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“I’ll help. You’ve gotta tame the flames without ruining the meat,” Grant instructed as he followed behind him.
“This is not going to end well.” Claire shook her head. “Please excuse me.” Before they could answer, she’d already caught up to the boys.
Mateo studied the action for a second before he turned back to her. “While they’re busy searing our dinner, can I get you a drink? Or, maybe more accurately, can I show you to the cooler and let you choose one for yourself?”
“That would be awesome.” It was nice to have a familiar face in this backyard full of strangers, and Molly felt her confidence build as she followed Mateo to a row of coolers along the fence near a fire pit.
“How was the conference?” he asked.
She opened one of the coolers and selected a bottle of water. “It was amazing. I learned a ton. Grant has some pretty impressive friends.”
“Grant’s as impressive as the rest of them. He was on the same trajectory of becoming an industry expert when he put his career on hold.”
His career on hold?Molly had assumed his career ambition was what he was doing, running the family business. Did this paused career have anything to do with the PhD he hadn’t finished? “What career?”
“Technically, I think he’s what’s called a marine habitat specialist,” Mateo said.
Molly unscrewed her water and took a quick sip. “I want to sound like I know what that is, but the truth is I have no idea.”
“Basically, he does a whole lot of research on animals in their natural habitats. That research helps with designing exhibits in zoos and aquariums that are more beneficial to the animal, as well as knowing where to focus conservation efforts.”
“You mean like the tank at Turtle Rehab?”
“Exactly.” Mateo nodded once. “That was the kind of thing he was designing before he left.”
So, the tank wasn’t just a hobby. It was his passion.
She glanced over at the grill where the flames were still raging. “Why did he quit?”
“Because of Claire,” Mateo said simply.
“Claire?”
“Yeah, she was still in high school when their dad got sick. Their mom had died two years earlier, so he didn’t want Claire to be alone. He left the university in the middle of the year to come home and take care of everything.”
Molly watched Grant interact with his sister as they battled the flames, and her throat tightened with a mixture of sympathy and admiration. She couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to lose both of your parents. But on top of that, he’d left his passion behind to come home and take care of his family. “That must’ve been tough.”
“It was a sacrifice for sure, but that’s the kind of guy Grant is. He does what it takes for family.”
His compassion didn’t surprise her. From what she’d seen over the past week, he was one of the kindest, most caring people she’d ever met. But realizing its depth caused a whole different type of admiration.
Mateo turned and watched the action going on at the grill, too. “Although, he’s a lot like a sea turtle. He’ll always be able to find home, but he was never meant to stay here. Not like the rest of us. Not when there’s a whole wide world for him to explore.”
Molly could see that. His love for the ocean, his need for adventure, his passion for helping.
The grill flared again, causing the three flame-fighters to jump back.
“I think it’s time for me to show those three how to take care of business.” Mateo set his drink down on one of the coolers and marched across the backyard, giving orders to the trio at the grill. Molly stood there and watched.
What kind of guy gave up his dream to come home and take care of his sister? There was a warmth spreading through her that she wanted to blame on the balmy Florida air, but she knew, deep down, that it had much more to do with the air in this backyard.
Hadley was right about the people here. Molly thought she knew small towns since she was from one, but where she came from wasn’t like this.
Since she’d left, the only people who’d checked in on her were her parents, not that it surprised her. In the aftermath of The Great Breakup, the people she’d thought were her friends had slowly started to drift away. Of course, they’d all been sympathetic in the beginning, but as time had faded on and the shock had worn off, she’d found she’d been the one getting excluded from the invitations under the pretense of “we didn’t want to make things awkward for you.” What they really meant was they didn’t want to make their own parties awkward by filling them with the tension of the new happy couple and their ex-fiancée/best friend.
But the people of Emerald Cove seemed different. Seeing the way they took care of each other and had each other’s backs was refreshing. Of course, it still didn’t make her want to start laying down roots or get a hundred percent invested. The sting from that sort of commitment was still too fresh. But it was encouraging, and as she watched it, she could feel a tiny piece of her broken heart start to mend.
Claire, who’d disappeared in the house, returned with two pitchers of water and dumped them over the grill. A puff of steam rose up as water streamed out the bottom. Molly was pretty sure everything that’d been cooking, along with any shot of using the grill again tonight, had been destroyed. But at least the flames were out. Grant, Lance, and Mateo all stared half longingly, half horrified at the drenched barbeque as if they’d just watched a bag of diamonds get flushed down the toilet.
