Page 92 of Seal of Approval

She shook her head. “When you’ve thought it through.”

She handed the phone to Bailey and walked away.

* * *

I sat on my brother’s back porch. He handed me a beer.

“Jasmine has a point. What will you do there?”

“Be a ranger. Research. Teach. Get out of this hectic life.”

“You haven’t really thought this through, have you? Where are you going to teach in the middle of nowhere?”

“The universities in Australia are progressive. A lot of courses are delivered online.”

“And how do you even know they’d be interested?”

“Because I contacted them to ask.”

Steve regarded me. “What, in your spare time?”

“I made time. Steve, this lifestyle won’t be good for Bailey and Rose. They wouldn’t have the same freedoms here.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for them to have opportunities rather than them being so isolated?”

“But at what price? It’s safer there. The crime rate is low. Guns are highly restricted. Wages are higher. They have a better work/life balance. Everyone working full-time gets four weeks paid annual leave a year and two weeks sick leave.”

“They’re just kids. They won’t be working for a while.”

“But I need to think of their future.”

“Spoken like a true dad.”

I smiled. “That’s exactly what I want to be.”

Steve gave me a sidelong look and smiled. “Never thought I’d hear those words coming from you.”

“I’m not scared of being like our father anymore.”

“Good. Because you never were.”

I took a deep breath in. I’d come to believe that in the last few months, Steve’s affirmation cemented it. Talk about being freed.

“I still think you need more of a plan,” he said.

“I have one. I just need to convince Jasmine.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

Jasmine

It had been two days since we’d heard from Ethan. Two days since he’d rejected my proposal for us to move to San Francisco to be with him. I should have kept the conversation going while I had the chance. The silence was worse than him not being here. I had no idea what he was thinking. Or even if he was thinking of us.

I should have stopped to listen to him. But the rejection had cut deep. And I knew why. I didn’t think I was enough for Ethan. Sure, I was enough while he was here but we both knew that was short term. Filling a space in someone’s heart forever was a different story. And maybe he felt the same. That’s why he didn’t call.

I tried to be reasonable and calm my thoughts. But it was hard. The pragmatic side of me said if this is what ruined us, then we were never going to succeed. The emotional side rejected every sensible thought as my heart broke again and again.

I moored the boat and tied the lines before making my way down the jetty. Someone stood there waiting. Ethan.

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