Chapter 13
Jonah turned up the music and a driving Jason Aldean song filled the void in the truck’s cab. He was emotionally exhausted.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried like that. Not since he was a child. He’d like to say he felt better, but the
ache inside hadn’t subsided. The angry, explosive feeling had diminished. But he actually preferred that to this overwhelming
despondency.
He’d planned to stay at Pinehaven for the day; he’d told Lauren he’d be around. But it wasn’t as if she’d seek him out. And
with only one guest, they didn’t need him on property today.
He didn’t feel like studying. He could see if his friend Javier was free to grab lunch—he flew floatplanes for Air Tours.
But Jonah wasn’t fit for company today. He passed through town, aimless, not wanting to go home where he’d have nothing to
do but think of Lauren.
Ten minutes later the sight of the seaplane base appeared as if out of nowhere. He hadn’t even known where he was going until
he pulled into the parking lot. He’d only been to the business a couple times, and chances were good his friend was airborne.
But maybe he’d luck out and find him in the office. Jonah needed to get out of this funk.
A minute later he crossed the gravel lot and cool air washed over him as he entered the office.
Javier turned from a conversation, his face lighting up at the sight of Jonah. “Hey, buddy. Long time no see.” Javier approached in jeans and a blue Air Tours polo. The ball cap that covered his black hair was worn low on a face that never failed to draw female attention. Javier, however, only had eyes for his wife, Allison.
“Good to see you, man.” Jonah pulled him in for a hand clasp–shoulder bump. “I was in town and thought I’d see if I could
catch you on the ground.”
“Good timing. A storm’s moving in later. Wanna catch some lunch next door?”
“Let’s do it.”
The bistro’s lake view attracted tourists like flies in the summer. But since it wasn’t high season, they had no trouble scoring
a table on the deck.
“How are things with you and Allison?” Jonah asked after they’d placed their orders. She was a radiologist at the local hospital.
The two of them worked a lot of hours, and she was also caring for her ailing grandmother.
“She’s good. We don’t see each other as much as I’d like, but things at the base will settle down now that the season’s winding
down.”
“That’s a good thing.”
“I love her like crazy. I miss her. And I know this is wearing her down too.”
“Hang in there, man.” Allison was a strong woman. The four of them had gone out a few times over the summer. The reminder
that Lauren wasn’t his girlfriend anymore weighted his stomach. “It’s just a difficult season. You guys are gonna get through
this.”
“Thanks.”
Sensing his friend’s need for a change of subject, Jonah asked, “How’s work going?” Javier was buying out the owner of Air
Tours, who was in his midsixties and looking toward retirement.
“Work’s great. Summer was busy and profitable. The buyout is obviously gonna take a while, but Fred’s good with that.”
“That’s exciting. Someday it’ll be all yours.”
They talked more about Javier’s plans for the business. He seemed to understand that Jonah was avoiding the depressing topic
of Lauren. But he only let Jonah skirt it for so long.
“How are things going with you and Lauren?” he asked when they’d exhausted the subject of Air Tours. “Any progress?”
“She hasn’t remembered anything and doesn’t seem open to the idea of getting to know me again.” His eyes stung at the words,
so blunt, so true. He glanced down at the table where his fingers shredded a napkin.
“I hate that this happened. I can’t imagine what it must be like for you.”
“She’s around all the time, of course, but she avoids me at every turn. Not only does she not love me anymore—she doesn’t
want to love me again.”
Javier sat back in the booth, seemingly taking a moment to let that sink in. His eyes softened. “That’s awful. I don’t even
know what to say.”
“That makes two of us.”
“I’m thinking back to when you got together before. You were showing her the ropes at the resort and she came around. I recall
you didn’t like her much to begin with either.”
“We both know why that is.” They’d had more than one conversation about how Lauren reminded Jonah of Monica at first. It had
taken a while to sort out his feelings.
“But you got to know the real Lauren, and she got to know you when you opened up to her. Maybe you can go through that process
again.”
“I’d love to try. But she turns down every offer to spend time together, no matter how trivial. And she already knows how
to do her job, so I can’t really fabricate reasons to be together. She’d see it coming from a mile away and push even harder.”
“There’s still the chance she’ll get her memory back though, right? It’s been, what, a couple weeks?”
“Two weeks and two days. I literally dream about her memory returning. But then I wake up and everything’s the same. I can’t
just sit around hoping and waiting. There has to be something I can do.”
“I’ll be thinking about that. Something that’ll put the two of you together long enough to bring her guard down.”
The food was served and Jonah was glad the topic turned to benign subjects for the remainder of the meal. He barely tasted
the fish and chips. Maybe this was a lost cause.
“How’s she feeling otherwise, her concussion and all?”
“Most of her symptoms are gone. She’s back to her full work schedule.”
Another thought emerged—one that had been popping up the past few days. Now that her health was stable, it was probably time
he told her she’d given up her job at Glitter. She’d be crushed. She’d leave Pinehaven—what reason would she have to stick
around then?
Twenty minutes later while they waited for the check, Javier took off for the restroom and Jonah checked his phone. His heart
stopped at the sight of a text from Lauren.
I’m sorry for what’s happening and that I haven’t been more compassionate.
She’d sent the text over an hour ago, seemingly out of nowhere. He reread the sentence three times. Tried to temper his hope.
She wasn’t exactly asking for a new start, but she’d reached out to him. It was something , and something was better than nothing.
Javier slid into the booth. “Is it weird that I like those scented sugar scrubs they have in the restroom? Hey, what’s wrong?”
Jonah stared unseeing at Javier. “Lauren texted me. She hasn’t done that since the accident.”
“Hey, that’s great. What’d she say?”
Jonah showed Javier the text.
His friend nodded. “All right, all right. That’s a start. Maybe this is the answer you’ve been praying for.”
“If she’s open to communicating through text, count me in. That’s something. It’s a start.”
Jonah glanced back at the screen, rereading her text. “What should I say? I don’t want to scare her off.”
“Yeah, but you don’t want to tiptoe around her feelings either. That’s not healthy.”
“Good point.”
“You’re a smart guy. You’ll figure it out.”
The server brought their bills, and they took them to the register and paid. All the while Jonah’s thoughts spun. He hadn’t
felt so much hope since the accident. He could hardly wait to respond to her text. But he couldn’t push. He had to be patient
with her.
He and Javier parted ways at the office building, and then Jonah settled in his truck. He couldn’t even wait till he got home.
He had to see where this would lead.
It’s not your fault. You didn’t ask for this either. He sent the text and waited.
The blinking dots appeared. He stared at those dots until his vision went blurry.
Then finally her response appeared. I know, but I haven’t been very kind and you didn’t deserve that.
He didn’t know what had brought about this revelation, but he was grateful. Maybe Meg had said something to her. He stared
at her words. How to respond? She wasn’t where he was emotionally. She was still somewhere back in April. He should keep things
light.
I remember how things were in the spring. I didn’t feel very kindly toward you either. Ha ha .
Her response came quickly this time. A laughing emoji. Then in a separate text. I really should get on with my chores. I have about eleven million loads of laundry.
That was fast. He fought against the swamp of disappointment—and the urge to remind her to take it easy. But he wasn’t her
boyfriend at the moment and he didn’t want to pressure her. This was a good start. Maybe she’d text him again soon. Or maybe
he’d start the conversation next time.
He found a funny GIF of a cat doing laundry and sent it. He didn’t start up the truck until she responded with a laughing
emoji.
His heart soared with hope. Lauren was communicating with him again. It was something to build on. It was his chance to make
her fall in love with him again. And because of that, he pushed away all thoughts of telling her about Glitter.