Page 47 of Where Sea Meets Sky

They said goodbye and hung up. Ryan sat very still in his chair, staring into space and wondering what it was she wanted to say to him.

Faith sat on the front porch of the bed and breakfast, watching the waning sunlight paint stripes of gold across the lawn. She’d just finished her fourth cup of tea, and she was feeling serene and content. She was wearing a soft sweater over a sundress which had become her new favorite article of clothing.

She was looking forward to seeing Ryan, although she felt slightly nervous about talking with him. She expected him to show up in his truck, and she’d been half-listening for the sound of it for about fifteen minutes when she noticed a man walking across the lawn of the bed and breakfast.

She blinked in surprise and then grinned when she recognized Ryan. She stood up, waving hello to him.

“Hi,” he said, smiling at her in a way that looked a little shy, maybe even nervous. She hurried down the steps of the porch and gave him a quick hug.

“Thanks for stopping by,” she said. “You still want to go for a walk?” Now that he was there, she felt both more jittery and more at ease than she had before. She was nervous to talk to him, and nervous about how things might play out between them because of how much she liked him, but at the same time his presence had a calming effect on her.

“Sure, let’s go for a walk.” His smile looked a little forced, and she wondered if he didn’t really want to go for a walk. She almost asked him about it, but then decided to just let it slide.

They started to walk down the sidewalk together side by side. It was a beautiful day, and the sunset was just starting to merge with dusk. The air had a damp, fresh smell that lingered after a brief rainfall that had occurred that afternoon.

They talked about insignificant things while they made their way toward the town square. Once they’d reached the gazebo, Ryan suggested they sit inside it for a while.

“You, um, you said you wanted to talk to me about why you didn’t like the museum,” he said, his deep voice sounding slightly husky.

She realized all at once that he was worried she wasn’t interested in him anymore. She wanted to kick herself, wishing that she’d made it clearer to him how she really felt about the situation. She guessed that he’d felt nervous about it all day, and she felt terrible about that.

She grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently. “It was nothing you did,” she assured him hurriedly. “You didn’t do anything—I mean, that’s not at all what I meant—you did everything right.” She finished stumbling over her words and laughed a little.

“Oh.” A smile broke over his face and he let out a sigh. “I’m glad to hear that—so you did have a good time?”

“Oh, I had a wonderful time.” She looked up into his eyes, smiling at him warmly. “That’s kind of what I wanted to talk with you about. I mean—you brought me there because you knew I missed part of Boston. But what I came to realize, what I felt so strongly while I was there, was that I don’t ever need to move back to a city. There might be things about Boston I loved, but I can go visit those things or find them somewhere else—like how that museum you took me to was just as good as a Boston museum.” She took a deep breath. “It made me feel sure that the path I’m on right now is the right one. I don’t want to move back to Boston, or move to any other city, even Paris.” She laughed. “As a matter of fact, I’ve decided to stay in Rosewood Beach.”

Her heart beat faster as she looked up into his eyes. She could tell that he was thrilled by her announcement, and a flutter of eagerness filled her.

“Yeah?” he said, sounding a little breathless.

“Yeah.” She nodded. “And I don’t know how long you plan on staying here, or if you want to move somewhere else now that you can work remotely—but I hope this means I’ll be able to see you more.”

The grin on his face almost made her laugh out loud, it was so adorable. “I—yeah. Yes, I would love that. I’m also planning on spending the bulk of my time here. I’ll have to go back to my construction sites sometimes, but for the most part, I can spend the majority of my time here in Rosewood Beach. And I intend to.”

“I’m really happy to hear that.” She was still holding his hand, and she squeezed it again. “And I also wanted to share with you that that little daydream of mine is going to become a reality. I found a place to rent.”

“Faith! That’s awesome.” He gave her a big hug, and she squeaked with happiness. “Can I see pictures of it?”

“Yes!” She pulled out her phone eagerly, also wanting to look at the online photographs of her new place again. She and Ryan put their heads close together as they began to look at the pictures on Faith’s phone. “Isn’t it darling? I’m so excited about that dormer window. I want to put a window seat in there.”

“With lots of pillows.” He nodded, gazing at the last picture for a moment before looking back up at her. “It looks really amazing, Faith. I’m excited for you.”

“Thank you. Now I have to figure out some new way of supporting myself, because my savings aren’t going to last forever. But one thing at a time! I’ll figure it out.”

“Sounds like you’re already getting better at going with the flow of a new plan,” he told her, winking.

“I think you’re right.” She laughed. “I don’t mind not knowing exactly what I’m going to do this time around. I have a feeling that whatever comes my way is going to be better than anything I could force through my own effort.”

He nodded. “Life has a way of dropping blessings in our path, that’s for sure.” His eyes had a tender look, as if he considered her to be one of the blessings that life had put in his way. “I know that your future is going to be amazing, Faith.”

“I hope so. I hope yours is too.”

For a moment, they shared another smile.

“I’d love for you to meet my dad and brothers,” Ryan said. “They’re all a bit on the brash side, but they’re my family.”

“I’d love to meet them. When? Should we arrange a dinner night or something like that?”

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