Page 77 of Untethered Heart
“I want to measure out the new floorplan and see how it fits on the land. And I want to go over everything with Dylan in person, see what he thinks. Make sure he’s happy with it.”
“What about if you’re happy with it?” I ask.
“I am.” She nods. “This part of it is just more important to Dylan.”
I tilt my head. “It’s not important to you?”
She takes in my question, looking out at the water before meeting my eyes again. “It means something different to me.”
She picks up a breadstick and dips it into the hummus before continuing. “Dylan’s six years older than me. He had a different relationship with my dad. They bonded over different things. Jed’s Tavern was one of them. Deep conversations in the dead of night over whiskey was another. I feel connected to my dad through the ocean. That’s why I start every morning on the beach, but Dylan feels it at the tavern. He’s doing this for Dad. I’m doing this for my brother.”
“Does that mean if you had a choice, you wouldn’t be working with the distillery at all?”
She lies down, rolling onto her stomach. “I’ve been wondering the same thing recently. If my dad hadn’t died, I think I’d still be in Killara Bay, happily working at Jed’s. I like the quiet and simplicity of a small town. I studied business and marketing specifically to help my brother; he’s not a numbers guy. But it turns out I really like creating business plans.”
“Are you trying to make me like you more?” I say as if it isn’t completely obvious I’m already so far gone for this woman.
She chuckles. “I really like all the stuff I’ve been doing with Isabelle. We created a timeline for the project, outlining all the steps we need to take along the way. It’s kind of like a checklist for success.”
“Isabelle certainly makes her work look exciting. She’s very organised and has a great eye for branding.”
“I was a little jealous of her at first.”
“Why?” I ask, rolling onto my stomach to lie beside her.
“When I saw you two together at the contract signing, she was smiling up at you and you smiled at her, and she’s so pretty.”
“She was probably calling me old for the thousandth time.” I place my hand over hers, offering a reassuring squeeze. “You don’t need to worry about Isabelle. Or anyone, for that matter. And since we’re on the subject, someone messaged me earlier, someone from the past, and that’s where they’ll stay. That’s not my life, not anymore.” I summon all the sincerity I can into those words.
She looks up at the water, chewing her lips in contemplation before she takes a deep breath. “My mum left us when I was three. Took off without a word. For so long, I wondered why she did that. Did we do something wrong? I couldn’t understand.” She shakes her head, huffing out a frustrated breath. I squeeze her hand in mine, letting her knowI’mhere. “My dad made sure to keep our lives full of his love and attention, but then, when he was taken so suddenly, that crushing weight of abandonment came back. I tried not to let anyone too close to me, in fear that they’dleave me behind as well. I didn’t want that confirmation that there was something wrong with me, that I wasn’t enough.” I want to burn the thoughts from her mind, and when she looks at me with glassy eyes, my heart breaks. “I’ve never had anyone make me feel the way you do. At first, that terrified me. I didn’t want you to be another person who left.”
This woman willneverknow what it’s like to be unwanted again. Emotion clogs my throat as I whisper the words she always says to me. “I’ll be yours, if you’ll be mine?”
Before she can answer, we’re interrupted by a series of beeps coming from my phone.
“Sorry, baby. Let me turn this off.”
I ease off my side so I can pull my phone from my shorts pocket. It’s the sibling group chat.
BETH:
Where’s the least important one?
GAGE:
With his girlfriend.
MASON:
Who has a girlfriend?
BETH:
Gee, I dunno Mase. Which one of us is missing?
MASON:
Grandpa?
