Page 10 of Summer Escape
"You don't think they'll let you?" Saylor asked, genuinely curious.
I sighed. "We haven't discussed it, and both Hudson and my father were upset when I didn't return as planned after college."
"I'm sure they understand that plans change—" Saylor began.
I shook my head. "It's been this thing between us for years. I'm hoping to clear it up, but I don't know how. I'm not the best at talking to people."
"You are doing a good job now."
I laughed. "That's because you're so easy to talk to. It was always that way with us."
Saylor smiled. "I think you're right. We had an easy connection."
"But we were kids back then." I wasn't sure why I felt the need to add that. It diminished our feelings for each other.
Saylor's face was carefully blank. "Young love and all that."
"Right." We were only eighteen and believed we were in love. I'd never felt anything like that for anyone since.
Back then, we didn't spend much time talking about the future.
I had assumed she'd return to the island the next summer, but she hadn't. I was a dad now. I didn't have time to contemplate what-ifs. I wanted a better relationship with my daughter, and I needed to mend things with my family and figure out my job situation. "I'm not used to having free time."
"You're planning to take some time off before you talk to your family about working?"
"I'm hoping to."
"I'm confident that everything will work out exactly how it's supposed to. You're a great dad for taking your time with Hayden. Not everyone would do what you're doing."
Her praise made me feel a little uncomfortable. "I'm no hero."
She smiled sweetly. "You are to Hayden. You're her dad. That's an important role in a girl's life."
"Are you close with your dad?" She'd spent that summer with her grandmother, so we hadn't talked about her family life back home. She was free to run the island with me, and that was all I cared about. I probably should have asked more questions, not assuming that we'd happen upon each other again.
"Our relationship was strained when I was a teenager, but it got better when I moved out and went to college. Now we talk on the phone maybe once a month."
"Why did you come here to escape?" I wondered what she was running from.
"Sanibel has always been a magical place for me. It's an island, and where I met you. What's not to love?"
My brain snagged on her comment that it's where we met, as if it was special because of that. She was feeling nostalgic for that one summer. We had great memories of our time together, but that didn't mean we were destined for any kind of shared future.
Chapter Four
Saylor
The next morning, I lazed around in bed, enjoying the sound of the waves filtering in through the sliding door. I'd left it cracked so I could be lulled to sleep but instead, I'd stayed awake for hours, hyperaware that I shared this floor of the house with Marshall.
He was only a short hallway away, one bathroom between us. It was harder than I thought it would be to keep my distance. We weren't teenagers anymore. I had to act like an adult, one who was responsible. I couldn't jump Marshall because of our shared history and how attractive fatherhood was on him.
Our conversation last night had touched me in unexpected ways. He was worried about connecting with his daughter. Their relationship was important to him. As was the one with his family.
He was a family man, more so than when I'd first met him because now he had a daughter. It made him more attractive.
I hoped that Marshall was okay with me staying here. He'd said I could stay the night. Then we'd figure out something. I wasn't sure if he meant that I'd find a new place to stay, or he'd come around to letting me stay here.
Hopefully, it helped that I had a few things in common with his daughter. Now that I was here, I didn't want to leave. But I also didn't want him to have to find another place. The cottage was perfect for him and Hayden. It had the pool and the hot tub and was a short walk to the beach.
