Page 54 of The House on Firefly Beach
“Writing retreat?”
“Yeah. When an artist wants to make an album, sometimes they might ask a few songwriters to collaborate. We all go to a specific location together for a week or so and hash out a bunch of songs. This time, it’s Malibu.”
“California?” she asked, more so out of disbelief. Nate’s reality was that he found it completely normal to leave suddenly and head to Malibu for a couple of weeks—all in the name of work.
“Yep. It’s for a major country music star who’s coming out of retirement, but it’s sort of under wraps, I was told, so I’d better not say.” Nate mimed zipping his lips. “I have to leave tonight.”
“You’re just going to drop everything and go?”
“I’ve gotten pretty good at managing schedules on the road,” he said. “I’m totally used to this sort of thing. I do it all the time.”
“Just like that? Will Juliana be okay? What if that photographer comes back while you’re gone?” she asked. “If we call you, will you come home?”
“I have to silence my phone when I’m writing. I completely go off the grid. But Juliana knows how to handle herself with the press.”
“That guy Seth wouldn’t come to Firefly Beach to find her, would he?” Sydney fretted.
Nate shook his head. “I doubt it. He’s a busy man and he doesn’t strike me as the type that would spend his energy chasing people around. I won’t let anything happen. And if she needs support, Malory’s here, and Mary Alice will help her through any issues until I can get back.”
“And when will that be?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. Probably whenever we have enough songs written. Sometimes we can get on a roll and be done in a few days; it just depends.”
Robby ran past the window and a stab of fear shot through Sydney. What would Nate do if he had to leave during football season this fall? Certainly, he couldn’t just disappear for an unspecified amount of time with absolutely no contact. Had he given any thought to this at all? Living in Firefly Beach wasn’t the same as the big cities he’d become accustomed to. Here, if he wanted to be a part of the community, people would count on him to be there when they needed him.
“You look worried,” he said, pulling her out of her thoughts. “If anyone needs anything, I have an assistant named Cameron Ross. He’ll be coming into town in about two days to oversee the building on my lot while I’m working. I’ll text him and ask him to come earlier.”
The mental image of Nate sending his assistant to Robby’s game when he couldn’t make it slid into her consciousness and suddenly, when Sydney looked at Nate, all she could see was Nathan Carr. “That won’t be necessary,” she eventually said.
“No, really. He’d be okay with it.”
“I’m sure he would.” Sydney stood up and tipped her plate, sending her sandwich into the trash.
Nate followed her with his gaze as she dumped the plate into the sink. “You didn’t eat,” he said slowly, something brewing in that brain of his.
“I’m not very hungry anymore. I’m going to go out with Robby and the family.”
“I haven’t finished helping you with the magazine,” he said.
“I don’t need any help.”
She would do this on her own because that was what she’d become great at doing. She hadn’t needed Nate in the years he’d been gone, and she didn’t need him now. He was right: the only clarity she had was this moment, and this moment wasn’t any different than the other moments she’d had with Nate since he’d been back. They had become two very different people.
Chapter Eighteen
Sydney took in the picturesque view through the French doors of the living room this morning as she sat on the sofa with her coffee. The gulf was striped in bright aquamarine and electric blue, and the sun beamed while the palms danced in a light breeze. Sydney couldn’t wait to get ready for the day and head to work.
She’d slept like a baby. But this morning, the uneasiness of Nate’s absence settled upon her when she looked at the clock and guessed he’d already left for Malibu. He’d stayed an incredibly long time last night, playing with Robby and talking with Uncle Hank about some options for Starlight Cottage, none of which did she want to hear unless they involved stopping the development and maintaining the land surrounding them. To avoid any more lengthy conversations, she’d stayed out on the porch with her mother, and then she’d run into town to get a few things her mother had forgotten at the store, until she knew he’d be gone. Any later, and he’d miss his flight.
She’d fallen asleep with Robby while tucking him in and blindly made it to her room sometime in the middle of the night. It wasn’t until she’d come back into her bedroom and raised the blinds that she’d seen the note that had stopped her cold. She walked over to the dresser and picked up the plastic ring with the purple stone that sat on top of the paper. Hesitantly, she slid the little band onto her finger and peered down at it. So many dreams had been wrapped up in that toy ring. But that wasn’t what was bothering her right now. What was eating away at her was the message on the paper beside it. In Nate’s familiar writing, the note simply said:
When I get back, I need to tell you something.
Love you, Nate
No, no he didn’t. He didn’t need to tell her anything. He needed to just let her move on already. Too much had changed between them. And every time she considered her feelings for him, they were all based on what she knew of the past, not what she saw in front of her now. But she couldn’t ignore the niggling curiosity of what it was he had to say. She looked down at the ring, the memories surrounding it assaulting her. What could he have to tell her that hadn’t already been said?
“Hey, Mama,” Robby said from the doorway, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
