When I’m With You by Sandi Lynn
Chapter 36
Paisley
I took my tea and walked down by the crystal blue water. I’d been here almost three weeks and I’d accomplished so much. I kept up with my columns and I was on the last chapter of my novel. Writing about my experience and his death was therapeutic and it helped me to see that life can and does go on. I missed my family, but more importantly, I missed Ben. I was able to finally admit to myself that I was falling in love with him, a love and companionship that I didn’t think was possible ever again. As I stared out beyond the water, I could finally feel a sense of peace in my life. A different kind of peace that I’d never felt before. I smiled as I sipped my tea and headed back to my cottage. Tomorrow would be the day that I contacted Ben and hoped to God that he still wanted me.
* * *
Ben
I started off the morning with a run before heading to the station and turning in my papers. Brady wasn’t too thrilled that I extended my leave, but he understood. The morning air was crisp, and the sky was a bit overcast. As I ran along the pier, deep in thought about Paisley and listening to my music, I saw David out of the corner of my eye run up next to me. I turned off my iPod and looked at him.
“Hey, David. Where have you been?”
“I’ve been around, here and there.”
“The last time we talked, you kind of seemed like you were mad at me or something,” I said.
“Nah. I wasn’t mad at you, Ben. How are things?”
“You mean between me and Paisley?”
He looked over at me and nodded.
“She left town. She’s been gone for almost three weeks.”
“I see,” he said, deadpan.
“She said she needed to figure out her life and to leave her alone.”
“Have you left her alone?”
“Yeah. That’s what she wanted, and I wasn’t going to bother her.”
“How long is she going to take to figure out life?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but I’ll wait for her as long as it takes.”
“Do you love her, Ben?” he asked as he stopped running and looked at me.
“Yes.”
“Then that’s all you need. Don’t wait for her. Go get her; tell her that you love her and bring her home. Isn’t life about getting what you want and fighting for what you want? Don’t sit back and wait for her to figure it out. Figure it out with her. Life’s too short, man. You of all people know that. If you love her like you say you do, then fight to be with her.”
I stood there and stared at him. There was something about his words that suddenly sparked a fire inside me. He looked down at my hand and smiled.
“You should take that ring off before you go and get her.”
I looked at my wedding band and then at him. “Thanks, David. I know what I have to do.”
He smiled and turned the opposite way. “I’ll see you around, Ben. Good luck.”
I turned on my iPod and finished my run. When I got back home and jumped in the shower, I couldn’t stop thinking about Paisley and how I had to find her. I needed to tell her that I loved her, and I wanted to be with her.
After throwing on some clothes, I decided to call Keaton. If anyone would know where Paisley was, it would be him.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Keaton, it’s Ben.”
“Oh hey, Ben. How are you?”
“I’m okay. Listen, do you have time to meet for lunch? I want to talk to you.”
“Sure. We can meet for lunch. What’s this about?”
“I’ll tell you when we meet. I have to drop off some papers at the fire station, so how about we meet at noon at Panini on Sunset?”
“Sounds good, bro. I’ll see you then.”
* * *
Iwalked into the restaurant and saw Keaton sitting in a booth by the window.
“Hey, thanks for meeting me.”
“No problem. What’s going on?”
The waitress walked over, handed me a menu, and took our drink orders.
“I want you to be totally honest with me. Do you know where Paisley is?”
He shook his head before answering me. “No. I don’t know where she went, and I haven’t talked to her either, which I totally feel bad about, but she didn’t want to be bothered.”
I sighed.
“Why are you asking?”
“I need to find her, tell her that I love her, and bring her home.”
The corners of his mouth curved into a smile as he nodded his head. “That is so cool. Okay, let me think for a second.”
“Is there a special place that she loved?” I asked.
“Besides Los Angeles, I don’t think so,” he replied as he looked down at his phone.
“Think, Keaton. You’re her brother and the two of you are very close; you have to know somewhere she’d run to.”
His eyes lit up and he smiled as he held his phone up to me with a picture of Paisley standing in the sand with a grass skirt on and a lei around her neck. I looked at him in confusion.
“This was taken on her honeymoon in Hawaii. I remember her telling me that if she could move there, she would. She loved it and I remember her saying something about Hawaiian healers and how they spent a couple of hours with one.”
“Where in Hawaii?” I asked.
“I think it had the name turtle in it,” he replied as he scrunched his nose.
“Turtle Bay?”
“Yes! That’s it, bro.” He smiled as he pointed at me.
“But we don’t know for sure if that’s where she went,” I said.
Keaton sighed. “I can find out for sure, but she’s my sister and it doesn’t feel right.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I can hack into her credit card account to find out, but—”
“I love her, Keaton, and I want to be with her. I want her to come home,” I pleaded.
He gave me a small smile and then started typing on his phone. After a while, he looked at me with a wide grin. “Yep. That’s where she’s at. The Turtle Bay Resort in Kahuku, Hawaii.”
“Thanks, man. I owe you big time and I promise that I won’t tell her what you did.” I winked.
I got up from the table and drove home as fast as I could. I opened up my laptop and searched for the next flight out of LAX and into Hawaii. The only non-stop flight was at five o’clock, which would get me into Hawaii at eight forty-five. I looked at my watch. It was one thirty. I had time, so I booked my ticket and walked to the bedroom, grabbing my suitcase from the closet. I haphazardly threw my clothes into the suitcase along with my shaver, toiletries, cologne, and an extra pair of shoes. As I zipped up my bag, my eyes traveled to the finger that held my wedding band for the last five years. I had thought about taking it off before, but there was never a reason to, so I didn’t bother. I removed the ring from my finger and clenched it tightly in my hand.
“I’m doing it, Amy. It’s time for me to move on and live life again. You told me to go be happy and that’s what I’m setting off to do. I will always love you and cherish every single moment we had together.”
I opened Amy’s jewelry box and set the ring inside. The time had come for me to let go and taking off that ring was the first step towards a new future. Nerves settled inside me as I grabbed my bag and headed for the airport. I just prayed that Paisley would be happy to see me.
* * *
Paisley
I had dinner with Patti and Lisa. Patti was a woman that I met in one of the boutiques. We were both looking at the same handbag that happened to be the last one. She loved it and I loved it. We got to talking and I found out her husband had passed away a couple of months ago, and her daughter, Lisa, brought her to Hawaii to get away from the daily grind of life. As we stood in the boutique, she began to cry as she talked about her husband. She was married when she was twenty and they had been married for thirty years. He passed away in a car accident after a drunk driver hit him on his way home from work. As her daughter stood there and consoled her, I asked them both if they would like to have dinner with me. They graciously accepted and we met at the hotel restaurant. I told her my story, how I met Ben, what I was doing here, and about my novel. It felt good for once to be on the other side of the spectrum, to be the one talking to someone and trying to help them feel better. After we finished dinner, we sat and talked some more over a couple of drinks. When I looked at my watch, it was nine-thirty and I wanted to get some more writing done before I went to sleep. As we got up from our seats, Patti took my hand and smiled.
“Thank you, Paisley. I’m a firm believer that people are put in our path of life for a reason.”
I gave her a hug and told her that she was stronger than she knew. I walked the path back to my cottage and, as soon as I stepped through the door, the room phone was ringing.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Sorry to disturb you at this hour, Ms. Logan, but there’s a gentleman in the lobby that is asking about you and wanting us to give him your cottage number. He refuses to take no for an answer, so I thought I better let you know.”
“Thank you. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Would you like me to send someone to pick you up?”
“No. I’ll walk. Thank you.”
I hung up and rolled my eyes. Damn Keaton. How did he know I was here? I specifically told him that I would be in touch as soon as I was ready. I was irritated that he never listened to me. I asked one simple thing, and who was watching Romeo if he was here? I stomped my way across the path in a huff.
