Page 45 of Forever Endeavor

CHAPTER 15

Billie

Now churning out several thousand words a day, Billie’s fingers were on fire as her story took shape. The first half focused on the parallel lives of her main characters, John, the rookie cop whose innocence was stolen away in the line of duty, and Joanna, the young woman folding under familial pressures to marry into money, and the events leading up to their destinies unexpectedly intersecting. The unwritten second half would be devoted to giving John and Joanna their happy ending.

And of course, Cal deserved one too. Hearing Yvette talk about him being emotionally unavailable didn’t make sense. Cal was warm and caring. Perhaps he had been oblivious to Yvette’s overtures only because his heart was secretly pining for something, or someone else. Billie checked her inbox on the Star-Crossed Connections website. The post hadn’t produced any credible leads, just spam for male enhancement products and a lot of sob stories from lonely women offering to keep “John” company. Then she spotted a new message from a reporter named Bart Fielder at the Evanston Echo, asking to interview John for his article about long lost loves.

Of course, it would be impossible to fulfill that request. John was a fictional character, after all. In real life, Cal hadn’t the foggiest idea that such a mission was underway on his behalf. But then again, Bart Fielder didn’t need to know those little details. Billie replied to the reporter, declining an interview but granting permission to run excerpts of the posting with his article. Surely, it was harmless.

A knock at the door stole her attention from the keyboard. “Gurdeep? Hi, come on in. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

He pushed open the screen door. “Thought I’d pop in to see how our resident writer was making out in her new cabin-turned-cabana. I’m not interrupting your flow, am I?”

“Not at all, I’m due for a break,” she said. “And the space is gorgeous. Thanks again.”

“Happy to help Sonny bring his piña colada-flavored vision together. Nothing that a few palm fronds and a sprinkling of beachyaccoutrementscouldn’t do.”

“It’s going to be hard to give up this place when the time comes for me to go.”

“Funny you should say that Billie, because that’s why I’m here. To ask you to consider staying.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked as he pulled up a chair.

“I’ve known Sonny for a few years. I was here before he went through that miserable divorce, and I’ve seen him almost every day since. Cross my heart, Billie, I’ve never seen him as happy as he’s been these past couple of weeks. You’ve been so good for him. You’ve put the smile back on his face.”

“That’s sweet of you to say, but surely you realize there’s a perfectly good physiological explanation behind that. He’s getting laid.”

“And I’m grateful for whatever mood-enhancing drug you’ve prescribed for him, Doctor Feelgood, but something tells me there’s more to it. Sonny Hayes is a man of few words. He’s not usually one to talk about feelings or make grand romantic gestures. But, as you can plainly see,” Gurdeep lifted his hands and eyes upward, “when he does, it’s because you really mean something to him.”

“Sonny knows I’m not going to be here much longer. As soon as my book’s first draft is well in hand and my car gets fixed—”

“Billie, your carisfixed. Sonny replaced the faulty module in it three days ago.”

She gulped. “Are you sure? Then why didn’t he—ohhh.”

“I think deep down, he doesn’t want you to go, and I shudder to think what it will do to him if you do,” Gurdeep said. “I know I’m laying a lot on you, but it comes from the heart. Besides, I’m a Janus Lake transplant too. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s not a lot of other gay, brown-skinned boys around. Did Sonny ever tell you how Gary and I ended up here?”

Billie shook her head no.

“Some friends threw me a birthday bash at a city club where Gary happened to be working the bar. It was love at first Long Island Iced Tea as soon as I laid eyes on that hunky gingersnap. I’m talking lightning bolts, thunderclaps, dancing rainbow unicorns with heart-eyed emojis, the whole nine yards. We moved in together a week later. Now, Gary told me he was originally from a one-horse town called Janus Lake that I couldn’t find on a map if my life depended on it. But then he brought me here on my next birthday, which was also our first anniversary, and he surprised me with a picnic at the marina. He popped the question on a park bench in the shadow of that big, handsome statue. I mean what better than the Roman god of beginnings standing witness as you start a new life with the one you love?”

Billie fanned away the tears pooling in her eyes. “That’s so sweet.”

“Wait, it gets better. We headed to the local pub to grab a celebratory glass of bubbly and spotted a For Sale sign in its window. Gary and I looked at each other and realized that it wasn’t just any sign, it was a sign that we’d found our home. Imagine that, stopping in for a drink and leaving as the new owners of The Pelican. Shortly after we moved here, Sonny hired me to work at the garage, and the rest is Janus Lake history.”

“I love that, but I’m not sure how it applies to me.”

“Maybe your car breaking down is your sign that you belong in Janus Lake too. That this is all part of your epic story.”

“But what if Sonny isn’t ready for that? You ever think that part of the attraction is that I’m nothing more than a temporary distraction?”

“No way, the guy’s falling for you. Just look around for all the proof you need.”

She sighed. “I care about Sonny, but until he tells me that he wants me to stay, I’m not going to change my plans. Now that I know my car is fixed, I’m running out of reasons to stick around.”

Gurdeep shook his head. “You already have the best reason, Billie. You’re clearly falling for him too.”

Sonny

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