Page 32 of Where Sea Meets Sky

He took another sip of his coffee, even though he was starting to feel jittery and light-headed. He realized that he hadn’t hadany water since that morning, but he told himself he would drink some water later and went back to perusing his clipboard.

He decided to go downstairs in the building to check on the electrical work that was being done on the first floor. He wove through the working men toward the nearest staircase, wishing he didn’t have to wear a hard hat on site so that he could feel the cool breeze ruffling through his hair.

As he made his way down the staircase, he found himself thinking about Faith. He didn’t seem to be able to escape thinking about her. Ever since he’d left Rosewood Beach, she’d been appearing in his thoughts and even some of his dreams. It was almost as though he missed her, although he kept telling himself that wasn’t possible, since he barely knew her. It wasn’t as though she’d become a part of his life before he had to leave town again.

I hope she’s been able to take life at a slower pace better than I have,he thought with a wry chuckle.I hope she’s totally free to feel the wind in her hair, literally and metaphorically.

It hadn’t just been that particularly busy day that had weighed down his spirits. He’d been surprised, after returning to work, how difficult it was to get back into the groove of things. His teenage self would have been appalled to hear him say it, but he was missing the slower pace of Rosewood Beach.

He’d always wanted adventure and excitement, and his sleepy little town hadn’t seemed to be able to offer him either while he was growing up. Now that he was older, however, he knew that there was an excitement that came along with everyday human interactions, and that adventures could be found anywhere. He’d traveled enough of the country to know that the best adventures came from being with interesting people, not from being in interesting locations.

He imagined Faith being there with him, on the job. He wanted to point out to her the way one of the constructionworkers had drawn a cartoon onto the side of his red plastic lunch cooler. Then he shook his head. If she was trying to take things easy and give herself peace, the construction site was no place for her. It was loud and chaotic, and filled with various strong and somewhat unpleasant smells.

He made his way to where a couple of electricians were working. The head electrician looked up with a deferential nod of his head as Ryan approached him.

“Hey, boss. Here to make sure we haven’t messed up?”

Ryan chuckled. “Why else? I never trust electricians.”

“You should.” The other electrician turned to him with a grin. “I’ve got detailed photographs uploaded onto that job log that the company set up. You can check my work now in person and then double-check it later.”

Ryan’s eyebrows lifted. He knew about the job log and that there was an option for the team to upload pictures of their work, but he hadn’t given the matter much thought. All of a sudden, however, he was struck with an inspiration.

“Dave,” he said to the head electrician. “Is it easy for you and your guys to upload those photos? Easier than waiting for me to walk by before you can move forward?”

“Yeah, I’d say so. It only takes a few seconds to upload a picture,” Dave said, shrugging. “Why?”

“I’m just thinking I might be able to do a more efficient job back in an office,” Ryan said, hardly able to contain his excitement. He didn’t say it out loud, but he could do that kind of work from anywhere—even a coffee shop in Rosewood Beach, waiting for Faith Talbot to walk by.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Dave said. “It would probably be faster for us to get messages from you than waiting for you to approve in person.”

“And taking pictures is a good way for us to check our work,” said the other electrician. “I’ve caught a couple of mistakes after taking pictures.”

“See? Never trust an electrician,” Ryan said, clapping him on the back.

“Hey, I caught them!” He grinned.

Ryan finished overseeing what the electricians were working on and then went in search of the head foreman. He wanted to talk with him about what it might look like logistically for him to start working remotely, at least most of the time. After that, he would need to bring the idea to his company and get their approval. It might be a bit of a long shot, but as he walked through the partially-completed building, his heart became lighter and lighter.

Working remotely would be significantly easier on him. The building was at the stage where he didn’t need to oversee as much, and if the team sent him photos of their work regularly, he would be able to check it and prevent errors that way.

Maybe this would be an opportunity for him to start to settle into a slower-paced lifestyle. Having a bit more time on his hands certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing, even if it would take some getting used to.

Maybe he would be able to return to Rosewood Beach before Faith left after all.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Julia glanced at her watch as she strode down the sidewalk. She was on her way to The Lighthouse Grill to work in the office for a while, arranging the upcoming month’s work schedule. She was still running a little early, so she had time to stop at Seaside Sweets Bakery for a coffee and perhaps a doughnut.

Right?she wondered, picking up her pace a little.I don’t usually walk to work like this. I hope it doesn’t end up taking longer than I think it will.

She glanced down at her feet, which were feeling a little stiff and uncomfortable. She’d purchased a pair of hiking boots online, and they’d arrived the night before. She wanted to wear them to work as a means of breaking them in, since they were still very stiff and difficult to walk in.

She’d been up late worrying about meeting Cooper’s parents when she’d decided to buy them. She hadn’t owned a pair of hiking boots since she was in the fifth grade, since she always went hiking in her colorful and gym-friendly tennis shoes, but she wanted to own a pair now that she was about to have such outdoorsy family members. She’d bought them with the hopes of toughening up her wardrobe so that she wouldn’t look too prissy to Cooper’s parents when they arrived.

She glanced down at the hiking boots, hoping they looked at least a little more scuffed than they had when she’d left the house. They didn’t, they still looked brand spanking new, and Julia let out a long sigh. She tried to scuff up the sides a little on the sidewalk as she made her way to Seaside Sweets Bakery.

She didn’t want Cooper’s parents to realize that she’d just bought the shoes. She wanted them to look at least a little worn, and she definitely wanted them to feel more comfortable. She was sure that Cooper’s parents would want to go hiking on the beautiful trails surrounding Rosewood Beach when they got into town, and she wanted her new hiking boots to be ready for the experience.

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