“You look just like your father in that. And your brother, of course. So handsome.”
Blue placed his hands on the kitchen counter, stretching his calves. Through the window, he could see others jogging on the sand at the end of Summer Street.
“Have you heard anything from Ty lately?”
“Ma, what did you do?”
“Nothing. Ty called me to see if you might want to come home. He said there’s a position for you.”
“Ma,” he began, but she seemed determined to get her point across.
“There are people here who love you, Blue. Your sisters, their boys. They ask about their uncle constantly.”
“I have people here, too.” Though he wasn’t sure he deserved any of them.
“Not family. There’s nothing like family.” When he didn’t respond, her attitude shifted. “Will you at least think about it?”
He promised before he hung up. His mother wasn’t alone. Besides his sisters and their husbands and children, she had brothers and sisters and their children who lived there. Blue could hardly keep up with the proliferation of cousins.
Standing in the kitchen, he turned the choice over in his mind.
The anchor pillow still rested on his couch. He’d left the fairy lights that Jo liked on the patio. Maybe he should take them down. He couldn’t look at them without hearing her words ring in his ears.
Do you want to spend your future with me or not?
He flung open the door and took off at a fast pace.
With so much on his mind, he ran farther than he’d planned, his guilt and failures pushing him hard until his heart felt it might explode. He slowed only when he neared the Majestic to avoid the children scampering across the path.
“Why, Blue, you’re quite far from home.”
Ella sat on a bench at the edge of the path. She wore a linen outfit and looked like she was dressed for dinner.
He slowed to a stop and wiped sweat from his brow, feeling light-headed. “Guess I needed a long run.”
Ella furrowed her brow in alarm. “You look overheated. Come sit with me and rest. You should have water with you.”
Without waiting for a response, she signaled a pool attendant for water. Everyone knew Ella at the Majestic. She pressed her fingers to his wrist, taking his pulse. “Put your head between your legs if you feel dizzy.”
He didn’t object. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees and dropping his head.
Ella finished taking his pulse and seemed satisfied. “I’m waiting for Whitley, but he’s been detained. So I have a few minutes to sit with you.”
The attendant delivered two water bottles from the poolside chilly bin. She opened one and handed it to him. “Drink, but don’t guzzle.”
Blue followed her directions. When his heartbeat sufficiently returned to normal, he thanked her.
“Some people need looking after, and I don’t mind doing it,” she said. “Now, how are you and Jo?”
She was direct; he’d give her that. Blue pressed a hand to his neck, embarrassed. “Worse, I’m afraid. I’ve really messed up.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“How does everyone?—”
She handed him the second bottle of water. “Small island, dear. What happened?”
He opened the water and sipped more slowly this time, realizing he might have passed out if she hadn’t been there. “Essentially, she beat me to the proposal. She asked me if I wanted a future with her, and I couldn’t answer.”
