Thirty-two
There wasn’t much to pack. Liam was used to living in small spaces – and leaving them.
A row of blank canvases leaned against the walls of his room. He’d give those away; he had artist friends he’d met at the farmer’s market. Hopefully Cameron hadn’t gotten to them, too.
All his paintings had sold except the one of Mackenzie in front of the tea shop. Maybe it made him soft, but he couldn’t sell it, and he wouldn’t leave it behind.
One day, he might hang it up somewhere, then close his eyes and remember the warm rays of her smile and the ocean breeze against his skin.
Maybe that would be enough.
It was small and when he pressed it against his shirts, it fit into his suitcase. The zipper strained as he closed it.
Liam stepped outside. The morning air was thick with dew and light danced on the water. There was no one around—not a contractor, not even Joey.
He pulled out his camera and set up a shot. A black bird floated on the surface, its belly puffed and splattered with drops of water. Tufts of yellow grass swayed in the wind, far off islands rising from the water like the mountains behind them. A boat bumbled into the dock, and a man with a yellow toolbelt stepped off, shaking hands and laughing.
What was the point of this? Filmmaking had never brought anything good to him. It was all dashed hope and betrayals. Dark clouds and explosive words. Why even try?
He wasn’t going to finish Lottie’s documentary. Liam’s first instinct had been right; he never should’ve agreed to try this. He’d give Russell the footage he had and release any claim to it. Surely someone else could finish the job.
Liam stopped the camera and zipped it back into its case. Maybe some dreams weren’t meant to come true. They were meant to be given up and sold secondhand. Or maybe some dreams were never meant for him , even if they jumped from moving planes and every day with them felt like summer.
A white dot appeared in the sky and he squinted, tracking it with his eyes. The seaplane landed and Joey hopped out, tying it off.
“Afternoon,” Liam said. “I’ve got something for you.”
“Is it Tylenol?” He stood, sweat dotting his forehead. “Because I could use some.”
Liam grinned. “No, sorry. It’s a tuxedo. I was hoping you could return it for me.”
“Oh, that.” He laughed. “I was going to fly out there tomorrow. Do you want to come?”
Liam sucked in a breath. “I can’t. I’m leaving.”
“You need a ride? Where are you going?”
“No, but thank you.” He stared out across the water. The waves were either playing a trick on him, or a small fin had just broken the surface. A porpoise, maybe?
“Will you be back in time for Lottie getting here?” Joey made a face, the corner of his mouth twisting down. “ If she gets here.”
Liam snapped his focus back to Joey. “What do you mean if ?”
“Mackenzie is convinced the vote won’t be in Lottie’s favor. She told Eliza and me that people are just throwing the flyer away. Not even noticing it.”
A fin broke the surface again, this time accompanied by a tiny spout of air.
Definitely a porpoise. They were incredibly shy. Liam hadn’t gotten a chance to see one yet, and now for one to be so close to the dock? Remarkable.
“Yeah, well. That’s a risk with mail, I suppose.” Liam sighed. “I’m sure Mackenzie will find a solution.”
Joey smiled, eyeing him. “Are you two having a fight?”
“No.” He put his hands in his pockets. “Not so much a fight as she’s convinced herself I’m a criminal.”
A laugh burst out of Joey. “Really? She used to think I was a criminal, too.”
Liam smiled to himself. “That’s right. Joey the bank robber. She told me about that.”
“Joey the bank robber,” he repeated. “Yeah, that’s Mackenzie. She’s been touchy ever since her ex-boyfriend proposed to her coworker. Guess that would mess with your head.”
“Jealousy can do strange things.” Liam scanned the water. Would it pop up again? What would Lottie make of a little porpoise near her pen?
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t explain that right. He proposed to someone else while they were together.”
Liam turned to face him. “What?”
“She didn’t tell you?” He puffed out a breath. “Whoops.”
“I had no idea. When was this?”
“Just before she moved here,” Joey said. “He convinced her they were going to get married and then POW! She found out he’d gotten engaged to someone else they worked with. Like she’d never existed.”
Liam blinked. They’d talked about him, he was sure of it. But she’d left out that detail. “I can’t believe she didn’t tell me.”
Joey raised his eyebrows. “Really? I mean, if you know Mackenzie, you know that’s exactly the sort of thing she’d hide. I only found out because I was here as it was happening. She has a hard time trusting people.”
Liam’s phone dinged. Your ferry to Seattle is on time. Please be sure to arrive thirty minutes before departure .
It was leaving in three hours. What could he do in three hours? That wasn’t even enough time to absorb what Joey had told him.
“Everything okay?” Joey tilted his head.
“Erm, yeah. I’ve got a bit of a timing problem.”
Life was better when things moved slowly. The tide came in, steady and slow. The moon never rushed to wax and wane.
Liam didn’t like to rush, but when he’d booked this ferry ticket last night, he was sure his time was up. As much as he’d admired what Mackenzie was doing, and how honest she was, she thought he was a villain. He wasn’t going to convince her otherwise.
“Listen, man,” Joey said, his voice low.
Liam was pulled out of his thoughts and nearly jumped. “Yeah?”
“I have to be honest with you,” Joey continued. “Eliza sent me here.”
“To do what?”
Joey tossed a look over his shoulder and leaned closer. “She told me to be subtle, but I don’t think we have time for subtlety.”
Liam laughed. “And you are terrible at being subtle.”
“I mean, I think I do okay for myself,” Joey said, waving a hand, “but whatever. She told me to tell you about the ex-boyfriend.”
“Why?”
He sighed. “Because Mackenzie looks like she’s giving up on Lottie and she won’t tell Eliza anything and Eliza is convinced it’s because of you.”
Liam shook his head. “What have I got to do with it?”
“I don’t know, man. Eliza sent me here and thought I could get you to talk to Mackenzie.”
“I’m a criminal, remember? I don’t matter.”
He shrugged. “She wouldn’t have come up with a theory about you if you didn’t matter to her. She’s making excuses to protect herself. Or, at least, that’s what Eliza told me.”
His heart leapt into his throat. “Right, well. I can’t really do anything about that.” He turned. “I’ll go get the tux.”
Joey sighed. “Stay in touch?”
“Sure.”
He turned, walking back up to his room.