Page 82 of Happy Trails & Honey Pots

“Well…” He started walking back down the hallway to his room. “I figure if somethin’ needs doin’, the best time to do it is now.”

I stared at his retreating back and then looked down at my phone. As I picked it up, I saw my hands were shaking. I scrolled through my contacts to find his name. I took a deep breath and thought of what to say. Maybe,Hey, remember when I said I didn’t know if I loved you? Well…I was wrong. I do. I’m sorry.

It wasn’t exactly Shakespeare, but it was a start. Maybe that’s all I needed—just a new start.

40

MILES

The sun was settingbehind me as I sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the causeway. In the rearview mirror, hues of oranges, reds, yellows, purples, and pinks floated in the sky. It reminded me of the view when Zoe took me to the lookout spot.

So much had transpired since then. With the benefit of twenty-twenty hindsight, I wasn’t sure I’d handled it all that well. This past month, I’d gone over every second we’d spent together, playing back in my head to see if there was something I could have changed to achieve a different outcome.

During the nights we’d spent together, we’d been physical, but we’d also talked. We talked about our childhoods. Our dreams. I’d told Zoe about growing up with the responsibility of caring for an alcoholic mom who would show up on sets drunk. She told me about her mom using religion as a weapon and how her dad’s silence was as damaging as her mother’s cruelty.

I’d shared more of who I was, the real me, with Zoe than I’d ever shared with anyone. In the end, it didn’t matter. She was confused. She still hadn’t thought we could work. She still hadn’t believed what we had was real.

I hoped that four weeks was enough to give her clarity. If not, then I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. At the very least, I would visit AJ, Walter, Harlan, and Dawson. I might even stay in town for a few days.

I’d missed Firefly. I missed Mrs. B and her cinnamon rolls. I missed Ray and his jambalaya and cooking lessons. I missed Billy Comfort and our dart games. I missed Ms. Shaw and her ‘news’ aka gossip about the entire town.

This morning, I’d woken up and knew that I needed a change in my life. A drastic change. In a moment of extreme clarity, I knew exactly what I needed to do. All of the confusion that I’d been living with was instantly clear.

I had to try again with Zoe. One conversation was not enough. That was not enough to show her that I meant the words I said. She needed to see action behind those words.

So, I’d made the necessary arrangements and executed them after I got off the plane in Savannah. I’d waited until I got to Georgia to avoid any run-ins with TMZ at LAX. The paparazzi’s interest had really ramped up over the past few weeks sinceLong Way Homecame out. The last thing I wanted was news leaking before my surprise arrival in Firefly.

My console lit up, and I saw Braxton’s name on the screen. I hit the answer button on my steering wheel.

“Hey.”

“You fired Tyler,” Braxton stated, skipping the pleasantries.

“Yep.”

When I got off the plane, I sent the email I’d drafted this morning to him and the agency he worked for, cutting all ties after I found out that he was passing on projects without sending them to me after I’d turned down the superhero role as a way to ‘punish’ me. He wanted me to think that offers had stopped coming through and that I’d been blacklisted. It was petty andstupid, considering he only made money when I worked because he got ten percent of my paychecks.

“Well, in the immortal words of Lizzo, it’s about damn time.” Braxton slow clapped on the other end of the line.

I chuckled. I’d always had a feeling that Braxton didn’t like Tyler, but she’d never come right out and said it. She was pragmatic that way.

“And you put your house up for sale.”

“Yep.”

After I sent that email, I also sent another to my realtor, letting him know that I wanted to list my home. I was done living in Los Angeles. I’d never enjoyed the traffic there. Or the people. I was ready for a change.

“Any plans on where you’re going?” she inquired.

“That depends.”

“Let me guess, it depends on how a trip to Firefly Island goes.”

“That’s right.”

“Are you there now?”

“Almost.” I was just about to cross the city limits.

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