Page 58 of Sweet Love at Bayside
Matt sidled up to Rick before he reached the others. “My boy has a thing for your girl.”
Rick laughed. “Smart boy.” Hagen took a bite of his s’more, and Desiree brushed crumbs from his cheek, smiling as she said something to him.
“Right about now, your heart is expanding in your chest.” Matt took a sip of his drink. “And you’re wondering how you’ll get on that plane tomorrow morning.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” His mind had been a relative war zone for the past few days. He wanted to give Desiree everything, to make up for every ounce of loneliness she’d ever felt, to give her every last part of himself, the way she had given herself to him. But giving her everything meant setting aside all he’d worked for, everything he’d built, and letting down his partners.
“Okay, here’s one for you.” Matt spoke quietly as they neared the others. “It took me a year to finally ask Mira out, and it took me only a few weeks to ask her to marry me. I wished I hadn’t wasted that year.”
Rick watched Matt reach for his sister. Hagen ran over to show them his s’more, and those thoughts of a future and a family with Desiree came rushing in.
He gathered her in his arms. “I miss you already, sweetheart.”
She pressed her finger to his lips. “We’re not going to talk about you leaving, remember?”
He did remember, but not telling her how he felt was apparently not an option. After her mother had left, they’d talked about Desiree’s plans, and though she was conflicted about choosing to stay so far away from where he would be living, he knew she was doing the right thing for herself. He’d never want to come between Desiree and Violet, and he respected her even more for having the courage to put her relationship with her sister first. He knew how badly she would miss Emery, too. But she’d faced this decision head-on, just as she had when she’d first come to Wellfleet and her mother had thrown her for a loop. She also seemed surprisingly okay with her mother’s excuse for her sporadic visits, even if he wasn’t. He would have liked Lizza to have stayed longer and tried to strengthen their relationship. But if Rick knew one thing, it was that some wishes would never come true.
He kissed the tips of Desiree’s fingers, glad for the wishes that did.
“Uncle Rick.” Hagen tugged at Rick’s shorts. “We made you something as a going-away present.”
“You did?” He lifted his nephew into his arms and tousled his hair. He was going to miss the little guy a lot. Soon Hagen would be too big to be picked up. “What did you make me?”
Hagen pulled a paper bag from behind his back. “Open it!”
Rick opened the bag and pulled out a small wooden sailboat, complete with little fabric sails, and his heart filled up even more. “Buddy, this is—”
“It’s your boat. Me and Dad made it, and I painted it. Mom said you could take me sailing next time you visit. I didn’t want you to forget, so I wrote you a note.” Hagen turned the boat over in Rick’s hands. “See?”
Rick read Hagen’s writing on the bottom. “Take Hagen sailing.” A lump formed in his throat as he lifted his eyes to his sister, who mouthed,Love you.Clearing his throat to try to pull himself together, he said, “I’ll take you sailing next time I’m here, little man.”
They passed around the boat, and Mira came over and hugged him. “He’s going to miss you.I’mgoing to miss you.”
“Me too, sis. But I’ll be back often.” He glanced at Desiree, who was talking with Drake and Serena. “Can you check on Desiree for me while I’m gone? Make sure she’s okay?”
“Are you kidding? She’s stuck with us. She’s like family now. Plus, Serena’s already made plans to help them with licensing procedures and everything else involved with running the inn. We’ll be here for her, don’t worry.”
Dean came around the side of the rec center and hollered, “Touch football!”
“Yay!” Hagen cheered.
Serena grabbed Desiree’s sleeve and tugged her toward the beach. Desiree shot a smile over her shoulder at Rick. He blew her a kiss and headed for the beach. They played girls versus boys, and spent more time tackling and laughing than playing football. Rick was enjoying the sand time with his girl, covering her in kisses as she giggled and wiggled beneath him.
When they hollered for the next play, he tried to face off with Desiree, but Hagen had beaten him to the spot in front of her, leaving Rick to square off with Violet.
“I ought to kick your butt,” Violet said with a challenging stare.
“Why?”
“Because she’s going to be a weepy mess after you leave, and guess who’s going to be stuck cleaning up those tears?”
“Vi—”
“All kidding aside,” she said. “I don’t mind picking her sobbing body off the floor, but she’s a heck of a lot happier than she was a month ago, and we both know that’s all you.”
“It’s you, too, Vi. She loves you.”
Her gaze softened, and just as quickly she lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. “You’d better not forget her while you’re gone, or find work toopressingto make it back to see her. Or Iwillkick your butt.”
