Authors: Nicole Deese

Tags: #romance, #Fiction

A Summer Remade (13 page)

Drew’s name is like one of those rent-by-the-hour sky banners towed behind a two-seater airplane. The image is impossible to blink away.

I hop from the bench and dust off my backside. “Glad you were happy with it.”

Harve focuses on my face for the first time, my words trailing off as his gaze cuts through my I-have-it-all-together veneer. “But just like the seasons, sometimes goodbyes come too soon. And sometimes too late.”

The punch to my heart shifts to a permanent stab-throb-squeeze. “How did you…?” My words stumble, and a gentle smile tugs at the inside corners of his mouth.

I don’t understand all the hows or whys, but the erratic beat of my heart tells me his wisdom on changing seasons is much like his prediction of coming rain. Spot on.

How many times have I buried my head instead of facing potential conflict, potential hurt? How many times have I closed my eyes and wished my changing world away?

Far too many.

I bite the tremble from my bottom lip and will myself to be braver than I am, will myself to be a lesson learned. I could stand here and hope that Drew comes to his senses before it’s too late. That he shows up like the Neighbor In Shining Armor he’s been for me a billion times over in the last three weeks. Or I could go to him.

I could be the one who takes the risk, bets it all. Because he’s worth it. “Th—thank you, Harve.”

Harve tosses another donut hole at his dog, and then lifts his leathered-palm and waves. “Anytime.”

I burst through
the front door of Grandma Culver’s house because naturally Drew’s left it unlocked and call out his name. No answer. I run around to the garage, fully expecting him to be in the midst of another insane rowing workout. But he’s not there either. My heart pounding hard in my temples, I race down the sloppy hill to the well-worn trail.

I see him.

Drew paces at the end of the dock, his phone in hand.

A happy sob escapes me. “Drew!”

He spins around, and before I can catch my breath to say more, he’s rushing toward me. Our bodies collide in the soggy grass where land kisses sea. He tucks me in close and wraps his arms around my waist.

My hands are at the base of his neck pulling his mouth toward mine. I kiss him because I can. I kiss him because I didn’t leave. I kiss him because hope is stronger than regret.

Drew’s words are filtered through choppy breaths as we break for air. “I thought you were gone.”

I shake my head. “The cabin sold. My parents came to the island last night. I was gonna tell you this morning and then—”

“I know. I just talked to the realtor. She told me you took the ferry back with your parents. I’m so glad she was wrong.” Drew tightens his hold on me. “I’m sorry, Joss. I shouldn’t have said what I did.”

“No, I was wrong to push. You have a lot to process, and I never should have made it seem like an easy decision. It’s not.”

Drew’s crescent-shaped eyes are a Grand Canyon of light and dark brown, of amber and copper flecks. “I decided.” He answers my next string of questions before I can ask, before I can take another breath. “I’ve seen four doctors and two physical therapists. All of them are in agreement.” The slow shake of his head makes me want to kiss his words away, kiss the truth away. “I drained my savings account for one last opinion, a high-end surgeon near Seattle. That scan was my last hope for competitive rowing, but the tear in my rotator cuff is inoperable. Because of the multiple tears, and the trauma to surrounding tendons, my best hope is continued physical therapy. For normal use function only.”

“Drew…” But I have nothing more to add. No words that will ease that kind of blow or soothe that kind of loss.

He kisses the end of my nose and then the middle of my forehead. “I took the job, Joss. You were right. Assistant coaching is a much better alternative than denial. I’m headed back to school tomorrow.”

His words are a chiming benediction for us both. Neither of us can stay on the island forever. Eventually summer turns to fall. Eventually all vacations must come to an end.

Drew has one more day on the island; I have one more hour.

“I’m happy for you, Drew.” I close my eyes until I find the strength to speak again. “I told my parents I’m changing my major to interior design.”

“Don’t forget I was the one who pointed out your mad visionary skills.”

I want to laugh, but I can’t quite make the sound come out. “I also told them I’d head back to the mainland tonight. I need to spend some time with them both before I head back to school.” I exhale slowly. “So, I guess this is our goodbye.”

He crushes me to his chest and I nuzzle into his shirtfront, savoring his warmth. My nose tingles with a warning of tears, but I don’t care about crying. I care about leaving.

I care about Drew.

I lift my head, pull back slightly to see his face and prepare to answer a question he asked me weeks ago. An answer I’ve only shared with my closest friends and family. “You asked where I go when I close my eyes.”

Drew blinks and then takes my face in his hands. “Yes.”

“I close my eyes to escape. To take a tiny break from reality so I can remind myself to breathe and focus on something that calms. Sometimes it’s clouds, or water, or even a color. But lately…” I swallow the swelling emotion in my throat. “Lately, whenever I close my eyes, I see you.”

Tears slip down my cheeks, and Drew swipes them away with the pads of his thumbs.

“I want to be more than your escape, Joss.” He kisses my tear-dampened face. “A lot more.”

“You do?”

He leans in closer, his smiling words a whisper in my ear. “This is the part where you say you want that too.”

“It is.”

Drew holds out his palm to me. “Where’s your phone?”

“What?” The excitement I hear in Drew’s voice is like a shot of caffeine to my bloodstream. I hand him my phone.

Several quick swipes on my screen later, he turns the phone toward me.

A map. Of the two-hour route that separates our universities.

“What exactly are you suggesting?” The teasing in my voice is outweighed by a desperate hope that he means what I think he means.

“I’m suggesting we become officially more than island neighbors.” The curl of his bottom lip relaxes into a lazy grin. Quite possibly my favorite grin on the planet. “And I’m also suggesting you stay here tonight. Let me take you out on a real date. We can catch the ferry together in the morning.”

“Tonight? But—”

Drew drops his hands from my shoulders and holds his palms to the air. “You can stay in the sewing room. You can even borrow that pink housecoat you loved so much.”

I swat at Drew’s arm playfully. My parents can wait one more day. “Deal.”

“Yeah?” He steps closer and pulls me against him once again, as if I was made to fit into the contours of his chest, feel the rhythm of his heartbeat, notice every detail of his fresh, ocean scent.

With a single finger, Drew lifts my chin and leans close. His cool lips taste like the open water he holds so dear, the perfect combination of adventure, fun, and freedom. This is not the kiss of a casual island fling. This is the kiss that starts a new chapter, a new season, a new beginning.

This is the kiss that took an unusual summer and made it unforgettable.

The End

About the Author

Nicole Deese is a lover of fiction. When she isn’t writing, she can be found fantasizing about “reading escapes,” which look a lot like kid-free, laundry-free, and cooking-free vacations.

Nicole is a Kindle best selling author of The Letting Go series and
A Cliché Christmas
, book one in her new Love In Lenox series. She writes clean contemporary romance with an inspirational twist, and lives in beautiful north Idaho with her swoony husband and rambunctious sons.

Other books by Nicole Deese:

The Letting Go series:

All for Anna

All She Wanted

All Who Dream

Love in Lenox series:

A Cliché Christmas

A Season To Love
(Feb 2016)

Be sure to sign-up for
Nicole’s Newsletter!

As a newsletter groupie you’ll receive the following:

*Bonus Scenes

*New releases