Page 59 of The Love In Sunsets

“I tried telling my dad the same thing. He’s all business, all the time. He’s the guy you see on the front of magazines in a suit and tie. Carrying a briefcase while talking on his phone and a pager clipped to his belt. He wasn’t present in the sense that work came first. But always the ‘authority’ at home.” Eloise used air quotes around authority.

“What does he do for work?”

“When he lived here, he was the CFO for a hotel chain based out of Boston. When he and my mom split, he took a CEO position for a farming equipment company. I was mad at my parents for moving, for taking me out of school. One of them should’ve stayed.”

“I’m sorry,” Kiel whispered. He set his hand on her hip and gave it a squeeze. “Parents suck sometimes.”

Eloise chuckled. “Even yours?”

“Even mine.” He smiled. “This one time, my mom showed up at my dorm. I lived in a suite with some friends and one of them saw her outside, held the door for her. She marched right into the suite and into my room . . .” Kiel trailed off.

“She caught you, didn’t she?”

His cheeks flushed. “Yep. She stood there for,” he paused and shook his head. “I don’t even know how long before the girl I was with noticed her. After I yelled at her, she went into the other room and waited and then asked me if I planned to marry the young woman I was helping reach the height of her religious experience.”

Eloise’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth. “No!”

“Oh, yes. She thought I should talk to the girl's father and let him know how interested I was in being with his daughter.”

“Oh, my.”

“That night, my dad called, and I got to listen to how irresponsible I am and how my mother was scared for my life—you know, for entering my room without knocking.”

“Wow, I’m sorry.”

Kiel shrugged. “That’s nothing compared to what you went through.” He leaned closer and kissed her. “Maybe we should get some sleep.” He held his arm out and Eloise snuggled into his embrace.

A few minutes later, she was asleep, and he stared at the ceiling, contemplating his future. The smart thing was to go to grad school and come out with his masters in something. What that something was—plagued him. He didn’t want to take out the loans for a career he wasn’t sure he wanted and any chance of getting a job now went out the window when he agreed to come on this family vacation.

Looking down at Eloise, he smiled. She was worth not having any prospects, but summer would be over soon and then what—what happens to them? He had a feeling she wouldn’t stay in Seaport. She didn’t seem like the type to put down roots anywhere, at least not permanently.

Would she want him to come with her wherever she went?

Would he go?

For a moment, he thought he would. Then he remembered his dad. There was no way Kiel would leave his mom and sisters.

fifteen

Eloise came downstairs and stood in the middle of the room, with her hand on her hip, watching as Kiel took her in. His smile formed slowly.

“What are you wearing?”

She looked down at her clothes. “Today’s fashion comes from Old Navy. My shorts are in the shade olive green, and my shirt is the very basic and often bought color of black.” Eloise smiled and then bent to scratch a speckle of paint from her leg. “You don't like my outfit?” She knew it wasn't her outfit that caused him to question her attire.

“No, your outfit’s fine. It’s the hat.”

Eloise touched the brim of her floppy hat. “It’s a sunshade.”

“Do I fit under there?” Kiel stood, went to her, and then crouched down to fit under her hat. “This is going to be awkward. I’m not sure how I’m going to walk.”

Eloise pushed him gently and laughed. “You’re a laugh a minute Kiel Collier.”

He stood and his expression turned serious.

“What?”

With a slight shake of his head, he said, “Nothing. It’s just that you haven’t used my last name in a while, and I remembered how much I liked it. Still do.”

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