Page 38 of Always Another Sunset

He sighed. “Not so much,” he said. “I spun out in my motorcycle and hurt my wrist in the crash.”

“Oh, wow, that sounds horrible,” JC said, hating that her friend was hurt but also already calculating the ramifications of having her backup out of commission. “When did it happen?”

“On my way home,” Blake answered. “I called as soon as I could, but I was in the ambulance.” She heard him swallow hard. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can paddle with it like this.”

JC shook her head.Leave it to Blake to worry about me and work first,she thought, but she did appreciate it. She would have to make phone calls to take care of tours scheduled for the next day. “Don’t worry about that,” she said. “Where are you now?”

“I’m in the emergency room, waiting to go back for x-rays,” he answered. “Maybe if it’s only a sprain, I can have them wrap it real tight and—”

“No,” JC said. “We will cancel tomorrow’s tours, and I’ll come back on the first flight I can find in the morning. You worry about yourself.”

With the backdoor open,Bella couldn’t help but overhear bits of JC’s side of the phone conversation. She gathered the call from Blake wasn’t good. Knowing the nice young man wouldn’t call JC, especially outside of work hours unless there was a good reason, Bella worried something was wrong. When the night breeze carried JC’s words, “we will cancel tomorrow’s tours, and I’ll come back on the first flight I can find in the morning. You worry about yourself,” her heart fell. The next week with JC exploring even more of Portland and the surrounding area sounded like it wouldn’t happen. Trying hard not to be frustrated, because clearly something terrible had happened, otherwise JC would never leave early, Bella sipped her wine and waited.

After hearing JC hang up and then complete a second call to someone else, Bella was relieved when the woman finally joined her on the back porch again. “Sorry,” JC said with a sigh as she dropped into the patio chair beside Bella. “But Blake hurt his wrist, and it sounds like it might be broken.”

Bella processed her words, realizing it would be impossible to paddle a kayak in that condition. “What are you going to do?” she asked. “I mean, I overheard enough to know you have to go back, but…”

Picking up her wine, JC took a sip before answering. “I have to cancel tomorrow’s tours,” she said. “I called the guy helping Blake while I’m gone to have him send me the contact information for everyone signed up.” She sighed. “After he sends me a text that he emailed them, I’ll be spending an hour calling to disappoint people and refund their money.”

“I can help with that,” Bella said, hating to see the frustration on JC’s normally carefree face. “We can split up the list if you want.”

JC gave her a weak smile. “Thank you,” she said. “Then maybe we will still have time for some of the other stuff you hinted at earlier.”

Feeling a little flutter at the suggestiveness in her tone, Bella nodded. “We will definitely have time,” she said, then sobered as she thought of what else she overheard. “But you’re leaving in the morning?”

“I am afraid I have to,” JC answered, meeting Bella’s eyes with her own. Disappointment filled them. “There isn’t much choice.”

Bella reached for her hand and held it. “I know,” she said. “There’s no one to blame for what happened.” She rubbed her thumb over the back of JC’s hand. “It’s just I’m really going to miss having you here.” For a long moment, neither said anything. The question they avoided all week loomed over them. Unfortunately, Bella was no clearer on an answer of how to make everything work than before.

“Well,” JC said with hesitation as she stared at their hands clasped together. “I can come back to visit soon.” She lifted her eyes. “Or you can come to Hawaii and stay with me and see Roxie.”

Bella blinked. “Now?” she said. “Like go with you in the morning?”

JC started to nod. “Yes,” she said. “Come with me and stay for as long as you want.”

Images of JC’s beautiful home filled Bella’s mind, and her heart melted at the idea of seeing Roxie again.Still, I can’t simply drop everything and leave, she thought.I have to give my parents at least some notice and set up Hanna to look after my house.“JC,” she said softly. “I can’t do that. Not out of the blue.”

Slowly, JC nodded, and the disappointment in her eyes was almost enough for Bella to change her mind, but then the woman was standing. “You’re right,” she said. “I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that.” She leaned to kiss Bella, and their lips met for a second. The touch was warm and a little thrilling, like always, but Bella felt something different in it. The sensation scared her, and she was about to ask the woman what she was thinking, but then JC’s phone buzzed with a text. After a glance, JC nodded. “He sent me the list. Let’s go make some phone calls before it gets any later.”

38

As JC finished the day’s paperwork in the office at Oahu Paddle Adventures, she couldn’t believe how fast the last forty-eight hours had gone. She had been able to grab a last-minute flight out of Portland, picked up Roxie from a disappointed Tamara and Chris, and taken over the tours for Blake. There hadn’t been much time to talk to Bella, and if JC was honest with herself, that might have been just as well. Since the night before she left, there was a lingering feeling of frustration over the woman’s unwillingness to even seriously consider coming to Hawaii at the last minute with JC. It had made their few conversations a little awkward because she hadn’t been sure what to say. Luckily, with time to reflect on the evening, JC had a better perspective and looked forward to talking to Bella later that night.So I can apologize, she thought, shutting down the computer and turning off the lights.I put her on the spot and then got my feelings hurt when she didn’t jump at my idea to drop everything.

“That wasn’t very fair, now was it, Roxie?” she said to her canine companion as they walked out the shop’s door. Roxie looked at her, mouth slightly open as if in a smile. If JC didn’t know better, she would think the dog was happy to have her back home. The thought Roxie missed her made her feel warm inside. JC had missed Roxie too, and when she called Chris to let her and Tamara know she was back early, they were genuinely saddened.

When JC went to pick her up, they lingered on the front steps. “She’s such a great girl,” Tamara had said as she ran a hand over Roxie’s furry head. “I can’t thank you enough for letting us watch her. I hate that she’s leaving early.”

JC had knelt beside Roxie and scratched the dog’s neck. “I can’t tell you enough how much of a relief it has been knowing she was in good hands,” JC said. “I promise you can borrow her again anytime you need a doggie fix.”

“Thanks,” Chris had said, smiling at Tamara. “But I think we will be getting a dog ourselves soon.”

JC stood, looking from Tamara to Chris and back. “Oh, yeah?” she asked. “That’s great.”

Beaming, Tamara put her arm around Chris’s shoulders. “We both enjoyed having Roxie so much,” she said. “It was the perfect test, although finding a dog as sweet as her will be challenging.”

JC had agreed at the time and as they walked to the jeep, she looked at Roxie’s upturned face, and she knew she was lucky to have her. “I’m lonely enough without Bella as it is,” she said. “I’m not sure what I would do without you to keep me company.” Suddenly, her phone rang in her pocket, and she fished it out, hoping to see the call was from Bella. Instead, it was a random local number. She thought about answering but then let it go to voicemail. If it were anything other than a salesman trying to sell her a car warranty, she would deal with it after she got home and had a cold beer in her hand, sitting in a lounger beside the pool.

Loading Roxie into the jeep and then climbing in herself, JC was about to head home when her phone buzzed again. This time it was a text message from the random number, and she paused to check it. The words made her heart skip a beat. “I just left you a voicemail but wanted to follow up with a text,” the stranger wrote. “I think you have my father’s dog.”

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