When Forever Stays (The Forever Duet)

Eight

EIGHT

DANA

If I was struggling before, I am barely surviving now.

“Why me?” I stare up at the cloudless sky with my arms raised, then let them fall to my sides. After leaving Crew’s, I parked in my driveway and walked straight to the beach. I needed fresh air to think clearly.

“Why are you letting me struggle so much? Why is he back in my life?” My prayer sounds equal parts hopeless and whiny.

I don’t expect an answer, not audibly anyway, but I stand on the sand for another few minutes. Inspiration for a new video hits. I want to get started before the urge goes away. I return to my house, unlock the door, grab the Bible resting on my coffee table, and minimal filming equipment. It’s the Bible I once pored over daily and studied with all my heart.

The same Bible I take to youth group on Wednesdays. My high school girls give me so much motivation I find it impossible to ignore even the slightest pull toward creating content. They always bring questions for me from the scriptures they’ve been reading. Since it’s still summer break, we haven’t met in weeks and I am ready to reunite with my girls.

Soon I will be able to see them. In the meantime, they deserve more content. So I position my ring light and phone perfectly for me to shoot another video. Like so many other times, any inspiration flees like the wind.

I thought maybe shooting in a different location or at another time of day would help. Especially since inspiration struck me so hard on the beach. But nothing helps. I'm still stuck with this block. It makes my frustration mount even higher.

I unplug my ring light, pull my phone off its stand, and set it next to my open Bible. That’s what I need. My Bible. To dive in, dig deep, and study the truth of God’s holy Word for myself. Not just for online content.

But no matter how hard I try, I can’t. The words blur together or the ideas don’t make sense to me. It’s as if I’m being mentally blocked from understanding. Like I have ears that don’t hear or eyes that can’t see.

Giving myself a few more minutes, I stare at the passage and continue to come up short. I collect my Bible, ring light, phone, and stand, and head back into the house. Once everything is in its respective place, I reluctantly repost an older video that did well on the first go-round. Hopefully, it will do well for me again.

After locking up and getting a quick shower, I’m off to bed, hoping that tomorrow will bring new post ideas and a stronger defense against Rhett Stryker’s charms.

I pound on Crew’s door and yell, “I brought sustenance!”

Seconds pass before the door is pulled open, and Rhett stands before me in all his rumpled morning glory. He puts a finger to his lips as if telling me to be quiet.

I wrinkle my brows.

“Crew is still sleeping,” Rhett whispers, apparently noticing my confusion.

“It’s almost eight in the morning. Crew never sleeps this long, even when he’s coming off a long shift.”

I motion to his scruffy cheeks. “Are you growing out a beard?” He had a five o’clock shadow yesterday, but he must be someone who needs to shave every day. The extra scruff makes him look like someone else I know, but I still can’t figure out who. It’s driving me crazy.

He scratches his jaw. “No? But maybe I should shave.”

“I can stop by the store on my way home from work and pick you up a razor.”

Rhett shrugs. “I can pick one up later.” He motions for me to come in.

I walk over to the galley kitchen and lay the food I picked up on my way on the counter. The unmade, sagging air mattress catches my attention. “That does not look comfortable,” I mumble mostly to myself.

“It wasn’t,” Rhett says, rubbing his side. “Where do you work?” Rhett asks.

“A little cafe in town. I help out a couple times a week to get out of the house.”

“You only need to work part-time?”

“Well, my main job is a small business I run on social media.”

He stares out into space as if thinking hard about something I said.

“What?” I ask when he’s been silent for too long.

“What kind of small business?”

I shift on my feet. “It’s a sort of ministry.”

Rhett raises his eyebrows. “Tell me about it.”

So I do. And I can’t help it when I talk faster and get more excitable as I tell him the little details he asks about.

“It started out as a way to hold myself accountable in deep diving into the Bible. The more I posted, the more followers I gained, and I got to interact with other women who wanted to learn how to study their Bible in depth. After I hit twenty-thousand followers, I had my first business reach out and ask to work with me. And it’s just grown from there.” His eyes never leave my face, his expression telling me he’s listening to every word intently. It’s as if he’s really interested in something I’m so passionate about.

Once I finish explaining it all, he says, “That’s amazing. I’d like to watch your videos sometime.”

My eyes widen. “Oh, I don’t know…”

“Come on, you’re okay with thousands of strangers watching but not me?”

I open my mouth, then close it. “It’s different when you know the people watching them. Even when it’s the girls I mentor at youth group; it’s weird when they talk about things they learned from one of my videos. That’s why I’m nervous about leading the upcoming girls’ retreat”

“So you’re CPR certified, a social media influencer, a popular barista, a mentor to teenage girls, and now you’re going to lead a retreat. What can’t you do?”

My lips tilt up into a smile at his praise.

“I actually also love to crochet.” I point at the crochet hook in my hair.

Rhett shakes his head with a flirty smile. “You crochet too? Aren’t you just full of surprises?”

“I’m full of surprises?” I laugh. “Says the man who I found washed up on shore.”

“Touché.” He pours two mugs of coffee and hands me one.

“So what are your plans for today?” I ask after washing down my bagel with a healthy swig of coffee.

He shrugs. “I don’t know. I figured I’d spend it with you.”

“Would you be up for visiting your old job and maybe meeting with some of your previous coworkers? I could take you over there before my shift. They’ll probably be excited to see you.”

He doesn’t look convinced by my statement, and his next words confirm my suspicion. “I guess we’ll have to see.”

As we finish our breakfast and coffee, I can only hope this idea won’t completely blow up in my face.

To say Rhett’s old coworkers were leery of his return would be a massive understatement. When he worked at the resort, he was well-liked by the customers and staff. But now it seems as though their friendliness is forced. I assume it’s because he vanished without a trace and they’re not sure what to make of his sudden and unexpected return. Similar to how I have felt since finding him.

We’ve walked through a few places at the resort, worked our way into the lobby, and are heading toward the pool walking down the hall of offices. Anxiety tightens in my chest when the concierge stops Rhett right in front of West’s office. West is still on his honeymoon with my sister, but it’s a reminder of another obstacle I’ll need to tackle at some point. Soon, I’ll have to tell my sister and new brother-in-law that my old flame literally washed back into my life.

West and Olivia may have approved of pre-ghost Rhett, but I have no idea how they’d react if we somehow got over this massive hurdle to rekindle what we had—not that I’m ready to entertain that idea. I’m remaining firmly in the camp of an anti-romantic relationship with Rhett. Even if every interaction we’ve had since I found him washed up on shore has pushed me closer to the edge of falling for him again.

“So are you going to be attending Faith Alive again?” Rhett’s old co-worker asks.

“That’s my plan,” Rhett answers.

Rhett told me on our first and only date that West was the one who invited him to church and ultimately helped point Rhett to his Savior. Even though West was technically Rhett’s boss, he didn’t allow business to come between his duty of witnessing to the lost.

It’s one of the things I envy about my sister—that she landed a man living fully for Christ. That was the first thing that originally drew me to Rhett…well, after the burning attraction.

“I’ll see you Sunday then,” Rhett tells his co-worker as we open the double doors that lead to the pool area.

A small group of his old coworkers are gathered by the outdoor food area taking their breaks. At least that’s what I assume the group in uniform is doing.

I take a seat at one of the outdoor tables and encourage Rhett to mingle. While he does that, I pray God gives Rhett his memories back and that He will guide me to do the right thing when it comes to Rhett.

Glancing over at where Rhett stands among a group of his old coworkers, my heart aches for what we could have been. He turns his head and meets my gaze from across the room, motioning with his head for me to come over. I hesitate for only a second before I oblige.

“Dana!” the group shouts as I come to stand next to Rhett.

One of the many consequences of being the resort owner’s sister-in-law is that everyone knows my name, but it helps ease some of the tension in the room with their uncertainty about Rhett. We stand and talk as the other tennis instructors reminisce with Rhett while trying to jog any of his memories of working here.

I don’t have much to add to their conversations so I remain an observer, watching the way they interact with Rhett. Any lingering doubts I had about believing Rhett actually has amnesia go out the window as frustration etches across his face while his coworkers continue bringing up the past. If he remembered anything, he’d be engaging with them and not growing more irritable by the second. I grab his strong wrist in an attempt to ease his discomfort. His fist unclenches, and he looks down at me, giving me a grateful smile.

Soon after that, we say our goodbyes and head to my car. This attempted trip down memory lane didn’t trigger anything for Rhett, and when we asked, none of his coworkers knew where he lived. He must have been a private person.

“How much time do you have before you need to be at work?” he asks.

“I still have a few hours. Why?”

He grabs my hand and pulls me toward the beach, a genuine smile on his lips.