Page 23 of Escape to the Sun

They didn’t speak. They didn’t cry. They simply sat together. Ash squeezed his eyes shut, willing his energy—his positive, healthy energy—to flow into her. Finally, Sherri squeezed his hand. “It’ll be okay.”

They both knew there was a good chance that it would be anything but okay.

He nodded and jumped to his feet, determined to help where he could. “Of course it will.” He believed what he said. He didn’t have a choice. He’d lost too much; he couldn’t—no, he wouldn’t—lose her too.

* * *

Heather didn’t havetime to think about what Sherri was doing up the hill in her treehouse because she still had a job and a B&B to run. While Ash was busy moving crates up and down the stairs, the two new guests had arrived, compliments of a water taxi from Bocas Town.

She had the jug of mojitos ready for the two friends and after getting them settled into the bungalow closest to grande casa, they’d returned to partake in the drinks.

One of the best parts of the job, and the part that Heather knew she’d like the most, was the constant change of interesting and creative people. Sandy and Miranda were old friends from California. They’d known each other for twenty years, and made a point every year to go away together for two weeks to escape their lives back home.

From the moment they’d arrived on the dock, they hadn’t stopped talking and laughing. They were exactly the type of friends Heather once had back home before she’d moved to Panama with Joe. It brought a smile to her face just listening to them, but it also gave her a little twinge of nostalgia.

She’d given up a lot of things for Joe. Too many things.

But that time was over. She pushed her shoulders back, inhaled a deep breath of ocean air and breathed all the negativity out. There was no room for it at Casa del Sol.

Heck, there was no room for it in her soul. It was time for her. And she was going to start by joining her guests for a mojito.

She finished mixing the second round of drinks and carried it over, along with a new glass for herself, to the dock where the women were enjoying the late afternoon sun.

“Mind if I join you?” Heather set her glass down before she refilled the other women’s cups.

Sandy smiled and waved to the empty wooden chair. “Any woman who makes mojitos as good as these is a friend of mine.” She took a long sip with her straw. A satisfied groan escaped her and she laid her head back. “It’s paradise.”

Heather laughed.

“It really is,” Miranda agreed. “You may just be the luckiest woman ever because you actually live here.”

She couldn’t disagree with that statement, so she didn’t. Instead, Heather joined in the easy conversation, learning about their busy lives back home, filled with careers, children, and husbands. No wonder they needed a holiday—it all sounded completely exhausting.

And absolutely wonderful.

It’s not that she wanted what Sandy and Miranda had back home.

Not at all.

Heather had never wanted that life for herself. The busy wife and mother route was right for some people, but it had never appealed to her. Even so, listening to the women talking with such love in their voices, despite the stress that obviously carried them through their days, she couldn’t help but feel a little envious. She may not have wanted exactly what they had, but she did want the companionship. The love.

She allowed herself a moment of jealousy, but only a moment.

“Who is that?” Miranda sat straight up in her chair, her mouth all but hanging open. Before she even turned to look, Heather knew exactly who she was talking about.

It could only be Ash.

When Sandy looked over her shoulder to see what her friend was gawking at and had almost an identical reaction, Heather followed their gaze in order to confirm. “That’s Ash. He helps out around here.”

Just like every other time she saw him, her body lit up with a heat that grew from deep inside.

“And who exactly is Ash?”

“If I wasn’t married—”

“But you are.” Miranda cut off her friend and they both dissolved in giggles.

“True, true.” Sandy clucked her tongue. “But if I wasn’t…ohh baby.”

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