“No, we got it!” Rita insisted. “We have GPS.”
“The GPS kept getting confused because of all the water,” Selassie said.
“I’m coming with you,” Sarah said firmly.
When Sarah walked up to Ren, she noticed that Elka was only a few steps away from him, setting up a shot that would give her an opportunity to seek his advice.
“Hey, I’m going to borrow your car to guide Rita and Selassie back to the hotel and then come back,” Sarah said.
“No need, you should go with them, stay at the hotel and turn in,” Ren said. Sarah couldn’t help but notice that Elka looked pleased at this. “Most of the other folks are pretty self-sufficient and it’s a long drive back. I don’t want you to have to come back just to drop off the car.”
“We can give her a ride! We don’t mind!” Rita called out.
“Take the ride,” Ren said. “You’ve had a long day. I’ve got this covered.”
“But what about your rule about someone getting injured?” Sarah asked.
“You’re there if I need you,” Ren said.
Sarah nodded, warmed a little by his words. She was exhausted. And if Ren was going to end up in Elka’s bed, there was no help for it. Sarah stopped by where Kyle was taking pictures and told him she was leaving in a different car.
“No problem,” Kyle said. “I told you I’m a dusk to dawn guy. It’s my triathlon training. I don’t expect everyone to keep up.”
The ride back was a long, winding stretch of blue darkness with Sarah navigating in the passenger seat to make sure that they found their way to the hotel. Rita was driving, while Selassie had set up her phone to send music to the car stereo, playing a gorgeous set of old soul singers like Ann Peebles and Sam Cooke, mixed with some nineties R&B. By the time they were at the hotel, Sarah felt bone-tired and a little maudlin.
“Tomorrow, you’re hanging out with us!” Selassie called. “And we’re going to talk Rita into doing a swimsuit shot of her.”
“It’s a plan!” Sarah replied enthusiastically.
It felt strangely lonely to step into her hotel room and look at Ren’s empty bed, knowing that he might not return at all. That was always the problem with Ren; he was too easy to miss.
13
TUESDAY
When she wokein the morning, though, Ren was asleep in the bed next to hers. The sight made her happy, which she knew was a warning sign. Nothing could happen with him, she reminded herself. After this week, she might not see him again for years. She got up, showered, and then went to the breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant. After eating a quick meal with Binita, who had also turned in somewhat early the night before, Sarah selected some fruit and a croissant for Ren and returned to their room, leaving the food by his bed for whenever he woke up.
She sat on her bed and opened the laptop she’d brought with her, then began collecting reference images for theMy Divorcephoto series she was thinking of. She also put her website back online, because Kyle’s smug insistence that she wasn’t a real photographer rankled.
Ren finally stirred at a little after eleven in the morning. He sat up and looked at the food next to him, then gave her a sleepy, affectionate smile that she couldn’t look at for more than a moment.
“How did it go with the dawn crew?” she asked.
“We got some good stuff. Is this for me?”
“Of course. The coffee and tea should still be available in the lobby but they were taking the rest of the food away.”
“Thank you.” He slid up and looked at her. “How was your evening?”
“It was fun,” she said. “It was good I went back with them. Their sense of direction would have put them somewhere in the Atlantic.”
“Thanks for helping with those two,” he said. “I got a lot of questions from some of the more experienced folks, so you being able to help the novices was tremendous.”
“We got some good stuff, I think.”
“With a flash?” he asked, grinning now. “I have one rule, Sarah. One rule.”
“Wait and see. You’ll love it.”
