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Callie was at a loss for words. She focused instead on keeping her hands gently positioned around her clay as her wheel spun evenly. The sensation was calming, centering her as well as the small bowl slowly taking shape.
Thelma was walking around the room with Liza Minnelli, looking at everyone’s creations. “Photos, Sarah Jane,” she said. The girl promptly whipped out an iPhone and trailed after Thelma, snapping pictures. Thelma stroked Liza Minnelli’s fur. “It’s time for your snack, my little queen bee,” she cooed. Sarah Jane reached back into the tote bag and handed Thelma a bag of Cheez puffs. As she held one of the orange crinkles out to the cat, Callie saw the looks of curiosity on men’s and women’s faces as they glanced up from their wheels. Liza Minnelli stuck out her pink tongue and began licking off the salty orange coating with gusto.
One of the ladies gasped loudly in astonishment, startling a man who was in the process of carrying an over-full water cup back from the sink. He promptly tripped then shouted, and water splashed all over the woman at the nearest station. She shrieked, jumping up to collide with Thelma, sending Liza Minnelli flying out of her arms. Upon landing, the cat began to race through the room, searching for cover. Jackson tripped as she leaped by, and before Callie knew it, everyone was either slipping or bumping into each other, and water and clay were in the air. Callie saw Ben Green stand up to shield Amberley. Deborah rose, holding wet clay in her hands, and with a loud“Oops!”took a step and flung it in Callie’s direction.
Suddenly, Callie found the whole scene incredibly funny. Jackson, his empty dish in hand, reached over to pluck a chunk of muddy goo from the top of Callie’s head and then wiped a finger across her nose. The two of them dissolved into peals of laughter, and men and women around them followed suit, making the most of the opportunity to tease each other in merry abandonment. Deborah crossley wiped her hands on her towel. “Such children,” Callie overheard her mutter.
“Got her!” yelled Sarah Jane, who was on her hands and knees trying to pry Liza Minnelli out from underneath a wooden cabinet. Sarah Jane’s usually perfectly styled messy bun was lilting precariously to one side. Doug Lambert knelt beside her. “Allow me,” he said. “Cheez doodle, please?” One of the women picked up the bag, which had fallen to the floor, and brought it over. Doug pulled out a puff and held it out calmly. After a minute, the cat crept out from her hiding place and walked over to sniff the treat. Doug lifted her and handed her and the Cheez doodle back to Thelma. Looking around at the female faces that were staring at him with blatant adoration, he sat back down at his station with a satisfied expression.
Jackson shook his head. “This is one day I definitely won’t forget,” he said.
Callie wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. “That’s for sure,” she agreed.
Chapter Eleven
JACKSON
Jackson thought now was as good a time as any to wrap up his visits to his local construction sites, especially since he was already covered in mud and grime. He stopped again for takeout on the way back to the inn. Entering, he saw a casually dressed woman with gray hair that was pulled into a ponytail filing paperwork at the reception desk. This must be Fran’s housekeeper and new assistant, Jeanne. The inn’s telephone rang with a sudden buzz as she closed one of the file cabinets. She reached over and answered, welcoming the caller to Harbor Inn. Jackson watched as Jeanne listened for a few minutes. “Why yes, she’s here at the inn, and I’m pretty sure she’s fine. Okay, I’ll tell her,” he overheard her say. Looking up as she hung up the receiver, Jeanne said, “Hey, if you see Callie around, would you mind letting her know that her boyfriend’s been trying to reach her? I guess she hasn’t checked her phone messages lately, so Hunter called the inn’s main line.”
Jackson felt blind-sided.Boyfriend?Callie had never mentioned that she had a boyfriend before. He went up to his room in a daze. Maybe he was wrong, thinking that his feelings of attraction had been mutual. Or had he misjudged her character? Was she just leading him on? Could he even trust her? Had he learned nothing from his previous relationship? He was angry with himself for allowing himself to open up to her. He thought this girl was different…but maybe he’d just been fooling himself, same as before. He got ready for bed and lay down, willing sleep to come. But there was only shame and restlessness.
˜*˜
CALLIE
Callie looped a pair of dangle rhinestone earrings through her ears as she finished getting ready for the ballroom dance lesson Saturday night. She had to admit that she was both nervous and excited about the event. While she had a sense of rhythm and was confident that she could hold her own on the dance floor even if she wouldn’t be winning the nextDancing with the Starscompetition anytime soon, the thought of dancing cheek-to-cheek with Jackson made her heart trill. She couldn’t deny that she was developing feelings for him. She was definitely on a new path, rekindling her relationship with Christ, for starters. Everything felt like it was changing, and she felt more optimistic than she had in a long while. However, when Jeanne mentioned during the course of tidying the inn’s rooms that afternoon that Hunter called the night before, looking for her, Callie felt a wave of dread and anxiety.
She frowned at her reflection in the mirror. She’d listened to several voicemails from Hunter, asking her to call him as he wanted to talk about the future of their relationship. Up until now, she hadn’t felt ready to make a decision, and whether she wanted to admit it or not, she’d been avoiding him as well as the subject. But she knew now, without a doubt, that she didn’t want to continue dating him. Even though she’d only just met Jackson, she felt a deeper connection with him than she ever had with Hunter or any of the previous men she’d dated, for that matter. She just couldn’t go backward and now owed it to Hunter to let him know their relationship was over for good. Sure, it would be uncomfortable for a while seeing each other around the office back in Chicago, but they were both professionals, and they would both handle it like adults.
Callie blinked away tears that were suddenly welling in her eyes at the thought of having to leave Seaview, the inn, and her aunt to return to Chicago—a place that had never felt like home to her. She grabbed a tissue to catch the falling drops before they ruined the makeup she’d just carefully applied. And what would happen with her new blossoming friendship with Jackson when it was time for them both to leave and go back to their old everyday lives? She shook her head.One thing at a time,she thought.
With a deep breath, Callie wiped her hands, now damp with cool sweat, on a towel and went into the bedroom to fetch her phone from where it lay in the charger on the bedside table. She sat down on the edge of the bed and dialed.
Hunter picked up on the first ring. “Callie,” he said flatly.
“I’m sorry I haven’t responded until now,” she said hastily. “I’ve been busy helping my aunt and…. well,” she blew out a breath, “the truth is I needed some space to think.”
“Hey, that’s okay,” Hunter replied. “I’ve been doing the same thing and want to be honest with you.”
“Oh?” Callie asked, her curiosity piqued.
“You remember the woman we worked with on the Minneapolis account last year? Samantha?”
“I do,” Callie said. “She was bright and outgoing. I enjoyed collaborating with her.”
“Me, too,” Hunter said. “She was in town this week to take a look at some advertising updates, and we ended up having dinner together. We had a great time and have gotten together a couple more times since outside of work. I hate to hurt you after all that we’ve shared the past few years, but I’d like to get to know Samantha better and see where our relationship may lead. I’m sorry.”
Callie laughed with sheer relief. “Oh, Hunter, don’t be sorry, it’s perfectly okay with me if you want to date her. I was going to tell you something similar. I’ve met someone here that I feel a connection with, too. We had a couple of fun years together, but it seems like we’re both ready to move in different directions now after all.”
“Callie, you don’t know how relieved I am to hear you say this. That is wonderful that you’ve met someone there, and I hope it works out for you. Shall we agree to be colleagues and friends instead of a couple?”
“Agreed,” Callie assented. “Goodbye, Hunter.”
Clicking the end call button, Callie placed her phone in the small, studded clutch she’d be carrying for the evening and looked out the window to the rolling tides of the sea under a setting sun. Colors of pink and gold streaked the sky. Below, Callie could see Aunt Fran walking Peanut Butter along the boardwalk.
“Okay, God,” she whispered, “I’m yours. Lead me where you will.”
Chapter Twelve
