“I love it,” I smiled. “I’ve been thinking about something, Daw,” I said.
“What’s that?”
“Where are we going to live once we are married?”
“I don’t know. Where do you want to live?”
“Well, your house is bigger, but mine is closer to the ocean, and I kind of like being close to Lauren.”
“You have got to be joking. That girl is a pain in my ass. You know she is only your friend because you feed her, don’t you?”
“She is a pain in the ass,” I agreed, “but you still have to love her.”
“You have to love her. I don’t. I have to go, Ry.
I’ll come and get you at six.”
“Call me when you get off. If I am this slow, I might just close up an hour early.”
Dawson kissed me goodbye, and I cleaned up our lunch trash.
***
I didn’t think we would ever make it through the
long Maine winter. I pretty much lived at Dawson’s for the entire winter. He was in love with his fireplace, and my house was not equipped with one. March wasn’t warm, but at least it wasn’t freezing either. I was not looking forward to the trip to Las Vegas again, even though I was when Star had first told me about it. The closer it got the more and more I hated the idea. I hated the idea of being away from Dawson for four days, and although I knew I was being silly, I still feared running into Drew or someone seeing me. I didn’t know who. I never got to know anyone there except for Jena, and now that I had Star and Lauren, I knew that Jena and I were never truly friends. Not like what I had with Star and Lauren anyway.
I was looking forward to the hot weather. That part I was excited about. I was anxious to wear shorts, a skirt, and short sleeves, anything but the winter coat that had become attached to me over the past few months.
Starlight left almost two weeks before our scheduled trip. Her daughter Moonie would be accompanying us on the trip and Star was going there first and flying out with her. I was picking up a rental car and would meet them the same day in our shared hotel room.
We did need to visit the many vendors and come up with some new merchandise for the shop. Tourist season in Misty Bay was right around the corner, and if we were as busy as the previous summer, we would need all the merchandise that we could get.
On Saturday night, Dawson, me, Lauren and Joel built a fire outside, roasted hotdogs and drank a few beers.
It was cold out, but the heat from the fire made it comfortable. We were having a good time when my cellphone rang with an unidentified number. It was Star’s daughter Moonie, letting me know that her mother had broken her ankle and was having surgery as we spoke. She wanted to inform me that they were not going to make the trip to Vegas. Star still wanted me to go and said that her two friends Wendy and Marsha, who I had met the last time, along with her sister, Sunny would still be there. I was disappointed. I was looking forward to my weekend with Star and Moonie.
“You should just go with me, Dawson,” I suggested after hanging up with Moonie.
“Yeah, well, had I known Star was going to break her leg a week before you were leaving, I would have. It’s too late for me to get vacation now.”
“Lauren?” I looked to my friend for help.
“Sorry, I’m in the same boat,” she replied. “I need more than a week to get vacation too.”
“Joel?” I joked.
“Sure, why not,” he teased.
I was a little apprehensive about going alone although I wouldn’t actually be alone. I would have Marsha and Wendy, and Sunny was now going to be my roommate. I knew I would have a blast with the free spirit.
She was a lot like Star.
Chapter 13
Dawson drove me to the airport on Thursday morning.
“I told you the last time that you did this that I didn’t like it,” he said, sitting in an airport chair beside me while I waited for my flight to start boarding.
“I told you to come with me,” I countered, just as we heard my flight called.
He carried my bag as far as they would let him.
“I love you. I’ll call you during my layover in Chicago,” I said, holding him tightly around his neck.
“I’ll be waiting. Hurry back to me. I love you.”
I settled into the window seat and stared out the tiny window, reflecting on where I was. I never met Ms. K
in my life, but I owed her my life. I hated to think about living with Drew, having his baby, and never having a life of my own. I felt safer and secure in Misty Bay then I ever had in my life, and of course I was madly in love with my sheriff.