my bottle against his.
He and his family had been taking care of my property since I bought it. His wife cleaned my house and stocked the fridge, as needed, which wasn’t often. He maintained the lawns, flowerbeds, beach, and took care of household repairs. In exchange, I paid them a good wage and they and their three young children lived in a beautiful guest cottage on my property. According to Diego and his wife, Isabella, it was more than they ever could have dreamed when they got married ten years ago.
“Indeed.”
His accent was thick, but he’d been working in tourism since he was a boy, so spoke English perfectly, as did his wife, making it easy for us to communicate. If I extended my stay, I’d thought about learning Spanish online, so it would be easier to converse with locals and new friends I made.
“My right-hand man just called me,” I said, taking a sip of my beer. I’d had a sandwich an hour ago and the sun was at its peak, making it the perfect time to knock back a few cold ones with some good company and catch a few rays. “He wanted to know when I was coming home.”
He tipped his head to look at me. I’d confided in him that I was in no hurry to get back, so he was probably wondering if I was going to cave under the pressure when the demands of home started beckoning.
“What did you tell him, amigo?”
“That I wasn’t ready to come home and didn’t know when I would be.” I watched a boat with a colorful sail in the distance as I considered taking my own boat out later. Maybe do a little inshore fishing and see if I could catch my dinner. I’d had good luck and loved my time on the water, yet another reason to extend my time here.
“Good for you.” He smiled. “It’s nice to see you making use of the property. Too beautiful to see it going to waste.”
“It’s not going to waste. You and your beautiful family enjoy it and appreciate it every day. That’s good enough for me.” I meant it. Diego and his family were good people. I loved that I’d been able to give them a better life than they would have had working in a restaurant and driving a taxi for tourists.
“You’re a good man, Rhett. We appreciate you.”
We appreciate you.Those words echoed in my ears. It wasn’t something I heard often. I did my best to pay it forward, helping people and organizations that meant something to me. I always got a polite thank you in return, but it wasn’t often someone claimed to appreciateme.
“Thank you.” I cleared my throat before tipping my beer back. The short time I’d spent here with Diego and his family, not to mention the locals, who didn’t care whether I had two nickels to rub together when they asked about my life back home and shared their life stories, reinforced what I already knew… there was a hell of a lot more to life than money. Friends. Family. Community. Giving back. Those were the things that mattered. I’d been a hard-ass for a long time. I had to be, in the military and in business. But the time I spent with Briar taught me something. It was time to let my guard down. Let that special someone in. Learn to be a bit of a softie, for the sake of the kids I one day hoped to have with the love of my life.
“This time here has been good for you, yeah?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I came here a bit of a mess, to be honest, Diego.”
